Category: Student Life

Choosing Beers & Amusements & Other Keele Students’ Union Efforts, Plus A Short Trip To Merseyside, Early-To-Mid August 1984

Photo by Clemensfranz GNU FDL 1.2 and CC 3.0

My sense is that the Students’ Union in August was traditionally a quiet place. However, our committee was shaking several trees, which meant a fair bit of work to do, perhaps beyond the norm.

Having dismissed the bar managers…

When The Keele Students’ Union Bars (aka Tommy And Ralph) Saga Came To A Head, Early August 1984

…we still needed to keep the bars open, albeit a limited service during August. We needed temporary bar management – enter stage left John “Beaky” White (not to be confused with John S White, the sabbatical secretary) and Pete Cumberland from the KRA (postgraduate bar). We also needed to get on with the process of finding new permanent bar managers before the new term.

In any case, I think there was a regular requirement for the new committee to renew or replace extant agreements with beer and amusements companies, which involved an element of due diligence, some of which was, I must admit, quite pleasurable. John White and I were prepared to take the sabbatical lead on those tasks.

Here’s what my diary had to say about that early August period:

Sunday, 5 August 1984 – Went down Sneyd/Joanne’s [Jo Gadian] for lunch – got wrecked and spent most of the day and evening giggling uncontrollably.

Monday, 6 August 1984 – Busy day – still loads of things to sort out etc. Came down bar in eve – met lots of reps etc.

Tuesday, 7 August 1984 -Busy day packed with meetings etc – UC (Union Committee meeting) in afternoon – worked till late. Had meal. Went round finding advertising, union etc.

Wednesday, 8 August 1984 – Fairly busy day in office – went over to Ashley’s {Fletcher] in eve – drank a lot and dossed out there.

Thursday 9 August 1984 -Fairly busy getting stuff done before going away – worked till late – went to disco.

I took some long weekends/”few day breaks” during that summer vacation. During that August period, I went to the Wirral/Merseyside to stay with Bobbie Scully.

Friday, 10 August 1984 – Met senior tutor {Eddie Slade] in morning and then left for Liverpool – had a lazy afternoon and eve. Went to a pub in the eve.

Saturday, 11 August 1984 – Got up late – went into town [Liverpool from Wallasey] in afternoon – returned to town in evening to see play – stayed up late.

Sunday, 12 August 1984 – Late again – went bowling in New Brighton – drank in a pub in Eve – stayed up late watching videos etc.

Monday, 13 August 1984 -Got up late – went to Southport for the afternoon & evening – had meal – very pleasant – late night again.

I guessed that we went to see Alan Bleasdale’s Having A Ball. The Theatr Clwyd production we saw – here is the Theatricalia link – was reviewed thusly in the Liverpool Echo:

Ball EchoBall Echo 26 Apr 1984, Thu Liverpool Echo (Liverpool, Merseyside, England) Newspapers.com

…but that production closed before 13 August, so we must have gone to see that one on one of my earlier visits or when it came to Stoke.

I’m guessing we therefore saw Cavern Of Dreams at the Liverpool Playhouse on that occasion, which picked up this interesting preview in The Post:

Cavern Post KeyCavern Post Key 23 Jul 1984, Mon Daily Post (3 a.m. ed.) (Liverpool, Merseyside, England) Newspapers.com

I don’t think we were wild about that play/production.

Tuesday, 14 August 1984 – Returned to Keele the UC in afternoon. John boy and I did disco in eve – good fun and quite successful.

Wednesday, 15 August 1984 – busyish day in office – got quite a lot done. Spent evening in union and KRA.

Thursday, 16 August 1984 – Quite a busy day in the office – went to Burtonwood piss up with Frank [Dillon] in eve.

Friday, 17 August 1984 – Busyish day in office etc. Went down KRA in evening.

Pady Jalali (Social Secretary) was determined to break a “disco DJ cartel”, which meant that a select group of students were paid to DJ discos. Pady’s view was that the gig was so popular she could auction the spots and get people to pay for the privilege of being DJ. Although she wasn’t going to go that far, she was going to stop paying people and anticipated a “strike”, which we agreed that the committee would “break” by DJ-ing the discos ourselves until enough willing students put their hands up for the gigs.

Hence me and John “doing the disco” for the first time that Tuesday evening. We almost certainly had just a small gathering of Open University students that evening. Good fun probably means that John and I enjoyed it as much or more than the punters. Quite successful must mean that we got the punters dancing.

We got better at DJ-ing as we went along.

There’s more to it than just a couple of knobs and a dance floor… Photo by Tristan Schmurr from Luxembourg, Luxembourg, CC BY 2.0

John & I didn’t have to DJ for long into the term, but, having learnt the art during the summer we put our hands up a few times during the academic year. More on that anon.

When The Keele Students’ Union Bars (aka Tommy And Ralph) Saga Came To A Head, Early August 1984

University Of Keele Students’ Union Bar, Early 1980s, with grateful thanks to Peter Meade, Keele Alum & Photographer – check out his amazing work through this link.

There was a great deal to learn when we started our Keele Union Committee roles, not least our own portfolios (in my case Education & Welfare) but also the general management of the Students’ Union as a business. One issue dominated those early weeks of our tenure in the summer of 1984 – the matter of significant stock losses across the three bars in the union – sums that were turning a potentially profitable (or at least break even) business into a significantly loss-making one.

The subject was well covered in Concourse by Vanessa Kent while I was busy doing my finals:

I recall that we were advised by the Unions’ Permanent Secretary, Tony Derricott, that our predecessor committee had started but not concluded a disciplinary process against the bar managers, Tommy Armour and Ralph Newton. It was, we were advised, imperative that we concluded that process one way or another in a reasonably timely fashion.

I don’t mention the problem directly in my diary until the matter came to a head, but some of my diary notes indicate roughly when things panned out.

I mention a long Union Committee meeting 8 June and use the word “corruption” to describe a central topic. I want to say from the outset that we concluded in the end that management/permanent staff corruption was not involved. The problem, as we identified it, was to a large extent, management’s inability to control part-time student bar staff, some of whom would support their friends’ drinking habits through low charging or no charging.

The sums of money were very significant. We estimated the stock losses to be running at £10,000 to £15,000 per annum at that time – in beer purchasing power terms that’s more like £100,000 to £150,000 per annum in 2024 money.

Each mention of Union Committee in my June and July diaries talks about the meeting being long and/or “dragged on”. It was this topic that dominated the agenda, although there were of course many other items to discuss as well.

At least one or two of those meetings in July were also interim disciplinary hearings. We took the view that our committee needed to examine all the evidence and allow Tommy and Ralph time to explain the substantial stock deficits and their plans for rectifying them. This required us to allow enough time for subsequent stock takes to occur and then be reported back to us.

Measure for measure

Kate and I visited the Union’s solicitor in late July for advice on process, knowing that the matter almost certainly could not fairly be concluded before Kate Fricker was going to be in the USA on holiday.

The upshot was, a meeting on 31 July at which the committee agreed to issue a final warning based on incapacity – i.e. that the managers seemed incapable of explaining the losses and/or producing a plan of action to solve the problem.

We set a deadline and meeting to review any subsequent findings/explanations that the managers might produce, in consultation with their trades union reps, timetabled for 3rd August. We (Union Committee) agreed that I would chair that meeting in Kate’s absence. I recall that Kate was not at all happy about needing to devolve that responsibility, but it was clear from the legal guidance that we needed to progress using that timetable, rather than wait for Kate’s return..

My diary page for the preceding day, the day of the concluding hearing itself and the day after reads as follows:

Thursday 2 August 1984 – Busy day at the office – getting things ready for tomorrow etc. Melissa [Oliveck] came up – cooked her a meal and went down union after and [Melissa] stopped over.

Friday 3 August 1984 – Gruelling day. – UC [Union Committee] meeting went on for over four hours – sacked Ralph and Tommy. Changed locks etc – then went out in evening with Ashley [Fletcher] Frank [Dillon] and Melissa to KRA [Keele Research Association – postgraduate bar].

Saturday 4 August 1984 – Most of the day in the office sorting stuff out – came down union in evening.

I put a great deal of effort into making sure that I was fully prepared for either eventuality – a decision to dismiss or a decision not to dismiss. While we thought it unlikely that Tommy and Ralph might produce explanations and or plans of significantly higher quality than before, I wanted to be ready to announce either possibility with clarity and conviction. I wrote quite detailed notes on “what to say if we dismiss” and “what to say if we do not dismiss”, not least because I was so darned nervous I thought I might freeze without prompts. I wrote those notes slowly in block capitals too, to ensure that I could read my own handwriting, even when feeling nervous.

The fact that I note cooking for Melissa and her “stopping over” at the flat suggests that Pete Wild, the Treasurer, must have been away at that time, as Pete also lived in that flat. But apart from Kate and Pete I think the rest of the committee was there for that gruelling 3 August meeting.

The matter came to a head

I didn’t shirk from my responsibility – looking those employees in the eye – Tommy who had served for 16 years, Ralph for six – telling them that they no longer had jobs and explaining why. I firmly believed and still believe that it was absolutely the right decision for the Students’ Union. But I, along with the other members of the committee, felt a great deal of sympathy with the sacked employees, who, we felt, were victims of circumstance. The scale of the Students’ Union bar business “had got big on them” and they simply were incapable of managing a large three-bar outlet of that scale. Both had started as part-time bar mangers.

I spent a long time in the office the following day, Saturday, not least formally typing up the decision and getting that into the post that day, in order to comply as fully as I knew how with the rule in the staff handbook that letters of dismissal should be sent as soon as possible after a dismissal hearing.

The matter was far from resolved in early August. Tommy and Ralph’s NUPE (National Union of Public Employees, now part of UNISON) rep, Derek Bamford, told us in no uncertain terms that they would be pursuing every possible avenue of appeal, which they did. There will be plenty more about this matter in my Ogblog pages covering the period right up to the end of 1984.

The experience has had a profound effect on my attitude towards employment matters for the decades since. In my management consultancy years, late 1980s until around the turn of the century, I was always hard on colleagues who “played fast and loose” with company reorganisations, especially in circumstances when they would not have to see through their recommendations and were disparaging about clients’ reluctance to dismiss people. “Have you ever looked long-standing employees in the eye and told them that they no longer have jobs?”, I would tend to say, to ensure that such decisions were well thought through, made only when necessary, and delivered sensitively. In my own firm, we have very rarely dismissed a member of staff – I could count the times over the decades on the fingers of one hand – and I consider such rare occurrences primarily to be a fail on our part as employers.

I’d be really interested to hear from other members of that Union Committee on how they remember this aspect of our work together, and how it affected them. Either privately or in a form that I might publish as a postscript here.

What I Did As Keele Education & Welfare Officer In The Summer Holidays Part One: One Or Two Tough Cases, Getting To Know Colleagues, A Short (Unexpectedly Sad) Visit To My Family, Plus, Least Interestingly But Most Importantly, Sorting Out The Filing System, July 1984

The headline image is from Watergate. Keele SU ones looked startlingly similar. Cornellrockey, CC BY-SA 4.0

You want to know more than the headline reveals? Bless you.

Sunday 8 July 1984 – Rose late – Kate came over for lunch (curry) looked into PS&D [Policy Staffing & Development Committee – the main sub-committee of Senate, the latter mostly rubber-stamping recommendations from PS&D] stuff – watched tennis & video. Truda [Smith] came over later – went to union after.

I hope Kate (now Susan) Fricker remembers the magnificence of that curry. In those days, my curry recipe tended to be either mince or chicken, with lots of onion, tomato puree and (luxury item) sultanas. Usually the curry would be based on garam masala or madras spices, with a sauce base of chicken stock. I would sometimes add bhindi (okra) – if I could get hold of them. Patna rice, almost certainly – the budget didn’t stretch to basmati on student grant money. Basic, but tasty.

The tennis on the TV would have been a very short final between John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors. We might also have watched John Lloyd and Wendy Turnbull win the mixed doubles, while preparing for our first major University Committee meeting; PS&D.

I have no recollection of ever having a video machine in the flat – someone must have left it with me for safe-keeping over the summer and I don’t suppose I used it very much.

Kate (Susan) Fricker with Truda Smith in 1985 – thanks Mark Ellicott

Monday, 9 July 1984 – Busyish day – Hayward [Burt] et. al. came to VC’s garden party in early eve – all went back to John’s [White – presumably still in his Barnes flat at that time] and on to union after.

Tuesday, 10 July 1984 – Busy day – meetings [not least that PS&D, presumably] etc – went to union committee afternoon etc. John and Hayward came back for curry ->to Betley boozing.

Wednesday, 11 July 1984 – Busy day at work – worked late – went NSP [North Staffs Poly – presumably to meet their union committee sabbaticals] for lunch. Played tennis with Kate -> McDonald’s – worked late – stayed in bar.

John White recalls us all going out to Betley in someone’s car [Hayward perhaps?] for a booze after dinner. But did we go to the Hand And Trumpet or The Swan Inn? My diary is silent on this and, sadly, John took a sabbatical from diary writing as well as a Union sabbatical that year.

I don’t remember ever playing tennis with Kate, but the diary says that we did, so we did. It almost certainly won’t have been the sort of exhilarating, nail-biting experience I was used to with Alan (Great Yorkshire Pudding) Gorman and I was certainly not yet experienced enough to deploy handicapping to enhance the excitement of a tennis game.

Thursday, 12 July 1984 – Horrid day – [name redacted] theft case took most of the day. Went to Kate’s for dinner – very pleasant evening – late night.

John White remembers that horrid day well, although his angle on it was somewhat different. John heard a kerfuffle by the pigeon-holes and went out to interrupt a ferocious argument between two students, one of whom had caught the other student red-handed stealing his incoming mail from the pigeon-holes. I ended up spending much of the day providing pastoral care, initially to the victim (who was easily placated once the police had been called) and then to both the culprit and the police. Suffice it to say that the culprit’s room was chock-full of evidence that the pigeon-hole incident that had been interrupted was far from a one-off.

I only had a handful of those very difficult and emotionally draining cases during my year – that one was an early baptism of fire.

I didn’t run away to London as a result of that trauma – the week off in Streatham with my family had been planned, although the sad event that occurred while I was with my family was not part of the plan.

We Interrupt This Sabbatical For A Ten Day Break In London

Friday 13 July 1984 – Fairly busy day at office – finished early to travel to London with John – long haul due to strike. Got back late.

Saturday 14 July 1984 – Lazy day – shopped in Streatham – spoke to people – taped etc. Stayed in evening.

Sunday, 15 July 1984 – Lazyish day – went for Indian lunch – went on to visit Grandma Jenny and Uncle Louis. Stayed in evening.

Grandma Jenny, Grandpa Lew & Uncle Louis, late 1930s

Grandma Jenny was my step-grandmother, although you would never have known the “step” element from the amount of care, love and attention I received from her and her (Barst) family. My Grandpa Lew died before I was born. Uncle Louis was Jenny’s brother, my step-great-uncle. Louis was widowed in the early 1980s, soon after which he and Jenny, who were great pals, decided to live out their days together in a flat in Surbiton. Uncle Louis was a really lovely man; I’d be surprised if anyone had a bad word to say about him.

Grandma Jenny, mid 1980s, in the Dolphin Close, Surbiton flat

Monday 16 July 1984 – Lazyish day – Shopped in Streatham etc – met Jimmy {Bateman] for drinks in evening.

Tuesday 17 July 1984 – Went to town late morning – went Annalisa’s [de Mercur] (met her from hospital) [If I recall correctly, Uncle Louis was taken ill and hospitalised just a day or so after our “regular” visit that weekend]. Met Simon [Jacobs] after in afternoon – went home. Stayed in evening.

Wednesday, 18 July 1984 – Lazyish day – did some taping – read etc. – went to Brixton in afternoon – stayed in evening.

Thursday, 19 July 1984 -Heard Uncle Louis died this morning – met Caroline for lunch as arranged, then -> Grandma Jenny for afternoon – met Jilly [Black] for Chinese meal etc. in evening.

Friday, 20 July 1984 – Went to shop with dad – wrote up books – went to funeral – went back with Grandma Jenny afterwards – went home for dinner –> Pam & Michael’s [Harris] in the evening.

Saturday 21 July 1984 -Paul [Deacon] came over in afternoon for a while – had dinner then went over to Andrea’s [Dean] for evening – stayed up late – stopped over [at Bushy House].

Sunday 22 July 1984 – Went back to Streatham quite early – had Italian lunch, then photo sesh, then returned to Keele – went union in evening for drink.

I had been racking my brains to try to work out what “photo sesh” might mean. I wasn’t aware of any pictures of that vintage in mum and dad’s collection. But then, by 1984, dad had become positively reckless in the matter of labelling pictures and/or keeping negatives with prints. A photographer/photographic dealer for pity’s sake. Talk about cobblers’ children.

Anyway, a trawl of the muddle that is the post 1980 photo estate, forty years on, has, unfortunately for the viewer, uncovered this:

I am surely sporting the very finest mid 1980s sportwear that a limited budget could buy in the sales in Streatham High Street back then.

If any readers/viewers have been troubled by this disturbing image, please contact the Ogblog Action Line, where trained trauma counsellors are standing by.

Moving Swiftly On: Back At Keele Sorting Out The Students’ Union – Last Week Of July 1984

Monday 23 July 1984 – Busy day in office – getting backlog of work done – etc. Work till fairly late and went for a drink after work.

Tuesday 24 July 1984 – Busy day today – working on filing system, etc. Annalisa came up – cooked her a meal etc.

Wednesday 25 July 1984 – Very busy day – worked till very late – Annalisa stayed and helped – Kate worked late too.

Annalisa was a great help as well as a very good friend, not only in those early days of the sabbatical but throughout my sabbatical year

Thursday, 26 July 1984 – Still busy with stuff. Annalisa finished her bit and left. Frank [Dillon] and Kate came over for dinner and much booze.

Friday, 27 July 1984 – Extremely busy day today – sorting stuff out for tomorrow etc. Shopped. Worked till late. Stayed up till very late.

Saturday 28 July 1984 – Union committee meeting this morning – dragged on – stayed in office tied up etc – union evening – disco.

That will have been the first time that John White and I DJ’d the Keele SU disco. It was far from the last time. I don’t suppose our efforts were masterful that first time, but they won’t have been bad and there would have been a fair smattering of Motown/Northern Soul involved. More on that topic anon.

Sunday 29 July 1984 – Spent most of the day cooking and lazing around – John, Pady [Jalali] and Kate came over dinner.

Monday, 30 July 1984 – Very rushed today – lots of customers – stayed in office till late and finished files.

Tuesday, 31 July 1984 – Busy day out – Civic offices and union solicitors in the morning. Union committee in afternoon – went Union in evening.

“Went Union in evening” sounds like a busman’s holiday for those of us working there, but we didn’t get out much (other than the Union) that year.

The mention of the visit to solicitors foreshadows the “elephant in the room” from these July diaries, unmentioned but soon to come to a head: the massive problems we inherited from our predecessors regarding the management of, and stock losses from, the several Union bars. The next episode will explain.

Festivities, Results, “Graduation” & Equality At Keele, Late June To Early July 1984

With thanks to Jean-Marc Alter for permission to use this picture of the Economics Department graduating from our year. I’m hiding towards the back.

As someone who had completed his finals and was also a new sabbatical, this period was quite a strange one. We wanted to hit the ground running as an incoming Union Committee, but those of us who had just completed our finals (me, John White and Pady Jalali) also had some celebrating to do with our fellow finalists.

Here’s the transcription from my diary for the last week of June 1984

Sunday, 24 June 1984 – Lazy day – Rose etc. Went to International Fair – had Chinese takeaway after – came back to mine.

The International Fair made Page 5 of the Evening Sentinel, whereas my Chinese takeaway did not:

Sentinel International FairSentinel International Fair 25 Jun 1984, Mon Evening Sentinel (Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England) Newspapers.com

Monday 25 June 1984 – Busyish day with meetings etc. Went to town in eve – went to Ritzys [?] do for a while. Went back to B’s.

As always, my writing is hard to read in places. I don’t remember a place named Ritzys – but equally I couldn’t swear that my scribble is that word. Feel free to judge for yourselves.

Postscript: Julia Taylor writes in to confirm that “Ritzy’s was a nightclub. North part of Newcastle town.” Thanks Julia.

Tuesday 26 June 1984 – Busy morning – played political cricket afternoon – good fun. Went to town for McDonalds – stayed in at Bobbies – came back to mine.

I wrote up the “Political Cricket” match some while ago – click here or below for that article:

O Captain! My Captain! – Gentlemen Of The Right v Players Of The Left – Keele Festival Week Cricket Match, 26 June 1984

Wednesday 27 June 1984 – tense morning waiting for results – 2:1 – had quite a lot to drink. Went to Plesch’s – Bobbie’s after – stayed.

Thursday, 28 June 1984 – busyish day work – Politics do lunch. Went to Law finals party early eve – watched film – union ball – did duty – went home late.

I made no notes about that year’s ball. I’d love to be reminded by someone who played that ball etc. Pady – do you remember?

Postscript: Summer Ball 28 June 1984

Who needs memory when your Newspapers.com subscription now includes the Evening Sentinel Archive? We saw Bad Manners (for a second time, I think, in my case), New Sweet (playing old Sweet songs) and The Shillelagh Sisters. I remember especially liking the latter. Their Wikipedia entry tells us: “The group was founded in early 1983 in a men’s restroom at a party.” Say no more.

Sentinel Ball line up 28 June 1984Sentinel Ball line up 28 June 1984 19 Jun 1984, Tue Evening Sentinel (Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England) Newspapers.com

Friday 29 June 1984 Rose early – meetings most of day – very tiring. Got Chinese takeaway – went to Liz party – came back here after.

Saturday 30 June 1984 Rose late – lazyish day – Annalisa [de Mercur] came over – went to town for tea – went to graduand’s dinner after – stay in (after union business bar closure) – B stayed.

Sunday 1 July 1984 – Lazyish day – rose quite late. Did little all day (popped into office, laundered etc). Went for Indian meal in eve – came back to mine.

Monday 2 July 1984 – Busy day for meetings – Senate in morning – Union Committee/finance in afternoon. Lazy evening at Bobbie’s – drank some – came back to my place.

That would have been my first Senate meeting. I have some specific memories about goings-on at Senate, which I shall enjoy sharing in the coming months, but I have no specific recollections from that first meeting.

Tuesday3 July 1984 – Graduation day – I {slepflated??} early afternoon – easy time – went down to lawns for tea – Bobby’s mum etc – went for dinner – Bobby opted to stay – packed!

I cannot fathom the word or two after the word “I” on Graduation Day. John White has had a go at studying a magnified printout of the diary page with no joy. Some amongst the hive mind of cryptographer-readers out there might be able to decipher it.

To my subsequent slight regret, I decided some months before graduating that I would graduate in absentia, choosing not to “bow and scrape” to Princess Margaret at a ceremonial function which i felt had little or no meaning to me. My regret, in hindsight, is that I denied my parents the opportunity to attend such a thing. I had told them that it would be a long and boring ceremony in which I would play a minuscule part. That much was probably true.

I also missed out on the hoity-toitying opportunity afforded to sabbaticals on such occasions. Fortunately John White took up that offer and has written up his experience of graduation day for you, making my absence less important in the matter of historical record:

John White Guest Piece: Graduation Day With Princess Margaret & Viscount Tonypandy, 3 July 1984

If I recall correctly, it was the invitation to that pre-graduation event that got me into some deep water with the press. In my defence, I don’t think I was well-advised by the unions’ permanent secretary. When I asked how I should decline such an invitation, Tony Derricott shrugged and suggested that I simply state that I was otherwise engaged. I realise now that I should have bigged-up the excuse for missing out on a Royal invitation. “An unavoidable family commitment” or some such.

Someone in Princess Margaret’s office must have found my note uppity and tipped off Nigel Dempster at The Daily Mail. Being dumped on by “Dumpster” was a badge of honour in many respects. All the more so, on this occasion, because Dumpster got every material fact about me and the situation wrong, apart from my name and the fact that I didn’t attend. The Daily Mail even printed my rebuttal letter a short while later, which added a little to the badge of honour…or possibly detracted from it.

“One was a little disappointed not to meet the infamous Mr Harris…”

Let us move on.

Wednesday 4 July 1984 – Busyish day – Bobby left – worked till quite late – got McDonalds and went to union after.

Thursday 5 July 1984 – Hard work today to do – sorting stuff out et cetera. Worked till quite late – cooked John [White] curry – went down union after.

Friday, 6 July 1984 Busy day at the office – work till quite late – went to McDonalds with Kate – went to union after.

Saturday 7 July 1984 – Lazyish day – went to CRE [Commission For Racial Equality] meetings in afternoon – watched tennis – met CLC/CRE [Community Relations Commission/Commission For Racial Equality] people again after -> Union for drinks.

I now remember that Saturday rather well…

…yes, I know, John, I couldn’t recall what CRE stood for when I met you, only five days before publishing this piece…it all flooded back into my head when I started to write this up.

The tennis will have been the Wimbledon Ladies Final – Martina Navratilova v Chris Evert Lloyd (as the latter was then known):

The Commission for Racial Equality conference at Keele was right up my street, as I had just graduated in Law, including a good paper for Professor Don Thompson’s Civil Liberties module. Don was also Acting Vice Chancellor at that time and asked me to help host the visiting CRE.

I remember in particular meeting Herman Ouseley at that event and having a long chat with him during one of the more social opportunities during or after the conference. He was a most engaging and interesting person…probably still is.

I believe I also met the trades union leader Bill Morris for the first time at that conference. I’m not sure whether Kate and/or John joined us for some of the social activities around that conference. Perhaps one or both will remember.

Subsequently Lord Ouseley – picture by Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0.

I realise with hindsight how privileged we were, as sabbaticals, to meet and socialise with such folk at Keele. At the time, as a 21-year-old, it just seemed to come as part of the deal.

John White Guest Piece: Graduation Day With Princess Margaret & Viscount Tonypandy, 3 July 1984

John White mid-1980s – with thanks to Mark Ellicott for the picture

While I chose to graduate in absentia and write something indecipherable in my diary about that day (more on that anon), John White, without the aid of diary postings, recalls that day well and has written a cracker of a guest piece about it.

Many thanks, John.

THE DAY WE WENT TO HANLEY

It was graduation day 1984. As the newly elected Keele Student’s Union Secretary, I and President, Kate Fricker, found ourselves in the unexpected position of joining Keele’s Chancellor, Princess Margaret, and other University luminaries for lunch before that year’s Graduation Ceremony.

Uncomfortably dressed up, Kate and I were stuck on the end of a long line to be introduced to the Queen’s sister as the least important of the guests on display. She slowly made her way down the obsequious line of bowers, scrappers and curtseyers until she eventually arrived at the end where we were introduced. As a republican I was a tad nervous the security service would be on my case for any signs of protest. I did not plan to make any and frankly just felt I had to do what I had to do – and in any case I would get some free alcohol and some nice nosh.

After the “what did you study?” conversation, there was a pause as no-one seemed to know what would happen next. This presented Kate and I with a few extra seconds of air time with royalty, much to the chagrin of the people back up the line, who were clearly bothered about the shorter amount time they got with Keele’s very own Royal. I distinctly remember jealous heads leaning forward and eyes staring at the two uppity and undeserving students who were only there because they had to be. It made me smile and I can’t remember at all what was said. Sadly The Crown did not capture this moment so, unless Kate can remember, I think the no-doubt-erudite-and-witty [verbal] jousting with Princess M will have to remain lost to history.

Lunch was good. Lamb I think and a few glasses of vino. I was smoking then and extremely miffed that a waiter kept offering the Princess a fag from a nice looking box but never looked like flashing the ash to the rest of us. I kept my own Bensons [other brands of cigarette were and still are available…but not recommended – ed.] safe for later – maybe she would fancy one if I got the chance to offer, I mused. Well there was no chance as she got whisked away as soon as lunch was over for a chauffeur driven ride to the Victoria Hall in Hanley, Stoke, where the degree ceremony took place.

“By George!” George Thomas c1955, aka Viscount Tonypandy by the time John White met him.

Kate was not graduating that year so went back to the Union whilst I was placed in a coach with the other lunch guests to be taken to Hanley. I got to sit with George Thomas, Lord (Viscount) Tonypandy who had been a well-liked and respected speaker of the House of Commons up until the June 1983 election when Mrs Thatch won a landslide after the Falklands War. He took genuine interest in me, was not in the least bit patronising and spoke eloquently about the value of democracy and the privilege of being elected, congratulating me on my recent election. I felt like I had just made it to the House of Commons. His kindness has stuck with me.

The rest of the ceremony was mundane. All the students were lined up and marched across the stage to bow with varying degrees of enthusiasm to Princess Margaret and we got handed a certificate if I remember correctly by someone else before shuffling off the other side of the stage.

Photo from 1983 ceremony by Caroline Sene (Caroline Shannon) “borrowed” from the Keele Oral History Project site, with thanks.

I met mum and dad afterwards and we drove to a lay-by on a country road near Madeley to consume a bottle of champagne before they dropped me back at Keele and went home. There were a bunch of people drinking in the Union that night but I guess with all the mums and dads around and the sense that this really was the end of student life it wasn’t at all raucous, unlike results day.

Ah yes, results day. I’ll cover that and my own indecipherable graduation day activities in my next instalment.

Many thanks once again to John White for this lovely guest memory piece.

What The Paper Said Forty Years Ago: Concourse Articles On & By The New Union Committee, June 1984

Kate Fricker

I kept copies of Concourse from the tail end of my Keele career – I have most if not all from 1984 and the first half of 1985.

I’m glad I have copies of these papers, as they are very helpful memory joggers for that Students’ Union heavy period of my Keele time.

I shall be peppering Ogblog with extracts from Concourse as well as my diaries as I write up this period.

Concourse Writing On The New Sabbaticals, June 1984

The following two page spread from the June 1984 issue of Concourse was a preview piece about the four sabbaticals who had just taken office for 1984/85:

  • Kate (formerly and latterly known as Susan) Fricker – President;
  • John S White – Secretary;
  • Pady Jalali – Social Secretary;
  • Me – Education & Welfare.

Re-reading that material after all these years, I think Ralph Parker gave us a warm-hearted preview and a fair amount of leeway for our “honeymoon period”.

There was an element of editorial line involved, I sense. The previous committee had been much criticised for being disorganised and self-serving. Seeking extra pay at the end of their tenure didn’t help their cause with either the media or the Keele masses. Hence there was a prevailing view that the new lot couldn’t be worse and needed some space to grapple with the issues…

…writing this in July 2024, it reminds of the mood regarding the change of government in the UK!

Further, the Concourse line was somewhat celebratory about the new committee containing so many Concourse folk past and present: both John White and Ali Dabbs were on the Editorial Board when elected and I was well-known to have been a Concourse writer for several years…as well as, unbeknown to them, undercover gossip columnist H. Ackgrass.

Concourse Writing By The New Committee, June 1984

Quentin Rubens – granting us space

Putting aside my June 1984 H Ackgrass column, which I shall publish separately, here are the three articles that Concourse Editor Quentin Rubens generously granted to his old pals in that issue. Would he have given me a full half page had he known that I was also H Ackgrass? Would he have even spoken to me?

First up, a page containing John White’s report on a campus fire incident and Ali Dabbs’s investigative reporting (which it seems had been ongoing for some months) about that perennially important student issue: bar licence extensions:

My piece was more in keeping with the notion of guest space for committee members with something to say to the students. Mine was about the grant cuts and academic staffing.

O Captain! My Captain! – Gentlemen Of The Right v Players Of The Left – Keele Festival Week Cricket Match, 26 June 1984

Toby Bourgein. Picture “liberated” from the 1980/81 Keele Prospectus

I am sadly motivated to write up this story having learnt, a few days ago (September 2020), that Toby Bourgein has died. Toby captained the Players cricket team in all three of the festival matches I played. I had been intending to write up this glorious 1984 match for a couple of years, since I wrote up the tale of my surprise appearance in the 1982 match..

“Got Roped In To Playing Cricket All Afternoon”, Gentlemen v Players Cricket Match, Keele Festival Week, 24 June 1982

…and the 1983 match…

My Second “Thanks For Coming” (TFC) Keele Festival Week Cricket Match, 21 June 1983

For those not motivated to click the above link, I was a late selection for the 1982 match (for reasons that, alone, make the 1982 link worth clicking). I did not bowl and I did not bat in that historic victory, but I did, more by luck than judgement, take a stunning catch.

It won’t have looked this good, I wouldn’t have been so suitably attired, but it was a diving (in my case left-handed) catch. This picture from school five years earlier. I was better at taking pictures than at playing cricket. Still am.

Toby Borgein had a long memory and a good heart. I ran into him a week or two before the 1984 match and he told me he wanted me to play again and have a proper go this time.

We have a solid opening batsman, Ian Herd, this year. I’d like you to open the batting with him.

Ian was on Somerset CCC’s youth books – i.e. he was way above “our” scratchy festival knock-about cricket pay grade. But I didn’t know that until later.

Several of my friends came along to watch this time around, not least because I knew more than 30 minutes before the start of the match that I’d be playing. Anyway, there were worse places on earth to spend a glorious summer afternoon than the Keele Festival Week Beer Tent.

With thanks to Frank Dillon, this picture of an earlier “Players” team, probably 1981

We (The Players) fielded first. I neither distinguished myself nor embarrassed myself in the field – unlike 1982, during which my fielding had met triumph and disaster; naturally treating both of those imposters just the same.

I was mostly fielding in the long grass where I was able to nurse my pint of ale and seemingly play cricket at the same time. Who says men cannot multi-task?

Keele University Playing Field

The Gentlemen scored a little over 100 in their innings. A respectable but hopefully not insurmountable score for that fixture, based on previous experiences.

Then to bat. Sadly I have no pictures from the 1982, 1983 nor the 1984 event – if any are subsequently uncovered/scanned I shall add them. Here is the earliest photo of me going in to bat I can find; from 1998:

If you imagine Barnes Hall to the right of me and the tennis courts, beer tents etc. to the left, this could almost be the Keele playing fields. Almost, I said.

I still hadn’t picked up a cricket bat since school, unless you count the 1983 net and subsequent nought not out without facing a ball. But I was quite fit that summer, having played tennis regularly before (more or less during) and after my finals.

Anyway, Ian Herd could bat. We rattled along. I helped to see the shine off the new ball. I suspect that Ian made a greater contribution towards seeing off the shine by knocking the ball to all parts, but we’ll let that aspect pass.

The crowd was probably more heavily weighted towards Players’ supporters than Gentlemen’s supporters, but in any case by the second half of the match vocal chords were more lubricated.

In what seemed like next to no time, there was a cry from the crowd…

50-up

…allowing me and Ian a joyous moment of handshaking celebration in the middle.

“I think I’d better ‘hit out or get out’ to give some of the others a go this year”, I said.

“Good idea”, said t’other Ian

It didn’t take long (one ball) for me to loft one up in the air and get caught.

More tumultuous applause as I came off, with the score on 53/1.

“Fifty partnership – great stuff”, said Toby, ever the encouraging captain

I remember Bobbie Scully and Ashley Fletcher both being there. and both expressing joy in my performance and surprise that I could play. I’m pretty sure that several of my fellow Union Committee members, not least John White, Kate Fricker and Pady Jalali were around too.

Remember, folks, that everyone was quite well oiled by then and no-one was REALLY watching…

…apart from the scorer.

The scorer was Doreen Steele’s son. Doreen was the Students’ Union accountant and the NUPE shop steward for the union staff. Her son clearly aspired to similar careers.

“How many of the 53 did I score?”, I asked.

“Three”, said the lad.

“Are you sure it wasn’t four?” I asked, having counted to four in my head.

“You’re probably including a leg bye…”

“…I hit that ball onto my pad, actually…”

“…the umpire signalled leg bye. It was a leg bye…

…you scored three.”

You can’t argue with that schoolboy logic.

Nor can you argue with the fact that I had been part of a fifty partnership in a cricket match.

Nor can you argue with the fact that Toby Bourgein had pulled off a captaincy masterstroke…or at least a warm, generous gesture that meant a lot to me.

But did The Players win the match, I hear you cry? You bet your sweet pint of Marston’s Pedigree we won.

This story has subsequently been further immortalised on the King Cricket website:

Players (of the left) v Gentlemen (of the right) – match report + wagon wheel

Toby Bourgein will be better remembered at Keele for many other things, not least his student activism. The one other picture I have of him, below, is from a protest we attended together in 1982. But I remember Toby especially fondly for these silly cricket matches, for which he was, O Captain! My Captain!

Toby bottom left, looking suitably senior and serious about fighting the cuts.
Me towards the right, in trope-inducing donkey jacket, holding diagonal corner of the campus model

Meet Lord Rochester, The Curious Case Of Martin Dent’s Farm, Mavis’s Leaving Do, Barnes L54 Pub Crawl & More, Mid June 1984

Not THAT Lord Rochester, that would defy reason!

It seems that our sabbatical year technically started in early/mid June. Who knew? I suppose we did. Anyway, diary says so.

My First Sabbatical Week

Sunday, 10 June 1984 – Earlyish start – pottered – played tennis with Pud [Alan Gorman] – went to dinner with Jula and Aid at Bobbie’s in eve – earlyish night.

Monday, 11 June 1984 – Met Lord Rochester [Rt Hon The Lord Rochester, DL, then Chair of the University’s Council] in morning – first proper day [of sabbatical] – UGM in evening – heavy – Bobby came back after (party bit).

Leisure Games place probably looked a bit like this. Lino Wirag, CC BY-SA 4.0

Tuesday, 12 June 1984 – Busy day – went to Leisure Games [supplier of pinball and arcade machines to the union] lunch, v nice, played tennis with Viv early eve – went union in eve with Bobbie and Jula.

Wednesday, 13 June 1984 – Loads of meetings etc today (including Senate etc.) – Went down union in evening after – Bobbie came back.

Thursday, 14 June 1984 – Hard day at work – UC [Union Committee] dragged on etc. Played tennis in early eve [that must have been Alan Gorman again as unnamed] – went union for drink in evening Bobbie and Jula.

Friday, 15 June 1984 – Busy day in the office today – went to Candles in evening with Bobbie.

Saturday, 16 June 1984- Went to Martin Dent’s farm with Bobby and Co for day – very pleasant day. Stayed at B’s after.

The visit to Martin Dent’s Farm was one of the strangest and most memorable days I spent during my five years at Keele. Bobbie studied politics as well as law. Martin Dent was her tutor for a course in international politics.

In many ways Martin Dent’s glory days were ahead of him while we were at Keele – in the 1990s he achieved fame and praise as the brains behind The Jubilee Campaign, which successfully led to the cancellation of $120 Billion of developing world debt in the year 2000 – back when $120 Billion was real money. Here is a link to an article about Jubilee 2000 on the Keele website.

Here is a link to Martin’s obituary in The Guardian.

“Bobbie & Co” refers to the small group of students who were in Martin’s final year tutor group that year, including the suggestion, “bring your boyfriends and girlfriends if you wish”, which is why I tagged along with Bobs.

While it was, in essence, simply a day out on a farm where we ate, drank, walked and chatted, it was hugely memorable, due to Martin’s benevolent eccentricity.

The first thing we did after gathering outside the Union for this outing was a visit to the campus store, where Martin bought a full set of crockery and metal cutlery for our picnic. I think the food had been sort-of catered and was already loaded into a coach/minibus which was waiting for us.

When we arrived at the farm, which was apparently something that Martin had inherited and which he left in the hands of managing/tenant farmers, we had to clear away the previous year’s picnic, which meant throwing away a full set of crockery and cutlery which had long-since caked on & decayed food all over it. This seemed, to me, to be a novel approach to the concept of single use cutlery and crockery which was certainly not good for the planet.

We also got the impression that Martin’s team at the farm were less than happy, to the point of being contemptuous, on the rare occasions that their boss visited his farm. I remember Martin making one or two suggestions to them, which I felt from their responses were destined to be ignored. But then, I also felt that the matters were destined to be forgotten by Martin within moments of his pronouncements.

Yet it was clear from that day out and from my subsequent chats with martin during my sabbatical year, that he was a thoroughly decent and incredibly warm-hearted man. I don’t suppose he could imagine anything other than warm-heartedness in others, which for some of his enterprises was a problem but, ultimately, when he took his big ideas about world debt forward, he made a much larger contribution to reducing inequality and poverty in this world than most politicians could dream of.

I’m sure many readers have interesting memories of Martin – feel free to share them here.

Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, 1st Baronet Buxton of Belfield and Runton. Abolitionist extraordinaire and Martin Dent’s Great, great, great grandfather.

My Second Sabbatical Week

Sunday, 17 June 1984 – rose quite early – laundry etc. Played tennis in afternoon [Alan Gorman again] – cooked Bobby a vindaloo in evening – very nice.

Monday, 18 June 1984 – Busyish day at work. Went to union for drink in evening.

Tuesday 19 June 1984 – busy day in office – went to Lindsay coffee lounge do in early eve – stayed in after (tired).

Wednesday 20 June 1984 – Big and tiring day with meetings etc. Early eve – went to Mavis’s retirement do – stayed in with Bobby after.

Thursday, 21 June 1984 – Busy day with meetings etc – went to Senate and Council reception in early eve – on to Lindsay Ball after – late night.

Friday, 22 June 1984 – Meetings etc – busy day – not feeling at all well today – put in brief appearance at L54 [Barnes, my flat] pub crawl – came back – slept.

Saturday 23 June 1984 – Still not well today – went to Newcastle in afternoon etc – Went to Coach House for eve – v nice – went back to Bobbie’s.

I seem to recall Mavis’s leaving do being written up in Concourse and I’m pretty sure I have a copy somewhere – I’ll add an appendix with the article if/when I find it. I am also making a mental (and written) note here to discuss soon with John White how we might liaise over writing some of these tales from our sabbatical year, as many of the interesting stories will be shared ones from that year and I think he possibly even kept diaries still at that time.

Postscript: Actually The Evening Sentinel’s write up of Mavis’s do was better than the Concourse one – really charming:
Sentinel Mavis Leaving DoSentinel Mavis Leaving Do 25 Jun 1984, Mon Evening Sentinel (Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England) Newspapers.com

I’d almost forgotten Bobbie’s taste for a hot curry back then. Her dad was working in Pakistan and Nigeria a lot at that time, as a civil engineer – Bobbie acquired a taste for serious spices on her visits to those places. I don’t think vindaloo appeared on my cooking menu much after that era.

Anyone remember who played Lindsay Ball that summer? As I didn’t note the name, it quite possibly wasn’t a memorable name to me.

I don’t remember much about the summer L54 pub crawl, but I did write up the winter one from six month’s earlier. The memories (or lack thereof) are probably an amalgam of the two:

Oh Balls! Two Balls & A Pub Crawl In One Keele December Week, 12 to 18 December 1983

Good-Bye To Barnes L54 And All That, Summer 1984

Image borrowed from studentcrowd.com

I spent two of my five years at Keele in Barnes L54, as reported on these pages in several past pieces. I have happy memories of my time there, not least because my time sharing a flat at Keele was the only time in my life that I have flat-shared in that “Home Of Multiple Occupation” sense.

I was really touched when I stumbled across the following letter from the June 1984 edition of Concourse.

In truth I barely remember the four of us deciding to write that letter to Concourse. Part of the motivation was mine, to make a public goodbye to the flat. the other three, after all, were to stay on in the flat after I had departed, with Hayward Burt joining them in my place:

Hayward quite literally in my place: in 1985, Barnes L54 as THAT’S EXACTLY where I used to sit. Thanks Mark Ellicott for the picture.

The references in Concourse to Barnes L54 being a Machiavellian Students’ Union political stronghold mostly emanated from my H Ackgrass column, ably assisted by my spies, three of whom were my flatmates. So the argument is more than a little bit circular and the “gripe” was really an in joke amongst us, not least becuase my identity as H Ackgrass remained a secret for a further year.

The gossip-fest to which I refer was mostly in my third Ackgrass column, although I think there was also at least a mention in the previous column.

H Ackgrass’s Third Column In Concourse, Plus A Carbon Copy Of The Original Submission, May 1984

I have managed to re-engage with the West Country contingent (Chris Spencer and Hayward) as part of my Ogblogging process. Pete Wild seems harder to contact – if anyone out there is in touch with him, I expect he’d enjoy seeing this letter again.

Sadly, Alan “The Great Yorkshire Pudding” Gorman died several years ago, having moved to the USA quite soon after graduating. His widow, Susan and sons have been following these Barnes L54 reminiscences and I hope they find this letter as touching as I did. It reads, to me, like mostly Alan’s writing, informed/tweaked by the rest of us. It oozes his sense of humo(u)r.

Moved I was. Physically moved, at the end of August 1984, to a small tutor’s flat in K-Block Horwood. Emotionally moved, by re-finding this letter in that old copy of Concourse, during August 2024.

Post-Finals, Pre-Sabbatical, At Keele & At Large, Part One: Early June 1984

Billy Joel, by Rob Mieremet / Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

It was a strange yet joyful period, that short interval between completing my finals and graduating, during which time I started work as Education & Welfare Officer for the Student’s Union at Keele.

Bobbie sensibly arranged some post-finals treats and outings for us during that time, plus there were various “goodbye” parties to attend as finalists, while I also had several “hello” receptions to attend as an incoming sabbatical.

This piece covers the week 3 to 9 June 1984 the highlight of which, for me, was a whistle-stop visit to London/Wembley, with Bobbie, to see, amongst other things, Billy Joel at Wembley Arena.

Sunday, 3 June 1984 – Got up fairly early – did little all day – played tennis etc – went to union with Bobbie in eve – Asian Cultural [Society] and drink after.

Monday, 4 June 1984 – Spent most of the day in the E&W [Education & Welfare] office – sorted one or two things out etc – Constitutional Committee in eve – Bobbies for a while.

Tuesday, 5 June 1984 – Spent most of day in E&W office – went to a couple of meetings/committees etc – sorted things – played tennis – went over to Bobby’s in eve – early night.

Wednesday, 6 June 1984- Rose very early – went to London – Chinese lunch, Middle Temple [Bobbie’s chosen Inn of Court], British Museum, light dinner – Wembley for Billy Joel gig – got last train.

That Billy Joel gig was very good and very memorable. It seems he did three nights at Wembley Arena, one of which (the Friday I believe) was broadcast by the BBC in sound and vision, thus recorded for posterity.

Thursday, 7 June 1984 – Got back [from London] late – rose late – shopped – went union – laundry – elections – E&W office. B and I went union in eve (quiet) – came back here.

Friday, 8 June 1984 – spent most of day in union – Sherry with A&C (appointments and counselling). UC (union committee) over “corruption” most of the day – went over Bobbie’s in evening – union etc.

Saturday, 9 June 1984 – Went shopping in morn – Buxton Derbyshire in afternoon – lunch, tea etc – had Chinese meal in Hanley (eve) – went to party in Thorns after – Bobbie came back.

I guess that Union Committee meeting on 8 June was the first wind that I and my fellow incoming UC members had of the serious issues we were to inherit with regard to the bars. I would not now describe it as having been corruption, but that was presumably how it was pitched to us that day. More on that saga will follow in later pieces.

Buxton Derbyshire is a charming place to visit. Calm too – in contrast with the frenetic existence as a sabbatical, which I had chosen to pursue for the next 12 months.

Buxton Derbyshire by Chris Harris, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons