College daze

College life started. So, off I went, proudly wearing my hat, a
long, white scarf and an apprehensive grin. The journey to Manchester
brought new excitement, probably because it was the first time I had
gone so far on my own.

I had received all the regulation instructions before leaving; you
know, work hard, stay out of trouble, don't spend too much and always
say your night prayers. I had forgotten most of them by the time I got
to the station but I do remember that there were many nights when I
fell on my knees and said 'thank you God, for that wonderful
experience'

My first year was spent in a Hall of Residence with fifty or so other
lads. Harefield Hall had been the home of a mill owner and proved an
imposing sight as you approached up a long, winding path. The walk up
the drive was tiring enough but I was shattered by the time I reached
my room. It was three storeys up and just one room away from the very
last room. Each room had two occupants and I shared mine with a fellow
from Middlesborough. He was a keen viola player and walked everywhere.
I was a keen mattress inspector and avoided walking, if at all
possible. He belonged to some strange walking club that used to walk
from one side of Britain to the other. I found it a strain to walk from
one side of the room to the other. We had sleeping arrangements that
were almost perfect. He slept at night and I slept for most of the day.
I would often pass him as I was going to bed and he was off for his
lectures.

I know what you're thinking but you must remember, this was my first
taste of freedom and it would have been sinful not to have enjoyed it.
I lost weight, the hat and my virginity, all in the first term! I put a
little of the weight back on but I never found my hat and the other
thing was a lost cause. 'Thank you God for that wonderful
experience!'

I did actually go to lectures on some occasions but, like most
know-it-all students, I found a lot of them fairly boring. I was
extremely lucky because Ron took pages of notes and he was always
willing to let me share them. I have to say, that at times, however, it
was like listening to my mother all over again. Still, a small price to
pay for the complete works of child psychology.

For our Education lectures, we all sat in the theatre and the tutor
would strut across the stage. It was obvious that a few of them were
frustrated actors who tried their best to give dramatic appeal
to&;#8230;every&;#8230;word&;#8230;that&;#8230;was&;#8230;uttered&;#8230;from&;#8230;
their&;#8230;lips. We had a Christian brother who lectured in child
psychology. Jean Piaget must have come close to receiving as many
accolades from this man as the good lord himself. It was almost trance
like proportions as he wittered on about Piaget and his influence on
education. I'm sure the gentleman played a huge part in the educational
development of many children but his name can start to irritate when
mentioned so many times.

We had a Residence meeting about this problem and resolved to bring the
matter to the attention of the lecturer. So, at the next lecture we put
our plan into military precision operation. At the first mention of
Piaget, we all counted to three and, with united voice, uttered the now
famous question 'Piaget? Who the hell's Piaget?' (I have toned the
language down for a family audience). Have you ever seen a lecturer
dumbstruck? It was a moment of magic! He, like a fool asked, 'who said
that?' and once again, we stood as one man to share the guilt and
blame. We had registered our protest and he got the message.

By the way, I forgot to mention that our college was an all boys affair
but there was an all girls equivalent not too far away and the added
bonus was that we got to share certain subjects with the lovely young
ladies. I was absolutely delighted to discover that my drama course
would be a mixed sex experience. I use the term very loosely because
mixed sex was an integral part of after-session improvisation. We
shared some very interesting role-playing activities as well. 'Thank
you God, for that wonderful experience.'