Michelle Aduhene got in touch at the beginning of the year to organise a reunion get together for the St. Martin's College classes of 1996 and 1997.
The plan was to meet in Lancaster on the weekend of 1st and 2nd April. The group booked rooms in the William Thomson Hall of residence, or Willy Tom as it is affectionately known to many students. The oldest halls of residence on campus, it was built in 1966. An event was planned for the evening of Saturday 1st but during the day the group requested a campus tour to see how things have changed in the past 20 years.
I met with the group outside the Harold Bridges Library along with student ambassador Megan Oldale who is a second year Education Studies student. Megan then took the group on a tour of the campus, and answered their questions about student life today.
We took in all of the buildings that were on site when they were students 20 years ago, first in the library, then down the long corridor and into the Kay Shuttleworth lecture theatre. Here our guests assumed their usual positions for lectures, pretending to be asleep in the back row! The Old Dining Room and the JCR were next on our tour, where we were treated to many stories of their happy days on campus.
Lastly we visited Waddell Halls where the group had all lived, which back then would have been a modern new addition to the campus. We were lucky enough to be permitted into a spare flat and the group were delighted to see it was the same layout as back in their day.
Michelle later commented 'THANK YOU so much for the tour. We all really enjoyed it. It brought back some special memories'
The group were staying in William Thompson Hall for the bargain price of £25 per person per night. Alumni, and members of the public, can stay on site in our halls of residence (on any of our campuses) when they are not in use by students. With the alumni discounted price, you would be lucky to find a cheaper accommodation alternative.
If you are considering your own reunion then venue hire at any of our campuses is free of charge to alumni groups who book with the Alumni Association. We can help you with all aspects of the reunion event from the catering, decorations, and of course tracking down your fellow classmates. Visit our reunion pages here for further information.
If you would like to come back to campus to pay us a visit then get in touch and we can try to organise a campus tour for you. Most campus buildings are closed at weekends but we will happily open them up for you to have a peek how things have changed. Please give us as much notice as possible when booking tours and these are subject to availability of staff.
Joanne Lusher, Alumni Relations Officer