Wow.

Those of you who know me personally (that's... all of you I'd imagine) know that I have the most tight-knit group of friends ever back at home. It's almost like an exclusive club that you can only gain access to if you're a girl, if you enjoy eating, being ridiculously dorky, and have a stupid sense of humour. We call ourselves the Toddsquad and we occasionally go on holiday together, have parties with bouncy castles... etc. etc.

Because of this, I find it almost a necessity to find a tight-knit group of friends at University. It's what I like - it's what I'm used to. Bring in TomSka and Bing.



I am at The Shed with George and my friend Calum who I met at the Lincoln Open Day back in May. Calum has brought along his flatmate TomSka (this could get confusing; let's just call him Tom) and Tom's best buddy Bing. (Say that fast.)

Tom and Bing are the kind of guys you'd expect to find at a weird artsy underground powerpop gig where the lead singer is playing a guitar using spoons. Bing is wearing a polka dot t-shirt (which he later admits is his Mum's) and a waistcoat. Tom is wearing a Catch 22 shirt and a suit jacket. They both have thick framed glasses and seem to fidget a lot. Bing is perching on a picnic bench like a little bird, whilst Tom considers what it would be like to jump into the Brayford, bearing in mind the temperature is pretty much in the minuses and it's about midnight. I am immediately in love with these kooky creatures.

As I ask them questions about themselves it unravels that they love ska music. As in... really love it. However, their favourite artist is Ben Folds. They both enjoy making wacky movies featuring cartoon characters which they have drawn up, and run a website (www.cakebomb.co.uk) along with some other friends which hosts a collection of cartoons, short films, blogs and other oddities.

It's been just over two weeks now and I've seen the pair pretty much every day, along with a couple of other, quieter, people. I am so glad I've met these guys because they are the most entertaining thing about being here so far.