University: The Housemate

Who is the ultimate housemate? Living in a house of 6 has given me a deep insight into what this so called 'ultimate housemate' consists of. Take Tom Slimming, inhabitant of 37 Shaftesbury Road, and current housemate. On the exterior he is a tough Callum Best wannabe, however after closer inspection and alcohol to loosen his tongue....there is a soft, thoughtful man under that front. Having met Tom shortly before living with him I felt that the person I was going to be living with was a fun, extremely outgoing Croydon local who loved to go out and live the party lifestyle. Contradicting this was his degree: politics and international relations, which I would not have expected from a person of Tom's first impression. Ultimately the course did not work out for him and he then changed to Property Development, however on his journey through University I felt that a new side had emerged, one that I was keen to find out more about. Tom is good around the kitchen, no doubt about it. I would say he is a useful housemate in this department as his love for food and jovial attitude around the communal areas only serves to brighten up the mood and people respond positively to his antics. Alcohol has been known to cause Tom certain problems with aggressiveness a rare occurrence. Having been with Tom on many a night out I have seen his party animal side, his deep side and his laddish side. He is a hard working individual who I find incredibly easy to talk to as he is open and a good listener. Having done a Come Dine With Me week I saw the time and effort Tom was prepared to undertake in order to impress his fellow diners and although Tom received mixed reviews I could see that he was an individual who was able to really get involved in things and enjoyed the banter around the house.

Waking up at 8 o'clock in the morning to hear Tom singing 'Food Glorious Food' at the top of his voice is not the ideal wake up call. This, and his desire to picture his own excrement after going to the toilet, occasionally results in a few bad glances being thrown in his direction. I mean, Tom has a reasonable voice, but he is no Shane Ward....and seriously who wants to be doing a hard piece of work and then, Beep Beep, your phone goes off...who could this be you are thinking...oh its a picture message from Tom saying 'look what I did to the toilet'. I mean really??? Having said that, everything is taken well within the house and most things are kept as banter.

Tom likes to think he is a ladies man, and although successful with the other gender, I think that deep down he is just afraid of commitment and someone getting close enough to him to be able to cause him hurt. In recent months however, I have seen him open up a lot more and be more agreeable to the idea of a relationship, although his need to be a 'lad' often holds him back. To be fair to Tom, he has a killer Croydon sweep. With statements such as 'most loved man in Portsmouth' leaving his mouth that shows he has a good sense of humour as that is clearly not true. Tom's lack of Fifa 11 tekkers on the Xbox is evident in the house as he is more often than not on the losing side when a house session goes down. On the plus side for me, this is then an easy win when playing him and only does good for me on our house league.

I think that Mr Thomas Nigel Slimming is a valued asset to the house. He is his own man and brings something different to the table. I feel that I can talk to him about anything and get along very well with him. The house would certainly be a quieter place without him. Is Tom the ultimate housemate?.....I dont think there is an ultimate housemate to be honest. After evaluating Tom I have come to the conclusion that the best scenario is the house as an all round package, not just one member of it. All being said, Tom does contribute significantly to our house and in this he is a valued member of Shaftesbury manor.

King Kenny back at Anfield and the day of the footballing derby

When Hodgson got the sack after a short stint at Liverpool many believed that regardless of the manager, Liverpool were in decline. In recent times, having had well publicised off-field issues, Kenny Dalglish will at least bring the sense of honour and winning mentality back to the club. With a tough start at United, only made worse by losing the talismanic Gerrard for a vicious foul that could only be described as an attempt to fire up his players, Liverpool certainly look lost. Having lost to Blackpool midweek serious questions were asked wether King Kenny would be able to salvage anything from a season that has seen many teams, not just Liverpool, drop points all over the country. Having left Liverpool after a 4-4 draw against Everton after his first managing role there it had been suggested that after many years out of the game he would not be able to have the same effect that he had before. Having had league success with Blackburn after Liverpool, one thing is for certain, he certainly knows how to win trophies. Given the time Hodgson had to build his own team I can only see Liverpool progressing. Such is the respect Dalglish owns at Anfield all the players will be out to show the legend what they can offer to the club. Knowing football inside out will give Dalglish the tactical presence of mind that can only be a positive and Liverpool fans should take faith in the improvement shown against Everton. The players already seemed more confident and had a much better tempo and effort than under Hodgson, and apart from 10 minutes of dreadful defending, a game that ended 2-2 should really have been Kennys first win back.

The Liverpool v Everton derby, the most dirty in English football, was one of 3 derbies today, all of which ended in a draw. 3 games of great quality saw the Liverpool derby, Tyneside derby (Sunderland v Newcastle) and the Midlands derby (Aston Villa v Birmingham) result in fans over the country create the atmosphere that we all love in football when rivals play each other. With 1 point gained for each of the teams I feel that Villa fans can have every right to be unhappy given the performance and effort their players put in. Having hit the bar 4 times during the game you would feel that the 3 points was going to come but to be fair to Birmingham they took the lead and the game finished very closely. Things at Villa Park mirror the problems at Liverpool, a new manager having just taken over. Performances from the Villa players have, however, been pleasing but the results just havent gone their way. There was heartache for Newcastle fans as a late goal from Gyan denied them doing the double over Sunderland for the season, although im sure the 5 goals they scored past them in the 1st game goes some way to dealing with that late equaliser.

At the end of the season I simply cannot see Liverpool down at that end of the table, along with Aston Villa. Teams above are seen as lower reputation teams and to their credit have played incredibly in the first half of the season, to note a few, Blackpool, Bolton and Sunderland. However over the course of the season I just cant see them staying in these high league positions and soon the bigger clubs will start to settle and the results will come with that. Im 100% sure that King Kenny will soon have Liverpool occupying a higher position and with a few new additions this transfer window, things will only be getting better.