h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi, was just reading the Peacocks vs Llamas debate and noticed you went to Lancaster university. I'm there at the moment. They used to have peacocks?! When did you go? Were they just roaming free?! Now all we have is rabbits!

Take care, Alison

Hi Alison
I left Lancaster in 1998, had a ball!!
As far as I can remember the peacocks were found mainly in and around Bowland & Lonsdale Colleges but had the free roam of the campus. One of their favourite haunts was down by the duckpond with all their feathered friends! They were seen by 1st years as a bit of a novelty but the rest of the students just used to leave them alone, having heard stories of others being attacked by them.

There were rabbits there too while I was there, so many that there used to be an annual cull on campus to stop the numbers from getting out of hand.

I was in Pendle College during my years there, I was Social Sec in my 2nd and 3rd years.

Hope you're enjoying your time there, what college are you in? studying?

John

Hi John,

That's interesting about the peacocks, I may have to ask some of the third years downstairs if they know of them! Yeah, there's just been a rabbit cull here. Myxomatosis they use isn't it? I'm glad I don't live in Pendle - I keep hearing stories of people finding dead rabbits lying around the place with no eyes and such... yeuch.

I'm in Fylde, in my first year studying geography. I do environmental science as my other subject as well. What did you study?

They're doing lots of construction on the uni at the moment. In fact they're moving most of the campus further south. I think Lonsdale and Fylde colleges are moving anyway. And they're building some hi-tec computer place thingy south of Pendle at the minute. By the end of the year the campus will probably be quite different to how you remember it!

Catch ya later, Alison

Dead Rabbits in Pendle? As long as they're not ending up headless in students' beds.....!

I studied French as my major and English Lang & Linguistics as my minors.
I'd heard through the alumni that there was loads of work going on on the campus over the next few years but have yet to get up there to see it. The last time I was up in Lancaster was Dec 31st 1999, myself and about a hundred or so (ex-Lancaster) mates actually hired out Lonsdale Bar for our Millenium party!!

Well, glad to hear you're enjoying it there, does the wind still rattle along the spine like a dirty great wind-tunnel?

John x

Hmmm haven't heard of any dead rabbits in people's beds as of yet... That would be pretty freaky!

I heard that the spine used to be completely covered, was it like that when you were here? It apparently created such a wind tunnel effect that they removed alternate halves of the roof, so when it rains (like today!) you see students zig-zagging their way along the spine! I hope that makes sense!

Alison

That's right. It was so windy in my 1st year that the roof actually blew OFF block 17 in Pendle!!
I think the half-roof and zigzagging situation is above where the bookshop now is (just along from entrance to Furness Porter's Lodge). That bookshop used to be a SPAR and you're right, students zigzagg-ed along to stay dry. Oh, and when they were pissed too!!

John

The half-roof thing goes all the way along the North spine and is on some parts of the South spine. I'm not sure what you mean about the bookshop. I think things may have moved around now. There's a second hand bookshop in South End stores at Pendle, but not at Furness.

The roof blew right off?! Sounds like something that would happen round here actually - all the Fylde blocks are being knocked down at the end of this year so they're pretty much just letting them fall down on their own!!

Speaking of the roof, I heard you can get all the way from County to Pendle just by walking on the roof! Did you know that? Have you ever tried it?! My friend tried it, but apparently the porters were watching so they had to get down! Catch ya later,

Alison

The spine roof-walk was definitely possible in my day, I managed it twice.