4.30am. Wake up. Contemplate, whilst lying in bed, how this is usually the time I’m going to sleep after a night out. Hmmmm.

5.10am. Leave my room and begin the walk to the train station. Would be up for getting a taxi, but there aren’t any around at this time of the morning.

5.20am. One of my friends who does early morning swimming training at Kelsey Kerridge overtakes me on his bicycle whilst I’m walking. He seems surprised that I’m up so early, and concerned when I tell him I’m going to London. Clearly he thinks that week five had got the better of me….

5.45am. Meet fellow raiders at the train station, and hop on the train. Someone has brought face paints and we all end up with massive poppies painted on our faces.

6.30am. Arrive in London. Since I’m not from London, or even the southeast, I have next to no idea of how to buy tube tickets or, even worse, an Oyster card, which apparently ‘everyone’ has. Consequentially I have a slight fight with the ticket dispenser (the instructions, in my opinion, weren’t that clear…) and a fellow raider has to rescue me. Going well so far.

7.15am. We make it to London Bridge, where the raiders pick up collection buckets, permits, t-shirts, and some bright red wigs from the British Legion offices. Then we all go our separate ways to various tube stations around London. Since it’s my first time raiding, I’m paired with someone else who knows what they’re doing and more importantly knows how to get around London.

8am. Arrive at Green Park tube station and begin to sell poppies. The first man who buys one puts a £5 note into my bucket!

8.30am. Morning rush hour is still going strong. Poppies are flying out of my box left, right and centre, and everyone is giving very generously. Most of all, I’m absolutely loving it!

9am. I have to wrap up my raiding now, but I was having so much fun that I almost forgot to stop. It’s probably a good thing that I do, though, since my collection bucket is beginning to get very heavy from all those donations.

9.30am. I drop off my collection bucket at the British Legion headquarters.

I found out a few days later that in the space of an hour I’d managed to collect over £200… not bad at all for an hours work! (It almost makes up for the trauma suffered at the hands of the tube…). Collectively, all those who went to London to raid that day raised over £4,300, which is pretty amazing too.

If you’re keen to raid yourself, why not get a few friends to join you and head over to the RAG offices in the New Museums site? Raids in Cambridge take place nearly every Saturday, for a variety of different charities, and involve face paints, fancy dress, cake and a warm fuzzy feeling. If you want anymore information then you can speak to your RAG college reps or email Oliver, the raids coordinator.

So, with the first event of term over, what else does RAG have in store for you in the next few months?

Anyone who’s seen the many balloons around Cambridge this morning will know that RAG is promoting an event called LOST. This is a brand new challenge that anyone- if they’re up for it- can take part in. You and your teammate will be dropped in an unknown location with only 24 hours to get back to the RAG office in Cambridge…the catch being that you are not allowed to spend any money on transport! To make it even harder, teams have to complete a series of challenges along the way in order to gain points and the possibility of a prize at the finishing line. Starting on the 12^th November 2011, LOST promises to be the perfect remedy to those week-five-blues. For more information look on our website (http://www.cambridgerag.org.uk/events/lost) and come to the LOST Launch Party this Thursday (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=112917235484034) at Vodka Revs! Tickets are £3, with the proceeds going to RAG, and all are very welcome.

Secondly, if anyone is interested in going on Jailbreak then they should make their way to their own Launch Party this Tuesday 18th at Cindies (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=232156940171922). Jailbreak is almost the opposite of LOST- participants have to get as far away from Parkers Piece in Cambridge in just 36 hours without spending any of their own money on transport. Last year the winners got to Buenos Aires, with others making it to Marrakesh, Washington DC and Dubai! RAG made over £40,000 last year from Jailbreak, cementing its place as one of our biggest, best and well-loved challenges. Jailbreak will take place in January 2012, but sign-ups can be done online from Tuesday 18^th October (http://www.cambridgerag.org.uk/events/jailbreak/), or alternatively speak to one of our Jailbreak team; they’ll be in Cindies this Tuesday giving away prizes and making sure you have a great night. Plus, any Jailbreak veterans from last year can get free entry if they wear their Jailbreak t-shirt. Tickets are otherwise £3 for entry before 11pm, and can be bought from your Big Fish Ents college reps- if you’re not sure who this is, take a look at the bottom of the Facebook event page.

If you don’t fancy escaping the Cambridge bubble, but still want to help raise money for RAG, then don’t fear. RAG organizes a weekly raid (i.e. bucket collections) for a specific charity. You don’t need any training and it’s a really fun way to spend a few hours of your Saturday. You’ll need to drop into the RAG offices first, between 9am and 5pm, to pick up a bucket and permit, but after that you simply spend as much time as you like raiding and when you return to the offices to drop off your bucket there may even be an edible thank-you present. Find out more on the website http://www.cambridgerag.org.uk/raids/.

Keep your eyes open for news about any other events this term, especially those that your RAG reps are organizing! In the mean time you should definitely join us this Tuesday 18^th in Cindies for the Jailbreak Launch party and Thursday 20^th in Vodka Revs for the launch of our brand new event LOST…they promise to both be nights to remember and a chance to sign up for some of the greatest RAG events of the year.

• Saturday 1st- Bucket collection (what we call a “raid”!) for Cancer Research UK in Cambridge.
• Tuesday 4th and Wednesday 5th- Come and meet RAG at the Freshers’ Fair, being held at Kelsey Kerridge. It’d be lovely to see lots of new faces, and here you can sign up to our mailing lists so you’ll always be in the loop about our exciting events!
• Saturday 8th – Rubber Duck Race on the Cam, starting at 1pm. This will be taking place between the Queen’s Bridge and Magdelene Bridge, with live commentary being made from a punt following all of our quacking contenders. Ducks can be bought at the small price of £3 each from your college reps and RAG Committee members who will be coming to your Buttery and/or College Bar throughout Freshers’ Week. You can also buy a duck by sending £3 cash or cheque to Kirsty (the RAG President) at the RAG Office. Simply pop your money into an envelope addressed to ‘The RAG Office, Old Examination Hall’ and send it via the UMS. Your college Porters will help you if you aren’t sure what to do!
• Also on Saturday 8th is Pub Golf pub crawl run by CUSU, the GU and The Union Society, with all proceeds from wristbands going to RAG. Wristbands are £4 each and will get you deals in 9 venues, including Ta Bouche, The Maypole and The Vaults. Starting off in the Cambridge Union, well known for its cheap beer and even cheaper cocktails, this promises to be a chance to check out some bars which you may have missed in Freshers’ Week, whilst having a great time. Buy wristbands from your college reps and RAG Committee members when you buy your rubber duck. Or send money/cheque to the RAG Office in the same way described above.

Each college has its own RAG reps, who organise in-college events as well as helping with the bigger, university wide fundraisers. Some college events can be pretty big; Magdelene for example runs a famously good Casino night, and last year Robinson college had a sponsored 24 hourexercise-bike ride! Smaller fundraisers also take place, such as pub quizzes in the college bar, giving you the chance to have a few hours out of your work schedule to meet with friends and raise money for charity at the same time.

RAG is first and foremost a student society, which means that student support from you is invaluable. We all need a break from work at times, so why not raise some cash for charity at the same time by coming to one of our events or getting involved in other ways? You can follow what we’re up to through our website, our Facebook page (facebook.com/cambridge.rag) and Twitter (@cambridgerag). Give us feedback on our events, let us or your college reps know if you’ve got any great ideas, and have fun. It’s definitely worth it.