Hi everyone!

The weather hasn't been any warmer these few days! Hope everyone's coping well with the cold, especially the Freshers who may not have experience this weather ever! Do put on more layers when you go out and turn up the heater indoors to keep yourself all warm and comfy :)

So, this will be the last Kaya & Toast for the year 2014! It has been a fantastic year since the new term began in early October, and I'm sure to miss writing Kaya & Toast. ICSS has been hard at work organising various events and many activities to bond Singaporeans since then. Let's recall what we've had so far!

On the very first day of term, 4 October, we've had an Airport Pick-up Service catered to all our members who touched down in London that day. On the same day, we've had our very own Hall Walkabout where some seniors gladly volunteered to bring the Freshers around their Halls, showing them to some nearby amenities, the way to college, as well as some tips and tricks living in London! Many seniors were more than happy to share their experiences with the Freshers as I witnessed some of us ranting on about our lives as a fresher more than the freshers asking questions! A few who have ordered duvets with us also came to a really convenient location near college to collect them during Hall Walkabout.

But one walkabout just isn’t enough and so on the next Saturday, we’ve had an Orientation Group Walkabout. Mario went touristy around London Bridge and Borough Market while ambitious Pink Panther had an awesome feat covering Central London, the Olympic Stadium and even Westfield Stratford City at Zone 3 in a day! Non-mainstream Blue’s Clues and Shaggy immersed in the alternative culture of Camden Town before splitting ways to Regent’s Park and Covent Gardens later in the day. Both Bond and Scooby paid a visit to the Big Ben and Trafalgar Square before heading to St James Park and Eastside Bar respectively. A whole day out exploring London is exciting but that is just not all of the fun.
 
So, on 18 October, we’ve held our annual Hyde Park Picnic at Hyde Park (duh)! It was indeed a fun-filled day of sports and some friendly eating competition (recall carrots, Coke and peanut butter). It served as a platform for everyone who participated in Sojourn to catch up with one another too. With over 100 members turning up, the event concluded our Freshers’ Package. However, that was certainly not the end.

Our very first trip out of London happened on 22 October when a few lucky souls got to Thorpe Park on a weekday! Just two days later, President Tony Tan visited Imperial College as part of his state visit, and some had the rare opportunity to shake his hand and speak with him. Many of us even appeared on TV back home too. It was indeed a day which Singaporeans may rejoice in and celebrate the strong ties between the United Kingdom and Singapore.

Major Event Mix & Mingle happened on 27 October where all the teams gathered for the first time and many team members bonded over some food and chit-chat. Our directors had also put up an entertaining show to introduce the plot to all. On 1 November, many of us took a long trip up to Nottingham to represent Imperial in the Nottingham Winter Games and we took home 1^st Runner-up in one category and Champions in four categories!

Our Ordinary General Meeting was held on 12 November where lots of important information was shared with the members over a small but precious tub of Ben & Jerry’s. Many of us also had a Hall Cookout prior to OGM and a representative from each hall eventually whipped up their best dishes on the same day and competed in the Imperial Iron Chef. It was indeed quite a feast for the first few fortunate members who turned up early for OGM!

Forty fastest-fingers also managed to grab tickets to the Book of Mormon musical in less than a minute after sign-ups open, and enjoyed the hilarious show on 17 November in each other's company. Most recently, a group of us popped up in Birmingham and had an awesome time sipping hot cider and promenading through the Christmas Market (until it became overcrowded that we had to elbow our way out).

Autumn Term was indeed packed with something going on almost every week, notwithstanding our various Major Event teams slogging away every week painting our hands dry, tearing our vocal chords, strumming till our fingers get sore, or regurgitating lines after lines and braving the weather for the film. Everyone does deserve a pat on their back for all the effort and time invested in Major Event, and of course, a break from it! Near the end of term, some of us can look forward to our annual Ski Trip, skiing amongst the stolid snow mountains of France, and perhaps gawk at Mont Blanc from afar.

Spring Term will even be more exciting than Autumn with a Chinese New Year dinner and more musicals to look forward to! We will be back with a blast, surely.

I hope you’ve enjoyed Kaya & Toast all the while! Here’s wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (way in advance)! See y’all next year and take care! :)

Your awesome secretary,
Weihao Lim

The ICSS visit to Birmingham concluded last Saturday on the 6 December. We hope everyone had fun drinking Bailey’s Hot Chocolate at the massive Christmas market and shopping for holiday presents at the picturesque Bullring. We would like to personally thank everyone for showing up and making this autumn trip a success. Next up? Look out for our annual CNY Dinner and more musicals!

Cheers
Kanneganti Sameer
Events Officer

The winter break is almost upon us and 2015 is around the corner! Chinese New Year falls on 19 February next year and is the perfect time to meet with new friends or catch up with old ones. ICSS will be having our annual Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner in February! The details are as follows:

Date: 16 February 2015, Monday
Time: 7pm onwards
Cost: £20-£25 (Vegetarian and Halal options will be available as well)

Each table seats 10 people, so do sign up as a group with your friends when the time comes! Sign-ups are not open as yet, however do mark this date in your calendar and look forward to having a great CNY reunion dinner next year!

Wishing you all a great winter break,
Lincoln

Imperial-A*STAR PRI PhD Programme

Imperial College has a joint PhD Programme with A*STAR in Singapore which involves 2 years of study in each institute. Please note that applicants must be a Singaporean, Singapore PR or an ASEAN national (successful candidates who are not Singaporeans are expected to take up Singapore Citizenship).