I started writing this post on 3rd October 2021. Now it’s 5th January 2022 and I still haven’t published this, or anything else on the university halls of residence in which I am living this year.
That’s a benefit for both of us, though, because now I can tell you more about them – for example, I can tell you about the foxes screaming outside my kitchen window; road salt sprinkled in tonnefuls over the whole area; and the sense of isolation that these halls give you, which sometimes is a blessing, and sometimes is not.
Original post went as follows:
“I’ve been living in uni halls for just over a week now. I moved in about 8pm on Saturday 25th September, and it’s now 6pm on Sunday 3rd October. I’ve spent a full week as an inhabitant of this room. I’ve been to the local Asda Superstore, Poundlands, charity shops, and Morrisons. I’ve joined the municipal library, based in a building called Jubilee Library in inner Brighton, and borrowed three books. I finished reading one of them – The Handmaid’s Tale, graphic novel version. It’s a very good graphic novel.
But what I want to do is share my thoughts about the student halls complex in which I am living. I’ve got pictures. Here are some:”
Since early October 2021 I’ve obviously done plenty of things. I know where to get good pizza with free delivery in Brighton; I know that Seaford is the best town on the East Sussex coast; I’ve been to Hollingdean, Seven Dials, Moulsecoomb, Falmer, Kemptown, and central Brighton numerous times; I’ve been to the swimming pool and grown to really like it; I know the major areas for walking dogs around Brighton; I’ve even been inside the psychology department at the University of Sussex. I’ve also been to Brighton train station on a Saturday evening after a football match, to London and used the Tube, to Eastbourne (which turned out boring), and Shoreham-by-sea (which has nice boats).
What remains unchanged is where I live. Though the area has changed, because I’ve experienced it extremely empty over the winter break; I’ve experienced Varley Halls on Christmas Day and on New Year’s Day, and heard Auld Lang Syne played through some heavy duty music hardware at midight. The trees outside my window have lost their leaves back in November and sadly that has elevated the sounds of the road outside Varley. The little trees on the other side, separating us from the major road connecting East Sussex with London, are also leafless and they also let in more noise, despite our situation on a hill (while the A27 is in a valley). This is definitely the biggest difference when it comes to living here during different seasons, as the weather in Brighton never gets really cold for us living here, and there has not been any snow since I’ve moved in, and only one frosty morning – and that was today (January 5th).
What I really set out to write about is the architecture of Varley Halls, but I’ll write about it in a separate post. I’ve got deadlines and something else to work on, so you’ll just have to accept this excuse as I excuse myself from giving you the proper treatment of this architectural wonder.
kotersey 