WHITECHAPEL TOUR: The Pandemic Edition
Medics, dentists and allied course freshers! Lend us your eyes as we welcome you to our humble abode found in the heart of Whitechapel. Although some teaching may be based on other campuses (notably Charterhouse Square down in Barbican or Mile End), our beloved Whitechapel campus is your main home for the foreseeable future; up to 6 years for some of you medics! Therefore, we would like to take some time to introduce you to some of the more notorious “landmarks” of Barts and The London that we are sure you will become very familiar with during the course of your stint as a BL student.
1) ROYAL LONDON HOSPITAL
You really can’t miss this shining blue tower which is the hospital! The Royal London, boasting 16 busy floors and two unspoken of ghost floors that were never finished (14 and 15 for those curious),is always bustling with activity. It’s also no coincidence that our very own student bar, The Griff, is but a stone throw away from the A&E here, which can be oddly reassuring on a Wednesday sports night. You also may notice a rustling noise coming from above once in a while, where you will spot the infamous red helicopter leaving the helipad ready for action.
2) GARROD BUILDING
Unassuming from the outside, the Garrod is the gift that keeps on giving. Here you can find Beigal Bunnies, which serves delicious hot food and coffee at surprisingly reasonable prices for London. You can also find endless empty rooms with great Wifi connections. Many weary students come here to revise in peace or stream a movie. It’s also not unheard of to catch a quick nap before PBL starts…
3) LIBRARY
Converted from a church, the library is undoubtedly beautiful. This makes it a hotspot amongst many students particularly during the dreaded exam season. The downside of this however, is that the average length of wait time for a seat can be anything from thirty seconds to three years. The silence imposed on the majority of the library does inspire productivity for about five minutes until your desk neighbour decides to start noisily munching on a bag of ready salted crisps. Or alternatively, you spot a friend and choose to abandon all pretenses of getting through that to-do list of yours.
4) THE GRIFF INN
Here is the place to grab a pint, some curly fries, and relax with some friends. This is also the place to unwind after an ICA, where you’ll get some special drink and food deals and forget all about your exam slip ups! On a Wednesday night, all the sports teams traditionally unite for weekly Tables. This night is a memorable one; one full of Barts pride and spirit. (On another note, have you noticed the pun with the name of this place? If you haven’t yet, just refer to your new school’s logo.)
5) PERRIN LECTURE THEATRE
Just when you thought you’d left plants behind in A-level biology, they come back to haunt you… It’s plants vs. sleepy students in this very very obnoxiously green room. This is where most of your lectures would take place. Legend has it, those who sit in the cursed red seats will get picked on by the lecturer, yet I admit I have never witnessed it myself.
Just outside the lecture theatre is the newest addition to our campus, the ‘Neuron Pod’, more commonly known as the Hedgehog for it’s very undeniable rusty hedgehog-like appearance.
6) FLOYER HOUSE
Ah, Floyer. Such sweet memories of waking up 2 minutes before the lecture started and scrambling over to Perrin. You’ll feel even more smug when the students living at Dawson roll up 15 minutes late and sweaty because the Hammersmith and City line has claimed yet more victims. You’ll begin to notice this friendly rivalry between Dawson and Floyer pretty quickly. Why we feel so protective over our university halls is still unknown, yet we shall continue to fight our corner nonetheless!
7) LAIRD HALL
Home to the greatest productions and shows you ever did see! The talent of the Barts community is shown through comedic sketches, amazing dances and hilarious competitions from the combined efforts of BL Drama, Dance and RAG. It is full of heckling and has the finest talent you will come across. With a beverage in your hand, and a show-stopping performance before you, there is no place you would rather be.
8) WHITECHAPEL TUBE STATION
You will soon come to realise that the H and C line is not as reliable as the London underground may seem. A suggestion for using that pink line for your journeys away from East London? Avoid it at all costs, It’s not coming I’m afraid.
I would advise you to hop on that green line if you are on your way to Whitechapel, or even enjoy a stroll through the city if you have a bit more time on your hands. The District line may be slow but she is reliable and will promise you the scenic route. (However saying this, we do seem to have this concept of ‘Barts time’ here, where everyone is a tad late anyway, so pick whichever line you fancy!)
9) TO MILE END
Anatomy and physiology classes would usually happen in labs at Mile End. Mile End, that’s nearby, right? We can walk that, right? In the wise words of David Bowie in Labyrinth “it’s further than you think”.
