Kyoto!

Charl, Merv, Peng and David arrived in Kyoto over the weekend before heading off to the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) in Tsukuba. On Sunday they had a chance to walk around some of Koyoto’s exquisite temples and very interesting shopping areas, and enjoy some fantastic Japanese food! Certainly worth another visit to this historical city!

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Day of the Dead in Bristol

Día de Muertos or Day of the Dead is one of the biggest and most spectacular celebrations in Mexico.  During the two first days of November millions of Mexican families adorn streets and houses with colourful ofrendas or offerings. The main idea behind an ofrenda is remembering and honouring the memory of your ancestors. Favourite foods or objects of the deceased relatives and colourful decorations -made of paper and cempoaxochitl flower- are the main components that comprise an ofrenda.

The visual elements used in ofrendas have had a huge impact in Mexican artistic expression, such as paintings, literature and photography. This influence has gone beyond Mexico motivating a group of people in Bristol to create an exhibition. Some members of the group had the chance to see this exhibition guided by Angel, a Ph.D. student in our group.

Ben, Angel, Tom and Carl -from left to right- next to a traditional ofrenda

FRG members volunteer at Bisc

A number of members from the FRG helped Charl (volunteer head chef at the Bristol International Student Centre, BISC) to prepare meals for 90 people on Saturday!

Fantastic team work … and really nice hair nets! And at the end of the evening we enjoyed some of our own food, and a well-deserved break with the rest of the Bisc team!

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Chinwe leaving Bristol…

Chinwe, who has just finished her thesis and had her viva, is getting ready to leave Bristol and head back to Nigeria.  We had the chance to celebrate with her, while saying goodbye at the same time … and of course wishing her all the best in settling in and with the expected growth of her family!

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Here some photos from the group office, and from Cosmo … always a good place for lunch!

Bristol Balloon Festival!

The annual Bristol Ballon Fiesta, the biggest of its kind in Europe, was held from the 9th – 12th of August. Several members of the FRG attended and enjoyed the spectacular scenes! Enjoy the photos!

James in sunny California!

James has just arrived in Los Angeles, where he will be spending three weeks in the laboratories of one of the FRG’s collaborators, Prof Ric Kaner.  James, as part of the exchange between the BCFN and the CNSI, will be spending as much time as possible in the labs at UCLA, and might occasionally go out to enjoy the sunshine! Here some photo’s to prove it!

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