Water balloons, cocktails and croquet: the recipe for the perfect Aber party?

Fferm Penglais didn’t know what was coming


An afternoon of croquette, giant Jenga and the odd water balloon which turned into a ten minute water fight. The sun was shining and all the guests were in their finest summer attire. We were pleasantly surprised to find that Libertine (the local fancy cocktail bar) had joined us from the town with 100 of their best shots including a Lemon and Rose tasting one poured over dry ice to keep them bubbling.

Organiser Pasi Chi told us: “It is common practice that I give guests arrival drinks and our unofficial cocktail connoisseur Jes Rawcliffe prepared low cost Prosecco based arrival drinks with a hint of raspberry flavouring or orange juice creating Bellini’s”.

many happy guests

This truly was the most up-market student party I have ever attended as people sipped Prosecco from picnic friendly champagne flutes wearing Ray-Bans and hanging their suit jackets up on the terrace.

Fferm Penglais was therefore the perfect setting atmosphere for this type of engagement where there were balloons and giant bubbles floating across the lawn. According to the host Pasi, “Fferm Penglais is possibly the best student accommodation in the UK and is yet to reach its full potential in terms of experiences that can be created there”. All attendees more than agree that it was certainly an experience attending.

libertine’s cocktail shots were heavenly – as long as you let the dry ice burn away

The night drew to a close at the accommodation and the host led (in pre-organised taxis) the party down the (much dreaded but thankfully not walked down) Penglais Hill to The Libertine Cocktail Bar situated on Aberystwyth’s North Beach Seafront parade.

The smoky atmosphere and up-market cocktails were greeted by the party with absolute joy as well as the offer of their happy hour discount.

so many bubbles … so many Instagram photos …

Mojitos and French Martini’s were sipped and many thanks given to the host on his incredible evening as everyone split into different bars once departing from The Libertine.

His incredible organisation was down to every last detail being planned and published on the exclusive group invite page on Facebook, everything from sandwich preferability to extensions of the host in the form of helpers with face paint stars visible to identify them to basic lavatory signs were catered for.

everyone can’t wait for the next one!

We asked Pasi how he kept everything running so smoothly and chaos free- “Planning was key. By the time guests arrived we had signs up directing them to where everything was. I had many co-hosts; these were people whose mission it was to mingle with the guests and ensure everyone was okay and having fun. I had pre-organised a sponsorship with The Libertine who came and provided the dry ice shots which everyone seemed to enjoy. Essentially, I had an pre-prepared party agenda and just followed it planning was definitely the key to success.”

A great night and not a bad comment, from everyone who attended – thanks Pasi!