Time time time, see what's become of me
At work, in fact next to my office, there is a swimming pool. Well, I say "is" but really it should be "was". The office was once a very nice 5 star hotel with a Michelin starred restaurant. And a very nice swimming pool. This is/was very deep. For the almost two years that I have been here (really? really two years??!!) it has been a temptation and a source of humour. Never to be used, but full of thoughts for summer - should we fill it with water, sell some cocktails in the summer to make a few extra quid/euros? Well - now it's too late. It is being filled in and will become a garden - although the way the campus is going I expect it to be a car park soon.
Campus is interesting. Based on the grounds of Achile Sclavo's house. Achile was a famous researcher, pioneering work in vaccines over a century ago. His house turned into a laboratory, a few buildings sprang up and it has grown and grown and now has lots of buildings and maybe over 2000 people working in a mix of old buildings like Sclavo's house (maybe 300 years old) and brand new production facilities, research facilities and the old hotel in which we work. So, it is a rare and fantastic place with manicured gardens, a ghost in our building who randomly rings the phone at times, an exquisite old chapel, all mostly falling into ruin. There are also some horsey steps - these are low level steps that were built so that they were not too steep for horses to walk up. This was so that the blood from the horses could be collected and used in experiments. These always remind me of the "Seb Coe steps" - these were steps at Loughborough University which were also very strangely shaoped and hard to walk up, although this time they were too big to walk up normally. They were called something like "the annoying steps" but after I went away for my placement year it was all over everything that they were called the "Seb Coe steps" and had been deliberately built when Seb Coe was at Loughborough University so that he could train his uphill running. I don't believe it and think it may be a little light story telling, and I wonderful if the equally short steps are also a light fib. Who knows? Noone for sure - but I guess it makes a fun story. The campus is amazing with great views over the rolling hills and a stunning sunset. I have tried to take a photo here with my phone but it never comes out well.
Anyway, the pool is being filled in and in true Blue Peter style I decided with my team to make a Time Capsule to leave for future generations. We took a picture on my phone and printed it and signed it. Explained who we were and what we were doing there and put in some example vaccine and some money. This was then thrown in to the swimming pool whilst the filling in man was away. Maybe it will be an amazing artifact in 1000 years time - who would ever know what will happen in time - I wonder what will be there then??
Ciao amore
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