Welcome back to Cambridge, hopefully everyone had a good break. The big change to CUAMS meetings this term is the location for Thursday meetings - we'll be back where we were last year in the Chetwynd Room, King's College (directions and maps on the Main Meetings page), and will be there for the rest of the year. Sunday meetings will be in the same location as before. Our first meetings of the term are on Sunday, 17th January and Thursday, 21st January.

Almost all of the series we're starting this term are new, so if you've been thinking of joining CUAMS, now is a great time to come along to one of our meetings and see if you like us. On Thursdays, we'll be watching One Outs, Natsume's Book of Friends Series 2 and Clannad After Story, whereas on Sunday there's The Tower of Druaga Series 2, When the Seagulls Cry, Saki and the continued adventures of the rabbits in Usavich to look forward to.

As the end of term draws near, we've finished all of this term's series. With a week left over, we've still got more material to show, though. There are two bonus meetings to go - one on Thursday, the other on Sunday. At the Thursday one, we'll be showing the second series of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (trimming down the Endless Eight arc so as to keep it within the normal meeting time, and not risk boring everyone present), whilst on Sunday, we're be carrying on with Kara No Kyoukai, which we started at the squash, and showing the next three films.

As the second series of Haruhi is slighly longer than the amount of anime we normally try to fit into meetings, we're aiming for the meeting to run from 7pm to 10:30pm (note the later finishing time), and will be starting at 7pm sharp rather than the normal 7:05, so try to be there on time if you don't want to risk missing the beginning!

For everyone who enjoyed the squash, our first main meeting of term will take place from 7:00pm to 10:00pm this Thursday the 22nd of October in the Auditorium Lounge, Robinson College. The main entrance to Robinson college is on the corner of Grange Road and Herschel Road. Once up the slope, walk straight across the courtyard and through the glass doors signposted "Auditorium". Turn left immediately, and the Auditorium Lounge will be in front of you. It's fairly easy to find - you should almost be able to see the room from the entrance. Nonetheless, here is a map of the college with the route marked in red.

The series for main meetings this term are Eden Of The East, Natsume's Book Of Friends and Maria Holic. See the 'Main Meetings' page for synopses and other information.

Finally, please note that this is not the regular venue for our main meetings - for the rest of this term, we will be in the Crescent Room, Trinity Hall.

The squash will now be taking place from 7:00pm until 10:05pm tonight in Trinity Hall in the Lecture Theatre, NOT the Crescent Room.

If you've read either the e-mail or the news post below, you'll know that we're currently in Trinity Hall for the squash and the majority of our main meetings. Unfortunately, due to an error on the part of Trinity Hall, we are not in the Crescent Room for the squash as previously stated, but in the Lecture Theatre. To get to the Lecture Theatre, go through the main entrance, and continue forward through the two sets of swinging doors. Ahead of you on the right, there will be a set of steps. Go up these, and go in through the door ahead to the old JCR. The Lecture Theatre is connected to here. We also have an updated map showing the route in red here. The time of the squash hasn't changed, nor has any of the rest of the schedule, and most of the rest of this term's meetings will still be taking place in the Crescent Room. We apologise for any inconvenience this might cause people with regard to finding us tonight.

Welcome, new and old members of CUAMS, to the start of a new year of anime. Our apologies for taking so long to get this news out, we encountered unexpected problems in finding a room.

We can now confirm that our squash will be held on Thursday the 15th of October, from 7:00pm until 10:05pm in the Crescent Room, Trinity Hall. A map of Trinity Hall can be found here, with the route to the Crescent Room marked in red. There will be people in the room setting up from about 6:30pm, and a number of us will stick around for twenty minutes or so after the official end, so feel free to arrive early or stay later.

At the squash, we'll be showing the first Kara No Kyoukai movie and Tekkon Kinkreet. Both are excellent films, and very much worth seeing. There will also be a break in between the two films for an introduction of the committee and to chat to the other anime fans present. The squash itself is free, and if you haven't decided whether you want to join by the end, you can attend a couple of our meetings before deciding to commit. For those that sign up to CUAMS on the night, however, we will be holding a raffle, with a number of anime DVD boxed sets up for grabs. Membership fees are £10 for a year or £4 per term, and are paid direct to our treasurer, Gerard, who will make himself obvious on the night.

The schedule is now finished, and can be viewed here. There might be a few minor changes as we go, but that gives a fairly accurate picture of how we'll be spending the year. You can also see more detailed information about the series we're watching on the meetings pages.

Note that there isn't yet a definite day and place for our main meetings - this will be updated as soon as it's certain where we'll be.

The new year approaches once again, and while the schedule isn't quite finished, we have now been allocated a stall at the Freshers' Fair. The fair is held in Kelsey Kerridge on the 6th and 7th of October, between 10am and 3pm. We'll be on stall D9 as shown on this map - come and visit us there to ask questions and sign up to our mailing list.

And so ends another year of CUAMS. Most of the normal IRC crowd will still be there over the summer, discussing next year's schedule and so on. If you have any opinions on what should be shown, or if you're starting at Cambridge in October and thinking of joining us, feel free to hop onto our channel (instructions here) and have a chat with us. Otherwise, have a good summer, and hope to see everyone next year for some more anime.

The end of the Easter term approaches and, determined as we are not to be beaten on sheer activity by any other Cambridge society, we still have around 8 hours of anime to show. On Thursday 11th June, from 7pm to 10pm, we're watching what we have left of Astro Fighter Sunred. If you haven't been to Sunday meetings and seen the earlier episodes, don't worry about it - it's a really easy show to pick up, and episodic for the most part. On Sunday 14th June, from 4pm to 9pm, we'll be finishing off Kaiji with a marathon of the final arc (note the later end time).

There's also a garden party being planned for May Week. If you're interested, send Martin an e-mail with your availability, and we'll see if we can find a time and date that suits everyone.

Welcome back to Cambridge with what's looking like the busiest Easter Term CUAMS has ever seen. As if the normal meetings weren't enough, we'll be following them up with bonus series that will run all the way through the exam period for whenever you need a break, a Kaiji mini-marathon planned for some time in the Mayweek period, and at least one formal dinner being planned.

A quick note for the start of term: the meeting on Thursday the 30th of April will be held in Keynes Hall, King's, from 7:15pm-10:15pm - note the minor differences from the norm, and bear in mind that we can't cater in Keynes Hall. This is just a one off, though, so service will resume as normal from the following week.

If you've read the e-mail this week, you will currently be under the impression that the meeting in Keynes Hall this week starts at the normal time of 7pm. Unfortunately, this is a mistake on our part - the booking on Keynes Hall actually runs from 7:00pm to 10:00pm and so, taking into account the time required for setting up, it is unlikely that we will be able to start showing anything until 7:15pm, finishing at 10:15pm.

To confirm, tonight's meeting will take place in Keynes Hall from 7:15pm, NOT 7pm.

The AGM this year was another shining example of democracy, with the usual single applicant for each position getting 100% of the votes. The treasurer and webmaster spots changed hands, but all the others remained the same, with Xanth's presidency continuing for what could well be another whole year (although he claims not).

The beginnings of how next year's schedule might look can also now be found on the wiki (the password for which is in the footer of all the e-mails you get from CUAMS). This is, however, very likely to change based on the Spring 09 series.

And apparently we need to use more images in the news items, so enjoy the nice picture from Bamboo Blade on the right.

Those of you who attended last night's meeting will already be aware of the problems we've had with our booking in the Munby Room. Due to an enormous error on the part King's we are in fact not booked into the Munby Room at all as we had been told, but are instead booked into the Chetwynd Room as we had previously asked for. To repeat, Thursday meetings will take place in the Chetwynd Room as usual this term.

As we only discovered that we were booked in the Chetwynd Room after being kicked out of the Munby Room, I'm aware that about half a dozen people went home before the meeting was resumed in the Chetwynd Room. As we did resume and complete the night's schedule there, these people have now fell behind, for which we apologise, but we will be continuing as normal from next week. It is our top priority to get the people who fell behind to catch up before next Thursday, so if you're one of the people who went home early please get in contact with us so that we can sort it out.

As we approach the end of Michaelmas and several of our series are likewise ending, we have a few changes to the norm. First off, this Thursday's meeting will be at the usual time of 7pm, but will instead be in the Erasmus Room, Queens'. Click here for a map with directions to the room, but if you're still not sure you won't get lost, there will be a party waiting at the plodge (just off Silver Street) to take people to the room at 7pm.

The following Thursday, the 4th of December, sees our first mini-marathon of Kaiji, which will be held in Keynes Hall, King's from 7:15pm-10:45pm. Keynes Hall is the room beyond the Chetwynd Room that we usually use for meetings, so you should have no trouble getting there. Chances are high that there will be other people using the Chetwynd Room at the time, so don't be surprised if you see other people and just quietly make your way through. Please note the later ending time, and that it is entirely possible that we will overrun; and that we unfortunately cannot bring food or drink into the hall, so please make sure you've eaten before you arrive.

Also, rather appropriate to the gambling theme of Kaiji, we will be holding a raffle on the night of the mini-marathon. Full details are to follow, but a good selection of anime DVDs will be up for grabs, and anyone who's paid up with us can enter. If you haven't already signed up with us this year, then now's the time to catch up ahead of the raffle.

And so here we are, at the dawn of another year. A warm "hello" and "welcome back" to our new and old members respectively.

The website is now for the most part up to date, full of what little information you need to get by in CUAMS. More importantly, I should reconfirm here that the squash is being held tomorrow, Thursday the 16th of October, from 6:45pm-10:15pm in the Chetwynd Room, King's. We've had this information for some time, but had never been confirmed in the news here. In addition, main meetings will start proper from the week after, on Thursdays from the 23rd of October, from 7pm-10pm in the Chetwynd Room, King's, and Sunday meetings will be held on Sundays from the 26th of October, from 4pm-7pm in R Common Room, Sidney Sussex.

Now we can get on with actually watching anime. Good.

With the new year just around the corner, we've just about hammered out the rest of the schedule. Keep an eye out for changes, but expect most of it to stay the same. Of course, this is no reason for you to stop making your case if you think that something really should be there but isn't, or is but shouldn't be, as this will inevitably be argued right down to the wire either way.

In addition, we can also confirm that we now have a stall at the upcoming freshers' fair at Kelsey Kerridge on the 7th and 8th of October. You'll be able to find us at stall A19. I can't seem to find a map this year, but expect this to be in one of the corners of the main hall.

The movies for our upcoming squash have now effectively been confirmed. In what will be our first meeting of the year, we will be showing The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Sword Of The Stranger, which are easily the two best anime movies of the year (in our opinions, at least). The rest of the schedule is still in discussion; check our wiki or join us on IRC to get the latest news.

That wraps up another year here at CUAMS. We hope you enjoyed what we had to offer this year, and will join us again next year (unless you're graduating and leaving, in which case good luck and farewell). We unsurprisingly won't be holding any events over the summer and will generally be dead until the new academic year rolls by in October. You'll still find a bunch of us on IRC most of the time over the break, so feel free to join us if you want.

We usually ease up on meetings in Easter term as not to get in the way of exams and studying, but this year we have enough content to cheekily run on for weeks after we'd normally end. Sundays are running late due to the respective shows being slightly longer than the status quo. As this would see Thursdays drying out weeks earlier we are instead offering two bonus Thursday meetings directly following the current schedule.

Over the two meetings (to be held on the 15th and 22nd of May), we will be watching the entirety of the 12 episode series Mononoke. As this stands alone from the rest of what we've shown this year you won't miss out on anything you've started if you find yourself too busy with preparing for exams. On the other hand, if you do have the time but don't come to our regular meetings you're more than welcome to make the most of these meetings.

Note that whilst Mononoke is by far the strongest contender for this slot it has not yet been set in stone. If you have an opinion to voice on the matter, please e-mail us or, preferably, check on IRC or the wiki.

In other news, we've been unable to secure the Chetwynd Room for two meetings this term, so please be aware that the meetings on the 1st and 8th of May will be held in the Sidney Sussex R Common Room. For those not already familiar with the room from Sunday meetings, note that directions are listed here.

Our AGM has come and gone, and was as uneventful as always with each vacated seat on the committee being filled with the one person trying to fill it. We hope the effects of the changeover are as unnoticeable as the changeover itself, as we hope to continue running as efficiently as possible.

Xanth claims that this will definitely be his last year as president, but this is now the third year that he's claimed this, so we're just one year closer to an OAP running the society.

As much as smooth running makes for a light load for managing the society, it doesn't leave for much in the way of news for here. There's not much to be said here — with Lent 2008 upon us we'll be starting up again, our first meetings being on Sunday the 20th and Thursday the 24th of January. Take note that Thursdays will now be running from 7pm-10pm, and not 6:30pm-9:30pm as they have done: this is to make things easier for those of who come to meetings from dinner in college.

Also, Lent brings us to our AGM, this year to be held during the meeting on Thursday the 21st of February. Nominations are open, and we're very much looking for new people to take over from at least some of the old vanguard, so all nominations are welcomed and encouraged. If you're unsure of what you'd be in for, please talk to any of us at a meeting, via e-mail or by IRC.

Many apologies for not having the date of the squash sorted in time for the freshers' fair, but we can now confirm that the squash will be held between 7:30pm and 10:30pm on Thursday the 11th in Keynes Hall, King's. Keynes Hall is just through the far end of the Chetwynd Room, so hopefully no one should have too much difficulty finding us on the night. Although we are set to start showing 5cm/s at 7:30pm we will in fact be in the room setting up the projector from 7pm, so feel free to show up early if you want to see us curse at electronics or just fancy a chat.

Alongside our movies we'll be holding a raffle for people to win a range of prizes including a range of anime DVDs. Entry for the squash is free and without obligation, but as incredibly cunning as we are, a greater range of prizes will be available for those who sign up on the night.

Our website may have been dormant for some time, but we've been making preparations for the new year all the same. You'll find that we're still a little rough around the edges, but you'll find that the site is now up to date on at least all of the vitals.

Due to an unfortunate twist of fate, we will not be confirming the date of our squash until shortly after the fair starts tomorrow. For those of you uncertain of when the squash and main meetings will be, fear not, as the website will be updated shortly after these facts come to light, and an e-mail will be sent to the mailing list confirming it. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, but hope that the speed at which this is rectified should minimise any disruption.

And with that bureaucratic nonsense out of the way, on with the anime. The squash this year will feature 5cm/s and Paprika, and the content for main meetings and Sunday meetings, whilst not yet completely confirmed, can be found on their respective pages.

With the Freshers' Fair on the horizon, we can confirm that we have now been allocated a stall. As usual, this is being held in Kelsey Kerridge, and this year will run from 1pm until 7pm on Tuesday the 2nd of October, and from 10am through 4pm on Wednesday the 3rd of October. CUAMS's stall will be D13 in the main hall, where we hope to be putting in a more striking appearance than normal.

We're back for Easter term and, for the first time in what feels like ages, main meetings won't be changing to a new random day this term. This means that our first meeting of term will be tomorrow, Thursday the 26th, in the usual place at the usual time. Although we'll be meeting less this term to avoid complications with exams, everything looks set to run fluidly to the end of the academic year.

The main news of term is that we're finally intending to change the name of the society to the Cambridge University Anime and Manga Society (CUAMS) to represent our activities more accurately. We've already organised most of the necessities for the change, and hope to have officially renamed before the end of term. As it requires a change in the constitution, we require an EGM for this to pass, and so our final main meeting of term (Thursday the 10th of May) will have a quick vote on the matter during a break to deal with this. We're honestly just doing this for the sake of formalities, so if you actually have a problem with the change please contact us ahead of time to voice your concerns.

The name change marks the first of several changes we're hoping to implement between this year and next to improve our services notably. As such, we're particularly interested in your opinions of what you think we do well, and what you think we could do with improving. Committee members are always happy to talk at meetings, but there's still always e-mail if you'd prefer.