Peggy's Blue Skylight: Mass Observation 2014: Tables, Exits, Bus stops and Timed Studies

ROUND WHITE TABLES

Round white tables; some filled, others empty, as students chat or work. There are no books in this area but the back wall holds darkened doors, leading to the private group rooms. It's a bright room, made for study, and yet it is also a place for social interaction, what with the sofas in the corner. The vending machine stands waiting for the hungry to approach, packed with tempting treats, as does the cafe section.

Slowly, the room empties as the hour mark closes in and people leave for lessons. They turn off the computers, put away books and gather coats and bags. The noise level drops as they filter out, and the ones who take their place are silent and alone.

The pattern on the carpet, ignored by most, draws the eye of the bored and the blocked: lines of colour blending into each other, each tile alternating in direction. It is complex but still simple as it fades from the mind to become just the floor.

Bethany Gimbert

EXITS

A blonde exits the security building in haste, feebly, slowing to a walk as with swept-back hair and fixed expression she strides steadily along the road. Behind her ambles a young man, sleepily bemused in appearance and behind him, visible only by the high-vis jacket and repetitive, patient striding between barrier and security building, an official whose brief conversations through car windows suggests a parking management role.

From my stony doorway (made comfortable by my bag) I observe a true technophile, blonde and buried in her Iphone as she makes her way along the plant lined road. On one side, green lawn, on the other bushes bearing flowers of yellow and white. She, like so many, bends against the bad weather, its gusting wind and fine, wind-borne rain.

A trio walks past the other way, headed for the uni exit, clustering beneath a brolly, on the left,a girl in red, in the centre, one wearing a thin floral print top and on the right, one more bearing a bright white handbag of considerable size.

As they round the corner my gaze comes to rest on a bright red industrial lifter vehicle, sporting a consignment of slabs, the top one of which is immediately grabbed up by a young man who, exchanging a few words with the driver, heads off to his work as the red vehicle also pulls away.

Entering in a hurry two female students,,one in a red hoody and shorts, the other in white coat and jeans running easily along the pavement catch my eye till, from close to my doorway comes a male student exiting fast, following only his desire to leave and no road or path between.

As he nears the security hut and takes a corner beyond my sight I spy a woman beneath a blue umbrella in brief conversation with a friend, which leads me to spot many other such encounters taking place on this rainy morning at this entrance to education.

The lounges of the student halls directly opposite me appear largely empty, save where a uniformed girl does a little tidying, while on the floor above another sits at a table, absorbed in I know not what.

My gaze returning earthwards I spot yet another student in the trickle leaving edge hill, looking around with grim expression at sky, student and building alike. Over one shoulder hangs a sports bag held loosely as he strides past swaying plants, granting the following eye a glimpse of an old-style caravan.

Stood up at last and braving the clammy, clinging weather I survey the front of the arts centre, the girl stood there all in black, her bright orange handbag bold and bright in contrast. My walk to the library takes me past students clutching bedding and bearing grim, harrassed expressions as they plod past me.

Oliver Thomas

BUS STOP EMPTY

Trees are swaying, a result of the wind. Rain falls from the sky, causing the road and pavement to shine with wet gloss, emphasised by a few puddles. There are three people waiting at a bus stop. One sneezes repeatedly. On the opposite side of the road, a girl walks by, with a glum face, talking on her green phone. Behind her, a boy and girl walk, holding each other’s hands. In her other hand, she holds an umbrella, and in his, he holds a Lucozade bottle. There are now four people at the bus stop. A girl wearing headphones, which have a lead plugging into her phone, stands on the other side of the bus stop to the other three people. Several cars pass by on the road. One drops off a young man, while another contain a grown couple. The latter has a baby carrier in the back.

It continues to rain, and a young woman wearing shorts and a hooded jacket passes by, but leaves her hood down. A boy wearing a sweater joins the bus stop people. He is soaked through from the rain. Another joins, meaning six people are now waiting. There is a black car parked opposite the bus stop, in the “taxis only” section. A wet boy, wearing a green raincoat and an umbrella, joins the bus stop crowd. The traffic light at the end of the road is constantly red. A large truck with a large mechanical arm on its back drives up the road, before an older man in a luminescent jacket sends it away. A girl in a pink coat arrives by taxi, and skips quickly through the rain, sheltering her face. Several people, all dressed in black, arrive simultaneously and walk almost in a crowd, but do not speak to each other.

There are now thirteen people at the bus stop. Opposite, a boy uses the cash machine, then joins the bus stop crowd. Another boy, carrying a large black Adidas bag, waiting in the rain on the pavement. The bus stop crowd all watch as a camper van drives by. The boy with the bag signals at a silver Skoda, which stops and lets him inside, before leaving. There are now sixteen people at the bus stop, when the bus arrives. There are now three cars parked in the “taxis only” section of the opposite road. The girl waiting at the bus stop wearing headphones doesn’t get on the bus. She gets into a silver Honda, parked in the “taxis only” section. The bus driver reads a sheet of paper over his steering wheel, then rubs his face with both hands. The girl wearing shorts returns, now carrying pillows and a duvet, she puts it in the boot of the black car parked in the “taxis only” section.

The bus driver switches on the bus’ engine, then drives away, leaving the bus stop empty.

Ryan Leder

Observational Studies