Going to University….
Reading posts on the message-board from people about to start university has got me thinking back to September 1999 when I first arrived in Hull. Perhaps I am in a way slightly jealous!
When my parents and I arrived at Cleminson Hall we were ushered into a room where we were met by the warden, Dr. Ghazzali, an amazing man with a long beard who smoked a pipe – he promised me that the best room in the building was mine and I even had a sink of my own (after staying with my friend in Lincoln who had an en-suite this wasn’t such a novelty).
After unpacking I seem to remember tea and cakes with the parents and other students – how sophisticated! I was just eager for my parents to leave so I could do what I wanted. I remember finally saying goodbye and then wondering what I was supposed to do next, so of course I had a fag (these were my pre-Allen Carr days!)
Later in the day I was introduced to the washing machine by my new “friend” Charlotte:
Charlotte: This is a washing machine Mary.
Me: Yes, I am aware of what a washing machine looks like.
This friendship was short-lived and by the next day I had found new friends! My acquaintance with the washing machine was also short-lived. I said I knew what a washing machine looked like, not how to use one!
Stage 1 – Wear all clothes
Stage 2 – Go into Hull and buy a load of new underwear. Wear new underwear with dirty clothes on top.
Stage 3 – Take essential clothes on 400 miles round trip on the train to Essex for my mum to wash.
Stage 4 – Take the plunge and buy fabric softener, thinking that it’s very good value washing liquid.
Stage 5 – Spend 6 months washing clothes using only fabric softener. Clothes are not clean, but they smell nice!
The year is a blur of memories – many good, many not so good.
Ants in the food, the evil managers, the drying tokens, the dinnerladies/cleaners, the phone situation, the bidet, queueing for the bus in the freezing cold, the Greek students, watching Home & Away, clubbing, my friend Pete and I riding our mattresses down the stairs, watching films in Big jon’s room, Karaoke, the dinner queue, Kizmet takeaways…but the highlights were undoubtedly the many happy hours spent in the Railway pub where I first spoke to Al – after 4 months of ignoring him down my corridor!
My advice to new students (from personal experience):
* Enjoy the first year as it goes so quickly.
* Learn how to use a washing machine before you go.
* Don’t take things so seriously. The boyfriend/girlfriend you find in the first week is not likely to be the love of your life.
* Try not to eat too unhealthily – this is difficult if you are living in catered halls.
* Try and think about your future now (easy to say in hindsight), but when it comes to writing your CV and your only hobby for the past 3 years has been drinking, then it can be a problem!
* Stay safe and have fun! 
I never got a chance to thank Dr. Ghazzali for looking after me in the first year, and I will be eternally grateful for that. Rest in peace Ghazz.
