Photo by: “Me, User:Mholland, CC BY-SA 2.5” via Wikimedia Commons
The Soundtrack Of Easter 1982
Before I talk about the festering and fomenting, I’d like to share a few thoughts on the sounds that were the soundtrack of my time at Keele that spring.
I was listening to some popular music of the time, naturally, but also I had started collecting and listening to albums spanning the late 1960s to that time.
I acquired Astral Weeks by Van Morrison around that time and listened to that wonderful album a lot. Here is the title track:
I was listening to several more recent albums too. Dare by The Human League and Wilder by The Teardrop Explodes are two examples of albums I almost played to death back then. A lot of us did.
As for the contemporary hit music of the time, I was playing the following mix tape a lot in the run up to and over the Easter Break:
I’ll publish the one I recorded over Easter “in the fullness of time” – i.e. once I have dug out the track listing and got my head around it.
Festering & Fomenting
I started using the term “festering” as soon as I returned to Keele from London – daily mentions towards the end of the diary pages in this piece:
Thursday 15 April 1982 – Easyish sort of day – festered quite a lot. Went to the Union in the evening.
Friday 16 April 1982 – wrote motion today etc. – showing it around quite a bit – went to Union in the evening – OK.
Saturday 17 April 1982 – Went into Newcastle during day – lazy afternoon. Went to Union in evening. Sally & Liz came back for coffee after.
Sunday 18 April 1982 – Rose rather late – did some work today – festered in the evening.
Trying to get my head around the fomenting involved in “writing a motion and showing it around”, I had a Zoom the other day (forty years on – April 2022) with Jon Gorvett and Simon Jacobs, both of whom I recall were involved in that fomentation (or whatever one calls it). I am delighted to inform readers that their recall is as hazy or hazier than mine. We managed the following vague recollections:
- Sally & Liz were friends of Mark Bartholomew and we suspected that Mark was the Machiavellian figure behind this attempted grassroots student pressure on the committee.
- Liz was skinny (I can sort-of recall her face even) whereas Sally was not;
- That motion (whatever it was – something to do with “the cuts” – the exact content is long since forgotten) didn’t succeed in the summer term of 1982, but we learnt from it and fomented differently and more successfully the following term (autumn 1982) – I recall the second fomentation more clearly and you’ll read about it “forty years on” in the unlikely event that you are still a reader by then;
- The trouble with Socialism is that it takes up too many evenings.
Monday 19 April 1982 – worked reasonably hard today – lounged around somewhat as well. Went to Union in evening – Liz came back for coffee.
Tuesday 20 April 1982 – Did some work today – went to Union – quite crowded – left quite early.
Wednesday 21 April 1982 – Did some work today and went to town. Easy evening in. Simon & Jon came round quite late.
Thursday 22 April 1982 – Easyish day – loads of people back etc. Went to Union in eve – lack to Rana’s [Sen] after for coffee etc.
Friday 23 April 1982 – Easyish sort of day – saw quite a lot of people. Union in eve – Jon, Liz & Sally came back after disco.
Saturday 24 April 1982 – Went to town. Andrea [Collins, now Woodhouse], Mary [Keevil] and Karen came over in afternoon. Went to Union in evening – OK. Jon came back after.
Sunday 25 April 1982 – Rose late – did a fair bit of work today. Went over to Rana’s for a while – worked quite hard.
Monday 26 April 1982 – Not bad day. First day of lectures. Lindsay in afternoon. Went to bar. Simon, Jon & Liz came back for coffee etc.