So you’ve pitched up at Uni, ready for another year’s fun and frolics [interspersed with plenty of hard work, or course]. 

Sadly, this year’s student loans fiasco means many students have less of a spring in their step, as cash needed for rent, textbooks, food and socialising has failed to appear. 

Over 3000 students at Kingston alone have been hit by the delays, with Student Finance England admitting many will not receive any money until Christmas.

Here at RiverOnline we sympathise greatly, and have come up with five cheap [or free!] ways to amuse yourself until those precious funds finally materialise. 

1] Pay tribute to Nipper the Dog 

Unbeknownst to most students at KU, Nipper, the terrier immortalised in the painting His Master’s Voice [later adopted as a logo by high street chain HMV] is buried in Kingston. 

Commemorate Nipper by visiting his memorial plaque, just inside the door of Lloyds TSB in the town centre. 

Those with an exhibitionist streak may wish to have a silent disco outside – Nipper would undoubtedly approve. 

If that’s given you an appetite for spotting some human celebrities, keep your eyes peeled for Kingston residents Jo and Ronnie Wood, Boyzone-crooner Ronan Keating and flame-haired 90s pop starlet Cathy Dennis. 

RiverOnline recommends John Lewis, where we recently spotted Noel Gallagher buying crockery.  

2] Take part in your own version of Starlight Express 

Give Oceana a break and hop on the train to the Renaissance Rooms in Vauxhall [£4.40 off-peak return from Kingston or Surbiton], which hosts a student Roller Disco every Thursday [8pm – 12am, £5 with NUS card]. 

The venue served as a location for a Madonna video, whilst Royal groupie Kate Middleton famously ended up flat on her back there last summer. 

Retina-scorching clubwear is de rigeur – Brilliant on Wheatfield Street sells luminescent accessories [from 40p].  Don’t worry too much about boozing – alcohol and roller-skates don’t mix well. 

3] Host a Dinner Party. 

Dinner parties are once again all the rage, due largely to the success of Channel 4’s Come Dine With Me. 

Make it a team effort by cooking one course and asking your pals to bring the other two. 

Autumn’s the perfect time of year for slinging a cheap cut of meat into a casserole dish, along with some root vegetables and slow-cooking until tender [Waitrose’s Essentials Range is cheap and ethical]. 

Agree on a menu beforehand, to avoid anyone turning up with a packet of Angel Delight. 

Play some fun party games and prepare to leave feeling warm and fuzzy at a sober evening spent in the company of good friends. 

4] Take in some London culture 

It may seem obvious, but Kingston is a piffling half hour away from some of the best museums and galleries in the world, most of which are free. 

Buy an off-peak day travelcard for Zones 1-6 [£7.50] and they’re all at your disposal. 

RiverOnline likes the V&A and the Natural History Museum [both close to South Kensington Station – take the Circle Line from Embankment]. 

The Tate Modern is also usually good for a laugh, with the Turbine Hall’s latest installation How It Is, offering visitors the chance to step inside a giant, disorientating black box. 

Wear your Vauxhall clubwear to stop anyone bumping into you.

5] Hunt down some online freebies. 

The recession has seen a gigantic rise in the number of people using online discount directories. 

Once the preserve of anorak-wearing tightwads, it’s now perfectly acceptable to have dinner, a trip to the cinema or see a show courtesy of an online voucher. 

Moneysavingexpert offers student tickets to performances at the Royal Opera House for just £10, whilst a link to the Arts Council Website gives under 26s the chance to register for free theatre tickets, some for performances at Kingston's Rose Theatre . 

If that sounds too highbrow, Applausestore and SRO Audiences offer free tickets to the recording of various TV shows, including The X Factor, The Graham Norton Show and Never Mind the Buzzcocks.