E-zine October 2007
LIVE YOUR LIFE NEWSLETTER
Editor's Note - October 2007:
October always feels a bit like a crowbar hitting you between the shoulders. The nights draw in, the temperature drops and Autumn is anything but romantic as you slide down streets littered with wet leaves and try in vain to plug your never ending runny noise. Fortunately the St Christopher’s writing team have been wrapped up indoors, hammering out some great articles to keep you amused while the sleet and snow try to break down the door.This month we’re running with a little Lonely Planet theme as we focus Ethical Travel on their sustainable journeys survey. They also make a guest appearance in our Top 5 Traveller Reads alongside Harper Lee’s classic – To Kill a Mockingbird and the second instalment from Phillip Pullman’s trilogy of Dark Materials.
We take you to Bruges in this month’s Top 10 budget friendly tips but if this beautifully picturesque Belgian city doesn’t appeal as the subject of a literary trip, then we also offer up Berlin in our Travel Book. In this the guys from the Rough Guides take us through the scarred city, tell us where they’d go and the best ways to get there.
Music Mashup has bounced back to its original form with a great gig review and the hot five albums this month, Interview Time reignites our friendship with the Born Free Foundation as we explore their equivalent to our E-zine and as promised, I deliver the Portuguese goods in a special addition to our Write Around the World feature.
UNICEF and a certain humanitarian trek to Peru are the subjects of our Charities section, Beauty Terrorist pays tribute to an inspirationally stunning backpacker called Siobhan and our Hot Hostel Competition gives you the chance to win free accommodation in Newquay and test your knowledge of a Grand Prix at sea. Then just in case it’s still cold outside, we’ve rammed our sinful St Christopher’s Events Guide with Eva’s column from Bruges, the theatrical line up in Greenwich, Hammersmith and Bruges and a great new art project, underway at our flagship hostel on Borough High Street.
If you like that or want to know more about any of our features then write in to us. Me and the team will do our best to satisfy your thirst for answers but for now we’ll see you in November.
- Rob Savage
Top Features
Travel Top 10
Following in the footsteps of our money saving tips in London last month, we took a trip to Bruges and scouted out the best and the brightest attractions on offer. There are movies, free beer and of course – Belgian chocolate.
Beauty Terrorist
This month our fashion flagship charts a course through the handbag of one of our Hammersmith hostellers. These hot tips on the versatility of Vaseline, free Clinique samples and how to go PH neutral are not to be missed.
St Christopher's Podcast
Write around the worldCatch up on the latest gigs, the cutting edge travel writers, the top tips on how to backpack on a shoestring, the top events at our hostels, surf school, nightclubs, theatres and much more.Monthly Features
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Travel Book
In October we take a wordy trip to the home of our great hostel in Germany - Berlin. Rough Guide introduces you to a city that’s been through good and bad, and came out cultural.
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Interview Time
In the spotlight this month we have the Senior Programme Officer from Born Free - Daniel Turner.
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Top 5 Traveller Reads
The best books on the open road brought to you by the top publishers -
Write Around the World
Travel Story – Find out what goes on at the top of Scottish Mountains and what there is to do in York and Lisbon. -
Ethical Travel
Read about what the Lonely Planet discovered when they quizzed you guys about sustainable travel. -
Backpacker Bites
Stay healthy on the road without a gym membership in every port of call. -
Music Mashup
The top five albums for October
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Charity
St Christopher's lend a helping hand to the Maggie's Centres in September. -
Snap For a Nap
Send in your best photos and win two nights at one of our hostel
Credits:
Editor-in-Chief - Robert Savage
Graphic Design and Layout - Eoin Norton
Feature Writers:
Backpacker Bites - James McDonald
Bruges Columnist - Eva Dam
Charities Correspondent - David Haw
Ethical Travel - Jen Page
Music Mashup - Michelle Mangal
Write Around The World - Di Willis.
Thank you to:
Lonely Planet, Daniel Turner, Born Free, The Bruges Tourism Council, The Choco Story, The Chocolate Line, Het Dagelijks Brood, The Diamond Museum, Devos Jan, The Groeninge, Random House, Scholastic, Summersdale, The Rough Guides, UNICEF, Clare Allen, Josephine Rodrigues and the Hammersmith Lyric.
When it comes to sweet backpacking mementoes, photos can only do so much. That’s why you need to grab a St Christopher’s T-Shirt. This way so you can wear your good times, day in and day out. They’re bright and affordable just like the stars of St Christopher’s. You can also crack open your beer bottles, lie on a sun drenched beach and keep your coffee hot, with the help of St Christopher’s Inns. Check out our Online Store for some bargain basement deals.
Remember your time with the St Christopher's crew with some top quality merchandise. Just let us know what you want to buy. submissions@st-christophers.co.uk.
Write around the world: Travel story
Write for a night: An Edinburgh fling around Europe
This month we take a trip to the Scottish highlands with Di Willis who won our monthly travel writing competition. This tale is comical in the Bridget Jones lifestyle that we love for its realism. Beyond that there’s an extra load of travel tips from the E-zine editor as he hits York and Lisbon like a greased snowball plummeting down a vertical slide. We love sharing travel tales so send yours in now.
Try your hand at travel writing, send us your submission and if we publish it you get two free nights in a St. Christopher's hostel. E-mail travelwriters@st-christophers.co.uk
Female Travel : Beauty Terrorist
Cheap is Chic
This month we took a different approach to our beauty regime by digging through the backpack of a Hammersmith hosteller. You can expect the awesome power of Vaseline to be laid bare, an explanation of the free samples from the Clinique counter, why the greasy moisturisers are the best and the science behind PH Neutral soaps.
Tell us your top beauty tips when you hit the open road. Just send them to us at submissions@st-christophers.co.uk.
Travel Charities
Unicef
After his E-zine debut in Backpacker Bites last month, David Haw has decided to turn his attentions to our Charities division. With travel on the brain we dispatched him to the virtual vaults of UNICEF and their new project in Peru. In the true spirit of journalistic integrity he presents both sides of the trip, the ethos behind it and who benefits at the end of the day.
We're here to listen about the charities that matter to you so send us an email submissions@st-christophers.co.uk.
Travel Book Extract
Rough Guides - Berlin
In honour of all things German we’re taking you to Berlin this month with a little help from the Rough Guides. This is the unadulterated introduction to the city with its best bits, its not so nice areas, the places to shop, a fantastically vibrant nightlife and the most efficient way to get to where you’re going. We’ll be exploring the whole package in the November Top 5 Traveller Reads but until then – enjoy!
Recommend your favourite travel books to submissions@st-christophers.co.uk.
Top 5 Travel Reads
Reads on the road
Top 5 Traveller Reads – When we promised you a healthy, sustainable alternative to your Harry Potter addiction – we weren’t lying. This month we deliver with The Subtle Knife – the second offering from Phillip Pullman in his Dark Materials Trilogy. On top of that we have the hottest new releases from Lonely Planet, a timeless classic from Harper Lee and another amazing offering from travel writer – John Malathronas.
We've been getting lots of info about what you are wrapping your eyes around so why not share it with your backpacking fellows? submissions@st-christophers.co.uk.
St Christopher's Top 10
The Top TEN Travel Tips - Saving Money in Bruges
The object of our affections in the October Top 10 is one of our favourite St Christopher’s cities – Bruges. This is a first hand account of the best museums, the tastiest chocolates, the great guides and how to make the most of this flavoured beer haven. We tell you how to get there for less, where the finest diamonds are cut and what you can do to wrap your brain around the complex, cobbled streets of this scenic city.
If you've got a great Top 10 fill us in. The world is full of travellers looking for the next big adventure so give them a helping hand. Send your submissions to submissions@st-christophers.co.uk.
Ethical Travel
Sustainable Travel
The Top TEN Travel Tips - Saving Money IN A little while back the Press Release detailing the Lonely Planet's Annual Travellers' Pulse Survey was sent out into the wider world where it bumped into a media storm of oohs and aahs. We handed that release over to our trusty Ethical Travel columnist - Jen Page. She broke it down, took it apart and then threw all the ingredients back into the pot again. We then brought it to boiling point so that you guys can find out exactly what runs through the minds of your fellow backpackers when someone mentions sustainable travel.
If you have an ethical topic that you want us to investigate then send it into submissions@st-christophers.co.uk
Music Mashup
Top Five albums for October
DJ Michelle is back on top form with a line up of linear gig reviews and the top five albums sounding out from her jukebox, during the month of October. You lucky readers can look forward to the Kano Gig, Diesel U Music and Uffie and Feadz before Timbaland, Kelis, Kano and The Cure get the Michelle Mangal treatment. This girl has an eclectic ear that you don’t want to mess with.
If you have an ethical topic that you want us to investigate then send it into submissions@st-christophers.co.uk
Snap for a Nap
Open our eyes with your Travel Photos
Send your happiest photographic memories into the crew at St Christopher’s for your chance to win two free nights of accommodation, for you and a friend at any of our hostels. We want to see your history in the making and if your snaps put others to shame, then you’ll get our vote.
Got a health related question, comment or smart remark? We're here to listen, so send us an email. submissions@st-christophers.co.uk.
Backpacker Bites
Keeping Cholestral in Check
James is back with his hearty follow up to last month’s cardio exposé. In Heart of the Matter he explores your family’s medical history, the benefits of getting off your behind, what Cholesterol really does and how to Relax – Don’t Do It – when you want to smoke. Cheesy songs from the eighties aside, you’ll probably get something beneficially healthy out of this.
Got a health related question, comment or smart remark? We're here to listen, so send us an email. submissions@st-christophers.co.uk.
The Interview
Vegemite Tales
If you like Australia, comical tales of what happens to Aussies when they're transplanted to London and a few famous faces from the popular TV show Neighbours, then you're going to love Interview Time in September. We met up with Andrew Robb, Blair McDonough, Jonathan Dutton and Jessica Gerger after the opening night of the Vegemite Tales in Leicester Square. Here's what they had to say.
Got a health related question, comment or smart remark? We're here to listen, so send us an email. submissions@st-christophers.co.uk.
