Tag: Hayward Burt

Some Midweek Activities, Two Consecutive Weekends In Keele With Petra & It’s Time To Write About Terry, February 1986

Me and Terry as reimagined by Nano Banana 2.1 on my instructions

Wednesday 12 February 1986 – Busyish day at the office. Met Caroline [Freeman, now Curtis] for lunch – very nice. Stayed in evening did little.

Thursday 13 February 1986 – Work OK – busy in the office etc. Bought [rail] ticket / Len [Briegal]’s office lunch. Went to bed fairly early after lazyish evening at home.

No doubt, when I saw Len Briegal at his father-in-law Josh’s stone setting the weekend before, Len had suggested that we “do lunch” on learning that I was frequently visiting Euston at lunchtimes to get my advance rail tickets for Keele. No on-line booking in those days. If you wanted cheap advance tickets you turned up and bought them in advance. Len’s office was within spitting distance of Euston Station.

Euston 1986, as envisaged by Nano Banana 2.1

Friday 14 February 1986 – Work OK – quite busy. Went down to Selfridges in lunch hour to buy presents etc. Met Johnboy [John White] after work & had drink – caught train up to Keele – had dinner & reasonably early night.

Presents etc. can only mean Valentines Day presents, can’t it?

How could I possibly have finished work, had a drink with John, got the train all the way to Keele, had dinner and still had a reasonably early night? Clearly 23 year-old-me’s definition of an early night is at variance with that of the 40-years-later version of me.

Although the diary is silent on this point, Petra must have had that dinner ready for us in anticipation of my arrival. Thanks, Petra.

Saturday 15 February 1986 – Got up quite early – had a fairly lazy day tho – whiled it away – went over to Kate [Fricker] & Annalisa [de Mercur]’s for a while in afternoon – went to Hanley Garden [Chinese Restaurant] with Petra in the evening – very nice.

Sunday 16 February 1986 – Rose fairly early – did little for earlier part of day. Tried to do some work in late afternoon & early evening. Had a very nice Indonesian meal in evening.

Petra and I were clearly on an Indonesian food kick at that time, having dined Indonesian in London the weekend before. I’ll guess that Petra cooked this Indonesian food fest, as I don’t state that I cooked it. But I know that I was into Indonesian cooking at that time too. I have some hand-written recipes on jotters from that era that will need excavating at some point, after I have done with the diaries.

Monday 17 February 1986 – Returned from Keele first thing – office OK – quite tired. Had a lazyish evening + an earlyish night.

It’s time to write about Terry.

Terry Boarding, as envisaged by Nano Banana 2.1 on my instructions

I first met Terry on the Stoke-On-Trent railway platform one early Monday morning – I think back in November or December 1985. Terry was blind and was regularly travelling to London early Monday mornings. I had started to get into the habit of staying the Sunday night at Keele with Petra and catching that early Monday morning train myself. The early one that still allowed you to use the cheap weekend return rail tickets – the slightly later one was proper commuter prices.

Terry and I struck up a travelling companion friendship. I would look out for him on the platform if I was catching that train and we would chat the journey away together. Terry was an upbeat fellow. He barely needed help as he was familiar with his route, although he clearly did appreciate a bit of subtle guidance and assistance, which helped to speed up boarding and disembarking.

Terry was a very interesting fellow and we chatted about many subjects. He would have an interesting perspective on things – often coloured (if I might use that word in this context) by the fact that he was blind and therefore gaining his information from talking books and radio. My Grandma Jenny was going blind at that time and I was becoming a little more aware of how blind people cope with things, but Terry, who had always been blind, increased my awareness many fold. I very much enjoyed Terry’s company.

I have a feeling this particular Monday morning might have been the last time I saw him, although my last meeting with him might have come a bit later in the year. It was memorable for all the wrong reasons. Terry was clearly not in his usual upbeat mood and I asked him if anything was wrong. He told me that his recent hearing test had shown a rapid deterioration in his hearing – something he had been warned might occur at some stage in his life but he had been hoping not while he was still relatively young.

The prognosis was that Terry was likely to become profoundly deaf as well as blind. He told me that this had been one of his worst fears – that he would feel more-or-less completely locked in if he could neither hear nor see. He had spent his whole early life learning to cope – pretty well – with his inability to see, but his method had been to use his hearing to maximum effect as a partial substitute for sight.

I remember really not knowing what to say to Terry when he told me this dismal news. I could think of no real words of comfort for him. I remember expressing hope that his hearing would stop deteriorating, but he clearly had been told to expect the worst and was expecting no remission.

I also remember feeling absolutely dreadful about the fact that I was in a medium-term self-pity bad mood post Keele. I found my work dull, living with my parents again tedious and the long-distance nature of my relationship with Petra was straining. I sensed that this period was just a phase, but for sure I was feeling sorry for myself at that time. But then, when I compared my circumstances to those of Terry, I mentally beat myself up for wallowing about some pretty low grade, short-term unhappy circumstances, compared with the nightmarish situation that poor Terry was going through and could anticipate for the rest of his life.

I might have seen Terry once or twice more after he told me his bad news – I might be conflating parts of that memory, but I have never forgotten our travelling companion friendship and him telling me his terrible news one morning. I have often since wondered what became of Terry.

Tuesday 18 February 1986 – Work OK – had to go to Krapy Rub Snif [Finsbury Park] in the morning + then back to the office – all rush rush. Mum & Dad went out this evening so I had a nice evening all by myself.

From a profoundly serious memory that has endured for 40 years – that of Terry – to a rather ludicrous memory, courtesy of cousin Mark Briegal.

I wrote “Krapy Rub Snif” in my diary that day on the back of a conversation with Mark Briegal at his grandfather’s stone setting earlier in the month. When I told Mark that I was working in some godforsaken places, such as Finsbury Park, Mark said:

…did you know that Finsbury Park spelt backwards reads “Krapy Rub Snif”? It’s one of those facts that, once someone has told it to you, you never, ever forget it.

Mark was right. I never have forgotten it. And when I saw it written down in my diary, in an entry from 10 days after an entry for an event where I had seen Mark, I laughed out loud, having been reminded of the occasion on which I learnt that silly factoid.

Wednesday 19 February 1986 – Quite a busy day at work — etc — spent lunch hour sorting out weekend arrangements + such. Lazyish evening — did some work.

Thursday 20 February 1986 – Work OK – pretty busy tho’ – shops etc lunch hour – stayed in eve – sorting things out etc.

Friday 21 February 1986 – Hectic + not too pleasant day at work. Went up to Keele quite late (had Chinese meal late) – Petra not very well etc.

Saturday 22 February 1986 – Stayed in most of day looking after Petra etc. Cooked etc.. Popped over to see Kate & Annalisa for a while. Quiet evening in.

Sunday 23 February 1986 – Lazyish day — Petra still not very well — took photos etc. Went over to visit [Barnes] L Block mob + left during afternoon. Got home in eve.

I don’t remember what ailed Petra – probably just a bad cold or something of that ilk. I’m glad to see that I cooked while Petra was not feeling well. Chicken soup might well have featured in my medicinal cooking.

Goodness knows what became of the photos I’m supposed to have taken on that occasion. I’ll guess that Annalisa developed them, as she was deeply into photography at that time.

As for my visit to the L-Block mob…

Hayward in Barnes L54. My chair. That’s where I sat. What’s Hayward doing there?

I have several times displayed and mentioned in Ogblog pieces Mark Ellicott’s photograph of Hayward Burt sitting in MY chair in Barnes L54. I lived in that flat for two years between autumn 1982 and summer 1984. That chair was my chair. Some might say that I lived in that chair for two years.

As if I had a perennial right to that chair. Or any chair.

Anyway, now, with the help of AI, I can be restored to my rightful seat.

Me restored to MY chair in Barnes L54, albeit dressed like Hayward and surrounded by Hayward’s mess. Image produced by Nano Banana 2.1 on my instruction.

Some say that AI is going to overturn the entire world order, but on the evidence of the above doctored image, AI can be used as a tool with which to restore the world order.

Hayward had also replaced me as sabbatical Education and Welfare Officer a few months previously, so, in February 1986, Hayward was also blooming well sitting in my Students’ Union office chair too, now I come to think of it.

Out Of Office But Not Quite Yet Out Of Time At Keele, Mid June 1985

Several Days At Keele For The SU AGM Plus Some Eating & Socialising, Late January 1986

Simulation of Keele SU AGM by Nano Banana 2.1 via Mark Ellicott

Friday 24 January 1986 … went up to Keele – arrived late & very tired. Petra [Wilson] cooked mussels (delicious) in evening – very nice.

This bit of the story has already been illustrated and writ:

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

Saturday 25 January 1986 – Got up reasonably early – tried to do some work – went to Newcastle for tea + did some shopping, went round to L49 for a while + then went home. Had chicken in yellow bean sauce for dinner – (I cooked) + turned in reasonably early.

Sunday 26 January 1986 – Again got up fairly early + tried to get some work done + read paper. Went over to Kate [Fricker, now Susan] in afternoon – Petra followed, as Ruth [Miller] did a bunk. Went home + had gevikeltekraut for dinner but not too pleasant evening thereafter.

I can’t remember who was living in L49 that year. Hayward Burt and Pete Wild were still in L54 – my old flat, I’m pretty sure. Something tells me that Ali Dabbs might have moved to L-Block Barnes that year.

As for the cooking, I took credit for the chicken in yellow bean sauce (mine would have had fewer peppers in it). I’m guessing that Petra cooked the gevikeltekraut, although it might have been a Benita Wishart special, that dish. I don’t expect either of them to remember.

That weekend’s cooking illustrated with help from Nano Banana 2.1

Monday 27 January 1986 – Tired today – went to town for a while – did a little work etc. The afternoon was again rather strained but went to the AGM in evening + got rather drunk there. Fairly late night.

Tuesday 28 January 1986 – Again quite tired – did a little work – went to town at noon – met Ashley [Fletcher], came back to Petra’s etc. Went to Pinocchio’s for dinner in the evening – had trouble getting back but managed to do so. Very nice evening, lateish night.

Wednesday 29 January 1986 – Returned from Keele first thing – had a sedate day at work & got some work done. Very tired in evening – went to bed quite early.

Thank goodness Ashley got a mention in the diaries – he gets most upset if he is absent from Keele-related diary entries from that era.

I sense that the strain of the long distance relationship was starting to tell on both me and Petra, based on these diary notes. Perhaps more tellingly, I was starting to sense that student life was now for other people, not for me.

One thing I particularly remember was finding the prevailing chart music that season especially trite. While the students were no doubt digging A-ha, Dire Straits & Billy Ocean, all riding high in the charts…

…I found those tracks intensely irritating at that time and, strangely, returning to them, still do.

My music listening was orienting towards big, big, symphonies around that time. I mentioned Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony in an earlier piece about returning to Keele. I also especially remember the strains of Bruckner’s Fourth echoing around my head in those days, as I stood on those cold railway platforms and sat in those trains back and forth [did you see what I did there?] to Keele.

It’s not as far away from student-oriented rock music as some readers might think. The riff in Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes is surely based on the motif from Bruckner’s Fifth, which is almost too cool for school…or too much of a steal for Keele.

My Last Keele Sixties Soul Disco, My Last Visit To Barnes L54 & Other “End Of Keele” Memories, Late June & Early July 1985

Hayward Burt sitting in MY Barnes L54 chair

Having survived a visit to London with Petra in her car…

We Interrupt Keele Festival Week To Dice With Death On A Theatre Trip To London, 28 June 1985

…my diary for the next few days has an end of era tone to it.

Saturday, 29 June 1985 – returned through night – slept in – went to town late – cooked John [White] and Petra [Wilson] a meal – John and I did last Sixties [Soul] disco. Went down well.

Sunday 30th of June 1985 – Rose quite early – Ruth’s folks – Petra’s car – breakfast – visited Ruth – Pitty [Graham Pitt] came over for dinner.

John and I have very happy memories of doing those sixties soul discos. It was kind of Pady Jalali (Social Secretary) to award us the end of Festival Week slot as a last hurrah.

If you are wondering what one of our Sixties Soul Discos might have sounded like, please feel free to click the image above – or here – for a YouTube Music playlist curated by me and John in the style of those discos.

Some people described our discos as Northern Soul style, but in truth they were more mainstream than that, not least because Keele’s record collection at that time had few “rare grooves”. Our soul discos always went down well, as confirmed by my assessment in my diary.

Ruth’s Parents, Petra’s Car & Hospital Visits

I have already told the tale of Ruth, Petra’s close friend, having been hit by a car in the street, in a piece named “Something’s Wrong…”

“Something’s Wrong” In The Keele Hall Salvin Room & I Am Keele’s “Bamber Gascoigne”, 19 to 24 June 1985

I should hasten to add that Petra was not the errant driver in the Ruth incident, as evidenced by Petra being elsewhere (with me) at the time of the accident. More seriously, Petra proved to be a very constant friend to Ruth during her recovery, in hospital, as my late June/early July diary attests. We (or at least Petra) visited Ruth almost every day, except when we were out of town.

I also remember that Eddie Slade, the Senior Tutor, visited Ruth in hospital to see how she was and to inform her in person that she had won an academic prize that year. A lovely touch, I thought then and still think now.

Eddie Slade – what a good chap.

In truth I remember little about the visit from Ruth’s parents. The fact that I blurt the phrase “Petra’s car” between the phrase “Ruth’s folks” and “breakfast” suggests that something once again happened to (or in) Petra’s car, as part of that expedition. Lost in the mists of time from my memory, that one. It can’t have been as dramatic as our near death experience on the Marylebone Road.

Monday 1 July 1985 – lazyish day – signed on, shops, went to hospital., Cooked Petra meal.

Tuesday 2 July 1985 – easyish day – office briefly – Petra packed – I went to Kate’s [now Susan Fricker] for a while – hospital – cooked Petra a meal etc.

Wednesday, 3 July 1985 – sorted things out – went to hospital – then walk round lakes etc.

Thursday 4 July 1985 – easyish day – rose late – went to Trentham Gardens in afternoon – hospital – dinner etc.

Friday, 5 July 1985 – Easy day – office briefly etc – went to hospital – had dinner – went union and then onto L54 to see John, Hayward etc.

Saturday 6 July 1985 – Rose late – shopped – went to hospital – cooked nice meal etc.

I think Trentham was a bit of a crumbling old ruin back then, but I suppose it was one of the few vaguely local attractions near Keele.

I don’t remember John staying in Barnes L54 at that time, but he must have done. My guess is that John had already given up his flat (room) in town and wanted to stick around Keele a while longer. I’ll also guess that it was Alan Gorman who had departed early and therefore had left space for John to squat in L54 a while.

I had lived in Barnes L54 for two very happy years – Autumn 1982 to Summer 1984.

Keele Action Group Springs Forth Campus-Wide, Constitutional Matters Mingle With A Crucial Culinary Debate In My Barnes L54 Flat, 8 to 11 October 1982

It was strange visiting that place for the last time – especially with Hayward Burt sitting in MY chair and all – have I mentioned that bit before?

Hayward: yes you have, Ian. Just hand over the keys…

Postscript – Actually my very last visit to L54 was the following week, where I saw Kate, Pady, Hayward and [Chris Spencer] Farm. That evening will have been my last visit:

Out Of Office But Not Quite Yet Out Of Time At Keele, Mid June 1985

With thanks to Mark Ellicott, who captured the historic moment at which I symbolically handed the keys to the Education & Welfare Office to Hayward Burt.

10 June 1985 was the day of the last UGM of the academic year and the official end of my sabbatical year of office as Education & Welfare officer. Not that the official ending seemed to reduce the number of meetings and things I attended for the next few weeks. We sabbaticals in particular undertook quite a substantial “handover”, which we hadn’t received with such gusto from our predecessors but which we felt we should do for our successors.

I have previously written up the “Hackgrass Reveal” story, which dominated the early part of that historic day:

Hackgrass Reveal in Pub Circ, Keele, 10 June 1985

I have also previously written up some sort of spoof Union Committee meeting we held after a wet lunch that day:

After The Hackgrass Reveal…Later That Same Day…A Strange Sort of Committee Meeting, 10 June 1985

My appointments diary tells a slightly maudlin tale, with the entry “UGM, The End” on that day:

My personal diary sort-of covered the day…

Monday 10 June 1985 – last day officially in office – did little – “union committee meeting” for awhile – then somewhat chaotic last UG M – drink after etc. Very late night.

…although it failed to mention that I was awarded life membership of the Keele Students’ Union at that UGM. I was given a card the following day to prove it. Very proud of that card I am, such that I carried it around with me at all times for years. It now looks like this:

Like my face, my life membership card has seen better days. 40 years is a long time.

I always knew I had something in common with Nelson Mandela, but in truth had forgotten, until I found this article in the Sentinel while looking for something else, that Nelson & I both had life membership of UKSU conferred upon us that night:

Nelson gets life on 10 June 1985Nelson gets life on 10 June 1985 15 Jun 1985, Sat Evening Sentinel (Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England) Newspapers.com

Here’s the text from my personal diary for the next week or so:

Tuesday, 11 June 1985 – Rose late – residential services in afternoon etc – had dinner with Petra.

Wednesday, 12 June 1985 – busy day – meetings etc – celebrated after Senate – had dinner with Petra.

Thursday, 13 June 1985 – meetings – in office most of the day – had an easy evening [Strangely, the appointments diary says that I did the Bust Fund Disco that night. I expect the appointments diary is right and the memory at the time I wrote up that week was wrong.

A 1984/1985 Keele Students’ Union Bust Fund Disco Playlist

Friday, 14 June 1985 – meetings, office etc. Cooked dinner for Petra, Ruth and [Graham] Pitt.

Saturday, 15 June 1985 – lazyish day – shopped etc – popped over to Pitt’s – went to Jackie Wong’s for dinner.

Sunday, 16 June 1985 – Rose late/lazy day –brekker etc. Cooked Petra dinner later.

Monday, 17 June 1985 – went to Derbyshire for day with June – peak/picnic etc. dinner. Got back late – Petra came round after.

I have very happy memories of the day June Aitken (the Keele Student’s Union administrator extraordinaire) took us outgoing sabbaticals (me, Kate, John & Pady) to the Peak District, for a day of picnicking and walking.

It was a truly special and memorable day – I am so irritated that I didn’t take a camera and a roll of film that day. I fell in love with the Peak District that day and visited it many times since – especially in the late 1980s and early 1990s – the following photo from 1990:

Tuesday, 18 June 1985 – meetings etc – Ringroad rehearsal – Petra cooked dinner later.

The next day…something significant happened. I’ll write up that story and its aftermath next time.

Now now, no peaking!

Keele Students’ Union, Concourse – the Juicy Bits, May 1985

I have extracted a few good pages from the May 1985 edition of Concourse. By that time, my Education and Welfare sabbatical year was coming to an end, so the paper was interested in ushering in the new and ushering out the old. Hold the front page…

Concourse May 1985 Page 1
Superb picture of John White on the front page, the main (nay only) reason I have uploaded this page

There had been some sort of hoo-ha about the FY exams that Easter, so it seems that I got busy and Margaret Gordon (a lovely lass, I wonder what became of her?) interviewed me about it:

Concourse May 1985 Page 4
FY stands for Foundation Year, the late lamented “try a bit of everything” course, sadly no longer taught at Keele. Gresham College is perhaps the closest thing to it.

I like the next two pages – a double page spread on the new sabbaticals. Nice to still have pictures of faces I remember. Hayward Burt’s comments on my style raised a smile with me.

Concourse May 1985 Page 12

Concourse May 1985 Page 13
I don’t think the term “stress head” had been invented back then, not least because, if it had existed, I think that is exactly the term Hayward would have used to describe me.

I love this little article about John White, Kate Fricker and the Students’ Union cleaners. John looks like a rabbit startled by headlights in the picture. Little did he know that he would subsequently become seasoned for photo shoots, such as his gig as the poster boy for Food Retailer Monthly magazine (or whatever it was called, why can’t I remember?)

Concourse May 1985 Page 14
Top tank top, John.

Finally the following review of the UGM. These days, the (anonymous) author of this piece would surely not get away with the ethno-physiognomy remark made about me, especially in that context. Where was editor Krista Cowman’s red pen when I needed it? Surely the UGM and Concourse should have been safe space from such comments for people like me? Is it too late for me to seek redress?

Strangely, I have no recollection whatsoever of reading that comment before, although I must have read it, so it must have seemed like water of a duck’s par for the course back then.

Concourse May 1985 Page 19

Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Ronnie Frankenberg & The Keele Day Nursery Nurses But Were Afraid To Ask – Plus Other Tales From The End of Spring Term 1985

The Keele Day Nursery, Spring 1985, reimagined with the help of DeepAI

There was a lot going on in the Students’ Union and University life in the first half of March that year. Add to that the fact that Petra got some sort of lurgy that landed her in the health centre and I was intermittently poorly too. My diary entries are not exactly upbeat but they are revealing.

4 t0 10 March 1985 – Meetings & Writings &Workings & Dancings…

Monday, 4 March 1985 – busy day – got some work done – FP [family planning] meeting in the afternoon. Constitutional committee in evening – Petra came over.

The family planning meeting was with Dr Anne Pedrazzini, who was a big cheese in the North Staffordshire family planning world at that time. This was the first of several research meetings that led to my magnum opus, Sexplanations. More on that publication once the ideas conceived in March gestated and came to term…the following term.

Tuesday, 5 March 1985 – union committee in morning – busy day. Did Bust Fund disco in evening – Petra came round after.

I recently published a Bust Fund disco playlist, curated jointly with John White, with whom I DJ’d those events. Click here to listen to the YouTube Music playlist directly or below for the article that contains the list:

A 1984/1985 Keele Students’ Union Bust Fund Disco Playlist

Wednesday, 6 March 1985 – meetings etc. all day. Had a relatively easy evening and early night for once.

Thursday, 7 March 1985 – busy day with meetings etc. all day – cooked Petra a meal in evening – nice, stayed.

Friday, 8 March 1985 – went to DHSS in morning. Busy day – social secretary election and big fuss in evening – went Kate’s briefly in evening – not feeling too good left early and slept well.

I think the DHSS meeting was also connected with research for the nascent idea that became Sexplanations. I don’t recall what the big fuss was over the Social Secretary election that Friday. I was a veteran of big fusses over elections by 1985, especially, it seems, on days when I wasn’t feeling well. The story linked here and below, from two years earlier, is my best story about such an evening:

A Week When Everything At Keele Made Me Feel Sick, Even Smoke-Filled Rooms & Students Union Politics, 6 to 11 February 1983

The March 1985 Social Secretary shenanigans was probably a mere bagatelle compared with the golden era of election shenanigans.

Saturday, 9 March 1985 – shopped etc. today and worked all day in office. Went to Nigerian do for awhile – Petra came over later.

Those Nigerian community events were great fun. I’d got to know that community well the year before my sabbatical. There was a fair smattering of Cameroonian students who also “qualified” and tended to hang with that crowd, so “West African” might be a more accurate description of the events. The parties were lively; there was always music and dancing aplenty.

WAÏPA_FELA_KUTI, MOI MEME, CC BY-SA 3.0

No doubt some seriously funky Fela Kuti music formed part of the scene. The following clip will give you an idea of the Fela Kuti vibe at that time:

Sunday, 10 March 1985 – Rose late. Busy day working today in office etc. Worked till late – stayed at Petra’s.

I was working hard and playing hard that year – no wonder I was poorly a fair bit of the time. I’m feeling a bit run down right now, just thinking about all that activity and typing about it.

Ronnie Frankenberg & The Day Nursery Crisis

Monday, 11 March 1985 – busy day with meetings all day – Petra in Health Centre – UGM in evening – didn’t go too well.

Tuesday, 12 March 1985 – busy all day – union committee and Reading folk up for the day. Day Nursery, hustings, RingRoad rehearsal in the evening. Also visited Petra in evening.

I don’t in truth remember the visit from the Reading folk, but I do very clearly remember the Day Nursery crisis.

RAI 39784 Portrait of Ronnie Frankenberg photographed by Jochen Resch, c. 1990s ©RAI – this picture from the Royal Anthropological Institute site, used on a fair use basis and to provide a link to the RAI’s biographical note on Ronnie – click here or the picture.

As Education & Welfare Officer, I was, ex officio, a Trustee of the Keele Day Nursery, which was a small, non-profit organisation, existing solely to provide day nursery facilities for toddlers of staff and students alike. The Chair of the Day Nursery was Professor Ronnie Frankenberg, a wonderful fellow who had been the initiating energy behind Keele’s highly-regarded Sociology & Social Anthropology department. Here is a link to his Guardian obituary from 2016.

The day nursery crisis was caused by an outbreak of pregnancy among several of the handful of nursery nurses who operated the day nursery. I can’t remember how many staff we had (not many), but the team was sufficiently small that having two or three on maternity leave at the same time was going to generate a hugely problematic shortfall of staff. Even in those days, there were strict staff to toddler ratios and it was proving prohibitively expensive to cover multiple maternity leave periods with temporary, qualified staff.

I remember Ronnie making a genuinely interesting and hugely informative speech at the meeting – quite a long speech – explaining the sociological… or perhaps I should say anthropological… phenomena, making it surprisingly likely that a day nursery might be blighted with such “outbreaks” of pregnancy by several members of the team around the same time. Psychological factors, social factors, cultural factors and even biological factors all come into play, we learnt. It was like a mini Foundation Year lecture. I almost found myself making notes and thinking up a really good question for the Q&A at the end of the lecture.

But in reality, my mind was juggling the engrossing complexity behind the causes of our problem with the practical realities that the tiny trust’s coffers were emptying at an alarming and unstoppable rate.

As Ronnie’s extrapolation wound down, I interjected by saying, “this is all absolutely fascinating, Ronnie, but where are we going to find the money to cover the additional costs?” My comment raised a laugh and also refocussed the meeting. I can’t remember what fundraising ideas we came up with, but I suspect that they only partially solved the money problem. A begging bowl in Registrar David Cohen’s direction probably helped to make up the remainder of the shortfall.

That is my favourite (but not only) memory of Ronnie Frankenberg…which is, by the way, pronounced “Ron-knee Frank-en-berg”:

Joking apart, my memory of Ronnie Frankenberg is that he was not only a very impressive Professor in his field, but also an extremely likeable and decent man.

Wednesday 13 March 1985 – loads of meetings all day (including Senate). RingRoad rehearsal. Petra came over after.

Thursday, 14 March 1985 – busyish day – followed by rehearsal and performance of RingRoad – went well. Petra came over after.

Friday 15 March 1985 – horrid mood today – E&W election – v worried – Hayward [Burt] won – hooray – cooked Petra dinner and she stayed.

Me and Hayward

I have no idea why I was so worried about Hayward’s chances in the Education & Welfare election for 1985/86. Presumably there was a candidate competing with him who I thought might win and then undo a lot of the initiatives I had been working towards. While Hayward and I did not see eye to eye politically on all issues, I basically saw Hayward as “one of the good guys”, who would work hard and build on many of the things I was trying to achieve. Indeed I’m sure he did.

Saturday, 16 March 1985 – got up quite early cooked Petra lunch and took her to the station. Had a very early night.

Sunday, 17 March 1985 – Rose quite early – pottered around – cooked Kate lunch – had a lazy day. Had another early night.

Someone sneakily added some unrepeatable graffiti in my appointments diary about that Sunday lunch with Kate. The graffiti is in Petra’s handwriting. I don’t think I could have spotted it at the time – otherwise I’d doubtless have scratched it out – so I suspect that the outrageous mock-diary-entry has sat there, previously unread, for forty years. I must admit it made me smile out loud, all these years later. Private requests only for a copy of that note. Young people, honestly!

Monday, 18 March 1985 – went doctors etc in morning – rather an unproductive day. Ruth and Jackie [Wong] came over – had earlyish night.

Ruth and Jackie were both friends/neighbours of Petra. Lovely lasses, both. I wonder whether Petra is still in touch with either of them?

Tuesday, 19 March 1985 – union committee in morning. Last day of term – hassle over disciplinary hearing etc. Had some wine – earlyish night.

Wednesday, 20 March 1985 – Pady and I took a day off – shopped and cooked meal for Crawfy’s [Andy Crawford’s] birthday. All got drunk.

Me, Pady & Crawfy. As usual, thanks to mark Ellicott for the lovely picture.

Oh dear, that last line: “All got drunk.” Well, I suppose it was the end of term.

Bar Licence and Health Centre Fee Controversies – Concourse Juicy Bits Part One, February 1985

Lots of juicy bits from the February 1985 issue of Concourse. Here’s the first of them.

Annalisa de Mercur, bless her, was very concerned that the Student Union’s bar licence might get scuppered, which would indeed have been a near-existential problem for the union. The storm was very much of the teacup variety, I’d have thought, for the reasons described in the article.

How Pady Jalali and Hayward Burt ended up in an intra-article debate with the Vice-chancellor, Dr Harrison, is anybody’s guess. Methinks Annalisa might have been trying to big up her piece, as it were.

The health centre fee had been an ongoing issue, if the 1984 manifestos are anything to go by. John “Memory Man” White will hopefully chime in on the comments to describe in intricate detail the nature of the new-look campaign he planned. I don’t remember a thing about it, although welfare was my bailiwick.

Concourse Feb 85 Page 4

Keele (Including A Free January 1985 SU Disco Playlist), Knightsbridge, Kings College Hospital & Multiple Wine Prizes, Mid January 1985

I believe this scribbled note is the playlist from the Real Ale Bar Opening Disco

In the last episode, I described the re-opening of the Ballroom Bar as a Real Ale bar, with John White and I DJ-ing the disco in a less than sober fashion.

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

I am now pretty sure that the hand-scrawled disco playlist I discovered amongst my papers some years ago, see headline picture, must be the playlist from that gig. It looks like a playlist conceived by committee – it certainly doesn’t remind me of the type of playlist that John and I would (often quite hastily) construct earlier in the evening to give the disco the vibe and shape we wanted. Our personal choice tended to focus more on Motown, Northern Soul and general sixties dance music.

I vaguely remember the discussion with several members of the committee. Pady Jalali insisting that we play the Band Aid song at some point – John and I reluctantly agreeing to open with that song as a clarion call to let people know that the show was starting, as it would empty the dance floor anywhere else in the set. I’m pretty sure Kate Fricker chose the Madonna song and it had to be Pete Wild and/or Hayward Burt who insisted on some ZZ Top.

John and I unquestionably insisted on Police Officer by Smiley Culture, which was high on our list of personal favourites at that time:

Actually, you can hear the entire playlist, which I curated into a 40th anniversary playlist on my YouTube Music account – click here for that playlist – don’t be put off if the link is struck through – anyone can click and listen – you’ll get adverts if you don’t have a YouTube Music account, that’s all. I’ll be surprised f you haven’t had a little bit of a private dance (or in my case at the time of writing, hobble) by the time you hear Neutron Dance by the Pointer Sisters, if not before.

Let’s move on.

A Quick Trip To London, Including A Chance Encounter With Neil & Trish Hyman In Knightsbridge And A Planned Encounter With My Mum In Kings College Hospital

Not Keele: Knightsbridge, London, SW1 by Christine Matthews, CC BY-SA 2.0

Here’s my diary extract from that weekend.

AI systems are now smart enough to read the charred remains of the Herculaneum scrolls…but still have no chance with my handwriting. I’ll have to do this transliteration myself:

Friday, 18 January 1985 – Very busy in office with busts etc. Went to London quite early. Stayed in etc etc

Saturday, 19 January 1985 – Rose lunchtime – drank and had haircut. Went to Chicago Rib [Shack, in Knightsbridge] in evening – Met Neil Hyman and Trish [Hyman] etc – weird. Stopped over.

Sunday, 20 January 1985 – Went home in the morning – lunch at Levinsons [friends in our street]. Went to see mum – then back to Keele. Went to see Petra [Wilson] briefly.

I’ll explain, in a later article, a bit more about my role as Education & Welfare officer helping students who had been busted. No idea why I saw so many on that Friday – I don’t think it was anything to do with our disco a couple of nights before.

I assume I stayed at Bobbie’s place in East Finchley. “Rose lunchtime, drank, had haircut” does not sound like me any more (he says, while writing between 6:00 & 7:00 am), but it does sound like the 22 year old me.

It will have seemed and still seems a strange coincidence to encounter Neil Hyman & his sister Trish, friends from my BBYO days, in the Chicago Rib Shack in Knightsbridge. Firstly, because Neil and Trish were from the Lytham St Annes group, which is some way removed from Knightsbridge . Differently posh, I suppose.

Secondly, the Chicago Rib Shack is not the first place you might think of to encounter, by chance, friends from a Jewish Youth Organisation. Perhaps we were all trying out some seminal vegan options in the place.

In some ways more coincidentally, on the back of a subsequent conversation, I discovered that Bobbie’s mum was Greta Spector’s sister. Her sons, Martin Spector and the late, great Jeffrey Spector were mainstays of BBYO in St Annes and indeed nationally. Neil and I served together on Jeffrey’s National Executive for a while in 1979.

Jeff Spector, Spring 1979

On the Sunday I went over to Streatham for lunch with my dad at Norman & Marjorie Levinson’s house. Presumably they were taking pity on dad and feeding him while my mum was in hospital. Very kind people they were – to me as a child and great friends to my parents for the rest of their lives.

Norman up front, my dad to the right

Mum was in hospital having her second hip replaced in Kings College Hospital. She had the first one replaced there in February 1975 and then needed the second one done 10 years later. Don’t know what it is about the start of years with a five in them, but I need to have one of my hips replaced and shall do so in a couple of week’s time (as I write in January 2025).

Back To Keele, Where Wednesday’s Wine Win & Waffles Needs Explaining

What do you mean, you can’t read or understand that? Oh, all right then:

Monday 21 January 1985 – Union Committee in morning – very busy rest of day. Const [itutional Committee] in evening – drink after. Petra came over later.

Tuesday 22 January 1985 – Busy day today – meetings etc. Cheap drink in evening. Petra came over later.

Wednesday, 23 January 1985 -Lots to do and meetings etc. Won wine today. Stayed in in eve – went for Waffles at Ben’s [Benita Wishart] later.

Thursday, 24 January 1985 – Busy and productive day. Lots of meetings in early evening. Petra came over later.

“Cheap drink” presumably means one of those promotion evenings in the Union, when one of the suppliers would try to encourage students towards their brand with infeasibly cheap offerings. I remember being put off Pernod for life with one of those earlier in my time at Keele. Sadly, with my diary being unspecific about the brand involved on 22 January 1985, unless a reader chimes in with a detailed memory, we’ll never know which particular tipple was cheap that night.

Clearly I didn’t over-indulge as my diary for the next day reads very industrious and perky. And who wouldn’t be perky when they had “won wine”. A whole case of Henri Maire wine at that.

Photo by Marianne Casamance, CC BY-SA 4.0

Here’s the story of how I won it.

While I was with my parents for Christmas, my dad showed me some vouchers and forms he had collected for an Henri Maire wine prize competition. He had bought enough of the wine for two entries. You had to answer a few quite simple questions about Henri Maire wine and then provide a slogan. Top prize, a case of Henri Maire wine. Several other prizes were also on offer. Dad had no clue on the slogans and asked me to help.

My entry – i.e. the one in my name, which ended up winning the case of wine that was sent to me at Keele, was:

Whatever the fare, drink Henri Maire.

Simple and to the point, I thought it might pick up a consolation prize. Dad preferred my other, more baroque idea for a slogan:

Tous les “Hooray Henris” boivent Henri Maire

The arrival of the winning case of “more than half decent” wine caused quite a stir in the Students’ Union that morning. Not exactly an every day event at Keele, that.

I remember excitedly calling my dad to let him know then news. He excitedly told me that my other slogan had also won a prize.

Screw you, Henri Maire. (That wasn’t the slogan). That prize, forty years on.

Dad was absolutely insistent that I keep the corkscrew. I still have it, although, as you can see, it has seen better days. I did keep back a couple of bottles of the prize-winning wine for dad, which I took down on my next visit to my folks.

For some strange reason I became tremendously popular at Keele, for a short while, after that case of wine arrived.

I don’t really understand the diary reference that says that I stayed in that evening but then went over to Benita’s place for waffles. It can only mean, I think, that my intention had been to stay in and that I had sunk into an evening off mode, before Petra (who was very friendly with Benita at that time) persuaded me to join the waffle party…

…possibly with one of those bottles of wine in hand.

Lovely lass, Benita. I think I have tracked her down on the net so we’ll see if she has anything to add to the memory of waffles or even other matters in this series of articles forty years on.

Keele Students’ Union Committee Goes Mad In Somerset & I Get Mortified With Embarrassment, 4 to 6 January 1985

Haywood Farm in Somerset Maurice Pullin, CC BY-SA 2.0…not to be confused with Hayward Burt’s family farm in Somerset, which was the location of our visit.

Whose idea was it to have a Keele Union Committee team-building countryside retreat in Somerset early January? I’d love to “blame” anyone and everyone on the committee but me. However, my appointments diary entry of 22 November reminds me that I was involved in the planning.

“Farm & Fricker (4.30 to 5.00 pm)”, I now realise, was a meeting with Kate (now Susan) Fricker and Chris “Farmer” Spencer, the later of whom had been one of my Barnes L54 flatmates and was now one of Hayward’s Barnes L54 flat mates.

Hayward Burt in Barnes L54, sitting in “my” favourite place

We discussed the logistics of getting the whole of Union Committee from Keele to Somerset. I think, from memory, the plan involved Chris visiting his family in Devon that weekend in the Union minibus, dropping us Union Committee folk at the Burt farm in Somerset and then collecting us again on the way back to Keele.

The happening was arranged for the first weekend of 1985.

Before I describe the singularly mortifyingly embarrassing episode from this adventure, I should say that, on the whole, I remember the event as being a success. We had, as a group, been through quite an ordeal with the Bar Management Saga, which had just reached its Tribunal conclusion just a few days ahead of this “Union Committee field trip”. The idea of team building and resetting for the remaining two terms of our three term tenure was a good idea that mostly worked.

Friday, 4 January 1985 – Left London early and came to Keele. All went off to Somerset in the afternoon – went to pub in evening.

Saturday, 5 January 1985 – Lazyish day in Taunton – walked in afternoon – went to pubs in evening etc.

Sunday, 6 January 1985 – Went out to farm for lunch, then came back to Keele early evening – had drink in Union.

My diary is very light on detail, so it is just as well some aspects have stuck indelibly in my memory. No idea where we did our pub drinking, but the picture below, dated 1985 by the author, is quite possibly one of the pubs we tried. In any case, The Greyhound Inn is great eye candy and a pleasant diversion ahead of the tale of my embarrassment.

1985 Staple Fitzpaine Greyhound Inn, near Taunton, Somerset by Hazel Greenfield, CC BY-SA 2.0

Whose idea was it to have an informal sort-of confessions game one evening as part of that Union Committee team-building exercise? I’d love to “blame” anyone and everyone on the committee but me. Unfortunately, it was my type of idea. I am pretty sure that I suggested it, or at least warmly welcomed the idea when someone else suggested it while we were planning the event.

One of the reasons I was keen to play such a game was my increasing unease at the fact that only a small sub-group on the committee (basically the other sabbaticals) knew that I had started going out with Petra Wilson the previous term.

Enter Petra Wilson, Stage Left…Plus A John Martyn Gig On The Keele SU Ballroom Stage, 8 to 15 November 1984

It wasn’t that I had deliberately kept the matter secret, it was simply one of those things that emerged by stealth and which I had only, until then, disclosed to those with whom I was spending more time; in the case of the committee I think just the sabbaticals. Annalisa also knew by then.

Anyway, point is, I thought the confessions game, one evening in the pub, would be an ideal opportunity to let the others know…

…which it would have been…

…but for the unfortunate seating arrangement, with Ali Dabbs directly to my right and therefore having his go at the confessions game just before mine.

Ali Dabbs confessed to having a crush on Petra. Ali probably didn’t speak for all that long – I think we were all aiming for “just a minute” or 90 second vignettes – but I was mortified with embarrassment and Ali’s speech seemed to be going on for ever.

I didn’t want to catch the eyes of any of the other sabbaticals, who all will have been acutely aware of what was unfolding – not least because I had told them of my plan to use this game as my opportunity to let the rest of the gang know that I was going out with Petra.

[Life must be so much easier these days, where all you need to do is change your social media relationship status and wait for people you know to spot it. On second thoughts, social media relationship status might raise more potential problems and questions than it answers. I digress.]

Worse yet, it dawned on me very quickly that I couldn’t possibly use the confession that I had planned to use. It would have been cruel, albeit truthful.

The whole episode just felt like a kick in the eye for both me and Ali Dabbs. Coincidentally, I was listening to the Bauhaus track of that name quite a lot at that time:

I’m not good at constructing an oral argument without carefully planning what I am going to say. That’s one of the reasons why I like to write rather than make speeches. I’m also not good at lying, nor am I good at bluffing.

In those few seconds that I had to decide what I was going to say, I decided…

…that I couldn’t think of anything at all. My mind was a complete blank, apart from the acute sensation of embarrassment.

In the end, I pathetically aped Ali’s speech and pretended that I had a crush on someone else. I think I picked on one of Petra’s friends, Margaret Gordon, for no better reason than I couldn’t really think of anyone to pick on and her name seemed to have a “least harm” aspect to it if…or I should really say when…the sorry matter needed to be unpicked…within a few weeks. I have a diary mention of Ali Dabbs coming round to my flat on 2 February, which was part of that unpicking.

“I have…I mean, I DON’T have an announcement to make”. Hayward, Trish, Me, Kate (Susan), Ali, Pete.

For some strange reason, I have been utterly averse to confession-type games ever since.

My embarrassing episode, while top of the pile, was not the only embarrassing thing I remember from that “field trip”. I remember Hayward’s dad, who, in my mind’s eye, I’m sure unfairly, resembled The Farmer from Shaun The Sheep movies, referring to Chris Spencer, our Barnes L54 flatmate, as…

…that old bloke you’ve hired to drive your van.

Chris did have a moustache, which possibly made him look a bit more grown up than the rest of us, but I don’t think he looked old. Hayward more or less managed to maintain his trademark deadpan delivery when saying:

That’s not an old bloke, dad, that’s Chris, my flatmate.

Small beer embarrassment compared with mine, but still.

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.