July 17, 2014, by Tara de Cozar

Party party party

If you were anywhere near the science and engineering section of University Park yesterday lunchtime/afternoon you might have heard the sounds of the School of Chemistry summer party. If you didn’t know it before, you know it now. Chemists do not party quietly. They like to throw down.

I popped along for the tug of war competition. The team names were a delight. A combination of chemistry terms, pirate references and plays on the word ‘tug’.

You’ll notice that the team sheet pic doesn’t reveal the winning team. I’m trying to build some suspense.

Before we get to the tugging and the warring… Why were Chemistry having a summer party? Well, it was organised by Steve Howdle, who as well as being a Professor of Chemistry is responsible for the school’s equality and diversity activity. After talking to his colleagues across the school – academic, administrative and technical – he though a party with music and games would be a good way to encourage community spirit and break down the barriers between the different research groups.

It seemed to work.

Steve and his tug of war team – Steve Howdle’s Masters of the Universe – get a special mention because they all had branded tshirts. Nice work guys.

 

I got loads of shots of the tug of war teams battling it out. More than I can put here. I’m going to do a gallery on the Uni of Nottingham Facebook page later (UPDATE – the gallery is here). I’ll just put the highlights here. Pics are featured for random reasons I admit…

I’m enjoying the intense effort, concentration and facial expressions of the entire team below, for example.

In contrast, These guys in the middle are doing some top falling over.

Other teams had ‘costumes’.

Neil the Technician – internet famous because of his key role in the Periodic Table of Videos – and his team represented in Viking helmets.

And I enjoyed the facepaint here… Though I’m a bit worried about the guy at the back being at a disadvantage cos he’s stuck in a tree.

The referees were taking their jobs very seriously though, so I’m sure it was all fine.

So, enough prevaricating . The winners were (drumroll, etc) THE ROUGH TUGGERS! Congratulations to all the tuggers, but especially the rough ones, pictured below.

They look delighted by their victory.

The party also featured live music, a pub quiz and a barbecue. Fun was had by all.

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