Freshers' Week

[Stillhomewardbound]

It's Freshers Week in most UK universities. I happened to be down at the the Old Royal Naval College which hosts both the University of Greenwich and Trinity School of Music (which my nephew, Tom attends. Hi Tom!). Anyway, the college was full of bright young faces, animatedly chatting away, each with hefty information packs under their arms ... dynamic, young spirits. New beginnings and all that, but then I captured the same group on a bus waiting to return to an annex campus. Here's the other side of the coin. Last week they lived with mum and dad and slept in their own beds folks were sitting, oh so pretty. Now, they're grown-ups and this is the stage at which they'll find if they might sink or swim, and don't they look just terrified.




Yes, this picture really struck a minor chord with me and catapulted me back to the autumn of 1981 when a I arrived on a lonely wind-swept canvass in the North East of England at the age of 18. Shivers bedeck me still of that first, horrible, confusing term.

Indeed (adopts now standardised Radio 3 Blue Peter tone) ... perhaps you have your own particular memories that you'd like to share with us of your Varsity Days ... just email, tweet, semaphor, tatoo, emulsion print, pebbledash, morse-code, cotton print, tie-dye, charcoal-sketch, lithograph, smoke signal, message-in-a-bottle us.

Alternatively, you can always write to us at .... [Radio 3 Listener: SHUT UPPPPPPPPPP!!!!]

[Nick Armstrong]

the North East of England at the age of 18.

They had universities in the North East? Haha



Had to get one back!

I rather enjoyed my first term. New friends, poncy lapsang souchong tea, Chelsea buns and Brahms 3 and Sibelius 5...

[Beef Oven!]

It's Freshers Week in most UK universities. I happened to be down at the the Old Royal Naval College which hosts both the University of Greenwich and Trinity School of Music (which my nephew, Tom attends. Hi Tom!). Anyway, the college was full of bright young faces, animatedly chatting away, each with hefty information packs under their arms ... dynamic, young spirits. New beginnings and all that, but then I captured the same group on a bus waiting to return to an annex campus. Here's the other side of the coin. Last week they lived with mum and dad and slept in their own beds folks were sitting, oh so pretty. Now, they're grown-ups and this is the stage at which they'll find if they might sink or swim, and don't they look just terrified.




Yes, this picture really struck a minor chord with me and catapulted me back to the autumn of 1981 when a I arrived on a lonely wind-swept canvass in the North East of England at the age of 18. Shivers bedeck me still of that first, horrible, confusing term.

Indeed (adopts now standardised Radio 3 Blue Peter tone) ... perhaps you have your own particular memories that you'd like to share with us of your Varsity Days ... just email, tweet, semaphor, tatoo, emulsion print, pebbledash, morse-code, cotton print, tie-dye, charcoal-sketch, lithograph, smoke signal, message-in-a-bottle us.

Alternatively, you can always write to us at .... [Radio 3 Listener: SHUT UPPPPPPPPPP!!!!]

With the greatest respect to all the sunset photos etc, this is the best photograph so far IMVHO.

[teamsaint]

They had universities in the North East? Haha



Had to get one back!

I rather enjoyed my first term. New friends, poncy lapsang souchong tea, Chelsea buns and Brahms 3 and Sibelius 5...

i think the only photo i have from Uni is one of the students Union Executive committee !! will see if I can dig it out !!
First term.....not like Calibans....XTC, U2, discovering London, Special Brew , and a great last minute equaliser that I scored in a cup tie. !!

[jean]

I have several, but I am not very good at putting my own photos online.

Fortunately, in this case someone has done it for me - but I will let other posters investigate the pictures for themselves:

...In 1964 Rosemarie was a student of Exeter University studying Economics and Sociology. Writing for the college magazine, Rosemarie required a millionaire to interview and the 21 year old took the unusual means of travelling to America, determined to bag an interview with Hugh Hefner. The old rogue obliged and clearly struck a deal; him on record for the college mag for her 41-25-38 frame in his magazine! Rosemarie duly obliged and a star was born...

(Not me, you understand, but a contemporary.)

[Flay]

(Not me, you understand, but a contemporary.)

Hmm, I think I believe you!

After "brief" extended research I found this

That re-defines double entendres!

[Nick Armstrong]

Special Brew

I got that out of my system - in every conceivable way - in the Sixth Form !!!

[Mr Pee]

I ended my first day at Trinity by snogging a rather attractive fellow student, a blonde cellist as it happens, just outside Bond Street Tube station....

Ah, those were the days.......

[Stillhomewardbound]

My arrival in tertiary education was something of disaster. I had a place at Hull University's excellent drama department (a young Anthony Minghella was one of those interviewing), however, I cocked up the old A-Levels and didn't make the grade.

So, I trudged along with other the failures to see one 'Mr.Mudhaffer', who was the Borough's university admissions principal, about resitting my exams, however, he pointed out that the universities were facing all sorts of cuts and it would be better to get a place with the grades I'd got while I could.

That led to a college of higher education on the outskirts of Liverpool. It had been a teacher-training college but had become an affiliate of the University of Lancaster who set the prospectus and awarded the degrees, though for years I never felt I could say I'd been to university. How silly of me. Students now attend a foundation course at the local tech college and they call that going to 'Uni'.

Anyhow, with scarcely any notice, there I was in Liverpool in a Halls of Residence which was eight miles away from the campus (Great! :(( ). To say that it was a confusing time would be huge understatement. All the students on my drama course seemed to be a complete bunch of stars-in-their-eyes dimwits, all going around in their leg-warmers trying to be very thespian and ever striving to outdo each other.

I made it through the first term but when I got back to Liverpool after the Christmas break I realised I wasn't at all happy and I wrote to my parents telling them as much and that I wanted to quit, but no sooner had I done that, than two things occurred.

One, was that I made a very good friend. Not one of my fellow students, but my sociology lecturer (a Part One option I'd taken) . Now, oddly enough he was a forty-year old family man but somehow we seemed to be on the same wavelength. In fact, I had to go to his study to sign some course papers and I saw on his notice board that he'd pinned the latest Posy Simmonds Guardian cartoon. I mentioned that I'd just pinned it up in my rooms myself and we seemed to click at that point. Anyway, he was a great character and became a bit of a surrogate dad, I suppose, and I seemed to be around at his home on a fairly regular basis and became friendly with his children, etc. Indeed, he and his kids (now grown-up) are my friends to this day.

The other thing to happen was discovering girls. No, not like that! I mean, on the satellite Halls of Residence where I lived. They were very kind and far removed from the pretentiousness of the drama crowd and they always seemed to be in and out of each other's rooms sharing coffees and the like. So, falling in with them was like sinking into a rich, warm, fluffy duvet. They also introduced me to the pub up the road and that's where I met boys. No, not like that either! Where we were based was actually a technical college training maritime navigators and engineers for the merchant fleet. Although, they were the same age as us, they'd each gone away to sea at the age of sixteen and by comparison to us they were real grown-ups, but they were also very entertaining and very inclusive. Socially, I never looked back at that point and certainly I rarely hung out with the drama crowd in the Uni Bar much after after that. Ironically, I was perhaps a bit too sophisticated for that lot, but had no problems settling in with simpler group of people.

So, starting college, or uni, or whatever, for this young man was a tough time. Although, I did't know it at the time, it would be a characteristic of my adult life: not quite fitting in!

But, oh how I recognised the apprehension I saw in those faces on that bus yesterday.


CODA:

My poor folks were very worried about my letter home as can be seen in this reply from my mother. Should you be able to decipher her hand-writing you'll see she refers to having been in court - as an interpreter, I hasten to add.

[VodkaDilc]

I ended my first day at Trinity by snogging a rather attractive fellow student, a blonde cellist as it happens, just outside Bond Street Tube station....

Ah, those were the days.......

At least you'd have the more impressive surroundings of Greenwich these days.

I was always scared by the antiquated lift in the main building at Trinity. I'm sure many musicians' fingers must have been caught in those vicious iron gates.

[MrGongGong]

At least you'd have the more impressive surroundings of Greenwich these days.

Hummm not sure about how safe that is
have you never watched Spooks ?
They always seem to meet dodgy Russian spies there just before they are bumped off ............ the soundproofing in the Greenwich building is a joy (as was Mandybill place )

[antongould]

They had universities in the North East? Haha



Had to get one back!

I rather enjoyed my first term. New friends, poncy lapsang souchong tea, Chelsea buns and Brahms 3 and Sibelius 5...

We still have excellent Universities among the pit heaps....Durham, Newcastle and Northumbria to name but many. Why is shb talking about Liverpool or am I missing something.....not having gone to an NE Uni'......

[MrGongGong]

I rather enjoyed my first term. New friends, poncy lapsang souchong tea, Chelsea buns and Brahms 3 and Sibelius 5...

goodness
it was very different at Dartington in the 1980's .............

[Nick Armstrong]

We still have excellent Universities among the pit heaps....Durham, Newcastle and Northumbria to name but many.

Fear not, anton, it was not a serious dig - mere vulgar retaliation for shb expressing mock surprise elsewhere that we had cars in the Midlands by the 1970s...

[teamsaint]

some geog lessons in order, is what AG is suggesting I think !!