Events Review - Lauren's Top 5

• 13 Jul, '20
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Iconinc offer regular events throughout the year for all of their residents. There are so many different types of events from HIIT workouts to cooking classes! These events are great for making new friends, developing new skills and finding a time to relax and mentally refresh from all your studying! Here's my favourite 5 events from this last year: *Cooking Masterclass with Chris Hale* Being a dietetics student, I love developing my skills in the kitchen! Chris is a 2016 Masterchef quarter-finalist and owner of Pop Up North. He provides you with all the ingredients and equipment – all you need is yourself and some enthusiasm! We have made some amazing dishes from chocolate truffles to Thai Cod en Papillote! I have remade these recipes so many times, and even my family absolutely love them! It’s great fun just to spend some time relaxing and laughing in the mega kitchens with other residents and tasting some delicious food! *Pancake Day* Pancake day has to be one of my favourite days of the year! I mean who wouldn’t love the excuse to indulge in deliciously topped pancakes. Iconinc provided us with some delicious pancakes and a range of toppings from fruit, to chocolate and peanut butter! It was great to see everyone enjoying themselves, and for some of the international students it was their first experience of pancake day and it was amazing to share the time with them! *Pumpkin Carving* Every year throughout my childhood, my sister and I would spend the eve of Halloween scooping out mounds of slimy pumpkin flesh and cutting scary faces in the pumpkin skins. Having moved away from home, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to experience this nostalgic activity; but fear not – Iconinc provided a multitude of pumpkins and carving tools for everyone to express their creative talents! It was so much fun digging our hands in the slippery flesh and carving intricate designs into my pumpkin! Some of the designs done by the residents were amazing and I was so impressed by their talent! A massive bonus was a load of pumpkin seeds to roast in cinnamon or chilli flakes for snacking on! *Candle Making* A local company came with all their equipment and skills to help us make some beautiful little candles to celebrate Diwali. I had never made a candle before and it was so interesting to learn the intricate process behind it. I spend a long time testing many different smells to create the perfect blend, before combining these fragrances with a complimentary colour whilst melting the wax to a perfect temperature, and then patiently allowing the candle to set after applying a wick to the candle. This was a perfect gift for my mom to celebrate her birthday, and it meant so much more as I had personally chosen all the fragrances and colour myself! *Thai Massage* University life can be stressful. From studying, to being away from home, or having to make weekly budgets. And if you are an athlete like me, the constant battering of training on your body can create a lot of tension and tight muscles. A local Thai masseuse came to the glassworks a few times throughout my stay and I took up the opportunity as soon as I could! The 15 minutes of massage in a beautiful environment always helped to release any built-up stress or anxiety, and release any tight muscles. I always felt amazing the week after these massages, from being more mentally relaxed to being able to run faster in training. I just want to say a big thank you to the Iconinc team for setting up all of these events for us throughout the year! It may be different when we initially return due to social distancing measures, but I can ensure that they will do their best to provide as much as they can for us to gain some valuable skills or just chill out!