Category: Student Life

My Beautiful Launderette & Saigon With Bobbie One Weekend; Then Petra Flexed Her Mussels At Keele The Next, January 1986

Cooked Mussels by PookieFugglestein, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Saturday 18 January 1986 – Busy day – did quite a lot of shopping, got hair cut went to Brixton etc. Went up West in evening, met Bobbie, went to see My Beautiful Laundrette + then had a Vietnamese meal. Very nice evening.

In the absence of my diary, I’d have sworn that I saw My Beautiful Laundrette with John White, but clearly I saw it with Bobbie. I remember thinking it a truly excellent film.

The restaurant we ate in afterwards was almost without question Saigon in Frith Street, which was pretty much the only Vietnamese Restaurant up west in those days.

Sunday 19 January 1986 – Rose fairly early + had large Chinese lunch with folks + lazyish afternoon & evening at home taping, reading etc.

Monday 20 January 1986 – At work in Sam Phillips factory this week – not too pleasant really. Had a lazy evening tonight.

Tuesday 21 January 1986 – Still at factory in Finsbury Park – working quite hard. Had a quiet evening at home.

Wednesday 22 January 1986 – Working at factory in Finsbury Park today. Went into town to meet John [White] after work – Andy [Crawford] was there too. Went to Punch & Judy – had a few drinks then on to Kowloon restaurant – got home quite late.

Thursday 23 January 1986 – Working in Finsbury Park today – which is OK if you like that sort of thing. Quite tired + had a lazyish evening in this evening – watched some TV etc.

I really didn’t like working in that Finsbury Park garment factory, did I? And who could blame me? It was cold and far from friendly.

Friday 24 January 1986 – Work or went to Finsbury Park in morning – rushed back met Caroline [Freeman, now Curtis] for lunch – worked in office in afternoon. Went to Euston – had a drink – went up to Keele – arrived late & very tired. Petra [Wilson] cooked mussels (delicious) in evening – very nice.

I had arranged a short break in Keele for the next few days, which included the AGM, which was one of those events that the previous committee was “expected” to attend, as this “order” from the Union attests:

An Order To Attend A University of Keele Students’ Union General Meeting, Letter From June Aitken, 13 December 1985

Seeing In 1986 From A Traditional Thames Vantage Point – Waterloo Bridge I Think

Nano Banana 2.1 has reimagined the scene for me based on my instruction, although I placed us, from memory, on Waterloo Bridge, but Nano Banana wanted us on Westminster Bridge

Tuesday 31 December 1985 – Had lazy day taping and lounging around – met Petra in afternoon – > John’s -> Poons -> bridge

“John’s” in those days was the flat in Bow that he shared with Mandy, Rachel and I think one or two others.

I don’t list the people who joined us for that meal in Poons and for the celebrations on the bridge afterwards, but it is just possible that either John or Petra will remember.

I’m pretty sure that John’s number one choice of Chinese in those days would have been Joy King Lau. I am guessing that Joy King Lau was full and/or had a longer waiting time than Poons, which I remembered (correctly) was immediately next door in Leicester Street.

Here is a link to my Joy King Lau/Poons proximity question.

My profound love of The Original Poons restaurant in Lisle Street came a little later – other Ogblog pieces might oblige with details of that ultra low key but very high grade Cantonese food place.

As for the bridge in question, my vague memory suggests it was Waterloo Bridge, not Westminster Bridge. I took up this matter with Nano Banana, which responded with the following image, which strikes me as a scene with a view of the Palace Of Westminster that suggests it is roughly where Waterloo Bridge might be:

I’m sure we were all better looking than the youngsters depicted, but maybe we weren’t.

Anyway, here is what I said about the hours following the tolling of the bell:

Wednesday 1 January 1986 – Wandered round the south bankside – took cab – Petra + I hitched back to Bow – bedded down at John’s – hung around at John’s a while in afternoon. Went & had something to eat in Covent Garden – saw Petra off – went home & had lazy evening + early night.

I can’t quite reconcile “took cab” and “Petra & I hitched back to Bow”. Something’s missing in that statement. Perhaps we took a cab to one place, where we dropped some people off, then we hitched the rest of the way.

JOHN! Can you disambiguate this memory?

Update: John White Writes…

My diary entry for 1.1.86 reads. TODAY FOLLOWING THE NYE REVELRY, WE SLEPT LATE. CHATTED TO IAN AND PETRA AND WATCHED TV. Exciting hey?


My thoughts on Poons was that it was posher than Joy King Lau so maybe we decided to spend a bit extra. I can’t remember the evening at all other than in the mistiest of tones. I am sure we stumbled around had a few drinks and as Big Ben struck kissed each other before getting home. Probs the night bus then.

I wrote back to John, suggesting that his 31 December 1985 diary entry might contain the vital missing information.

John writes:

No entry for 31.12.85 as we were out partying.

Big help, John. Thanks.

I asked Nano Banana to add John’s “canoodling notion” to the scene and provided it with Mark Ellicott’s famous picture of John canoodling from earlier in the 1985 year.

Thanks, Mark Ellicott.

And thanks, Nano Banana. Once you can fake authenticity, you’ve really got it made.

Minutes of a Strange Meeting From 10 June 1985, Typed Up 30 December 1985

I have published the hand-written version of these “minutes” under the date of the “meeting”.

Here is the typed up version, scanned from what I think must be carbon copies. Is there anyone else left on the planet who remembers what carbon copies were?

I guess I prepared these for our glorious return visit in January 1986 for the traditional UGM/AGM thingie.

10 June 1985 Spoof Minutes Side One10 June 1985 Spoof Minutes Side Two

An Order To Attend A University of Keele Students’ Union General Meeting, Letter From June Aitken, 13 December 1985

I might have some notes or other artefacts from the meeting itself which I’ll post separately if/when I find them. I know I did attend the meeting. I’m pretty sure several/most of us did. If June said you had to be there, you had to be there.

University of Keele Students’ Union, Letter Requesting Help, 1 November 1985

I remember Nigel Dempster writing a whole load of factually inaccurate stuff about Keele Students’ Union generally and me in particular. I also remember writing a rebuttal, which the Daily Mail, surprisingly, published.

This letter request from June Aitken probably explains why I cannot find copies of the rebuttal and other materials – I suspect that I simply sent them to her without making further copies for myself. In 1985, photocopying/scanning was not the simple, almost automatic thing it is today.

Perhaps this letter from June is now all that remains of the Dempstergate debacle.

UKSU Letter 1 November 1985

 

My First Visit To Keele As An Ex Keele Student, October 1985

“Artist’s Impression” of Keele Hall by Nano Banana 2 Lite

There’s something a bit “Hotel California” about Keele. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.

On 15 July 1985 I wrote in my diary:

…left Keele forever at lunchtime…

…but of course that wasn’t true.

A sizeable piece of my heart never really left Keele – or possibly I should say that Keele never left a sizeable piece of my heart. Moreover, by October 1985, I was back again, albeit just for the first of many visits, especially in that first post-Keele year.

I had been at Keele for five years, which I have written up extensively in Ogblog, more than 200 articles, starting with…

Getting In To & Starting At Keele University, 8 October 1980

…doing the Foundation Year 1980/81, Law & Economics 1981-1984, then an additional year as Education & Welfare (sabbatical) for the Students’ Union 1984/85.

During those first post Keele months – for most of the following year in fact – I visited Keele regularly. This October visit was the first of them, recorded in detail in my diary:

Friday, 18 October 1985 – rushed day at work – dashed off to Keele – had dinner at Petra [Wilson’s] – went over to Annalisa [de Mercur’s] and Kate [Fricker’s] flats – fairly late night.

Saturday, 19 October 1985 – got up late – did very little all day – went over to [Barnes] L49/L 54 – went to Pinocchio’s -> Ben’s [Benita Wishart’s] party / Union – another late night.

Sunday, 20 October 1985 – Got up very late again – left Keele. Got back to London tired and late.

From https://www.studentcrowd.com/hall-l1004515-s1043587-barnes-hall-keele_university-keele

In retrospect, I’m not convinced that those regular visits to Keele, at that time, were such a good idea. I wanted to maintain the relationship with Petra, although observation of others should have told me, and hindsight did tell me, that trying to keep that sort of Keele relationship going, with one of us being post-Keele in London, was not likely to last.

I also wanted to keep the many friendships going; in that regard I was far more successful. For many years, post Keele, most of the people I hung out with were my Keele friends. In several cases, the Keele friendships from 40-50 years ago are still the people I see socially today.

(He says, writing in Autumn 2026).

As I embark on writing up my diaries from those in-between years, late 1985 to late 1988, only a small number of the stories will have general appeal to Keele and former Keele folk.

I especially got into regular theatre and concert going during that late 1980s period. Some of my stories of that have appeal to the general public and the AI bots these days.

For example, the following article – a theatre visit with Annalisa in 1989 (I have already written up late 1988 through to late 2001), gets hits on Ogblog every day at the moment, and occasional real messages from real people with questions about it.

Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Olivier Theatre, 18 March 1989

But the Keele / recently ex Keele angle of this story from autumn 1985 will only occasionally be central to my 85-88 postings. When it is central, I shall share the pieces on Keelie socials, but otherwise leave it to retro-blog addicts, ex-Keele addicts and search bots to trawl Ogblog for the stories.

I plan to post articles from this 1985 to 1988 series over the next two-and-a-half to three years. Coincidentally, that is roughly the duration of a typical Keele undergraduate’s time at Keele these days.

“Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.” Bard Harris image by Nano Banana on my instruction.

A Letter From Keele, Professor Les Fishman, 2 September 1985

I have no idea what must have gone wrong with the earlier correspondence, unless it turns up in a pile I have not yet excavated. I got on well with Les, both in my capacity as a student and as a students’ union officer. He was, in my experience, a wonderful lecturer and steward of his undergraduate students. So my comment about the long-forgotten faux pas would have been tongue-in-cheek on my part, as would Les’s rebuttal have been on his part.

Les Fishman Letter 2 September 1985

In 2008 I went to the memorial mini-conference Professor Peter Lawrence and others held in Les’s honour. I ended up meeting and hiring Les’s grand-daughter, Leo, who thus worked at Z/Yen for a few happy years.

 

Memorial Conference for Les Fishman, Management Centre, Keele University,15 October 2008

A Letter from Peter Held soon after I left Keele, 24 July 1985

I got to know Peter Held on several of the University committees; he was a prominent member of the University Council. I remember being pleasantly surprised when he invited me and Kate to a Lichfield Festival concert towards the end of our term of office, that summer. I’ll write up that concert in the fullness of time; I’m pretty sure I have the programme.

I would have written quite promptly to Peter to thank him for his (i.e. Marling Industries’) hospitality. This letter is his thanks for my thanks, with the offer of a little bit of employment insurance tucked in there, which I remember pleasing me when I first saw the letter.

Not that I can really imagine a career in industrial textiles, looking back, but who knows where life might have been taking me back then?

Marling Industries Letter 24 July 1985

 

A Risky Drive To Lichfield With Professor Fuller As Keele University Guests At the Lichfield Festival, 13 July 1985

Kate Fricker: “Would you like me to drive, Professor?” Watson Fuller: “No. Why do you ask?” AI actors images provided by DeepAI.

One of my most memorable Keele days, right at the end of my time there. Kate (now Susan) Fricker and I were invited to join the University guest pack at the Lichfield Festival, courtesy of Peter Held of industrial textiles behemoth Marling Industries plc.

Ironically, Marling Industries was best known for seatbelt materials. Ironically, because Kate and I were treated to a rollercoaster ride from Keele to Lichfield with Professor Watson Fuller and Mrs Fuller.

I was very fond of Professor Fuller. And I think he was also fond of us. He’d certainly heaped praise on one of my least challenging pieces of research a few month’s earlier, in his capacity as Chair of Foundation Year Committee:

Why Oh FY? – My Most Highly Praised Piece Of Statistical Work Ever, Plus Other Keele Happenings Such As Opening The Real Ale Bar, Early In The Spring Term, 1985

Professor Fuller was Professor of Physics, so he really should have had a profound grasp of the potential physical effects, were a large object travelling at speed – e.g. a car with four passengers doing 60 mph on a duel carriageway – go out of control and hit something. Yet, he did not seem to have a profound grasp of the steering wheel most of the time, nor did he seem to be paying much attention to the road when, frequently, he turned around to us, waxing lyrical about this, that, or the other.

I suppose, as Fuller was a biophysicist, credited with vital supporting work on X-Ray diffraction with Watson & Crick, that his head was always in far loftier thoughts than mere road safety. Or should I say that driving without paying fuller attention to the road was in Professor Fuller’s DNA.

Mrs Fuller did not look terrified. Perhaps she was used to it. But apparently, on arrival, Kate and I looked a little ruffled. I remember Professor Philip Boden and his good lady taking us aside before the lunchtime concert.

Has Watson offered to take you home after the evening concert? Thought so. Not many people want a second lift from Watson, bless him. Reputation precedes him. Would you like us to rescue you? Thought so. I’ll tell him we’ve invited you back to our place for coffee after the concert. Easiest that we take you back.

We were grateful. And Professor Boden was good to his word, not only giving us a lift home but also providing us with some warm hospitality and enjoyable chat at Chez Boden before taking us home.

To the concerts. First up was a lunchtime concert at St Chad’s Church, Lichfield.

St Chad, Lichfield. User:Bs0u10e01, CC BY 3.0

We saw the Lindsay String Quartet perform:

  • Joseph Haydn –  String Quartet No 3, Op 33 (“The Birds”)
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – String Quartet in G (K 387)

Very charming it was too. The setting. The fine quartet and the non-challenging nature of the music.

After plenty of hospitality in the afternoon and a migration to the Cathedral, we enjoyed a bigger deal concert in the evening. The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, under George Malcolm, supported by András Schiff, Yuuko Shiokawa and Heinz Holliger.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Wind Serenade in C Minor
  • Alban Berg – Chamber Concerto for Violin, Piano and Winds
  • George Frideric Handel – Concerto Grosso, Op 3 No 2 in B flat
  • George Frideric Handel – Music for the Royal Fireworks

I must confess to have struggled with the Alban Berg. Always have, probably always will. The rest was easy listening by serious music standards.

Here’s the programme:

Petra’s First Year At Keele Concludes, While I Am To Persevere For A Few More Days, 9 to 12 July 1985

Photo: charles c / Sheet Anchor Baldwins Gate via Wikimedia Commons

Tuesday, 9 July 1985 – Petra’s last day – Rose late – went to Sheet Anchor for lunch – packed etc. went to hospital [to visit Ruth]– cooked Petra Chinese meal etc.

Petra Wilson by the Keele Lakes

Wednesday 10 July 1984 – Packed car – decided to go too –> hospital [to visit Ruth] –> drove down to London with Petra – arrived late – went to Il Carretto for meal (compliments of dad). Petra left late.

Thursday, 11 July 1985 – return to Keele in morning – saw Hayward [Burt] etc in afternoon – went to see Ruth early evening – stayed in after.

Hayward Burt in Barnes L54, occupying what used to be MY chair. Picture by Mark Ellicott

Friday, 12 July 1985 – spent day sorting things out and waiting for Kate [Fricker] – Late – had pleasant dinner etc.

Kate Fricker – picture extracted from Concourse

Kate and I had been invited to the Lichfield Festival by the Keele Court (Senate & Council) grandees. My next piece will set out my memories of that rather special and, at times, hilarious day.