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The first thing I noticed about Leeds was the size of the buildings. Actually that’s the second thing I noticed. The first was that it was really fucking cold, and as usual, dressed in a thin suit jacket, I was woefully unprepared for these types of temperatures. (Oh the sacrifices we must make for fashion.)
t'blues
James Taylor2006-08-23 16:02:08
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to his halls of residence (another exercise in architectural excess, this time a modern tower block, but painted lurid primary colours), was followed by an unnecessarily militaristic security protocol and finally a cup of tea in his room, one of those anonymous student/young offenders designs. We chatted for a while and then went off to meet some
of his friends in a remarkably similar tower block.
Those that stick in the mind are: Matt, one of the largest people I’ve ever met, a literal man mountain, though probably with not an ounce of fat on him; complete with lisp he reminded me of a white Frank Bruno, though hopefully without the mental problems; and Robin, skinnier and more of a geezer, but very reminiscent of my friend Leo. They seemed a sound bunch of guys, and the mildly disgusting state of their flat, iron board as coffee table and endlessly reused plates, was a nostalgia trip back to my own time spent in such conditions.
Later we went out. Drinks in a couple of bars, remarkably similar to a few Reading establishments, (fucking Globalization) were followed with a night at the student union. Let’s be honest, Student Unions are generally rubbish. Look back to your greatest memories from university/college. It’s highly likely that very few of them were spent in the union. In Exeter, the Union was a small canteen, literally. The tables were removed, and it was dark, but there was no escaping the fact that you probably ate your lunch their earlier. The length of queues at the bar resulted in ordering several drinks at once and a trip across the dance floor frequently resulted in shoe loss due to the surprisingly adhesive cocktail of sweat, spilt drinks and god knows what else. It was also unnaturally hot. By the third year, our group of friends were reduced to spending nights there as an exercise in irony rather than in anticipation of any genuine enjoyment.
Fortunately the Leeds Union was rather different. Firstly
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