Welfare Officer

Bay Campus Transport

Fri, 20 Feb 2015 17:31:00 Z

The bay campus travel plan is constantly evolving so although true to the best of my knowledge at the time of writing this is by no means final.

What parking facilities are there at the Bay Campus and surrounding area?

There will be parking for 600 cars at the Bay Campus to include staff parking, disabled spaces, 100 pay and display spaces and parking for visitors to the Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Parking for students will be available at the Swansea City Council recreational ground at Singleton and the Fabian Way ‘park and ride’ where students can connect with a bus to the Bay Campus and Singleton Park Campus.

There is however plans for an additional 200 student spaces available on campus for those in urgent need on a permit basis (subject to St. Modwen approval).

Are there buses to the Bay Campus?

There will be a bus calling at the Bay Campus every 5 minutes at peak times with each route running at a minimum of every 10 minutes during busy periods.

In addition to current bus routes, two new dedicated routes from Hendrefoilan are planned which will be stopping on the Bay Campus itself. The service incorporating Uplands was purely a result of myself and the Student Union campaigning for better provision. Below is a map of routes:

Green Route

The main university route will follow the existing route from the Hendrefoilan Student Village to the Singleton Park Campus. From there it will travel along the sea front, stopping along the way before turning left at the Guildhall, along St. Helens road, right by the Potter’s Wheel past Tesco, back to the seafront and following Fabian Way to the Bay Campus. Frequency estimate: every 10 minutes.

Orange Route

The second route will travel from Hendrefoilan along Gower Road through Sketty and Uplands into the City Centre where it will go to the train station, the new St David's student accommodation and then on to the Bay Campus. Frequency estimate: every 20 minutes.

From city centre to Bay Campus – estimated time of 10 minutes
From Singleton Park Campus to Bay Campus – estimated time of 20 minutes

Greyhound

The greyhound bus which travels connects the University to both Cardiff and Bristol airports will stop at the Bay Campus and Singleton Park Campus.

What will the bus service cost?

There will be a range of options around tickets including e-ticketing options for yearly or termly passes as well as singles, returns and carnets of tickets. I have been working hard to ensure there are student discounted tickets and carnet tickets, so far the outlook is positive. The bus pass prices have been frozen.

Bus Capacity

Buses on the new campus routes will have 43/44 seats and there will be an additional three 70 seat coaches available as a contingency plan and for sports students on Wednesday afternoon. First Cymru shall also be keeping some of their old fleet of buses as a further contingency in case extra capacity is required on the routes.

Night Buses?

As a result of Student Union campaigning it is likely that First Cymru will be trialling a night bus scheme to run till around 2am as a trial on at least Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. It is a use it or lose it style affair to ascertain whether it is viable.

Bus Stops

No finalised plans yet however postcode data is being analysed to ensure the best student coverage.

Taxis?

There were originally no plans for a taxi rank on the Bay Campus however after Student Union campaigning it has been agreed that there is the need for one and work around licensing has begun. The usual Swansea taxi firms you use can still drop you off, the issue is more with ranking as the campus lies in the Neath Port Talbot Council Authority. Don't forget about the Safe Taxi Scheme!

What facilities are there for cycling?

If you want to cycle to the Bay Campus there will be cycle parking adjacent to the academic buildings as well as by the halls of residence. Studentswill be able to use the Bay Cycles loan scheme from both Singleton and the Bay campuses. Improvements are being made to National Cycle Route 4 which links the two Campuses and in particular a dedicated cycle entrance onto the campus. Between the two campuses takes 25-30 minutes and about 15 minutes from the town centre.

I am constantly fighting for the best transport provision for the Bay Campus and we've had some really good wins; here's to more to come! Any questions, please feel free to contact me at welfareofficer@swansea-union.co.uk.

Campaigning, elections and shadowing!

Tue, 20 Jan 2015 14:06:00 Z

Hello,

I've very much enjoyed my time at SUSU as Welfare Officer but like all good things it must come to a close.
So now I'm writing to you to encourage you to go for my job! Being a full time officer is an incredible opportunity to campaign, and change life for your fellow students for the better, you are given the tools to make your dreams a reality (cheesey but true). The job also looks incredible on your CV, how many other students or recent graduates can tell you they've been a director and trustee of a multi-million pound charity!? No two days are ever the same and you really do get out what you put in with many opportunites all within reach.

Campaigning is a key part of the job and one of the most rewarding, to give you an idea of what it can involve I'll briefly tell you the stages of my recently launched Safe Taxi Scheme: although these steps are only ones that I felt relevant to my campaign and there are numerous other ways to run one!

- Research: I always find the best first step is to find out what else is out there that can help you with your goals. Being a manifesto point I felt mandated to implement my scheme without further student consultation however if it is in the timeframe and possible always try to do a degree of this. My main researching time was spent with other SU's across the UK. Contacts and friends I had met networking at events during my time in the role were more than happy to point me in the right direction and give me a framework to start, no need to reinvent the wheel!

- Key Partners: Knowing I had a good framework in place and comfortable it would work for the Union and was in budget I went on to identify who I could work with on the project. This involved making sure all University and Union departments who would be relevant (finance, ISS etc.) were willing to support the scheme and that external partners were on board. Organisations like the police and community liaison groups were very keen so I felt comfortable to move to tendering for a taxi company. The invitation to tender for the service was only delivered to Data Cabs as I know they have a good relationship with the University already and the largest fleet of disabled vehicles in Swansea, had the case have been different I would have felt more comfortable approaching other firms.

- Formalising and contracts: Data Cabs thought the scheme was brilliant and after a few meetings sorting out the details it was then time to start writing out and signing contracts (scary as a 21 year old!) again thanks to my research stage counterparts in other SU's such as Cardiff gave significant support at this stage and myself and the Union's Finance and Commercial Manager managed to draft out a suitable document that provided the best deal for students which was duly signed by myself and the MD of Data Cabs.

- Implementing: The scheme is now ago, Data Cabs had the tasks of setting up accounts and informing staff and I had the tasks of putting in design requests and preparing the community and students for the scheme. Communication is key as an FTO so always ensure you are open, transparent and supportive with not just your students and colleagues but the wider community as you will find this often works out in your favour and at times great wins for students can just fall in your lap for keeping communications open and relations high! Now I am in the final stage of promotion, as this is an emergency scheme I don't want to be offering it as a convenience tool however it is important students are aware so aside from promotion around campus don't be surprised to see me shivvering on wind street with the police and safety teams keeping an eye out for those that are in genuine need of the scheme!

Despite being hard work at times, and frustrating when you can't get things done or your time is taken up by university meetings, there is nothing like the great feeling of seeing students respond well to something that you put your heart and soul in to and knowing you have made a change for the better. From helping a student struggling with exams to securing transport links for the Bay Campus there is truly no job like this!

More information on the Safe Taxi Scheme can be found here http://www.swansea-union.co.uk/support/advice/safety/gethome/ or by emailing me.

Thanks for reading, the job is an exciting one even though my ramblings can make it seem boring! Let me end this blog with an invitation to shadow me for a meeting at Executive Committee on the 26th January at 5pm (please RSVP) and to Student Forum the following day at 6pm. If you ever have any questions about the job please feel free to contact me and make sure you attend the candidate information day 22nd Jan 5pm-7pm in Cafe West.

Happy campaigning,

Joel - Welfare Officer

welfareofficer@swansea-union.co.uk

Ymgyrchu, etholiadau a chysgodi!

Helo,

Rwyf wedi mwynhau gweithio fel Swyddog Lles ar gyfer Undeb y Myfyrwyr ym Mhrifysgol Abertawe, ond fel pob peth da, rhaid iddo ddod i ben.

Felly, nawr rydw i’n ysgrifennu atoch i’ch annog i gynnig am fy swydd i! Mae gweithio fel swyddog llawn amser yn gyfle ardderchog i ymgyrchu, ac i newid a gwella bywydau eich cyd-fyfyrwyr. Cewch yr offer i wneud eich breuddwydion yn realiti (cheesey, ond mae’n wir). Mae’r swydd hefyd yn edrych yn ardderchog ar eich CV, faint o fyfyrwyr neu raddedigion eraill sy’n gallu dweud eu bod nhw gweithio fel cyfarwyddwr ac ymddiriedolwr ar gyfer elusen gwerth miliynau o bunnoedd!? Mae pob diwrnod yn wahanol ac rydych chi’n wirioneddol yn derbyn gymaint ag yr ydych yn rhoi mewn gyda nifer o gyfleoedd, sydd gyd o fewn eich cyrraedd.

Mae ymgyrchu yn rhan allweddol o’r swydd, ac un o’r rhannau mwyaf boddhaus. I roi syniad i chi o beth all y swydd cynnwys, byddaf yn egluro yn fyr y camau ar gyfer fy Nghynllun Tacsi Diogel a lansiwyd yn ddiweddar. Dyma’r camau y teimlais eu bod yn berthnasol i fy nghynllun i ac mae yna nifer o ffyrdd eraill i gynnal un!

-Ymchwil: Rwyf wastad yn teimlo mai’r gam gyntaf orau yw darganfod beth arall sydd ar gael y gallech helpu gyda’ch amcanion. Gan ei fod e’n bwynt maniffesto, teimlais fod rhaid i mi weithredu fy nghynllun heb ymgynghori myfyrwyr yn bellach. Ond os oes amser gennych ac os yw’n bosib, ceisiwch wneud rhyw faint o hyn bob tro. Treuliais ran fwyaf o fy amser ymchwilio gydag Undebau Myfyrwyr eraill ar draws y DU. Roedd cysylltiadau a ffrindiau yr wyf wedi cyfarfod mewn digwyddiadau rhwydweithio yn ystod fy amser fel swyddog yn ddigon bodlon rhoi cymorth i mi a rhoi fframwaith i mi i ddechrau, nid oes angen ail-ddyfeisio’r olwyn!

Partneriaid Allweddol: Gan wybod bod gen i fframwaith da, gan deimlo’n gyfforddus y bydd y cynllun yn mynd i weithio ar gyfer yr Undeb a gan wybod bod gen i gyllideb, es i ymlaen i nodi pwy allaf weithio gydag ar y prosiect. Roedd hyn yn cynnwys sicrhau bod pob adran berthnasol o’r Brifysgol a’r Undeb (cyllid, ISS, ayyb) yn fodlon cefnogi’r cynllun a bod partneriaid allanol yn cytuno. Roedd sefydliadau fel yr heddlu a grwpiau cyswllt cymunedol yn barod iawn felly teimlais yn ddigon cyfforddus i symud ymlaen at dendro am gwmni tacsi. Cafodd y gwahoddiad i dendro ar gyfer y gwasanaeth ei ddanfon i Data Cabs yn unig gan fy mod i’n ymwybodol bod ganddynt berthynas da gyda’r Brifysgol yn barod a bod ganddynt y fflyd fwyaf o gerbydau ar gyfer pobl anabl yn Abertawe. Os oedd y sefyllfa’n wahanol, byddaf wedi teimlo’n fwy cyfforddus yn gofyn i gwmnïau eraill.

-Ffurfioli a chontractau: Roedd Data Cabs yn meddwl bod y cynllun yn syniad ardderchog ac ar ôl rhai cyfarfodydd i drefnu manylion, roedd hi’n amser i ddechrau ysgrifennu a llofnodi contractau (sy’n codi ofn ar rywun 21 oed!). Diolch eto i fy nghymheiriaid cyfnod ymchwil mewn Undebau Myfyrwyr eraill fel Caerdydd a wnaeth cynnig cymorth anferth yn ystod y cam hwn. A llwyddais i, gyda chymorth Rheolwr Cyllid a Marchnata'r Undeb, ddrafftio dogfen berthnasol a ddarparodd y cytundeb gorau ar gyfer myfyrwyr a gafodd ei arwyddo gen i a gan Reolwr Gyfarwyddwr Data Cabs.

-Gweithredu: Mae’r cynllun bellach wedi cael ei gytuno. Cyfrifoldeb Data Cabs oedd sefydlu cyfrifon a rhoi gwybod i staff, a fy nghyfrifoldeb i oedd cynnig ceisiadau cynllunio a pharatoi’r gymuned a myfyrwyr ar gyfer y cynllun. Mae cyfathrebu yn allweddol fel Swyddog Llawn Amser felly sicrhewch eich bod chi’n agored, yn eglur, ac yn gefnogol gyda myfyrwyr a chyd-weithwyr, a gyda’r gymuned ehangach hefyd. Bydd hyn o fudd i chi yn aml, ac ar adegau, gall buddion mawr dod i chi gan eich bod chi wedi cadw cysylltiadau a pherthnasau yn agored! Pellach, rydw yn y camau olaf o’r cytundeb, a gan fod hyn yn gynllun argyfwng, nid ydw i am ei gynnig fel teclyn cyfleus, ond mae’n bwysig bod myfyrwyr yn ymwybodol. Felly ar wahân i hybu o gwmpas campws, peidiwch â synnu wrth fy ngweld i’n oer ar Wind Street gyda’r heddlu yn cadw golwg ar rheiny sydd wirioneddol angen y cynllun!

Er ei fod e’n waith anodd ar adegau, ac yn rhwystredig os nad oes modd gwneud pethau neu os ydy cyfarfodydd yn y brifysgol yn defnyddio’ch holl amser, nid oes unrhyw beth tebyg i weld myfyrwyr yn ymateb yn dda i rywbeth yr ydych wedi rhoi gymaint o waith ynddi, a gwybod eich bod chi wedi gwella rhywbeth. O helpu myfyriwr sy’n cael trafferth gydag arholiadau i sicrhau cysylltiadau trafnidiaeth ar gyfer Campws y Bae, nid oes swydd debyg i’r un hon!

Am ragor o wybodaeth ar y Cynllun Tacsi Diogel, ewch i <http://www.swansea-union.co.uk/support/advice/safety/gethome/> neu danfonwch e-bost i mi.

Diolch am ddarllen hwn, mae’r swydd yn un cyffrous, hyd yn oed os ydw i’n gwneud iddo’n swnio’n ddiflas! Gadewch i mi orffen y blog gyda gwahoddiad i chi gysgodi mi ar gyfer cyfarfod gyda Phwyllgor Gweithredol ar Ionawr 26ain am 5yp (RSVP os gwelwch yn dda) ac i Fforwm Myfyrwyr y diwrnod wedyn am 6yp. Os oes gennych gwestiynau am y swydd, peidiwch ag ofni cysylltu â mi a sicrhau eich bod chi’n mynychu’r diwrnod gwybodaeth ar gyfer ymgeisydd ar 22ail o Ionawr o 5yp-7yp yn Cafe West.

Ymgyrchu Hapus,

Joel - Swyddog Lles

Rent Increases

Wed, 07 Jan 2015 12:46:00 Z

On the 11th December myself and the SU President attended a meeting where proposed rent increases were brought up.

Rents are predicted to go up between £2-6 per week depending on accomodation (3.8% across the board); this is all despite costs predicted to decrease excluding the costs of 3rd party provider Gwalia, who by the way report a £2.5 million surplus from student accomodation they manage in Aberystwyth, Bangor and Swansea.
To be fair it is clear that Residential Services are not making a profit however the gap is smaller than in previous years, to put it simply it seems they have plugged the gap of costs yet still feel the need to increase rents.

Some key points:

Expenditure from 2014/15 to 2015/16 will reduce by £1,446,560.
All of the proposed rent increases are above the current rate of inflation and have been for a number of years.
No real justifications are given for the differentials between halls and rooms, with some being almost five times inflation (5.7% Cefn Bryn).
It is concerning that one of the justifications for increases is in some part health and safety which should be addressed via the maintenance schedule with Gwalia.
Due to the phased closing down of the student village disruption and potential loss of facilities is expected yet residents will be paying more than in previous years.

I will continue to fight these rent increases internally to the best of my ability but your help would be invaluable by addressing any of your concerns with Residential Services directly at accommodation@swansea.ac.uk.

Joel

Stay Safe!

Tue, 14 Oct 2014 15:30:00 +0100

We don't receive many complaints regarding safety in Singleton Park but that is not to say you shouldn't be careful.

When walking or cycling through Singleton Park (especially at night) please be aware of your surroundings and take appropriate crime prevention measures, if possible walk in groups, stick to well lit areas and ensure valuables aren't on display and are spread about your person (bag, jacket, pocket). You can use reasonable force in self defence yet it is usually better to shout loudly and run away. Personal alarms are available from the welfare officer on floor 3 of Union House. Non-emergency reports can be made to the police via the 101 telephone number and of course please dial 999 in an emergency. In the unlikely event that a crime does occur or your suspicions are raised please ensure you report this to the police so as to prevent the act reoccuring.

On a side note please also be aware when socialising on nights out, the same rules apply but please take particular care to guard your drink because unfortunately as is the same nationwide spiking can occur. 'Spikey' devices to ensure bottles can't be spiked are also available from the welfare officer and shall soon be available direct from our bars and venues. A campaign shall soon be launched with more information and resources such as drug detection tests to keep you safe regarding this issue as it is completely unacceptable and will be stamped out. As before if you believe you have been spiked it is important to report the incident to the police or a medical proffessional as soon as possible. Drink spiking is illegal and can carry a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment.

As said before the frequency of such incidents are extremely low but it always pays to take common sense precautions.
Stay safe, be aware but of course have fun.

Joel - your Student Union Welfare Officer.

welfareofficer@swansea-union.co.uk

Alcohol Impact Project - Not as scary as it sounds!

Wed, 10 Sep 2014 15:16:00 +0100

Swansea University alongside the Students' Union are part of the National Union of Students' Alcohol Impact Accreditation Programme.

This basically means we are working to create a social norm of responsible alcohol consumption by students.

We will be championing the use of 'safe space' alcohol free zones at our large events and including more non-alcoholic events in our calendar in general. This alongside a long list of other measures we have committed to work on will we believe help promote health and well being in the student body as well as increasing safety and improving community relations. I can guarantee though that it will do this without detracting from the fun of freshers and university life in general. We're not here to say you can't have a drink we just want to enable you to do it responsibly and make university a more welcoming environment for those who don't drink alcohol.

So it's not that scary really we just have an exciting opportunity to make your university experience as fun and safe as possible! Have a fun and safe freshers fortnight and keep an eye out for my blog on my personal experience of freshers and how to enjoy it to the full.

Joel - SU Welfare Officer :)

Time to Change Wales

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 17:21:00 Z

One of the main aims I set myself when I started this job was that I wanted our Students’ Union to pledge to Time to Change Wales.

Before I get into the long and mushy bit – I would like to just say that the pledge event is tomorrow (19^th February) at 10.30am in JCs (Coffee Side) and it would be lovely to see you there!

Anyway.

Time to Change Wales is the first national campaign to end the stigma and discrimination faced by people with mental health problems. By pledging to Time to Change Wales, the SU are making a public declaration that they want to step up in the fight against mental health stigma and discrimination. Mental health is tricky enough to deal with without the added worry and concern about how people may perceive you. The stigma and discrimination a person may face can be as crippling as the illness itself. I saw a really great cartoon about what would happen if we treated physical illness like we do mental illness – it just shows that we need a little bit of patience and consideration. It’s not exactly nice not feeling 100%.

As part of the pledge, we were required to make an action plan which we would have to work towards to complete over the next coming months. (If you want to see the action plan I would be more than happy to share it with you, but I doubt you’d be too interested in quite a lengthy and wordy spreadsheet.) One of the most exciting things to come out of this is that we’ll be writing a mental health policy which covers the staff and student staff of our organisation. Believe it or not, Students’ Unions can be an incredibly stressful environment to work in, and the incredibly hardworking full-time and part-time staff deserve to have a mental health policy put in place so they know what help they can access through us, as employers. As well as this, our action plan puts mental health campaigns on top priority so campaigns such as Invisible Illnesses Week, led by the wonderfully amazing Tori-Ilana Evans, SUSU Disability Officer, will not be forgotten, and can continue to grow and strengthen year-on-year.

An added excitement factor to our pledge event is that it’s a joint pledge with Swansea University. The Vice-Chancellor will be there with bells on showing that not only do the Students’ Union take mental health seriously, but the university do too. Sian Challenger, the Manager of Wellbeing, the on-campus counselling service, has been completely incredible in making this happen and I hugely appreciate everything that she’s done, as well as Sarah Huws-Davies (Director of Student Services) and Andrea Mateo (Head of Student Support Services).

Our union does some incredible things in respect to mental health, but we can always be better. One in four people suffer from a mental health illness every year, but the problem of stigma and discrimination doesn't lie with them - the problem belongs to the 75% who aren't suffering. It is quite literally, time to change. This pledge is one of the first steps to really stamping out stigma, and I could not be more excited about it.

Necking and Nominating.

Wed, 05 Feb 2014 18:30:00 Z

It’s kind of hard to ignore the Neck and Nominate (or #neknomination) craze that is all over our facebook newsfeeds, and I have to admit I found it vaguely entertaining watching my friends come up with more and more inventive ways to “out-lad” their nominator. But as all things do on social media, things have escalated.

I appreciate I’m just going to sound like your mother and after all you did not come to university to be told what to do by someone like me but I wouldn’t be welfare unless I felt obliged to weigh in on the debate.

Sometimes the videos are mildly funny, but they’re instantly forgettable because they are just one of many. The videos that stand out are the ones that are different – and I don’t mean the ones where you’re wearing outlandish clothes and making a questionable mix of spirits, lager and milk (and usually a raw egg for good measure). The videos that get the most attention are the ones where people are a bit like actually I don’t really want to look like a knob so I’m going to sit here and down a pint of water. Or even better when you partake in the alternative, and altogether more wholesome version #raknomination - where people take part in random acts of kindness. Your karma increases and you don’t throw up. Everyone’s a winner.

I don’t need to go on and on about the dangers of excessive drinking, to be quite frank if you know me you know that I’m not great at handling alcohol – but it’s pretty obvious in the sad deaths of the young Irish guys who passed away in the last week that things are going a little too far. The predictable reply I’m assuming I’d get is “well I wouldn’t be that stupid” – but realistically can you think of any one of your friends who would think it’s an excellent idea to try and outdo their nominator by doing something stupid, risky and unexpected?

Everyone has the liberty to do whatever they want, but please just be aware of the consequences. No one is going to slap you on the back and say congratulations if you end up in the hospital wasting a lot of people’s time and money.

I’d rather see something heart-warming like someone donating a pint of blood on my newsfeed than someone about to be sick after a dirty pint. It’s not pretty.

Student Safety After Dark

Fri, 22 Nov 2013 18:47:00 Z

Hiya! Just a quick reminder to all students to take care when walking after dark. Students are far more vulnerable after dark and a much easier target after hours than during daylight hours. There have been a number of reports in recent weeks which mean extra care is not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination.

We have personal alarms available from our offices on the third floor of Union House which are free and one way to help you feel safer when walking after dark. If you have any concerns please come and speak to any of the officers and they will be more than happy to try and assist you.

Make sure your keys are accessible so you can get into your house quickly without having to faf for ages at the door. As well as this make sure someone knows your travel plan, so if something does go wrong - someone knows to try and contact you or a friend/housemate.

Try not to go out alone, and although it’s tempting to talk on the phone or listen to music if you are alone – don’t – it’s just distracting you and makes it easier for you to be attacked.

Being paranoid is not necessarily a bad thing, it usually means you’re paying attention.

And finally, use your common sense and don’t be stupid. Don’t put yourself in any unnecessary danger and if there is a particularly unsafe road or part of your walk that you know of – always go around and use roads that other walkers and runners are likely to be on.

Basically, just take care. Walking down an unlit, quiet road may take two minutes off your journey, but you really have to ask yourself whether it’s really that worth it (it's not) :)

Below is a photo of a human dressed as a panda carrying a real panda. I'm not distracting from the real subject, it's just a serious subject so here's a panda to cheer you up.

Life Lessons of a Fresher

Fri, 20 Sep 2013 19:33:00 +0100

Three years ago today I moved into room number twelve, floor five, Cefn Bryn as a naïve fresh faced eighteen year old. I’m not here to be your mother, but there are some life lessons I’ve learned the hard way to aid you in your first two weeks of uni.

1. Don’t earn yourself a nickname – Responsible drinking sounds like something your mother would say, but don’t get so drunk that you do something stupid that you never live down. I’ve seen it happen, it’s not fun.

2. Don’t walk home alone – Taxis are cheap enough in Swansea to not risk it! Go home in a group, the post going out talks in your kitchen are half the fun.

3. Do drink lots of water – you will thank yourself in the morning. Aid your post-going-out housemate bonding session with water. It’s for the best, it might save you a headache in the morning.

4. Don’t look for trouble – there’s a zero tolerance policy, don’t test it. Boxing beer goggles won’t help you earn your degree.

5. Safe sex is great sex – just don’t forget it! You can get free condoms from the offices on the third floor in Union House – use them!

6. Everybody loves good neighbours - Next door don’t always appreciate a 3am alarm call and smashed bottles in the street aren’t child friendly.

My main piece of advice though is to have fun and make sure you remember it for the right reasons!