Long-time readers will know that I used to work on a university campus, and that following a so-called merger, the campus was closed and instead of commuting 5 miles a week, I started commuting 170 miles a week, worked on 2 different campuses that I loathed, and to cut a long story short, took early retirement to ‘escape.’

This week, a new series started on Netflix, and after watching a preview, my son stated it was my old campus. Intrigued, I watched the first episode. It looks like horse dung, to be honest, however it was lovely to see the campus again, and to see the lawns and buildings look in good form. It’s a stylised view of the place, and the lanes that the kids ride their bikes through do not exist in the local vicinity and it was shot in 4 different locales. As I said though, it was lovely to see the buildings again, including a quick shot of the building I used to work in.

I googled the place, and note with a great deal of satisfaction, that the ‘poison dwarf’ who took over, and deemed the campus not suitable for a forward-thinking university, has had her plans to build more than 300 homes on the site turned down in October last year. Fantastic news for the residents of the town! I confess, not wanting to see the outbuildings torn down was just one reason for my move away from the area, though I did sign a petition before I left, and wrote one of the many letters to the developers stating it was a very bad idea and listed the infrastructure of the area to be a main sticking point. The main building already has a preservation order on it, thanks in part to my previous landlord who alerted CADW of the plans. It’s good to know that sometimes the ‘little’ people do actually win. Plans for the site are now uncertain, again, however using it as a film site was an excellent idea, and I’d love to know how much was netted for the filming of the series as the management of the merged universities care about one thing only; money. I think they hoped to make a fast buck from the site, and to h*ll with the locals. I’m so glad to see they have been thwarted for now at least, and I thumb my nose at the VC.

It’s such a shame that the local comp (school) can’t have the site and I guess money is the main reason that won’t ever happen. There has been education at the site for over 100 years, and the main building is wonderful with chandeliers in the boardroom, stained glass windows, and oak panelling in the corridors. There was an arboretum, specimen trees, and views over a valley for miles. It was a great place to work, and I spent about 10 years working there, and felt privileged to have worked on such a lovely site. I have wonderful memories of my time there, and photos, and a book with detailed photos too. Even though I’ve moved away, I remain hopeful that a better use can be found for the site than simply more houses in an area that has houses (and even a new school) built on every scrap of land and very little green spaces.

Other good news, Thursday started off very cold and frosty and I couldn’t open my car door. I managed to open the passenger door which is parked side-on to the house and forced my door open from the inside. After a little shopping, I came home to glorious sunshine and quickly shinned up the rigging and hung out bedding. I would have stayed in the crow’s nest soaking up the sunshine however it was bitterly cold at 0C so I enjoyed the sunshine through the windows. The laundry dried enough for a quick finish in the dryer. It was cold, but the sun was such a nice change from the drizzle and cloudy, grey weather that we’ve been having. We’re forecast sleet showers for today, Friday, and part of next week too. It was nice while we had it though and has made the myriad of bulbs that have been planted in the gravel bed really race up to see the sunshine. It’ll be interesting to see what the bulbs are; someone must have taken a lot of time planting them as there are scores of them.

Almost the weekend again. Have a great one.

Additional: My son maintains that I told him about the campus last year. I have no memory of this, so if I've already blogged this, please forgive me. It's a 'side-effect' of the neurological disorder that I have. I can tell you the names of friends I went to school with, and can find where I used to live decades ago, however 'new' memories don't always stick so forgive me if this is old news. When I see the neurologist, I'm also going to ask if there's a test for dementia bearing in mind my Mum...