The Queen!

Everyone's going to be brushing up on their curtseying, bowing, etiquette, formal attire and Queen's English, do you not think? :biggrin:

Reply 4

Kink

Us Digby and Beaumont lot will be eating at Gilbert Murray! Bloody miles away....lol.

Reply 5

Does everyone at Beaumont have to temporarily up sticks and move out upon the Queen's arrival and stay there, then? Because where would everyone go? Sleeping on friend's floors? :p:

Reply 6

Elements

Does everyone at Beaumont have to temporarily up sticks and move out upon the Queen's arrival and stay there, then? Because where would everyone go? Sleeping on friend's floors? :p:

everyone in Beaumont House, yep. we get put in some cushty hotel in town for a night or two. also get a week's rent given back which is nice. house holiday for the weekend - can't complain!

Reply 7

LawYah

15

Kink

Us Digby and Beaumont lot will be eating at Gilbert Murray! Bloody miles away....lol.

gms is closer to digby than beaumont

Reply 8

Usman938

11

she is someones granny, please no one assasinate her

Reply 9

they're replacing the Beaumont House carpet as i type this. and they've re-varnished all the wooden floors and all the wall panels, re-painted all the walls and window frames. it disgusts me how shallow the top dogs in Residential Services are - they only repair the building when the ******* queen comes. although we do get a shiny new house out of it for free.

Reply 10

Tomber

OP

Pocket Calculator

it disgusts me how shallow the top dogs in Residential Services are - they only repair the building when the ******* queen comes

Ahh, so the students are noticing this too. Words fail to describe the incompetance and warped priorities of the new people in charge of the residential services. It's been driving me crazy for weeks now and it never used to be like this, John Foster is the worst for it - they really don't give a damn about the students and it's utterly and totally inexcusable.

Reply 11

Tomber

Ahh, so the students are noticing this too. Words fail to describe the incompetance and warped priorities of the new people in charge of the residential services. It's been driving me crazy for weeks now and it never used to be like this, John Foster is the worst for it - they really don't give a damn about the students and it's utterly and totally inexcusable.

the Beaumont and Digby merger is ridiculous too. they've closed Digby Bar and the dining hall - the Digby lot have to trek up to Beaumont for every single meal, walking past their own perfectly fine dining hall on the way. Ridiculous.

Reply 12

Tomber

OP

Pocket Calculator

the Beaumont and Digby merger is ridiculous too. they've closed Digby Bar and the dining hall - the Digby lot have to trek up to Beaumont for every single meal, walking past their own perfectly fine dining hall on the way. Ridiculous.

Mate, don't get me started.

The new 'halls' are just too big to have the atmosphere that they once had, Digby once had the best atmosphere, everyone knew everyone and it was an awesome little community. John Foster and GMS are just ridiculously sized, there is no sense of community spirit in them at all, John Foster is especially bad. The accomodation service can't see past their cost cutting to appreciate the damage they're doing to what used to be some of the best hall communities in the country.

It's so sad because if they were run properly, and for the students not the conferences, the halls here could be ridiculously amazing, but the people in charge just don't seem to know how to make the most of the amazing potential that they have here. It's also ridiculous that as the university has risen through the league tables, and is now considered a 'better' place to study, the halls have got worse and worse. Of course the new freshers have no idea, and assume it's always been like this, they can't see the degradation so the people in charge can get away with it.

Reply 13

Tomber

Mate, don't get me started.

The new 'halls' are just too big to have the atmosphere that they once had, Digby once had the best atmosphere, everyone knew everyone and it was an awesome little community. John Foster and GMS are just ridiculously sized, there is no sense of community spirit in them at all, John Foster is especially bad. The accommodation service can't see past their cost cutting to appreciate the damage they're doing to what used to be some of the best hall communities in the country.

It's so sad because if they were run properly, and for the students not the conferences, the halls here could be ridiculously amazing, but the people in charge just don't seem to know how to make the most of the amazing potential that they have here. It's also ridiculous that as the university has risen through the league tables, and is now considered a 'better' place to study, the halls have got worse and worse. Of course the new freshers have no idea, and assume it's always been like this, they can't see the degradation so the people in charge can get away with it.

Are you sure that you're not just looking back on those younger years of Uni spent in Halls, through the rose-tinted galsses of nostalgia?

How would you run things properly then if you were in charge? Reduce the size of the Halls and student intake? Come on, let's hear what you would change-fill out what you outlined. :smile:

Reply 14

Elements

Are you sure that you're not just looking back on those younger years of Uni spent in Halls, through the rose-tinted galsses of nostalgia?

nah, it's definitely not nostalgia. to cut costs, they're spreading out services and resources more thinly around the student village. sending Digby to Beaumont for dinner lets them close Digby kitchen, saving cash at the top but ruining things for everyone in Digby. Merging Beaumont and Digby also means that only one JCR operates where two did before, so there's half as much money for organising events and whatnot, leading to a very noticeable reduction in halls-based social life. And those stupid new John Foster blocks, with their insane fire precautions meaning you can't possibly socialise with more than four other people in your house. it's damn annoying.

Reply 15

Pocket Calculator

nah, it's definitely not nostalgia. to cut costs, they're spreading out services and resources more thinly around the student village. sending Digby to Beaumont for dinner lets them close Digby kitchen, saving cash at the top but ruining things for everyone in Digby. Merging Beaumont and Digby also means that only one JCR operates where two did before, so there's half as much money for organising events and whatnot, leading to a very noticeable reduction in halls-based social life. And those stupid new John Foster blocks, with their insane fire precautions meaning you can't possibly socialise with more than four other people in your house. it's damn annoying.

I thought that Digby students had to go to Beaumont for meals last year though and maybe the year before too, so it's not just something new for this year. And I'm so sure that Tomber of someone else further into their degree here on TSR, said that Digby hasn't had a working bar for at least the last 2 years. :s-smilie:

Reply 16

Pocket Calculator

nah, it's definitely not nostalgia. to cut costs, they're spreading out services and resources more thinly around the student village. sending Digby to Beaumont for dinner lets them close Digby kitchen, saving cash at the top but ruining things for everyone in Digby. Merging Beaumont and Digby also means that only one JCR operates where two did before, so there's half as much money for organising events and whatnot, leading to a very noticeable reduction in halls-based social life. And those stupid new John Foster blocks, with their insane fire precautions meaning you can't possibly socialise with more than four other people in your house. it's damn annoying.

Would you rather have articulate fire precautions in place for your OWN safety and you having to step up to try to ensure that you behave more responsibly socially, with large gatherings of people going down to one of the JCR facilities on site or elsewhere, which is also considerate in noise levels to other ppl whom aren't part of that gathering within earshot.

OR

Have a more laissez-faire approach to fire precautions, hazards and general personal safety PLUS therefore risk getting charcoaled alive, just so that the pressure of social responsibility is lessened/less visible and more people can congregate in one place at one time.

Even though the John Foster kitchens are the most spacious kitchens around along with those in Bowder Court, GMS, of course.

Think about it.

University is about increased responsibility as well as learning to become more independent too.

EDIT: On a side note, I do like your geological profile picture. :yes:

Reply 17

trm90

12

Re: Elements, you're right in the fire safety hazard measures definitely increasing safety and security, but trust me, it's just been more of a nuisance than anything - a little OTT almost. Keep in mind that it's restricted to 4-6 people per flat, and more commonly there will be a magnetically locked door in between each flat.

Subsequently a lot of doors have been purposely demagnetised, and, rightfully so, have allowed two flats to socialise and merge with one another more freely, almost becoming flats of 8-12 people.

It's more of a problem in the beginning when you just want to meet lots of people, especially if you're a fresher and all. It's not so much of a problem now; we can walk through some demagnetised doors which lead to more and more access to other flats (given that most of my friends that I meet up with are at the upper floor of another side of my building, The Coppice, and have two magnetised and two locked doors in between us :p:

)

Reply 18

Elements

with large gatherings of people going down to one of the JCR facilities on site or elsewhere, which is also considerate in noise levels to other ppl whom aren't part of that gathering within earshot.with said gatherings always in non-residential buildings for each of the halls, that point is moot.

Have a more laissez-faire approach to fire precautions, hazards and general personal safety PLUS therefore risk getting charcoaled alive, just so that the pressure of social responsibility is lessened/less visible and more people can congregate in one place at one time.

but, when it comes to the crunch, the John Foster blocks have NO fire exits - only one door out of each building. What good are fire-proof doors if you're trapped behind them? and you can't even open the windows far enough to jump out. compared to the Beaumont blocks, none of which have such ludicrously restricting fire doors and all of which have at least three exits - all for less people than you find in any of the John Foster blocks. and Beaumont House, which has about 5 different exits. John Foster was designed awfully if you ask me.

Even though the John Foster kitchens are the most spacious kitchens around along with those in Bowder Court, GMS, of course.

this is true. they're pretty big. (way bigger than the digby kitchens which amount to corridors with an oven halfway up them......) i think Spinneys has the biggest kitchen in halls though.

Think about it.

i do!

EDIT: On a side note, I do like your geological profile picture. :yes:

another geologist, eh? come Easter, you'll probably recognise that spot......

Reply 19

Tomber

OP