Thursday 21 July 2016

Freshers' Guideline to Southampton (BruSton version)

Assalamualaikum and hello readers!

We'd like to dedicate this post to all the freshers out there considering Southampton for university this coming academic year 2016/17.

We are always very excited to meet new faces and welcome you guys into our society!

So here's some information to help you settle in well in Southampton.


Housing

Agents we've tried and recommend:
1. Tenant Direct 

2. Tenant Link 

3. Direct Lettings 

On average, room rent ranges from £300 pcm to £400 pcm.

List of good roads that are in close proximity to the Highfield campus:
  1. Blenheim Gardens
  2. Ripstone Gardens
  3. Granby Grove
  4. Kitchener Road
  5. Sirdar Road
  6. Broadlands Road
  7. Mayfield Road

Shopping Time

Need something? Not sure where to get it?

Grocery
You can find Sainsbury's, International Foods, Iceland and Waitrose in Portswood Road.
You can also go to Sainsbury's Local, Tesco and oriental shops in Burgess Road.
These two roads are walking distance to the Highfield Campus.
They also have other stores and eatery.

In the city centre, there are Asda and Tesco.

In Bevois Valley, you can find Aldi.
This is also walking distance but it's probably an extra 10mins walk.

Of course, there are other grocery stores in many parts of Southampton but these are the common ones.

Halal Meat
This is probably most Bruneian's main concern but don't worry, you can find halal meat in;
  • Sainsbury's (Shazans brand)
  • Asda (Shazans and Brunei Halal)
  • International Foods (butcher section)
For your first few days in Southampton, you can find these common halal eatery that we usually go to:
  • Texas Grill
  • Unikebab
  • Diego's
  • Roosters Piri Piri
  • Pepe's Piri Piri
  • Starfried
  • Coriander
  • Kuti's

Furniture & Fittings
You can find furniture in most department stores but here are the common stores;
  • Ikea
  • Argos
Both of which you can find in the city centre or you can order online for delivery/pick up.

Stationery
You can get your stationery at the university shop.
Or if you want a bigger stationery shop, you can go to Staples in the city centre.

Travelling Tips
Wanderlust? Or just trying to get from Point A to Point B?

We understand that travelling info would be very important when you're out and about, so we've added these info under the FAQ tab of this blog for ease of access, incase this post is no longer the top post.

Within Southampton
  • All U1/U2/U6 buses stop at the university (Highfield Interchange)
    • So incase you got on the wrong bus, you can hop off the bus at the interchange and refigure out your journey.
    • More info: unilinkbus.co.uk
    • Single trip: £2, Day rider: £3.50
  • Incase you need to get a taxi, the fare from the city centre to highfield area is approximately £10
  • Commonly used taxi number;
    • Radio Taxi: 02380 666 666
    • Tk Taxi: 04477 3344 0463
Beyond Southampton
  • If you are travelling by train:
    • Tickets can be purchased from; nationalrail.co.uk, thetrainline.com, megabus.com or at the station itself.
    • Recommended station: Southampton Central (more direct trains, city centre)
    • Alternative station: Southampton Airport Parkway (closer to uni)
    • Tip: get a railcard to get 1/3 off everytime you buy a train ticket. DON'T forget to bring it with you when travelling. £30 a year or £70 for 3 years.
  • If you are travelling by coach:
    • Tickets can be purchased from; nationalexpress.com
    • Coach stops at the Highfield Interchange (University of Southampton) and at the Coach Station (city centre)
Miscellaneous

Once you arrive, DON'T forget your BRP & enrolment appointment!

Bank Account
Procedures to open up a bank account:
1. Make an appointment with the bank you want
  • You will need:
    • Passport and BRP
    • Proof of enrolment (Justify the bank name and address)
    • Proof of your UK address
2. Update your bank details with UPP

Proof of enrolment can be printed from the university website.
SUSSED > My Student Record > Student Services > Proof of Enrolment Letter > Fill the letter > Print

NHS
All Bruneian students are required to register with a GP at NHS.
NHS can be found within the university compound, near the Jubilee Gym.

Gym Pass (Optional)
We have included details about the gym pass because if you are a full time student, you can only get a one year subscription, nothing shorter. So it would be more beneficial to get it at the start of the academic year, so you can fully utilise your gym pass. It is £145 per year.

Gym pass is required to get access to the gym equipment (eg. treadmill, spinning, weights, etc)

BruSton usually organizes regular, if not weekly, sports meet such as badminton, netball, futsal, frisbee, basketball and swimming. To save money from paying entrance fee every time, it is advisable to get a gym pass. Especially if you are considerably active.

We hope these information has been helpful. If you still have unanswered questions or need further assistance, please feel free to contact us.


Monday 6 June 2016

Leavers' Event


Leavers' event
Alhamdulillah, BruSton society has successfully organised the Leavers' Event 
on the 4th June at 156 Honeysuckle Road, Southampton.

The event unfolded as follows: 
Arrival of guests (dress code: dream job), Opening dua', Lunch,
 Games (Guess Who? & Guessing game), Prizes presentation, Group photo.

Class of 2016 Leavers:
Mursidi, Neji, Farhana, Adi, Haziyah, Ahmad, Dzul, Raihan, Ghazi, 
Chong Nam, Daryl, Humaira, Bibi, Rofini, Zaza, Nabilah, Fadzlina, Izzah, 
Yazii, Diyana, Alex, Bani, Shahassanal, Hakeem, Hafiz, Akhmal, Afi, Tinah.
Leavers group photo
Some of the leavers who came to the event
Group photo 📸
Congratulations leavers and all the best!

Sunday 15 May 2016

Solat Sunat Hajat


Alhamdulillah BruSton has successfully held Solat Sunat Hajat for the upcoming examination.
Date: 14th May 2016, Saturday
Time: 8.30pm
The event unfolded as follows:
🔸Azan for Maghrib
🔸Maghrib Prayer in Congregation
🔸Sunat Hajat Prayer in Congregation
🔸Yasin and Tahlil
🔸Refreshments
🔸End of event

📉Doa Menghadapi Peperiksaan📈
 📈دعاء مغهدافي ففريقساءن📉

#BruStonRemind
Also, Baymax reminds to take a good care of your healthKeep up the good work and stay healthy.Baymax wishes all the best on your finals!

Monday 9 May 2016

The 2016/2017 Executive Committee


Sunday 8 May 2016

Appreciation Lunch

Invitation image
The event was held at JRC Global Buffet. It started at about 12.00pm as follows:

🔹Lunch

🔹Speech by Bibi Amadah Rusli, President of BruSton society 15/16.

She was then given a surprise gift at the end of her speech.

🔹Certificate presentations to the 15/16 BruSton Society committee members.

🔹 👗👔Best dressed awards 👞👠
congratulations to....

                           Best Dressed won by Ema
                                      Ema Nor Azman

Best Dressed (Male) won by Amirul
Amirul Husni Marjuni

🔹The event ended with doa' penutup.

Thank you everyone for coming! You made the event more happening and enjoyable.
Group photo outside the reataurant
Group photo outside the restaurant.


Sunday 1 May 2016

Culture Festival Week Highlight

1 Travel Fair

BruSton hosted a booth during Travel Fair as part of the Culture Festival week.

Setting up booth
Setting up our booth

Proomoting Brunei Promoting Brunei
Promoting Brunei

Promoting Brunei to interested visitors

Thank you for visiting us. We hope you are looking forward to visit Brunei Darussalam Flag for Brunei

#TourBruneiAbodeOfPeace




2 International Culture Night

A night full of interesting performances from eight different societies representing their countries' culture. 
Brunei's performers were amazing!


3 Global Village

Brunei showcased their cultures through showcasing slideshows and also through some activities (Traditional games, writing your name in Jawi and trying Brunei's traditional clothing). Other participants involved in this event includes : Nepal, Saudi, Oman, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Capoeira, Lebanon, Filipino and Poland.


Bruston's booth during Global Village
BruSton's booth
Malay Islamic Monarchy Display
Melayu Islam Beraja (MIB) and Jawi display

Jawi is one of the two official scripts for the Malay language. It was once the standard script for Malay but has since been replaced by a Roman script known as 'Rumi'. The coming of Islam into the Malay Archipelago - since the 7th century - has resulted in the emergence of Arabic script in the region.

Jawi, which was based on Arabic Script, has been in use for more than 600 years and is synonymous with the Malay language itself. The use of Jawi is essential to preserve traditions and to strengthen Brunei's unique MIB identity in the world.

Therefore, it is our duty as Bruneians to protect and promote Jawi as our national heritage.

[ c Brunei Times article]


Congkak
We had Congkak and Simban for the visitors to play!

Write your name in Jawi display
Write your name in Jawi, sungguh challenging!


A visitor was playing congkak with BruSton's representative 

People playing congkakPeople playing congkak
Malaysian Vs Bruneian in a fun congkak match!  Congkak was displayed at Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei booths during the event.


Thank you all for visiting our booth. 
The unexpected moment ...


Group photo with our prize

Our Trophy

We won 2nd place at the event. We hope you enjoyed our culture.


Thank you to everyone who visited our booth and voted for our society. We couldn't have done it without your support.

On behalf of BruSton Society, we have been very delighted to be a part of Culture Festival. We are very proud to have showcased and promoted our country and our culture. If any of our interested visitors would like to know more about our country, please feel free to leave us a message on any of our social media profiles :)




Saturday 23 April 2016

Culture Festival


Alhamdulillah BruSton will be taking part in some of the events for the culture festival. The event is hosted by the University of Southampton Students' Union (SUSU).

More information on Culture Festival



Travel Fair

25th April 2016
Time: 6pm-8pm
Venue: The Bridge

International Culture Night

26th April 2016
Time: 7pm-10pm
Venue: Turner Sims
More information about International Culture Night

Global Village

28th April 2016
Time: 11am-5pm
Venue: Concourse
More information about Global Village

Support BruSton! Thank you

Monday 18 April 2016

BRUSTON SUKAN RIA 2016


🏁🏆BRUSTON SUKAN RIA🏆🏁
16th April 2016
No dog zone area, Riverside Park

Getting ready to compete;


(Red) Team Rocket
Team Rocket

Team Saiyan
The Saiyans
Squirtle Squad Photoshoot
Squirtle Squad
Ninja Turtle Photoshoot
Ninja Turtles

Aerobic session led by Ahmad;
Aerobic session photo

Next was race, followed by obstacle relay and kaki tiga.

Race photo

Play frisbee Obstacle 1
Kaki Tiga Photoshoot (Ninja Turtle(Hijau) Vs Rocket(Merah))

🎊🎉CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL TEAM 🎉🎊

Squirtle Squad - No.1
🏆1⃣ Squirtle Squad 🏆
Ninja Turtle - No.2
🏆2⃣ Ninja Turtle
Rocket - No.3

🏆3⃣ Rocket


Saiyan - No.4
🏆4⃣ Saiyans

Group photo
Group Photo - Happy People