In September of 2005 after 54 years I again trod the halls and grounds of Loughborough College (University) at a gathering of my contemporaries. We met in Hazlerigg Hall, my home for three years and now, sadly, the only example of fine architecture on the new campus.
We met in the dining hall, scene of many a youthful bun fight but now occupied by aging examples of the dignity assumed by balding seventy year olds.
My room had not changed much. The furniture was still of the sturdy oak I remembered but to capture the feel of times long gone my photographs now demanded the removal of phones, fax machines and computer outlets.
The bathroom still looked the same including the window through which randy ex-servicemen would go after "ours" when Widdup had locked the front doors and was patrolling the corridors.
Now devoid of tables the billiard room brought back memories of smokey games often played though the night or until we had lost our veterans' allowance for the week.
The common room where I displayed my "talents" on skit night was not much changed except that today there is a bar at one end. Would that had been there 54 years ago and we would not have had to go out after "ours"
Time mists memories so I was glad to have the opportunity relive the good times of youth as I walk around Hazlerigg.
The stain glass window in the stairwell shows a "saintly tutor" overseeing the various disciplines of the college. Woodwork, weaving, science, basketwork, pottery, automecahnics, forge work and sports, perhaps displayed as a naked man with a boot on his head. Sounds good to me, a handicraft man.
Marilyn Johnson, Alumni Officer, was out of the country but kindly arranged for me to see some of the old furniture built by students during and before my time and now in Rutland Hall. Tradition demanded solid oak built fit for its purpose and bearing the engraved names of its maker. Alas, my chair was not there having mysteriously "disappeared", perhaps during the transition from college to university.
The tambour front was tackled only by a select few because of the skill required in its making.
This cupboard with its classy inlay shows a design flaw copied by me in the wardrobe which I made in my final year. The hand-made brass hinges demanded that the door must be fully open before the drawer can be pulled.
My next visit was to the Victory Hall scene of my many triumphs in the office of Entertainment Secretary 1949-50.
A walk back to Hazlerigg Hall across the sports field scene of many trysts after the Saturday dances ended my visit made possible by organizer Tony (seen here on my right)
I was flattered to find my web site pictures displayed in the entrance to Hazlerigg hall and amused to hear giggling from some ladies who recognized the references to the shenanigans after the Saturday dances.