We asked for your opinions on M&S closing in Durham

It’s not ‘just’ food for thought

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It's official. The Durham branch of Marks and Spencer is to close on Saturday 7th April 2018.

It's a date that instills more dread than that deadline you keep putting off; the day the 'dine in for 2 for £10' dies. As we grieve for the inevitable loss of our cherished upper-middle-class dispensery of hampers and prosecco that your mum describes as 'reasonably priced', we thought it would be therapeutic to garner some insight from the student community as to the impact of such devastating news.

Here's what people had to say.

Henry Biggs

"My Latin teacher said they would starve".

Upon being asked whether he thought there was a larger conspiracy at play, Henry replied, "I think it's clear evidence that Marks and Spencer has an anti-Northeastern bias".

We asked whether the decision marked yet another failure of capitalism.

"If anything, it shows that capitalism is functioning well. Dead wood is being cleared away".

True enough, but it's safe to say that whatever replaces M&S will never live up to the legacy of its predecessor. It's like throwing away an antique mahogany armoire to make room for an IKEA wardrobe.

Abel Bede was reminiscent.

"I bought a Christmas jumper from there. It has a pug on it that lights up when you press a button".

Taking the jumpers off people's backs? Not very festive, M&S.

Katie Butler-Manuel (Left) and Sofia Heys (Right)

These students from Castle lamented, "I love their chocolate mini rolls. Tesco's finest just doesn't compare".

"I'm going to miss Percy Pigs".

You're not alone – we all will.

Ione Searle

"I picked up a duvet from there", said Ione Searle.

Where will we turn to when we need to buy bedding that's softer than the lips of that absolute worldie your mate claims to have gotten with at Jimmy's? The decision to close the branch will literally keep people up at night.

Kevin Waite, an Associate Professor in the History department, decided to take action and stock up on his foodie favourites. You should too.

"There's a sense of doom and gloom over the entire department".

Phoebe Evans contemplated the psychological impact of the move to shut the store on those close to her.

"It's closing? I don't really shop at M&S, but my housemate goes there all the time. He'll probably have to resort to getting food delivered from Waitrose now. I'll have to sit him down and break the news gently".

The consensus is as clear as those fancy crystal wine glasses: feelings are raw; there's shock and there's awe. To those who say that they "couldn't care less" (which, admittedly, people said so often that we could not picture everyone), you're lying to yourselves. To those who feel that their 2018 has been ruined, let this serve as a sign of solidarity so that we may all get some closure from Marks and Spencer's closure.