Commons

claireoby

Has anyone here gone to commons? I won an exhibition (coz i'm from the back of nowhere- Kerry) and part of it is that i'm entitled to commons everyday.I've gone a couple of times but stopped coz it was all a bit too....for want of a better word...posh. The food was great, (it was free), but i didnt like it. i found it annoyin coz all the rest of the people were scholars and i was a first year...and the fact that i only had 11 hours of college and i was finished by 1 everyday didnt help, i just couldnt have been bothered coming in everyday at 6, i lived in Rathgar.i think nxt year i'll go more often (free up some money for drink!) but i just wanted to know what ye're opinion of commons is.

Pet

I won an exhibition (coz i'm from the back of nowhere- Kerry)

I could have won that, but I was stupid and didn't know about it.

*kicks self*

Never gone to commons, it's on my to-do list for next year.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Oculae omnimium in tae sperant dominae.......

Ron DMC

Myth wrote:

it's on my to-do list for next year.

Let's make it a boards outing.

claireoby

Pet wrote:

I could have won that, but I was stupid and didn't know about it.

*kicks self*

Yeah i applied for it last year and completely forgot bout it, thought i hadnt got enough points, but then i got it...my school didnt even tell me about it though, i found out about it on the site by accident one day while choosing my courses for the CAO.(Well my school, being so narrow minded actually tried to persuade me not to to go Trinity.."so far away..why not UCC?YOu should go to UCC, yes UCC..."(in an old nuns voice of course.)).

claireoby

If ya never been before, its funny. I got a shock when i first went..had NO idea what to expect, thank god the guy beside me told me when to stand up and stuff. You can barely hear what the guy says in latin, he says grace so fast. I liked the little glasses of guinness on the table but i hadnt the nerve to take one..i think only dudes can drink em?? or am i wrong? well i never saw a girl drink one.

Ronny Mitchell

Ronny Mitchell wrote:

Let's make it a boards outing.

With blackjack. And hookers.

DublinWriter

I heard the food is pretty dreadful - meat/cabbage/potatos kinda thing.

People in tight dress suits enbibing Guiness and cabbage - never mind the Latin - I hope they leave the windows open.

Kappar

DublinWriter wrote:

I heard the food is pretty dreadful - meat/cabbage/potatos kinda thing.

People in tight dress suits enbibing Guiness and cabbage - never mind the Latin - I hope they leave the windows open.

LOL

I've never gone although it always sounds interesting I might go next year.

punka

The food can be shocking - although sometimes it's quite nice. It is a bit daunting the first few times you go, especially if you don't know anyone, but the scholars are all very friendly.

And girls can drink guinness, I think it's just that the guys are quicker to take the ones on the table..

It's definitely an experience. Everyone should go at least once, imho.

cuckoo

The veggie option at commons isn't too bad.

Christmas commons is fun, was at it once (can't remember why...). The Chapel Choir sing christmas carols in between the courses, and there's crackers.

Sev

I've only been like 6 times in my time in the college, and I havn't yet had any complaint with the food. You get a 3 course meal, soup, main course and desert.

The drawback is that you have to sign up in advance before 3/3.30pm on that day, which is a bit annoying, and you tick yourself off on the way in. But the advantage of having everybody signed in beforehand and a preset menu, is that the service is super quick. As soon as everybody's finished their soup, they just roll out the main course, and the desert just as quick.

There seems to be a pretty good variety (Ive had a very different meal each time Ive went), you can get the menu here, http://www.tcd.ie/Junior_Dean/Scholars/Scholar/displayMenu.php.

The other drawback is the rather rigid traditional formality... walking out after the fellows, grace in latin etc. But Id say you quickly get used to it. The scholars seem to be a fairly decent bunch too, I get the feeling you can just sit down and strike up a conversation with most of them, so Im actually trying to make it a habit of sitting at a different table each time I go.

If you're getting it free, you might as avail of the offer, especially if you're living on campus, I certainly will, its not often you get a 3 course meal on your typical weekday evening.

DrIndy

We had our final year commons there a wee while back and myself and my colleagues managed to get 6 glasses each by getting all the muslim students/girls to fire them down the tables to us. It was funny, there was a crowd of raucuous drunken med students sitting beside all the normal sedate commoner scholars!

Sweet!

Sev

Also, you can get commons during the summer too, which is handy.

punka

Sev wrote:

Also, you can get commons during the summer too, which is handy.

yup but it's at lunchtime instead. i've never been but i think v few people go then.


edit: also you can only sign on online if you're a scholar or a fellow. otherwise you have to buy a ticket from the enquiries office. €15.50 a pop or €13.50 group rate.

claireoby

punka wrote:

yup but it's at lunchtime instead. i've never been but i think v few people go then.

I think i'd nearly prefer if it was at lunchtime all year...frees up the evening abit. You cant leave until the fellows leave so you're kinda stuck there for an hour! Yeah gettin a three course meal is deadly but just a tad bit formal for me! The veggie option always looks better..dont know why...

punka

claireoby wrote:

I think i'd nearly prefer if it was at lunchtime all year...frees up the evening abit. You cant leave until the fellows leave so you're kinda stuck there for an hour! Yeah gettin a three course meal is deadly but just a tad bit formal for me! The veggie option always looks better..dont know why...

I don't think it's that formal - and I think it's quite a nice tradition that we have commons. I know some scholars who almost never go, but personally I find it handy as it cuts down on cooking... also an hour isn't that long really.

Yeah the veggie option is usually a good choice - in general commons meat isn't the best, especially the beef..

claireoby

It is a really nice tradition for the college to have...i suppose if i knew some one there it wouldnt feel as formal. I will definately go more often next year.

Kevin_rc_ie

ooooh. punka's a scholar. that explains everything.

punka

Kevin_rc_ie wrote:

ooooh. punka's a scholar. that explains everything.

i'm not the only one... i count at least 2 others on this board.
reveal yourselves!

dublinguy2004

claireoby wrote:

Has anyone here gone to commons? I won an exhibition (coz i'm from the back of nowhere- Kerry) and part of it is that i'm entitled to commons everyday.I've gone a couple of times but stopped coz it was all a bit too....for want of a better word...posh. The food was great, (it was free), but i didnt like it. i found it annoyin coz all the rest of the people were scholars and i was a first year...and the fact that i only had 11 hours of college and i was finished by 1 everyday didnt help, i just couldnt have been bothered coming in everyday at 6, i lived in Rathgar.i think nxt year i'll go more often (free up some money for drink!) but i just wanted to know what ye're opinion of commons is.

You don't get to go to commons by 'winning' and entrance exhitition you twat. You might be a sizar (i.e. of good charachter but of limited means), but you don't get to go to commons if you get over 550 points or whatever it is these days to get an entrance exhibition. 'Too posh' eh? Maybe it's just the Kerry inferiority complex? Of all the people who'd love to go to Commons every evening and they gave it to you. That's the problem with Trinity these days...

Kevin_rc_ie

did you count educat?

ApeXaviour

Sev too..

bleedin swats

claireoby

dublinguy2004 wrote:

You don't get to go to commons by 'winning' and entrance exhitition you twat. You might be a sizar (i.e. of good charachter but of limited means), but you don't get to go to commons if you get over 550 points or whatever it is these days to get an entrance exhibition. 'Too posh' eh? Maybe it's just the Kerry inferiority complex? Of all the people who'd love to go to Commons every evening and they gave it to you. That's the problem with Trinity these days...

I was awarded the Reid Entrance Exhibition. Yes i didnt win an entrance award, i never said i did.

http://www.tcd.ie/Admissions/admissions_info/reid_ent_exh.html

I am fully aware of what i got!
Well, have you ever been? Whats your opinion? I can think its posh if i want! But serious or formal would probably sum up how i feel more accurately.I just wanted to know if other people felt like this or just me.

Kevin_rc_ie

dublinguy2004 wrote:

You don't get to go to commons by 'winning' and entrance exhitition you twat. You might be a sizar

in fairness, you sir are the twat.

claireoby

Kevin_rc_ie wrote:

in fairness, you sir are the twat.

ApeXaviour

dublinguy2004 wrote:

You don't get to go to commons by 'winning' and entrance exhitition you twat.

That was uncalled for. So she made a minor error, so what? No need for name-calling. Consider this a warning

Edit: Oh yeah and welcome to trin boards (where are my manners), please post in the who's who thread.

punka

Kevin_rc_ie wrote:

did you count educat?

[QUOTE-ApeXaviour]Sev too..[/QUOTE]

those were the 2 i was thinking of.... i knew educat was one and i'd guessed from some of Sev's posts that he was too.

Pet

Claire (I assume that's your name) how do they judge whether you're a native of kerry? I'm _from_ there, but I've been living in Meath for the last 16 years..I wonder if that would be stretching it!?

Kevin_rc_ie

i imagine it requires you to attend a school in kerry.

claireoby

Well on the application form all it asks you is your place of birth. Your secondary school is not required. When you get an normal entrance exhibition, your school is notified. But mine was not, nor was was it said it ever would be. If you press the link i put in above it has all the requirements...but yes the word 'native' is kinda open to individual interputations...i had no problem gettin the reid,born and raised in Kerry, but i do know other people had to fight for it coz they hadnt lived there for years and stuff. and I kno a person applying this year who was born in Cork but her home is Kerry, so i wonder how that will go...i suppose your home address has to be in Kerry to get it.
Yep my name is Claire!

hoolio

Firstly i'm sure you are all in awe at my amazing ability to drag up long dead threads but i was looking for info about the Reid entrance exhibition and this was the only mention of it on the entire site.

Anyways it says on the site here the closing date for entries is "31 May of the year of entry."

Now i'm just wondering does that mean the date was a few months ago or does it mean by next May (may 31st of the academic year).

I'm guessing its too late now,which is a kick in the goolies,i'd never heard of the thing before a few weeks ago when someone told my sister about it.But i thought i'd ask just in case. Anyone know for sure?

hoolio

hoolio wrote:

Firstly i'm sure you are all in awe at my amazing ability to drag up long dead threads but i was looking for info about the Reid entrance exhibition and this was the only mention of it on the entire site.

Anyways it says on the site here the closing date for entries is "31 May of the year of entry."

Now i'm just wondering does that mean the date was a few months ago or does it mean by next May (may 31st of the academic year).

I'm guessing its too late now,which is a kick in the goolies,i'd never heard of the thing before a few weeks ago when someone told my sister about it.But i thought i'd ask just in case. Anyone know for sure?

Yeah, the date was last May! Sorry about that.

hoolio

Yeah I figured. Thanks anyway.

fade

Myth wrote:

With blackjack. And hookers.

ahh, on second thought, forget the blackjack, and the commons!

commons is alright as long as you have some one to talk to, i would love to have free commons everyday, im ean, i can ignore all the ceremony and all that jive, but helloooooo!! free food!

its kinda a case of trial and error, just find out who is cool to sit next to and who is not!

DublinWriter

fade wrote:

i can ignore all the ceremony and all that jive, but helloooooo!! free food!

Cabbage, meat and potatoes every day? Ewww.

I just noticed that you're in Leuven! It's one of my favourite Belgian towns, are you studying there? Check out the Blauer Kat, the HDR (law soc) bar and there's also a cool bar just opposite Herrmann's Hifi.

fade

DublinWriter wrote:

Cabbage, meat and potatoes every day? Ewww.

I just noticed that you're in Leuven! It's one of my favourite Belgian towns, are you studying there? Check out the Blauer Kat, the HDR (law soc) bar and there's also a cool bar just opposite Herrmann's Hifi.

and what ,sir, is wrong with cabbage meat and potatoes? good country food! and you forget, its free!!! if you get sick of it, dont go, its like you will be losing anything, thats the beuty of free things! ayue, i have heard of the law soc bar, and plan on being a reguular, even if im not *technically*allowed!


yea, im doin a project in IMEC untill christmas, as of yet the town is dead but i hve huge hopes for when all the students start back!ayue, i have heard of the law soc bar, and plan on being a reguular, even if im not *technically*allowed!


/me apologise in advance for the coming rant

that dublinguy is a complete assgoblin, the type that if possible, i would glady slap over the internet. im gonna become a millionaire when i invent such a device

DublinWriter

fade wrote:

i have heard of the law soc bar, and plan on being a reguular, even if im not *technically*allowed!

Just say that you're a long, lost friend of Enricho Leenkekt if challenged at the door *winks*

I'm planning to visit some friends in Leuven (don't ever call it 'Louvain' to anyone there!).

"The Professor" is also a good bar, there's loads of great little places in Leuven, but it's all a drunken haze now and I can't remember half the names.

Have you discovered the tiny 4-lane bowling alley yet?

The students normally start arriving mid-September.

I usually did all my socialising in Brussels around the Cuban Quarter of Brussels (around the Borse area). I avoided all the Irish places like the plague, although I did live in Schumann.

air_vent

That owing alley is behind Down Town JAcks isn't it?

Where is this law bar you speak of? How cheap is it??

fade

DublinWriter wrote:

Just say that you're a long, lost friend of Enricho Leenkekt if challenged at the door *winks*

I'm planning to visit some friends in Leuven (don't ever call it 'Louvain' to anyone there!).

"The Professor" is also a good bar, there's loads of great little places in Leuven, but it's all a drunken haze now and I can't remember half the names.

Have you discovered the tiny 4-lane bowling alley yet?

The students normally start arriving mid-September.

I usually did all my socialising in Brussels around the Cuban Quarter of Brussels (around the Borse area). I avoided all the Irish places like the plague, although I did live in Schumann.

Enricho leenkekt, agreed

yea dont worry,i caught on the whole language divide pretty quick,i soon stopped greeting people here with "bonjour", and anyway, i much prefer this part of the country, i just dont like the french really (no offense meant to individuals!)

drunk haze is not the word, i mean, 12% beer people! and i think i know the bowling alley, its down a small alley. is there night trains from brussels?

DublinWriter

air_vent wrote:

That owing alley is behind Down Town JAcks isn't it?

I think that's the one, Leuven only has one bowling alley.

air_vent wrote:

Where is this law bar you speak of? How cheap is it??

Dude, we're talking Belgium here, and not only Belgium but a student bar in Belgium.

It's called the HdR (Haus der Reiss), ask any student. As far as I remember it only opened weekends and late.

air_vent

Sweet the booze in pubs isn't that cheap but the supermarkets you can get legless on 3.36euro and you wont be able to stand great.
Leuven is so dead at the moment its killer can't wait for a bit of activity

DublinWriter

fade wrote:

anyway, i much prefer this part of the country, i just dont like the french really (no offense meant to individuals!)

Most of my Irish friends & collegues that have worked there say the same. Some Flem friends told me that they identify closely with the Irish as they were the picked on minority in Belgium for years (well, they would say that, wouldn't they?)

fade wrote:

is there night trains from brussels?

Nah, but there's a regular bus service via Kortenburg. Last one is at 1am though, and some terminate halfway in Kortenburg, so beware. It's only 30 miles to Brussels from Leuven.