Denise Van Outen announced as A&L's second celebrity mentor!

We recently announced Denise Van Outen as Alliance & Leicester's second celebrity mentor for A&L's 'Inspired Choice' campaign.

We are really excited to have Denise working with us and she joins Danny Cipriani's quest to inspire young adults.

The master class will be taking place on 25th September so check out the Premier 21 website to find out more info http://www.prem21.co.uk/

We will also be announcing our very exciting third and final celebrity mentor later in the year.

The iTunes Festival

OK, so before I get “blogging”, allow me to introduce myself. My name’s Ashley James, female, aged 22. I’m one of the new additions to the team.

Interests: Boris Johnson (!)
Skills: Having the remarkable ability to refer to Boris in any topic of conversation
Dislikes: Abbreviations, bad manners, P.D.A (public displays of affection)

If I’m honest, I’m a blog virgin - yup that's right, this is my first time! I’m slightly more traditional when it comes to writing, so don’t expect too much of me (or any cyber chat!).

Anyway, let’s get down to business. I thought I’d write about the iTunes Festival I went to at the Roundhouse in Camden last night. I applied a while back because one of my favourite bands, Mumford & Sons (check them out), were due to play. What an amazing bonus that The Temper Trap and the one and only Stephen Fry were added to the evening’s line up! I invited one of my best friends, Amelia, as it was her birthday a few days before – and being a recent graduate, my bank is still suffering (or is it the credit crunch...) so I couldn’t splash out on anything for her.

So, in chronological order ... Stephen Fry! Taking us right back beyond even his years (no offense Sir) to the time of the caveman, Stephen talked us through the history of music. Here’s a great fact (it interested me anyway) – tape cassettes were invented by the Nazis during World War 2! He also, somewhat controversially, defended illegal downloading – if you’re a student and you love music but can’t afford to pay for it, then you cannot be labelled a criminal (according to Mr Fry – I’m staying out of it!). Next, the Temper Trap – what an amazing front man, his voice is incredible. I love the song Sweet Disposition, which I knew before, but I found their other stuff a little heavy, although I definitely can’t knock their passionate performance. And now the main act – Mumford & Sons. They were aaaaah-mazing. The lead singer, Marcus, is a born performer. They all play so many different instruments (all at once) – I really hope they go far.
Something else that really can’t go unmentioned is the couple that were stood in front of us – other than their uncomfortable displays of P.D.A - when the guy went to the loo, the girl was slightly edgy about being parted from him for so long and continued to call him non-stop (he was in her phone as fiancé)... !

All in all an amazing evening – you can’t knock anything that is free. I recommend applying for one of their other evenings.

Anyway, in the words of Bugs Bunny... That’s all folks!
Ash xx

Ellies Blog as a word cloud

About Ellie

Hi, my name's Ellie, i'm 15 and i'm doing work experience at the lounge group this week. i have been begged to write on the blog so here is some information about me.

Things i love:
- my Oyster card
- Lets Go Crazy 16+ events (yes i know i'm not 16 yet but don't all young people like to pretend that they are older? Then as soon as you hit 30 its "No! Go back! pleaaaase go back!")
- Facebook (I actually get withdrawal if i don't log in for 2 days)
- FREEBIES!!!!!!!!!!
- Glamour magazine
- Finding something that i thought i lost
- Listening to a song which i haven't heard in about a year and realising that i still know all the words
- trying to think of last minute no-homework excuses. i try and make them as wild as possible incase the teacher lets me off for having an excuse they haven't heard before. It never works.
- Being immature. noone mentioned an age limit on hide and seek.
- My birthday (which was last monday btw)
- www.urbandictionary.com
- Trying new things that noone else i know has tried
- www.comparethemeerkat.com, genius idea.

Things i hate:
- People who feel the need to stick their armpit in your face in rush hour on the northern line
- Being blamed for something my sister has done
- When a bus driver wont let you on the bus without your oyster card. HELLO? i'm in my school uniform you numpty! I-Am-Not-Over-16!!!
- The feeling that i have forgotten something
- People who nag (i get enough of that from my mother)
- Really Really annoying adverts. like the cilit bang advert, why is he shouting????

I will try and do some more posts if i can,

Ellie
xx

Lounge Trendspotters

One of our 8,000 peer network was recently featured in the August issue of Bliss.

Kids likely to snack while studying

Quarter of UK teens use caffeine when cramming

A study of 500 British kids found that eight out of ten say they snack more and eat more junk food when studying for exams than they do normally. Twenty-five percent said they use energy drinks or caffeinated beverages to get through study time, while 11 percent said they take caffeine pills. Forty-two percent of those surveyed said they skipped meals to have time to study, and nine out of 10 said they often felt tired because of school work. The School Food Trust, which conducted the survey, says eating junk food doesn’t properly power the brain and kids are likely to get out something similar to what they put in.

Job application

This is a job application we received at The Lounge this week. Good or bad? I'm not sure! :

I am a youth looking for some work. [Yeah tell me something new, you're thinking, I know.]

I write pretty fast, no idea how fast. If this helps, I can type without looking at my hands, and sometimes I do it without looking at the screen too. [-_- you're thinking, I know.]

I have a gcse in IT grade A. I can do anything from emails to phone calls. yada yada yada. I'm organised, tidy, sociable [only if need be].

I did some work experience in a Veterninary in Hyde Park. Half the work I did was getting their records straight, numeric order or aplhabetic order. [The big words are an indication that I'm literate and articulate.]

I've lived in the UK all me life, so yeah, I have the right to work in the UK. No criminal record or health problems.

I have from July till August. I can work as little or as much as you need. Day and night. At the office or at home.

NOTE; I AM NOT A TIME WASTER.

Thanks Jennifer

Gianluca Fallone

Gianluca Fallone is a designer/illustrator from Argentina, currently based in London. His work has been used by the likes of MTV, Nike and Cartoon Network and he is only 23! Check out his website for more of his work.

Silent disco the way forward

Over the weekend I experienced a full on fancy dress/silent disco extravaganza. It was brilliant fun & I was extremely impressed by how well silent disco worked in a private party setting. Plus we created the most amazing explosion of colour with the fancy dress!

There are a number of reasons why silent disco works brilliantly:
- keeps the neighbours happy (although the odd whoops that they do hear may seem rather strange)
- surprisingly sociable - if you want to chat you simply take off your head phones & don’t have to shout above the music
- the novelty adds an injection of fun
- very cost effective & easy to use (you just hire the headphones, plug into your own ipod system & you are ready to go

- It works day or night

I would highly recommend this to anyone else planning a party & looking for something a little different

DEADLINE Post-It Stop Motion

Brilliant animated extravaganza - we like this.