All the free things we received at The Courtrooms, ranked

The grass heads were a weird but nice touch

3 years ago

Imagine after a week of being at university you find out you have coronavirus. Then three days before sweet freedom your accommodation building is forced into a two week lockdown. Nightmare.

Spending an embarrassing amount of time watching tragic daytime TV, and one too many online orders leaving your bank account has its highs and lows. However, the silver lining in this was the seemingly endless amount of freebies that arrived at our door.

Although we are eternally grateful for the free gifts, and they are always welcome, some were better than others, so I am here to rank them.

Ready meals: 0/10

There is really no surprise that these questionable looking ready meals are coming in at last place. It is concerning that a ready meal containing meat has a best before date of January 2022 but maybe it’s best not to think about that. It seems only appropriate to eat these with the I’m a Celebrity theme tune in the background as you and your flat decide to turn dinner time into a bush tucker trial. There is no doubt that all 40 ready meal boxes will sit in our cupboard for the rest of the year.

Jackfruit: 1/10

While we fully appreciate the university sending vegan food boxes, imagine five students trying to figure out what on earth they can make with tinned jackfruit. It was a little too unusual for our taste and a far cry from the pesto pasta and super noodles we usually enjoy.

Too many tins of baked beans: 4/10

It may seem odd to include baked beans in this weird and wonderful list as baked beans are a staple part of a student’s diet. However, students at The Courtrooms had a surplus of them and saw an opportunity to try and sell their unwanted produce. This is most likely to get back the money spent on the online shopping addiction we all developed in lockdown. You have to give points for entrepreneurship.

Laundry: 6/10

It has been said that circuit is the worst thing about being a fresher especially as a wash and dry sets you back a staggering £3.90. Imagine the elation when we find out all our clothes will be washed, dried and returned to us folded neatly and smelling incredible. However, points have to be deducted after some people were unfortunate enough to have the wrong laundry returned or items missing.

Grass heads: 8/10

Even at 18 finding tights, seeds and soil in a box from the Student Union was one of the most exciting things that happened throughout our lockdown. Now we have four slightly disturbing looking grass heads displayed proudly on our windowsill.

Papa John’s pizza: 9/10

A week into lockdown the university arranged for us to have free Papa John’s and it was incredible. They catered for every dietary requirement with veggie, vegan and gluten free pizza. It tasted even better at 3am after an obligatory lockdown flat party. However, a point has to be deducted for the flatmate forced to eat the questionable vegan cheese or the dry and thin gluten free base when they aren’t lactose or gluten intolerant. Hard luck.

Budweiser: 10/10

This is obviously the number one freebie. After seeing the desperate cry for help in the form of post it notes on the window, South Central Barbers delivered 300 beers to the Courtrooms. It really lifted everyone’s spirits as lockdown cabin fever really started to kick in. We will never get our hair cut anywhere else.