Leisure reading and wellbeing: Podcast Transcripts

Campus Christmas

00:00:14 Introduction 

Shush, you are listening to..... 

LivLibPod (x5) 

00:00:42 Host – Chris. 

Howdy partner, welcome to the 2nd edition of 'LivLibPod'. I hope you've all settled in well. Christmas is upon us! What's your plans? Are you going home, or are you staying here? 

Either way, we hope it's it was fun. 

There's lots to do in Liverpool over the festive period. Why don't you check out our staff recommendations on Instagram. 

Remember, the library will have limited opening hours over the festive period. Check them out on our website so you don't get caught up in the cold weather. 

Oh, and international students, make sure you wrap up. 

So, what have we got going on today? 

We have some gifts for you. 

We have an interview with Fionn gun, the curator of the VGM's latest art exhibition, arrivals and departures. We spoke about life, art and all in between. We also have a guided meditation from one of our own library staff, Camille. It's delightfully chill. 

00:01:38 Speaker 2 

No adverts, no plugs. 

Just some calm vibes. 

For all you wonderful homo sapiens. 

No agenda this December.  

So, what are we waiting for? 

Should we get on with it? 

What do you think? All right then? Let's roll it. 

*Page flip* 

00:01:59 Host – Chris. 

I am joined by Fionn gun, who is a residency artist at the VGM, who's currently got an exhibition called Arrival and Departures. I've been around it a couple of times. I think it's great and I'm going to have a chat with Fion just to go a bit deeper into it and speak about campus life in general and hopefully art as well-being. Thank you for joining us and how have you found Liverpool so far? 

00:02:20 Guest – Fion. 

Well, my pleasure entirely. I think Liverpool is a great city and you know, having lived in London for many years and when I came up to Liverpool for the first time, I thought Oh my God, this is the nearest thing to an Irish city that I could get, and so I enjoy my time up here immensely. 

00:02:37 Host – Chris. 

You could go anywhere around the world and find an Irish bar, but like an actual Irish contingent of people and the feel of an Irish city is hard to find. 

00:02:44 Guest – Fion.  

It's the feel.... it's the way that people can chat to each other. In public, there isn't the same hesitancy. There aren't the same reservations, and you know, that's nice. It makes for a very well-oiled social climate, I think. 

00:02:58 Host – Chris. 

Yeah, and multicultural as well. I think that's something that's reflected in your works. Across all the pieces there are kind of multi-cultural elements that you've picked up along the way on your travels from meeting different people. Liverpool celebrates that as well. It's a multicultural city. Would you agree? 

00:03:15 Guest – Fion. 

I do, I think that's really lovely because It's got the sort of intimacy of a smaller city, but you yet you do have great diversity and yeah, communities seem to be at ease with each other, which I think Is great. 

00:03:30 Host – Chris. 

So, when you come to Liverpool, what are the places you go to most like? Is there any like kind of tips? 

00:03:38 Guest – Fion. 

Well, I mean to be honest I'm here (meaning the VGM) the most because it's been linked with work and stuff. But yeah, I always go down the docks and go down to obviously the Tate, but I love the Open Eye Gallery, I think it's great. I also go to Fact every time I am here and the Blue Coat, so I do all the sort of cultural stuff as well. And I love just walking around. I've walked out to Sefton Park to try and see the Calderstones and apparently, they were not there. 

They were being refurbished and it was during the bus strike as well, so I sat at a bus stop for about an hour and a half. But again, everybody was chatting which was nice. Yep, and I was showing them the App for the exhibition. So, we had a bit of a laugh at the bus stop. 

00:04:22 Host – Chris. 

I heard you over speaking or when I was in the gallery about the app. What is the app and how do you use it? 

00:04:31 Guest – Fion. 

OK, so it's free and you download it from the App Store or Google store. Yeah, and you get six of the sculptures that are in the exhibition and they're they've been scanned by the photogrammetry department and the quality is exceptional. So, this is our man who heads up the photogrammetry department with his team and so basically it means that in the comfort of your own home or anywhere you can open the app. 

Click on the VR option or the AR option and then you just you home in on the scope. 

00:05:03 Host – Chris. 

Augmented reality? 

00:05:07 Guest – Fion. 

You can stretch it and you can look at every angle of it you know. Look in great detail, you can take screenshots. 

You can get mates to pose with it and do you know screenshots for Instagram and everything? And so yeah, it's great fun. 

00:05:16 Host – Chris. 

Cool, that seems like kind of the future of maybe what an exhibit could be where it is brought into your house. Did you see this somewhere else? 

00:05:28 Guest – Fion. 

Absolutely, absolutely. I love the idea of things that are accessible and so you know, not everybody can get to an exhibition on time, for whatever reasons but if you download the app at least you have a flavour of it, you know, because I think oddly enough, I think a lot of Liverpudlians have not come to this wonderful gallery or museum, and so I'm hoping that you know, my exhibition will draw people in because there's a lot to see here, not just my work, but historic collections as well. 

And the fact that when I'm making work, I'm also responding to some of the historic collections and including the 3D scans and yeah, you know, it's not like I come from a great tech background. I don't. I'm new to the scene and so I think if I can do it, anybody can do it and it's showing people you can access this and it's fun. It's not something to be afraid of. 

00:06:19 Host – Chris. 

That's amazing and something that I noticed within one of your pieces called ‘The Ord’ is within the window within the globe, there is a load of books with titles on, right? 

We have a library, and we are a library podcast, so we must bring it up. You said these books were probably the ones that shaped your life. What books were those and how did they do that? 

00:06:39 Guest – Fion. 

Well, now that's I think we're doing about two different kinds of things here, so the piece you’re talking about is called lifeboat and I made that because I was thinking in terms of, you know, the stories of my life, the things that have gone on, that you know it's not glamorous stuff, but it's the stories of everybody's life. 

For example, there's a book called dental problems because I've had my share. There's one called fear of dogs. In fact, somebody today said “I'm afraid of dogs too”.  It's the sort of compulsions, and the repeat behaviour. And yeah, things like old mistakes I've made, and you know people I forgive and people I don't forgive. You know things like. 

They're the internalised stories. Yeah, the other pain. 

00:07:22 Guest – Fion. 

The other place you see the library is in one of the panels of the port cities, so that's two to reach a port you must set sail, and one of the panels is about Alexandria and of course, you had the great library of Alexandria that burned down. So, what I've done there is, I've made my own library in the painting up with all the books that I think really ought to be read, which I think are great and which have meant a lot to me. 

00:07:48 Host – Chris. 

Yeah, any examples? 

00:07:50 Guest – Fion. 

Well, I've got the complete works of Cavafy. Who is a poet who lived in Alexandria, and I've got the complete works of Shakespeare as well. 

So, there's a whole mixture of you know fiction and history and if I think back to when I was younger. I mean, I'm generally quite a happy person but I was deeply unhappy when I was young, deeply, deeply unhappy and my family background was not happy and I found immense kind of refuge in reading and however miserable I felt, if I was reading history. 

It made me feel I was just part of a wider picture. 

You know, history is immensely complex and we all feed into it. You know, our histories are what make up the big history. So, I did find that very consoling and I found the messages in many of the books that I've read have been Interesting, thought provoking and healing. 

00:08:53 Host – Chris. 

Yeah, it's like almost within a book that goes back that long you speak through time and within your own, arrivals and departures as well; you have got voyages through crossing over generations. You include your grandchildren in your art as well which is even a representation of that. 

00:09:08 Guest – Fion. 

Yeah, I do. 

00:09:11 Host – Chris. 

I think that was a lovely part of it. Yeah, and I like the way you do celebrate. Obviously, I love the references to literature because as somebody who works at a library, I feel the same as you. 

Like you know when I need escapism, I need a book and it helps. You can imagine what it is in your own mind as well where a movie tells you what to imagine. 

00:09:24 Guest – Fion. 

Yeah, it really does. 

00:09:30 Host – Chris. 

I love movies as an art form, but it tells you what to think because it's the director's vision but with a book, it's your own vision. 

I think something that's beautiful about your work is the different cultures that are represented. You obviously travel a lot. 

00:09:41 Guest – Fion. 

Well, I did travel quite a bit before COVID and not so much since but. 

00:09:43 Host – Chris. 

Yeah yeah, just to Liverpool now. 

00:09:46 Guest – Fion. 

Yeah, just. 

But yeah, I mean when I left Cork at 21. I went for a few months to Dublin and then I went straight off to France, and I lived in France for four years and I would like to say I didn't plan my life very well. 

I didn't plan it at all, I just kind of went. I must go here and so then I came to London because I didn't want to live the life I was living in France. Not that I had anything against France. 

I really miss it and the people there. 

But I think that getting away was absolutely vital for my mental health. I don't think I would have survived if I had stayed because of the unhappy family environment, and I think you know getting away helped me to see how other people live and to be able to stand back objectively from things. 

And I'd also say, and I think this is massively important for people who come from for example, countries where there's conflict, because even though I was down in the Republic of Ireland in Cork and there was the conflict ongoing up in Northern Ireland at the time and our family house, right in the middle of town we had was opposite to the Gardai station, so that's the police station, the Bridewell, and there were regular bombing attempts. There would be a bomb planted outside and we would be all woken up in the middle of the night and you must have put on your coat and stand outside around the block with the fire brigade until somebody come and defuse the bomb. Yeah, so I didn't know anybody in my immediate family or group of friends who was killed or hurt in Northern Ireland.  

But the tension of that was always there and I think growing up in, you know, my family was very Republican, and things were very entrenched, and I think by getting away one of the things I learned was Oh my God, why does anybody have war? 

00:11:43 Host – Chris. 

Yeah, just stop. 

00:11:45 Guest – Fion. 

Stop the violence. It doesn't help and I think like Ireland, joining the European Union with Britain was one of the most healing things and of course now Brexit so. 

00:12:02 Host – Chris. 

We get a lot of international students; we get a lot of Chinese students. We get a lot of students from the Middle East. 

00:12:05 Guest – Fion. 

You do. 

00:12:09 Host – Chris. 

You've went to countries such as China. I remember speaking to you about you spending a lot of time within an artist village in China. What would you say to the people who come over to a new city? Advice for International students on how to settle into somewhere and what would be the best way to do that? 

00:12:22 Guest – Fion. 

Well, it's really interesting, I mean because having made the moves I made, like when I went to France and I didn't speak French and I've gone to China and I've only learned kind of functional Chinese in the basic way. 

I think language is massively important. I think to kind of put yourself out there and I know that can be really hard to do. Yeah, but I think one if I were a young student again, and if I were coming here I would think about what are the activities that I could do with people who are not just from my community. 

Do an activity, go to a workshop. Yeah, go and do something where people from all different backgrounds will come and that way you will find friends across the spectrum. Yeah, and you will feel less alone because I think you know, and I've touched on this feeling in some of my work. 

That feeling of precariousness and isolation that you can sometimes feel when you're heading out and you know you won't go back now that's not necessarily the situation for the students here, because most of them would be going back to family, but there will be cases where people will leave and not go back. And is that how you face up to that and how you can understand your life and not be afraid of going forward and I would say think of think of every new person you meet as a potential friend rather than as a stranger. 

00:13:47 Host – Chris. 

You put a lot of identity and heritage into your work. 

What I noticed is, obviously it's not a Where's Wally, but it kind of reminds me of that. 

Why do you think it is important to put yourself in your paintings and as a follow up to that, how do you create your own identity for someone who's just so young and branching out coming to university? 

And what advice would you have for them as well?  

00:14:28 Guest – Fion. 

Right, well, the first part of the question. First, why do I put myself in my work? Well, because I'm owning up to it. 

I'm saying yeah, but I'm also just using because it's always from the back. You don't see my face or anything, it's just me from the back. 

Yeah, I'm using myself as every person. I'm just in every person and in a sense the view through the portholes is one view of life, but the surrounding area which I'm sitting is the internalised view as well. Because you have your insight and your outside and it's experiencing that. 

00:14:59 Host – Chris. 

Oh, is that conveyed by the darker composition against the lighter composition? 

00:15:02 Guest – Fion. 

Yes, and there's always going to be that you know, we all have somebody, no matter how happy they are they can’t escape the feeling of misery and terror and solitariness which is part of the human condition. I firmly believe. 

In terms of identity. Oh my God, I often think I wish I could go back to me as a younger person and say don't worry, you'll escape, and you can do this. 

This and this don't worry, you're fine.  For example, it was always well I had dental problems. 

And then it was like all my feet are too big. Or I could never get trousers too fit.

I think now as an older person I was lucky to have legs, what was I complaining about? 

You know, I could have been in a war and lost my legs, you know, so kind of we see our own situations as young people in a very kind of immediate way, and we always feel I think that people are looking at us and judging us. 

My advice to students would be don't care so much about what other people think, yeah. 

You know, work out what you want to do. I had an interesting conversation with a student who came in yesterday and I was asking her what she was studying, and she said, oh, I'm doing business studies and I said well, lucky you, because you know you'll make more money than I will. 

And then the conversation progressed and it, you know, she revealed that she didn't want to do business studies, that she wanted to do art and I had to come back at her and say, well, if you want to do it, do it. You have one life. 

00:16:31 Host – Chris. 

Yeah, yeah. 

00:16:33 Guest – Fion. 

Do what you want to do. Yeah, because yes, I might not be the richest person in the world, but I have a rich life. I have good things. I've had, you know, good things happen to me and yeah, I've had bad things too, but on whole, it's pretty OK and I would have particular word of advice actually for women.  

For women students, particularly women who are studying art is don't mess about with bad guys. 

Don't get involved with a guy who is unhelpful to you as a person who is negative, who is? 

00:17:11 Host – Chris. 

Oh, OK. 

00:17:15 Guest – Fion. 

You know ego driven and who is jealous of your creativity, because this is a pattern that I've seen with quite a number of women artists that I've known, it certainly was a bad interlude for myself and I fell into it not because I was looking for a bad boy, but because I was so innocent that I thought he was joking when he said horrible things. Yeah, I thought old irony, huh? 

So, I messed up and lost years of my life with that person and it damaged my professional practise and so I would say, be very careful and you're better off on your own than be with a s**t. 

Sorry, I shouldn't swear, sorry. 

00:17:54 Host – Chris. 

It's OK, we'll go with it. 

Art is said to be nourishment of the soul, but I've also seen, and we've touched on this you said, a life of an artist is not a romantic one, so what do you mean by that? And how did you get through the unromantic times? What kept you carrying on and what got you into the to the point where you. 

00:18:16 Guest – Fion. 

Now well, I think full stop art is never romantic. 

Whoever had that idea that all the artists are so impractical, and they live up in the garret and somebody else does all the stuff for them. OK, nobody does the stuff for you, so it's like I'm really good with lifting awkward parcels and transporting stuff and working out how do I get from here to there? 

Every piece I make there's always some kind of technical hitch with it that I must work through and, but that's great because you're in growth. I'm never bored, never bored. 

So that's the real advantage of it, and it gives you a very rich life. I've not. I've never been apart from the world. I've done loads of all kinds of bizarre jobs when I was younger, I mean. 

Without, you know, wanting to frighten people I've I had to work in a bookies office when I was when I was putting myself through our college. I did loads of kitchen porting. I was a waitress. 

00:19:18 Host – Chris. 

I did similar things. 

00:19:18 Guest – Fion. 

All that kind of stuff, and one of the more bizarre jobs I had when I first came to London, I was a singing telegram. 

00:19:26 Host – Chris. 

Okay. 

00:19:27 Guest – Fion. 

That was mad.

00:19:28 Host – Chris. 

For someone from a generation that might not know what a singing telegram is, can you explain it? 

00:19:32 Guest – Fion. 

OK, yeah, you got hired to go and they would tell you this person is they're having their 50th birthday. 

They tell you that they are interested in this, can you write a song that goes with that and sing it to this music and turn up in this costume?  

I ran a decorating business for some years and that was good because you know all the skills that you learn as you're painting at college. Suddenly, while you're painting walls and you get to be very quick and very pragmatic about painting. Yeah, and I love that and it's quite therapeutic. 

00:20:04 Host – Chris. 

That has led into what you do. I remember, I know it's a bit off topic, but there's an MMA fighter who said that some of the best training when he was a garbage man. Yeah, because he just used the movement to train movements in a different way.  

00:20:17 Guest – Fion. 

Absolutely, absolutely. So, it's a good discipline. You get quick and exact, and it's nice. 

I worked then quite a lot in sort of conflict resolution organisations. Yeah, and that was immensely enriching and that has had a lasting impact on my work. I worked for international alert which was focused on armed ethnic conflicts and how you bring a resolution. 

I met wonderful people during all of that, and I'm still in touch with some of them, which is great and minority rights group as well. Where I was able to educate myself as I was editing various documents that was good, I think teaching language where I also taught English in France and I did a lot of translation as well and that taught me a lot about communication. 

I used to feel oh, but I just want to be an artist? 

And now I feel thank God I did all those things because it's given me a very good background. 

In terms of the work that I do, and I know that I'm not some artist sitting on a in an ivory tower with you know, ideas above my standing. You know, I know that I'm a part of a democratic process of disseminating art and enjoying art with everybody. 

00:21:45 Host – Chris. 

That's great, I love it. I also want to ask; 

For students who have not come to the exhibition yet (and it will be closed in December 23rd before we go for the Christmas break). 

What would you say to them to implore them to come and see the exhibit? What could it give to them? 

00:22:00 Guest – Fion. 

Well, I think it'll just give you well, hopefully a bit of entertainment. To be honest. I mean, I like people to enjoy stuff I don't want them to come and pull a face. I want them to come and enjoy it and you know it might make you think about what fun, cutting out is. 

Because I do a lot of cutting out with the collage is and how to put things together. I use a lot of upcycled materials. Things that have been thrown away by other people. Things that have, you know are damaged, and I've transformed them into something else and I think that experience of transforming things is immensely satisfying. 

And you know you can just go online and Google how. 

What can I use to do this? 

Or I've got 1000 cable ties. How can I use them to make something you will? 

I mean this is it, you can find something for everything, and I think don't let yourself sit there and get wound up by things. Do something physical. Make something or draw something and I think in a sense my exhibition might, I hope, encourage people to do that? 

00:23:05 Host – Chris. 

Yeah, I think universities are a time where you could be creative. Try new things. Obviously, there are certain kind of readings to do and you have to hit a certain curriculum, but when I was in university I was like, well, what's the worst that could happen, I could give it a go? 

I did like English so it could be a Marxist reading of 2PAC songs. 

00:23:27 Guest – Fion. 

Yeah, exactly. 

00:23:29 Host – Chris. 

Why not and throw it out and enjoy the process of doing it? So yeah, hopefully they can get that enjoyment. Get that inspiration. I think the room as well. We've seen a picture of someone lying down in the sensory room completely chill, so relax. 

It's free, it's free as well. 

Students you might not have money. I never had money as a student, so pop in. 

00:23:48 – Guest – Fion. 

Yeah, yeah. 

00:23:48 Host – Chris. 

It's free, it's worth it and Fion is also going to be given tours, so you know if you want to come and speak to Fion, she in an open book. You can have a good chat with her, come on down. Are you going to be around much longer? 

00:24:00 Guest – Fion. 

I'm going to be back on the 1st of December and I'm going to be back for a few days, then I'll be doing an event in the evening from 7pm to 8:30pm as part of my residency with the Institute of Irish Studies. 

Yeah, so I would invite people to come to that and you know, I try to make these events as entertaining and meaningful as possible to people and we usually have very lively discussions so. 

00:24:22 Host – Chris. 

That's good. 

00:24:24 Guest – Fion. 

Yeah, we're not even fighting, so it's good but fighting can be fun. 

00:24:29 Host – Chris. 

For you haha. 

00:24:31 Guest – Fion. 

But yeah, I mean, I think the whole thing of you know, art in a way. If you think about it as a visual conversation and it's not a one-way thing. 

The artist may be speaking, but you're also speaking as the audience. It's a conversation, and it's great to listen to each other. 

00:24:48 Host – Chris. 

That's lovely. The last thing I would ask is after the exhibition closes December 23rd, what are your plans then? 

You don't seem like someone who ever stops so anything coming up after this? 

00:25:00 Guest – Fion. 

Well, I'm in the process of beginning new work at the moment.  

I mean it all my work kind of relates to the same kinds of issues, but it kind of changes media and you know I try to with every piece I make, I try to do something a little bit different in each piece so that I've learned, and my residency continues until the 31st of March, so I will be doing events here in in the university. 

Again, the Institute will be publicising those and, and I'm hoping if all goes well, I'll be doing an exhibition. A group exhibition in London, in the next autumn. 

I'm probably going to try and arrange a residency artist because again, it goes back to travelling and being abroad and ideally, I would like to do a residency in Alexandria in Egypt because of my complete love of Cavafy’s work and to go and do something about the Greek diaspora in Alexandria. And so those are just some but I'm also alive to whatever comes up. 

I think since COVID it's quite different when planning your life now. I mean, Ideally, I'd be going back to China, but that's not going to happen until 2024. I would think at the earliest. 

00:26:28 Host – Chris. 

OK, well it's been lovely speaking, so I've really enjoyed that.  

I hope that all the students who have been listening also enjoyed it. Come and see Fion’s work. It's worth it. You will see all the themes that we've touched on visualised in what is a pretty amazing collection and keep your eyes peeled for more content from us. 

Change in segment  

*Page Flip* 
 

00:26:42 Guest - Chris  

Great, thank you. So, my name is Chris Fawn. I'm the international advice and guidance team leader, so IAG or international advice and guidance is based in the Alsop building on University Square with the rest of our student services.  

So, it's our responsibility really, just to be the first point of contact for all our international students at the university.  

00:27:09 Host - Chris  

So, you've worked in the international advice and guidance school for quite a while. You've obviously came across and spoke to a lot of international students. What difficulties do you think international students face over the Christmas break?  

00:27:23 Guest – Chris.  

So, I think loneliness and isolation will be an issue for a few of them. You know, if their friends are going home, for example over the break and they're staying here and for any number of reasons, they may choose to stay here, or they may have difficulties in in travelling with travel restrictions.  

So, issues they might not know where to get any support or what support services are available, or it might just be that they're bored, and they don't know what they can get involved with or what they can do during that time.  

00:27:52 Host – Chris.  

Yeah, true, and there's a lot to get involved in around Liverpool. But again, when you kind of come in from outside into a new country, it can be hard to hard to know where to find it? And that's where your department comes in and what your department does so well. Could you tell us about the services that your department provides during the Christmas break?  

00:28:10 Guest – Chris.  

Yeah, of course. So, IAG had a series of presentations across semester one and some of them in person. Some of them are online and we'll be running specifically an in-person session on Wednesday the 30th of November at 2:00 o'clock. And that's in the lecture theatre one, building five or two on campus, and that's called staying in the UK over the winter break. So, the aim of that session is to let any of our international students who are planning to stay here over the break know about what services are available and ideas of things to do.  

For example, what they can get involved with, and it also just gives them an opportunity to meet or their international students who are also planning on staying here.  

00:28:48 Host - Chris  

OK, so say someone was a bit late to the party. Will that one be recorded? And will it be available to look at after the 30th of November?  

00:28:58 Guest – Chris.  

Yeah, so as with all our other presentations that we ran across semester one, we try to record them, and we also try to give an opportunity for them to be streamed live as well where possible so that one will be recorded, and we'll try and put that up on our website afterwards as.  

00:29:14 Host – Chris.  

Well, OK, cool, what's the website?  

00:29:16 Guest – Chris.  

So, it's liverpool.ac.uk/student-services and then if you search for our team you need to click on the visas and immigration link.  

00:29:27 Host – Chris.  

We will provide a link to that on the references page of the on the podcast webpage as well, so it will be easy to find. Is, there any other services that you want to highlight?  

00:29:37 Guest – Chris.  

Yeah, so our team as well as the other teams within student services will be open right up until 5:00 o'clock on Friday The 23rd of November, and then we'll close over the winter break up until Tuesday, the 3rd of January. So, during that time we won't be contactable, but we will let students know in advance via e-mail, but also at the session will be running on the 30th of November what can they do during that time.  

Our other teams within student services, so in particular our counselling service and our mental health advisory service will be putting on drop-in sessions, activity days and general events where they'll be providing refreshments and games such as puzzles for students to get involved with and just meet up with the staff and meet up with other students also.  

We will be telling all students about those near at the time, but they'll be taking place on the 28th, 29th and the 30th of November in that week between Christmas and New Year.  

00:30:38 Host – Chris.  

I think that's such a nice idea, and I think it's great that you guys do that. And on top of all those services, obviously with your experience and the teams experience are there any of words of advice that you have for an international student in Liverpool who are away from their families over the Christmas break?  

00:30:55 Guest – Chris.  

Yeah, of course, Just really to say that they're not alone in that. There's going to be lots of other international students staying in Liverpool, particularly this year when there are travel restrictions.  

So really, just to make plans now for that. Maybe speak to your friends. See which of them are also planning on staying in the UK over that time and just to make some plans.  

Think about things that you might want to do during that time. For example, it will give you a chance to travel to see part of the UK that you've never seen. For example, we'll be talking to you on the 30th from November, about how you could perhaps apply to visit a host family in the UK to get some experience of the British culture and the British way of life.  

And then also it would also give you an opportunity to think about working part time. So, we work alongside our career service, and we run presentations on how the career service can help you get part time work alongside your studies. So, this Wednesday the 9th of November we have an online presentation on teams which we run in jointly with our careers and employability service. Would also see what the Guild is doing. See if they've got any activities, you can get involved with and then finally, you might even use it as an opportunity to travel further afield or go to Europe during the break.  

So, if you are thinking of doing that, then IIT is running a presentation called ‘Schengen Visa’ and safe travel or a workshop on the 23rd of November online on Microsoft Teams as well. So, as we said, in order to find out about these events and if you go to our website student services and then click on visas and immigration and then our presentations and workshops link.  

00:32:38 Host – Chris.  

OK, so lots and lots on offer and lots of opportunities for students. A lot of them sound very exciting and they would to me. Well, they would have been to me when I was a student. So now we've spoke about what you provide. We'll even try and have a little bit of fun. I'm going to try and test your knowledge of Christmas traditions from around the world and no pressure because some of them are a bit barmy, I'm not going to lie.  

‘5 international Christmas traditions that may surprise you’, starring Chris Fawn from the International Advice and Guidance Team. The first one Christmas starting on September the 1st.  

00:33:18 Guest – Chris.   

Christmas starts in September?  

I'm going to say.....I don't know Asian country.  

00:33:27 Host – Chris.  

That's correct.  

00:33:34 Guest – Chris.  

Thailand? 

00:33:35 Host – Chris.  

it's close, it is close. It’s a South-east Asian country. It's the Philippines.  

They call it Ber months, and they may put this extra-long countdown towards Christmas. This one maybe you've heard of, KFC for a Christmas meal?  

00:33:50 Guest – Chris.  

KFC for Christmas meal.  

00:33:53 Host – Chris.  

Yeah, It's a thing.  

00:33:54 Guest – Chris.  

OK, no idea.  

00:33:58 Host – Chris.  

Japan, Japan, so it's been a tradition for almost 40 years and apparently they sell to 3.6 million people in Japan each Christmas. So, it's because of savvy marketing. But it's also yeah, I would never consider having KFC as a Christmas meal.  

00:34:16 Guest – Chris.  

A deluxe meal a day.  

00:34:19 Host – Chris.  

Next one, place a little Gnome outside of your front door?  

00:34:23 Guest – Chris.  

I don't know. It’s got to be a Scandinavian country.  

00:34:29 Host - Chris.  

Close, kind of.  

00:34:33 Guest – Chris.  

Denmark?  

00:34:34 – Host – Chris.  

Finland. You're getting in the right ballpark though.  

00:34:37 Guest – Chris.  

So, I was I was right with Scandinavia, yeah?  

00:34:39 Host – Chris.  

Apparently, every Gnome they put outside is called Nisse. They are a protector that can ward off evil and misfortune, but they can also be agitated because they have short tempers.  

I just want to know how people have been able to agitate these garden gnomes and how? What have they done to feel the wrath of a garden gnome?  

00:34:58 Guest – Chris.  

It does sound a bit bizarre.  

00:34:59 Host – Chris.  

Sounds like a bit of a horror film. What about this one? Decorating boats?  

00:35:05 Guest – Chris.  

Decorating boats, Ok.  

00:35:09 Host – Chris.  

Probably one of the more normal ones out there.  

00:35:10 Guest – Chris.  

Yeah, it probably is. I mean, it could be kind of like Italy with Venice. Or it could be. I don't know, again, Asia.  

00:35:24 Host – Chris.  

It's Greece.  

They had a big wayfaring culture in the past. So, they're basically honouring returning sailors who would come home over for Christmas so they decorate boots on the ports.  

I can give you half marks on two? Yeah, especially with the right continents so we'd say like one out of four so far.  

Next, this figure is kind of the antithesis of Santa, even though he has all the same kind of conventions. He judges children on what's naughty and nice and on good and bad deeds. Do you know who this is?  

00:36:13 Guest – Chris.  

The Grinch?  

00:36:15 Host – Chris.  

I think the Grinch might have been based off him. I think that's where they drew influence, but in Austria they have someone called Krampus and he's like a horned anthropomorphic figure. Is it kind of like runs around on goat hooves?  

That's it.  

Christmas is away at a wonderful time and it's also really good in Liverpool and the international Advice and Guidance from the Student Department so we can make it even better for you. So, I'll put all the links provided by Chris on the web page so you guys can get the best out of your time here. And thanks for joining us Chris and breaking down what you guys are doing over the winter break.  

00:36:50 Guest – Chris.  

Thank you for having me.  

00:36:51 Host – Chris.  

Anytime.  

Change in segment 

*Page Flip* 

00:36:55 Host Chris  

Just quiet.  

Wherever you are right now, tune in and drop out.  

Take the flight to this consciousness vacation and enjoy this meditation (Mwah).  

*Page flip*  

00:37:20 Camille – Guided Meditation.  

Welcome to this guided meditation.  

In the next 5 minutes we are going to practise awareness of the floats.  

Thoughts are part of everyone human experience.  

You don't need to pull them away in order to practise mindfulness.  

Learning to bring your mind back from your thoughts is the practise.  

In you, as in each human being, there is a dimension of consciousness far deeper than you thought.  

It is the very essence of who you are.  

This exercise offers one way to take a step back from the constant mental dialogue happening in your head and to attain a greater state of presence.  

Without pushing thoughts away.  

Or denying their presence.  

Just be aware of the thinking mind while remaining and attached.  

Begin by taking a moment to allow your body to settle into a comfortable position.  

You can sit.  

Or lie down.  

You may close your eyes or keep them slightly open.  

Now focus on your breathing.  

Taking a full breath in and taking a long breath out.  

One breath in.  

One breath out.  

Do that a few more times.  

Until you feel your body, gently soften.  

As you come into a more relaxed state.  

You might still notice the energy of the day lingering in your mind and body.  

The mind may be active.  

The body may feel tired.  

Or tense.  

This is perfectly normal.  

Do not force yourself to calm down.  

Let it happen gradually.  

Now bring your attention to the breath in the body.  

Focus on areas where the breath is felt easily.  

It may be the centre of the chest, the abdomen.  

The shoulders or the nostrils?  

Observe the physical sensations of the body breathing.  

Be aware of the air.  

Slowing in and out of your body.  

As your mind starts to wander.  

Bring your attention back to the breath.  

You may notice yourself planning.  

Or replaying past experiences.  

Whatever you observe the mind doing.  

Let it be.  

If self-judgement arises, notice that and let it go.  

Keep focusing on the breath.  

Visualise a shaken snow globe;  

With all that energy swirling around, as you rest.  

The little snowflakes fall gently to the ground.  

Think of yourself as a snow globe and every snowflake as a thought.  

In this way.  

Watch as each and every snowflake appears.  

It floats in the air for a while and then disappears.  

See if you can watch this passing over the thoughts,  

As it follows its natural trajectory.  

Return to the breath and gently wait until another thoughts arises.  

As tempting as it may be,  

Do not identify with it.  

Do not let it catch your attention.  

Notice it?  

And come back to the breath again.  

Let the thoughts come and go.  

Notice how repetitive and infinite is the movement of thoughts;  

As you consciously bring your awareness to your breath.  

Can you feel the distance between your conscious self and your chatty mind expand?  

You are not the voice in your head.  

You are that space within which thoughts arise and vanish in a constant motion.  

Stick with the Snow globe visualisation for a while.  

Continue with mindfulness of the breath.  

….........................  

When you feel ready;  

Slowly open your eyes.  

Look around the room.  

Wherever you are;  

Stay present.  

In your daily life, cultivate as much as possible the state of consciousness.  

00:44:36 Host – Chris.  

Thank you, Camille and thank you to all our listeners. From everybody at University of Liverpool Libraries, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  

(We wish you a Merry Christmas jingle).