Here’s the last goodbyes every final year wishes they could have said to Soton

Southampton we miss u x

4 years ago

It’s been over a month since it was announced that, because of coronavirus, Soton’s classes would be moved online for the rest of the year, and graduation would be postponed indefinitely. For every Soton student, our final term of the year has been pulled from under us: We should have been revising and having BBQ’s on the common, but now many of us have left Soton and moved back home, completing the semester from our bedrooms.

For final year students, however, this feeling is slightly more bittersweet, as it’s our last year of university that was cut short. We don’t know when, if ever, we’ll be back in Southampton again. If only we had known two months ago, we would have done all of our favourite things one last time, made sure to savour our last Jesticle and to get a photo with Tariq Manzils.

Here’s all the things that every Soton final year wishes they could have gotten to say goodbye to just one last time:

Hartley

Who would’ve thought it was possible to miss a library so much? Hartley’s been the place of many an all-nighter or crying sesh, and actually finding a seat with a plug is basically the same as discovering a new planet, but we lowkey miss it so much. Doing your coursework in your mum’s kitchen could never compare to sitting with your mates in Hartley, wasting the day scrolling through your phone before rewarding yourself with a coffee and some snacks from the Cafe.

We also never got to take the iconic diss pic outside Hartley, and honestly we were ROBBED of our final year experience based on this alone.

RIP my diss pic

Jesters

Yes, it might not be as boujee as Ocies or have event nights like Switch, but Jesters is the first Soton night out for many Freshers, and so it holds a special place in our hearts. Where else could you have a class night out for under a tenner? Jesticles and the other cocktail pints are the stuff of dreams, and yes, the music’s cheesy but there’s always some absolute bangers. Plus, Jesters has without question got the best smoking area in Southampton, and we miss it.

@Jesters, can you release the recipe to make a Juicy Lucy? Asking for a friend x

Portswood Sainsbury’s

Portswood Sainsbury’s is undeniably the best supermarket in Southampton, nay, the entirety of the UK. From the big start-of-term shop with your parents, to those late-night trips with your housemates, Portswood Sains has well and truly seen it all. I would pay good money to be able to have one last hungover trip in my trackies to Portswood Sains, where you spend an hour wandering around looking at all the snacks and avoiding making eye contact with the members of staff. I’m not joking when I say those are some of my fondest memories of Soton.

Our Portswood houses

Portswood may be full of rats, mould, and collapsed ceilings, but it’s our home and we love it. Our Portswood homes have been the sites of banging house parties, summer BBQs, Netflix marathons with your housemates and essay-induced breakdowns, and we wish we could go back.

Anyway, what’s a house if it doesn’t contain rat families that eat your pasta bakes? Your parents house in Surrey could NEVER.

Oh to be in Portswood right now

Tbh, just Portswood in general

Nights at Wild Lime, The Mitre and The Gordon Arms. Hungover brunches in Trago Lounge. House meals at 7Bone, Mango Thai and La Baronia. Buying all your alcohol from Charlie’s Booze. Going to Coffee #1 on the way to uni. Walking down Portswood Road and seeing everyone you’ve shagged or had a seminar with. Will we ever live anywhere as great as Portswood again? Who knows, but it’s unlikely.

Tariq Manzils

Tariq Manzils Restaurant is the only valid choice for post-night out food in Southampton, but the only thing better than the curry is the man(zil), the myth, the legend himself. People have even gotten married in Manzils before, and where else in the world could you enjoy a 2am curry and DMC with Tariq, with Britney Spears providing the background music?

Remember when some third years invited Tariq Manzils to pres and he actually went? He even brought them a bag of bhajis and poppadoms, like the angel he is. Move over Rugby boys, Tariq Manzils is undoubtably the best man in Southampton. We never got to say goodbye to Tariq, and at this point the best we can hope for is a “Happy birthday” Facebook message from him.

True love

Stags Karaoke

If we’d had exams like normal, we would’ve left our last exam and headed immediately to Stag’s, where we would have met our course mates, housemates, and honestly just random strangers. If we were lucky, it would be a Thursday, and we would stay there all day, drinking pints in the sun and then staying for karaoke in the evening – and we might even have actually enjoyed listening to those people who take singing Disney songs way too seriously. Bliss.