Shivering in Fallowfield? Here’s your survival guide for a winter in Manchester

Winter in Manchester is not to be underestimated. Student housing conditions across the UK can be brutal – the heating might not work, the hot water will probably be on the fritz and the fire alarm goes off at least twice a week.  Most of a Fallow student’s winter is spent huddled under a blanket with a box of tissues, praying for some sun like a sick Victorian child.

With January and February still to struggle through, lock in on this your unofficial survival guide for a Fallow winter.

Stock up on Vitamin D tablets

We cannot recommend Vitamin D enough! Waking up late, in the dark, getting the 142 in the cold, sitting in a lecture theatre whilst the sun sets and going out in the dark is not good for the soul – at all. Buy yourself some Vitamin D tablets from Lidl, Sainsbury’s or Tesco and your brain will thank you. If the sun won’t come out in Manchester, might as well fake it until you make it.

Bring a warm puffer

Although leather jackets and raincoats look sick, they won’t save you from a hungover walk to Platt Park bus stop post-256 Tuesday. Bring a puffer! Bonus points if it’s a North Face – you’ll blend in with the other Fallow fashionistas.

Eat well

Jacket potatoes aren’t cutting it anymore. Pot noodles, toast and a meal deal will not keep you warm and healthy. Don’t learn this the hard way after spending most of your first year ill – because it will happen.

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Living in a second year house means having the luxury to cook in a kitchen that is not as overcrowded, a privilege that should definitely be used. Some banging meals to make  include a sticky salmon rice bowl, a nice warm chicken curry and meal prepped chilli.

Scarves, gloves, hats

Once you invest in a cute pair of gloves and a decent beanie, you will feel like a true Fallow fashion icon. Or, get a faux fur earflap hat and you will not leave the house without it. Afflecks sells them for a tenner – go get yours before they’re gone.

Tissues

You don’t want to be that person in lectures, sniffling and coughing. Never underestimate the power of a good pack of tissues. You need them more than you realise.

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