Hannah Jones  went to Middle Temple with Breanne Richter. Both are students on the LLB with a Foundation Year.

I went to the Middle Temple Open Day with my fellow student Breanne. We decided to take the train down to London the day before and spend the night in the city. For anyone who has not been to London, our capital is a noisy, crowded, thriving hub. It never sleeps. After our evening meal, Breanne and I decided to take a walk from Fleet Street, where our hotel was, all the way to Big Ben. Even at 11o’clock at night the streets were full of tourists and buskers. It was overwhelming.

My first impression of the Middle Temple was affluence. Walking through the gardens on the way to the Hall I found it hard to believe that we were in the heart of London. If you listen carefully you can hear the city, but it is completely out context with the “quiet” surrounding of the historical buildings and well-kept garden setting. Upon entering the Hall, I got the feeling of a manor house. The urge to tiptoe around the building, looking at the many paintings and plaques was tempting. The architecture was stunning and it did feel like a house of learned people.

The Masters that were conducting the presentations were informative and captured the attention of the room. It was not hard to imagine them taking control of a courtroom. After the talks, we all adjourned to the gardens for lunch and networking. Breanne and I also had the privilege of meeting the great nephew of Donoghue from the Donoghue and Stevenson case. Luckily, for us there were no snails in our bottles of water!

It was a fantastic networking experience. As well as the temple members, we got to meet and chat to other students from different universities. It did not escape my attention that no matter what university you come from, the fundamentals are all the same. I was proud to be representing Staffs.