The Informer

Ten weeks ago I gave up smoking after seven years of poisonous rebellion, going cold turkey from a twelve-a-day habit. It hasn’t been as difficult as I had thought: my main concern is that it marks the end of an era. My days, once punctuated by the flicker of the lighter, the desperate inhalation of the early morning ‘first puff’ and scrambling around for enough change to buy a new pack of rolling papers, no longer have any structure. The rituals that once organised my waking hours are over. 

The 2013 St Andrews Media Conference this Tuesday was in many ways a success. The members of the University’s Carnegie Club did very well, first of all, in securing two St Andrews alumni to be panel speakers at the event. Here we share their insights and tips on the future of media, and the best ways to break into the industry.

The chance of finding a non-family match from the National bone Marrow Register ranges from 1 in 450 to 1 in 750,000, depending on how rare the tissue-type of the patient is. So that makes it pretty incredible that a student in our very own little St Andrews bubble was a match for a person in need of a stem cell transplant, having donated earlier this year. Like all true heroes, their identity is hidden (by patient confidentiality rather than a mask and spandex suit).

Last night, the St Andrews Charity Fashion Show began with a bang across Lower College Lawn. As I attempt to piece together the cloudy memories of the night to critically review what is arguably the biggest night in the St Andrews social calendar, the thought of alcohol still makes my stomach cringe.