My room (mate)

Diana: Lorna and I met in the Porters’ Lodge on 8 October 1980. We had arrived early, as the linguists had to sit oral exams. Our first conversation was about the formal invitation to drinks in the President's Lodge that we’d found in our pigeon holes. We were a bit flummoxed. So my mother, an ace on social etiquette, explained how to reply correctly in the third person.

Lorna: In our second year we shared T6, a double set in Fisher. It was right next to the Porters’ Lodge, and in the days before mobile phones, it was easy for people to drop by and visit. The room was fairly stark, with white walls, bare floorboards and a large rug. We set about putting up posters and a colourful Indian wall hanging. The main feature of the room was the wooden mantelpiece, with its gas fire where we toasted crumpets. There was also a large gas ring, which sat directly on the wooden floor – unlikely to have survived into these more safety-conscious times. That’s where we cooked our favourite supper (Diana’s recipe – she had done the Pru Leith cookery course) of red lentils with carrots and onions. Most sustaining!

Diana: The sitting room had two huge armchairs and two desks. There was also a small bedroom with two single beds. We promptly moved one of the beds into the living room, where it doubled as a sofa, and provided for all eventualities.

Lorna: Our ancient bedder was very relaxed about the furniture, but remained convinced that ‘young ladies’ should be able to do their own washing up. Largely we didn’t. The armchairs and ‘sofa’ offered plenty of space for visitors, drinking cups of coffee from the College shop – so awful it fizzed! As did our favourite invention, the ‘Tenterhooks’ cocktail, which fuelled a number of drinks parties.

Diana: We spent our third year in France, then back to Queens' for our final year, with the whole top floor of P staircase between the two of us. We both worked in the City for many years, then on to further adventures. I am now involved in raising seed financing for start-ups in the west of France, including “Diana's Emporium,” a British-themed creative hub.

Lorna: And I continue to spend my time between London and Devon, working as a financial writer.

Diana: We've been back to College regularly over the years, for our own weddings, the christenings of our children and for reunions with our year group. It might have had its challenges at the time, but we both feel so blessed to have been part of that first year of women at Queens’.