May 7, 2015
Well, unless you’ve been trapped in a Yotel for the last three weeks, (or if like me you’ve been studying like a mad thing for your LLB exams then you are forgiven), you’ll be aware that there’s been a fight. Now this was not just any schoolyard brawl, nor even any other professional fight, it was billed as THE fight of the 21st century and even the media began running out of superlatives. The indomitable Emmanuel “Manny” Dapidran Pacquiao (first and only “eight-division world champion”) went glove-to-glove with Floyd Joy Sinclair known to us as the seemingly undefeatable Floyd Mayweather Jr. in what was the richest fight in boxing history.
Mayweather and Pacquiao face each other at the final news conference
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LLB | Tagged: Bachelor of Laws, boxing, Distance Learning, Exams, Inspiration, LLB, mark pummell, shanghai, University of London International Programmes | 
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Posted by markpummell
March 24, 2015
“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
“To talk of many things:
Of shoes-and ships-and sealing-wax-
Of cabbages-and kings-
And why the sea is boiling hot-
And whether pigs have wings.”
The Walrus and the Carpenter – Lewis Carroll
Well for many of us in fact it is far from the time to be discussing cabbages and kings; with exams looming I’m imagining that most of our befuddled minds are wondering just what the heck we are going to talk about and are we able to do it in the required 45 minutes. So rather than add to anyone’s confusion by blogging on the 17 ways you can increase your memory overnight from that of a small invertebrate to Einstein on steroids, or the 743 absolute must-know contract cases, I thought I would pleasantly distract you with a few news stories that in fact do have anthropological, historical and legal significance but err on the lighter side of information provision!!!
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3 Comments | General, LLB | Tagged: Bachelor of Laws, Distance Learning, Exams, King Richard III, LLB, Magna Carta, mark pummell, shanghai, University of London International Programmes | Permalink
Posted by markpummell
February 14, 2015
For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.
Geoffrey Chaucer by Thomas Hoccleve (1412)
When in 1382 Chaucer wrote Parlement of Foules, it was to honour the engagement of King Richard II to Anne of Bohemia; though both only 15 years old at the time, his immortal words were to forge the connection between today’s date (being February 14th) and what in many cultures has become the most important date in the calendar of love!!!
Like most such connections the association is somewhat historically tenuous but nonetheless no less interesting for that fact; let’s consider it in somewhat more detail & see how we might connect it with our International Programmes studies.
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Posted by markpummell
December 19, 2014
“The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men; gang aft agley.” – Robert Burns
Well if you “Remember, Remember” my last piece (& I’ll be delighted if you do) I promised you that we would start to consider aspects of memory; in particular how we remember and why we remember and what, perhaps most importantly what we might do to improve that process as we slowly lumber towards our end of term/year examinations where I am afraid however you choose to look at it (and pretty well whatever subject/s you happen to have chosen) memory plays a fairly substantial role. Read the rest of this entry »
3 Comments | LLB | Tagged: Bachelor of Laws, Distance Learning, LLB, memory, Of Mice and Men, shanghai, University of London International Programmes | Permalink
Posted by markpummell
November 7, 2014
The University of London International Programmes has done great justice to those who want to comfortably stay in their homeland and study. It has given us a great opportunity to be around people we love and get encouraged to handle the pressure with patience. As a UoL student of LLB (Hons.) final year in Bangladesh, I personally am thankful to the one who came up with the idea of making it global. Out of the many pros and cons of the system, here is a list of some which Bangladeshi students of the UoL can relate to:
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3 Comments | LLB | Tagged: Aiman, Bangladesh, Distance Learning, external student, Law, LLB, procrastin, Study, University of London, University of London International Programmes | Permalink
Posted by Aiman Khan
November 5, 2014
Before the end of my next paragraph I am going to give you a fact (possibly even two) that you may or may not have previously known but I promise you one thing; it is a fact that you will never forget and even if I asked you about said fact some five years from now even ten, fifteen years from now it is something you will still recall. “Imagine my law (or English, epidemiology, sociology, theology – please substitute at will) studies could be so easy…” I hear you say. Well perhaps with a little encouragement they can; because for my next three or so posts on our beloved Student Blog I am going to look at how we remember, why we remember and most importantly how we can start to use these two understandings to improve our ability to remember.
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Posted by markpummell
October 3, 2014
“Buckingham Palace”; there are probably no two words that remind us of the nature of the British constitution nor that brought it home to me of exactly where I was and who I was talking to than those, but nonetheless they were the words that greeted my telephone enquiry one early September morning. For 18th September 2014 was to be an highly significant day in more ways than one. To us (as LLB students taking CLRI) & in my case a British citizen (albeit living many miles from home) it marked the day that the British constitution was possibly going to be irrevocably changed, and we are talking “changed” as Scotland faced its independence referendum. But for me it meant something far more important; my parents had been married for 60 years… “pause for effect”… and hence the call to the palace; as after such an “innings” you are entitled to a letter of acknowledgement from Her Majesty; and so on the morning of 18th September 2014 it duly arrived:
“I am so pleased to know that you are celebrating your Diamond Wedding anniversary on 18th September 2014. I send my congratulations and best wishes to you on such a special occasion.”
Elizabeth R
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Posted by markpummell
