The Chaplaincy Common Room is a warm space with tables, chairs and sofas, open 9.30am-4pm daily Monday to Friday for all students and staff. You can come and study, meet friends, or eat your lunch, and help yourself to tea and coffee. Associate Chaplain Geoffrey Baines was so inspired by it, he wrote a prose poem…

The newly re-furnished Common Room at the Chaplaincy has always been a little like

Hogwart’s Room of Requirement, whether it be

Providing the requisite space needed for studying,

Meeting with friends,

Or, somewhere to bring food and grab a drink.

Perhaps all three.

Available at the heart of the central campus,

Past students have sometimes named it a home from home.

And now reopening after two years of closure due to the Pandemic that affected

all of us,

Its comfort and warmth are perhaps needed more than ever;

Something more we have in common,

With energy costs rising for everyone

Autumn makes its appearance

and Winter follows close behind.

Poignant exhibitions will decorate the space through the year,

The first being Ukrainian Voices by photo-journalist

Vika Yasinskaya

and graphic designer

Ira Andeichuk,

Reminding us of a concern we have held in common

throughout this year.

Keep Calm and Cray-on returns

with large doodles inviting us to sit down and colour

for a few moments,

Or longer –

Colouring’s benefit being that it helps us to

relax.

Reminding us that we have so much in common,

The first doodle will be “Everyone’s From Everywhere” –

One of the designs included in our exterior signage.

There are many other activities close to hand:

Yoga, Tai Chi, Mindfulness, Mindful Doodling,

To name a few.

Our wonderful receptionist Joanne is also on-hand to

help everyone find what is required.

The Reverend Geoffrey Baines
Associate Chaplain
The Chaplaincy Centre

The In-Common Room / For Times Like These by blogadmin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0