40Years: Reminiscences from Louise Sealy (m. 1980)

I remember arriving at Queens’ on my first day and carrying my belongings across Walnut Tree court to Erasmus. My mother worked in a chemists & had secured a supply of surplus stock boxes; part way across the court I realised that the boxes sported an embarrassing brand name in huge block letters - I couldn’t get to my new room fast enough! I had also packed a large trunk, a legacy of my years at boarding school, which Dad & I managed to carry to the bottom of Erasmus stairs. As we stood there wondering how we were going to get the trunk up two flights of stairs, another first year came by and offered a helping hand. Gratefully received, and the start of a life-long friendship.

I also had a surprise visit from the brother of a great friend of mine. This was Mike Foale, then studying for his Astrophysics PhD, who went on to become a NASA astronaut. He was kind enough to let me know which room he was staying in and to say if I ever needed anything to give him a shout.  So already Queens’ was living up to its student handbook profile – friendly and welcoming.

I was keen to be treated as an equal and to get involved in the fabric of the College. For me, that went hand in hand with rowing (which has remained a life-long pleasure). It was one of the few ways to be sure of having “girl” time as every time you went into the bar for example, it was very hard to see or speak to the other girls as there were so many male students eager to do the same…

I always felt completely safe in College and never felt the need to lock my room, even when I was out. One weekend, waking up in another college, I remembered that my parents were due to visit and raced back to Queens’ hoping to arrive before they did. I was aghast to open the door to my room to find everything in it had been turned upside down – and I mean every last thing, all the furniture, every single ornament and every single post card, picture, photo, etc. on my heavily decorated walls. I had just righted the last bit of furniture before my parents came in and I had to pretend that everything else had been turned upside down as a joke some days before and I had decided to leave them like that!

Most of my memories of my time at Queens’ are of interests shared and lifelong friendships forged. Three years, all spent in College; what a joy and a privilege. Wandering around the grounds, seeing the college through different seasons, looking up at the old brickwork, thinking of all the other students that had passed the same way and will do so in the years to come. I sincerely hope, Covid-19 aside, that in another 40 years, this year’s new arrivals will be able to look back as fondly as myself on their time at Queens’.