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Memories of Owen’s Park
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/nostalgia/its-very-special-place-end-29348843
I never expected to be featured in the Manchester Evening News and yet here I am. You’ll have to scroll down to the end, though, to find my contribution. There’s even a photograph, albeit creased, that once graced my students’ union card.
The photo of Platt Fields Park, on the other hand, reminds me of a tug of war that once took place during Rag Week. The rope was stretched across part of the pond and the women’s team had sneakily tied their end to some railings. Our victory saw some of the men falling into the freezing water and we had to run for our lives!
My two years ‘in hall’ were a very happy time, which is probably why my memories are still so fresh. At eighteen and living away from home for the first time, I couldn’t have been given a better introduction to student life. For the modest sum of £6 a week, I was fed and housed in a great deal more comfort than many of my contemporaries, some of whom lived in almost slum like conditions around the city. A much appreciated bonus was that Owen’s Park, being new and somewhat experimental, was a mixed hall of residence and therefore free from the restrictions placed on undergraduates – particularly female ones – by more traditional establishments.
The extracts that appear were taken from recollections sent to the University of Manchester Alumni Association in response to an appeal to former residents.
19 June, 2024 - Make the first comment on this story
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