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One street, two lives. At number 48 the inhabitants roll out of bed casually at their whim, sip tea and stroll to lessons with bed hair (and often in lounge pants). At number 50 Mum religiously leaves the house at 8am with two children, two packed lunches and work heels. It is often hard to conceive that we live amongst people who use the local schools, who don’t have hours to while away in coffee shops and for whom a 9am start is every day, every week all year. Living out of halls in a neighbourhood and receiving the local newsletter through the post brings this home to me. 

 Student towns really are a specific lifestyle- the adage that you can’t explain St Andrews to someone who hasn’t experienced it certainly is true! Even the local inhabitants themselves make up part of our experience: mention the words ‘Madras’ to a fellow student and they will know exactly what you mean! If St Andrews were solely a student town, we would have all the late night licences we wanted as it’s the normal inhabitants of the town that try to retain some of the quaint character of the place. Many students seem to resent the townsfolk, and the term Town and Gown relations always seems to carry a negative tone. But students certainly aren’t the best of bedfellows, though I should imagine we are rather amusing to be observed. I have certainly seen our neighbours watching from the windows as we take out the glass bottles after a party, or as a friend with a car pretends to run down a guest who had outstayed their welcome. On Raisin Monday 2009 I definitely witnessed old couples standing on North Street enjoying the spectacle! St Patricks day brought its fair share of amusement, and the morning afterwards a trip to Morrisons (in pyjamas, for fry-up ingredients) drew many shocked glares. Not to mention when in the early hours of Saturday morning students can be seen carrying trophies home, from road signs to bins and bus timetables. The Scottish people with whom we share our town are, in reality, fairly tolerant of what the students bring. The vomit in the streets, the raised rents and the Empire rubbish probably grates after a while. But perhaps we won’t be living in conjunction much longer, as the University expands and housing demand increases. Becoming solely a student town would loose some of the character of the place, and despite the (at times) tempestuous relationship of Town and Gown it appears the two really do rely on each other.
 


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