Photo by fridgeuk on flickr.com

Many people may have noticed a lot of yellow bears with one eye and a patch on Friday.

They may have been serving you coffee, or perhaps you have passed them in the hallway on the way to lectures in the form of posters. This is because it was Children in Need day on Friday 14th Nov.

It would have been hard to miss this, as many establishments promoted the event, even if you managed to miss the dozens of television spots for the charity.

St Paul's Gym allowed people to have a go spinning round their "fit poles"  for a £1, and gave people the chance to play the game "scratch cards" - where the aim was to find that yellow bear, Pudsey. They rose over £100 and said there was a good turnout of people.

But the most impressive and unique event was held by the University of Portsmouth Underwater and Diving Club Slightly ahead of schedule, on the 12th November they held a 24 hour game-a-thon in the Pyramids Centre, during which six people were in the water for hourly shifts playing Ludo, Snakes & Ladders, Scrabble and Dominos whilst submerged! The organiser, Liz Clarke, said that "Everyone involved had a brilliant time".

The club even appeared on BBC Radio Solent and BBC1, and can also be found on YouTube. They raised about £1000 and are still counting the proceeds; Rory McKenna, an equipment officer, the won a pair of fins for raising the most sponsorship money individually.

Meanwhile, in SCAFM's Wiltshire Building, receptionist Jennie Hogg sold a variety of homemade Pudsey inspired cakes and biscuits - gingerbread bears, blueberry muffins and Rocky Road cake - baked by herself and staff members Jennie Holloway and Imogen Geoffrey.

They raised around £50 from voluntary donations from passers-by.

Via Lattea, the Cafe next to the Union had a fun day dressing up as Pudsey while serving coffee to students and staff. They held a raffle in which the winner won cakes and other savouries.

Along with staff from The Waterhole in the Union they also went round with a bucket, collecting money from customers.

The Assistant in Via Lattea did encounter a small problem though - where to get a Pudsey bear from!

"It was very difficult; both Woolworths and Argos didn't sell Children in Need bears, the only place was Asda". Despite this, Via Lattea still pulled off the day well, with the staff saying they enjoyed dressing up as Pudsey.

The University's catering outlets all did something for Pudsey, raising £307.87 between them - Via Lattea managed to net the biggest individual haul at £74.40, followed closely by the Anglesea refectory at £67.00.

Rees Halls also hosted an Open Mic night at Langstone. Although only one person performed (Tim from Rees), Karen Murphy (Rees Halls community support officer) sai"The event raised about £200 and about 60 - 70 people attended". A video of his performance is found on YouTube.

It seems Portsmouth Students will always spare a little money and time for charity, no matter how strapped for cash they are.