By Rebekah Froggatt
The University of Essex takes pride in its diversity, vibrant community and amazing student experience. Life here at Essex is one you won’t forget, but there is one thing, that has four paws and a fluffy tail, that steals the hearts of all who attend Essex: Pebbles, the campus cat! Or as I like to call him, Pebbles the Essex King.
Here on campus, on the 5th of March, we are celebrating Pebbles. The purr-fect day will be filled with exciting cat themed events, including exclusive Pebbles merch, which you can find at the Everything Essex store. You can head to The Kitchen and get a cat-uccino, or head to the SU Bar and get a Cat-tail. Square 3 will be running a ‘Make your own Pebble for Pebbles!’, and there will be the launch of the Campus Cat Welfare Fund, which I think is very paw-some!
However, before you indulge in these fun activities, you might want to know how Pebbles came to run his own empire here at Essex. Pebbles did live in Greenstead, but clearly wanted more out of life, so he wandered one day to the University and knew that this was his new home. We simply couldn’t turn him away, I mean have you seen his purr-ty face?
He loved the University so much, he even got his own registration card to attend classes and sometimes has sleepovers in them! He became super popular very quickly and even has his own instagram, @pebbles_uoe, which has over 2,000 followers, a facebook page with over 7,000 followers, and he has even been on TV with the BBC and ITV. He really is such a cool cat.
You can find pebbles in many locations across campus, but I have found that he loves the Tony Rich center, specifically at the top of the stairs, the Essex Business School, the SU Store, and he loves chasing mice in the wooded area next to The Houses.
Pebbles brings a lot of joy to many students. I have experienced bad days myself and felt quite stressed about my studies, but the sight of Pebbles has always brightened my day. Make sure you head down to campus on the 5th of March for Campus Cat Day and celebrate our feline friend.
#cutiepatootie
