Keele University

FOREVER: KEELE

For Keele People Past and PresentIssue 8//2013

Dawn-Marie Beeston: I graduated from Keele in 2011. I enjoyed my time here so much I didn’t want to leave and last year I was fortunate enough to get a position in the Alumni and Development team. When I’m not at Keele I spend my time with my horses, dogs and family.

John Easom: I studied at Keele back in 1980-1981. After twenty years in the Civil Service I moved on to international trade development and then finally got back to Keele in 2005. This is the best job of my life. If I could do it wearing skates my joy would be complete.

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Who’s Who in the Alumni and Development Team

Emma Gregory: I started with Keele in 2012. I trained as a Vet Nurse but being allergic to fur created a bit of a barrier! After four years in the Civil Service, it was time for a complete career change. Since starting at Keele I have gained a wealth of knowledge and the interaction with an eclectic mix of students past and present makes every day great!

Fireworks and lasers lit up the Students’ Union Building and the sky above as alumni, students, staff and local residents gathered on 28 November 2012 to witness the official lighting of the ‘Forest of Light’ at the heart of the campus. The 50 slim gleaming stainless steel columns – each one representing a Class of Alumni since 1962 encircle a central plinth inscribed with a phrase echoing our founder, Lord A D LIndsay of Birker: “Search for Truth in the Company of Friends”.

Union Square Lives OnOn the same night as the lighting of the Forest of Light, Neil Smith (1980) flew in from New York to open the remodelled ground floor of the Students’ Union Building. Neil is the only person ever to serve as both SU and AU President.

During the renovations the illuminated Union Square bar sign – so memorable for Keelites from the 1990s and 2000s – had been rescued from a skip. It was auctioned and will be preserved in memory of the ‘old’ Union Square. The winning bid of £200 by Pritpal Singh Nagi went to local charities.

ContactsAlumni & Development OfficeDirectorate of Marketing & Communications, Innovation Centre 2, Keele University, Keele ST5 5BG, United Kingdomwww.keele.ac.uk/alumni

Alumni & Development Manager – John Easom | +44 (0) 1782 733370 | j.c.easom@keele.ac.ukAlumni & Development Assistant – Dawn-Marie Beeston | +44 (0) 1782 733856 | d.m.beeston@keele.ac.ukAlumni & Development Assistant – Emma Gregory | +44 (0) 1782 733286 | e.gregory@keele.ac.ukFundraising Manager – Robin Cross | +44 (0) 1782 733003 | r.i.cross@keele.ac.uk

Front Cover Photo by Keele student Matt Thompson

The views expressed in Forever: Keele are not necessarily those of the editor, alumni or Keele University.

Contents

Union Square Lives

01

The late Paul Rolo, a founder member of the Keele faculty, was a man of many parts. As Professor of International Relations, he had to be. The IR course he coordinated back in the 70s, actually a triple honours in economics, politics and history, was a little like the reality of diplomacy today: his small IR group was akin to a modern foreign ministry, trying to give coherence to a host of subjects that in substance were driven by others, often better resourced and each with their own agendas.

But using a combination of authority – he was also Deputy Vice-Chancellor and a formidable negotiator, as I discovered when I was Union President – intellect and charm, he somehow managed it. Such were his diplomatic skills. He was also an extremely kind man, as indeed were most of his colleagues at that time, infused with the tenets of Lindsay’s homespun philosophy. Paul’s seminars in the Chancellor’s building, laced with his dulcet tones, smoke from his beloved Chesterfields and sharp-edged discussions of late nineteenth century diplomatic history were, to coin a phrase, most agreeable.

Fast forward 40 years to Cairo, where I am now the European Union’s man in Egypt, and reflecting on life’s connections: just a few weeks ago I found out that Paul Rolo in fact hailed from Alexandria, which given its extraordinary ethnic and linguistic diversity was the perfect place for nurturing a 20th century IR professor. No wonder he was so good at it.

We arrived here last February, a year after the Egyptian revolution erupted in Tahrir Square. That revolution is far from over, and the country is still immersed in a difficult and messy democratic transition that makes my life extremely interesting but also challenging: in the past year, we have seen numerous elections, changes of governments and endless street demonstrations.

The EU is a major player here: since the Lisbon treaty, we are responsible for political coordination at European level and in a volatile situation like this we must make sure that we get our messaging right, whether on democratisation, human rights, security or foreign policy. And given Egypt’s place at the heart of the Arab world, our stance here has repercussions for the region. This is complex when you consider that for the first time we are dealing with a new phenomenon here: a democratically elected, Islamist-led administration.

We’re also the country’s major civilian assistance provider and its main trade and investment partner. And we deal with the Arab League, which has its HQ in Cairo. In

all, the EU Delegation (diplomatic mission) which I head has a staff of about a hundred Europeans and Egyptians to cover all this, and managing them can be quite an interesting proposition.

Egypt will likely be my last post in a career that after a few years of HMG service and in the private sector has been devoted to ‘taking Europe to the World’. Beginning in Brussels 30 years ago, we went first to Ethiopia in the late 80s, spent most of the 90s and early noughties as EU Ambassador in Jamaica and Jordan, then back to Brussels for a decade, where I was the Asia Director and out again to Libya in 2011 as the revolution unfolded there. Notice I say ‘we’. That is code for my wife Randa and a gaggle of kids, all of whom are now (semi) independent and as far as I can tell relatively undamaged by the Bedouin lifestyle that we have imposed on them.

Apart from Paul Rolo, there are other abiding connections with those halcyon days spent in the Sneydian Groves. One is my link with the European idea: while at Keele I discovered Europe through working for the yes vote in the 1975 referendum, and I remember knocking on doors in Silverdale, explaining the merits of the then EEC to the good burghers of that fine old town. Memory fades, but I recall reactions ranging from utter bewilderment, through ‘capitalist plots’, to one very dignified old lady who had lost her husband at El Alamein (another Egyptian echo there) and was for anything that would help prevent another European catastrophe. I wish I could remember her name.

As important, I wish we all could remember the essential reason for the EU in the first place. But as I said, memory fades and it is no longer enough to invoke Armageddon to justify Britain’s continuing engagement in Europe. I have spent most of my life since Keele outside of the UK, and while I love to come home I am the first to admit that I am out of touch with public opinion there. But frankly, I am worried by recent trends toward little Englander-ism. There are far too many opportunistic interests, whether in the media or elsewhere, whose negative views on Europe go unchallenged. Time for another real debate, perhaps?

In the meantime, I am eternally grateful for the Keele experience, and I can only wish the University and its students all that is good for the future.

Jim Moran (IR, 1976)

Keele International: Our Man in Cairo

02 03

Americans get the Premier League treatmentAmerican exchange students at Keele have lent their support to Premier League footballer and fellow American Geoff Cameron. In January 2013, thirty American exchange students met compatriot Geoff Cameron at the Britannia Stadium. The Stoke City FC player was very eager to meet our American cousins, who had drinks in Delilah’s bar, watched the match and explored the Stadium before posing for photos with the statue of Sir Stanley Matthews. Geoff Cameron observed, “It’s great to hear some American accents in Stoke!”

Keele lecturer Dr Jon Parker (American Studies) set up the link with Stoke City FC and said “This was a fantastic chance to experience British culture and get to know the local community first-hand. It will teach our visiting students more about England and Stoke-on-Trent than I could possibly get across in a classroom. This is one of the things they will remember and talk about for years to come when they return to America.”

The Keele connection with Stoke City FC is not new… Sir Stanley Matthews, Gordon Banks OBE and Peter Coates (the current owner) are all honorary graduates of Keele University.

Keele’s team for University Challenge has made it through to the filming stages for the 2013 BBC series. Filming started mid-way through February and will continue until the team get knocked out (or, more probably, win the title). The series will be screened on BBC TV later in 2013.

Keele’s first and so far only UC triumph was in 1968 just five years after being surprise runners-up in 1963. You can read about Keele’s University Challenge triumphs and travails on the Keele Oral History Project: www.keele.ac.uk/alumni/thekeeleoralhistoryproject/keeleonuniversitychallenge

Keele’s University Challenge in 2013

The winning 1968 team Paul Brownsey, Pam Maddison (Groves), Aubrey “Larry” Lawrence and Andrew MacMullen

04 05

Month by MonthJANUARY

Keele’s planet-hunting research has a

starring role on the BBC’s ‘Stargazing

Live’. The programme includes a live link

to Keele’s WASP-South observatory in

South Africa.

Dr Nigel Cassidy, Research Institute for

Environment, Physical Sciences and

Applied Mathematics (EPSAM), is selected

by the European Association of

Geoscientists and Engineers to represent

‘The Best of Near-Surface Geophysics

2011’ at the 25th Anniversary Symposium

on the Application of Geophysics to

Environmental and Engineering Problems.

Maureen Morgan, School of PP and PP,

is awarded an OBE in the New Year’s

Honours for her work in primary and

community nursing.

FEBRUARY

Nadine Foster is awarded a National

Institute for Health Research professorship.

Professor Foster, Arthritis Research UK

Primary Care Centre/Primary Care

Sciences, is to receive funding for her

research programme which will ensure

GPs and physiotherapists offer treatments

and services that help people with

musculoskeletal pain and disability.

Jonathon Porritt, the eminent writer,

broadcaster and commentator on

sustainable development, takes up the

office of Chancellor of Keele University at a

special ceremony in the University Chapel.

Keele’s Astrophysics Group wins a

Science and Technology Facilities Council

grant of £1,048,698 that will fund three

Post-Doctoral Research Associates,

working on a study of winds from

supermassive black holes in distant

galaxies; a large survey of star-formation

regions and young stellar clusters in our

galaxy and the WASP search for

extrasolar planets.

Keele launches a pioneering

community-based volunteering strategy,

‘Keele Community Connections’, linking

its student population, through the

Students’ Union, with three North

Staffordshire organisations. The University

also joins the NSVC and Volunteering

England to become a branch of NSVC –

the first university in the country.

MARCH

The University achieved National

Collection status by Plant Heritage for the

240 varieties of flowering cherry trees on

the campus.

A celebration of International Women’s

Day takes place at the Sustainability Hub

with the theme ‘Inspiring Futures’. Sara

Parkin, Founder Director of Forum for the

Future, speaks on ‘Every Day is

Women’s Day.’

Professor Elaine Hay, Director of the

Arthritis Research UK Primary Care

Centre, is appointed a National Institute

for Health Research Senior Investigator.

APRIL

The first Charter Year overseas visit is to

Canada and the USA. Meetings and events are held with alumni in British Columbia, Oregon and California. New alumni ambassadors are identified in America and Canada and a new vision is unveiled by the North American Foundation for Keele University.

Malcolm Peckham is appointed Pro-Chancellor and Chair of Council. Malcolm has been on the University Council since 2004 and was appointed as Deputy Pro-Chancellor in 2008.

The Students’ Union wins a Silver Green Impact Award for the third consecutive year. Green Impact seeks to encourage, nurture, reward and celebrate good environmental practice in Students’ Unions.

MAY

The Institute of Leadership and Management, the UK’s largest awarding body for leadership and management qualifications, officially recognises Keele’s new Distinctive Curriculum – the first time an entire university curriculum has been accredited.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Foskett, leads a ‘Keele in Kenya’ event at the British Institute for Eastern Africa in Nairobi. The aim is to build on existing links and establish new partnerships, providing opportunity for the University to extend its relationships with HE institutions and businesses in East Africa and to extend opportunities for Kenyan students to study at Keele.

Kenya’s Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, the Hon. Professor Margaret Kamar, EHG, MP, visits Keele. She sees the Keele Active Virtual Environment (KAVE) in the School of Pharmacy, tours the Library and visits the Sustainability Hub.

JUNE

Dr Sami Ullah, EPSAM, is part of a successful consortium grant, worth £2.5 million, titled ‘Analysis and simulation of long-term/large-scale interactions of C, N

and P in UK land, freshwater and atmosphere’.

Keele is ranked 61st in the inaugural Times Higher Education 100 under 50 list of the world’s best young universities. Keele is 11th among the 20 UK universities included.

A thousand visitors attend Keele’s first Community Day and join in more than 40 sessions/workshops across campus, as well as other family activities.

Ron Pate, School of Pharmacy, is awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to hospital pharmacy.

JULY

Professor Peter Jackson, Emeritus Professor of Medieval History at Keele, is elected to the British Academy Fellowship.

Dr Maria Heckl, EPSAM, secures a major European grant worth €3.73 million for a four-year project called TANGO – Thermo-acoustic and Aero-acoustic Nonlinearities in Green combustors with Orifice structures.

Baroness Williams of Crosby gives a seminar on the topic of ‘Challenges of a Political Career’ – an overview of British political history since 1945, the period of her own political interest and career.

AUGUST

Dr Zoe Robinson, School of Physical and Geographical Sciences, is awarded a National Teaching Fellowship for her contribution to Education for Sustainability and other teaching innovations around Open Educational Resources and employability.

Dr Jonathan Hill, Physiotherapy, is awarded the 2012 Arthritis Research UK prize in physiotherapy for his trial which explored the effectiveness of back pain treatments.

SEPTEMBER

Keele is rated amongst the best in the country for student satisfaction. The University, with an exceptionally high score of 91%, exceeds the national overall satisfaction rate in the National Student Survey.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Foskett, and Joe Turner, President KeeleSU, welcome students to the University. Their addresses are followed by Keele’s first ever ‘Welcome Festival’, with performances from student societies, games, activities and information stands.

Business Secretary, Vince Cable, officially opens Keele’s dedicated business growth programme – The Nova Centre – and highlights the important role that universities can play in helping to support business.

Speaking at the Universities UK conference at Keele, David Willets, Minister of State for Universities and Science, addresses an audience of UK vice-chancellors and praises universities as more central to our society than ever before.

OCTOBER

Keele is placed, for the second consecutive year, among the world’s top universities in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. The University is positioned in the band 350-400.

Pro Vice-Chancellor, Professor David Shepherd, and Dr Matthew Brannan, Co-ordinator of International Programmes for the School of Management, visit Malaysia for the award of Keele degrees at the Convocations of KDU University College (near Kuala Lumpur) and KDU College (Penang).

Keele’s former Chancellor, Professor Sir David Weatherall, returns to the University for a special ceremony to name the Medical School building after him.

Dr Maggie Atkinson, Children’s Commissioner for England, officially opens the new £2.7 million Day Nursery.

A special celebratory reception to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Keele Charter, hosted by Keele Honorary graduate Lord Puttnam, takes place at the House of Lords, with guests representing Keele alumni, MPs, Keele Council and staff.

Keele Law students are in a major pilot scheme that explores a new way to deliver legal assistance for self-represented litigants in North Staffordshire. Launched by Keele’s School of Law, the Community Legal Companion is an innovative new role, which will train Law students, under the supervision of partner organisations, to provide unrepresented litigants practical assistance throughout the legal process.

NOVEMBER

The Forest of Light sculpture is unveiled by Pro-Chancellor, Malcolm Peckham, to mark the completion of a major project to transform the heart of the campus and the grand finale of Keele 50th Anniversary year.

Dr Raphael Hirschi, Astrophysics, EPSAM, secures a prestigious 1.4 million Euro starting grant from the European Research Council – the first awarded to a Keele academic. The grant will fund a five-year multi-disciplinary project entitled SHYNE (Stellar HYdrodynamics, Nucleosynthesis and Evolution).

Dr Jon Herbert, SPIRE, is a guest on BBC Breakfast discussing the US elections.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Foskett, is joined by senior colleagues on a visit to Hong Kong and Brunei to celebrate the Charter Year with Keele alumni.

DECEMBER

Professor Alicia El Haj, Director of the Research Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, is shortlisted for the 2012 Women of Outstanding Achievement Award for Leadership and Inspiration.

TV historian Michael Wood gives the keynote speech at a national history conference, ‘Joined up teaching’, at Keele. This charter event, co-hosted by the University and Stoke-on-Trent Central MP Tristram Hunt, is opened by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Foskett.

Dr Joanne Protheroe, Senior Lecturer in General Practice, is interviewed on BBC Breakfast on new research into health literacy levels across England that has shown that health information is too complex.

06 07

On 23rd January 2013, Julia Leyden (Western), Class of 1963 presented an outstanding piece of art for inclusion in the Keele University Art Collection. At first glance the viewer might assume that it depicts a traditional Christian crucifixion. In fact it explores different types of passion and their impact through history. A veil or curtain of words blows across the central figure but they are difficult to read, suggesting that time has made their interpretation sometimes uncertain.

Julia selected the quotations, and the passions they illustrate, from:

The Song of Solomon – sexual passion

Nero, described by Tacitus – megalomania

Viking raids – the impulse for conquest

The Rapacity of Barons from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle – greed and self-interest

The death of Queen Elizabeth I – the need to secure succession

The execution of Charles I – the desire for regime change

The storming of Drogheda by Cromwell – the use of religion to support slaughter

The death of Suffragist Emily Wilding – the longing for equality

The riot at the premier of Stravinsky’s ‘Rite of Spring’ – resistance to the new

The first aerial voyage in England 1784 – new perspectives on our place on this earth

The boyhood interests of Sir Isaac Newton – the spirit of scientific enquiry

The Black Hole of Calcutta – revenge

The figure on the cross represents the spiritual leaders who have inspired the great religions. The cross represents the massive impact on historical development made by religious institutions of all kinds. The footballers at the foot of the painting are absorbed in their sporting passion and appear oblivious to the themes described above them.

Julia explained to the Vice-Chancellor that it was indeed her passion for Keele University that drove her to donate her work to the collection.

‘Passion, the Driver of History’ hangs by the Staff Common Room in Keele Hall.

The Raven Mason Collection is housed in Keele Hall and contains many important pieces outlining the development of Mason ceramics in Staffordshire from the beginning of the nineteenth century. The Raven Mason Trust has now been awarded a small grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund as part of the All Our Stories programme to run a project celebrating the history of Mason Ironstone. A key theme is to bring together collectors and people involved in manufacturing Mason Ironstone to express its importance for Stoke-on-Trent and for British ceramic history.

A number of events are planned – including the collection of oral histories from people associated with Mason Ironstone, a community celebration and the development of resources for schools to support learning about the significance of ceramics to Stoke-on-Trent and what the Potteries area was like when manufacturing dominated the local economy.

For more information E: ravenmason@keele.ac.uk

You may not know the name, but you will almost certainly have heard his work. Andy Quin is a prolific composer of music for film, TV, radio and commercials, and he honed his craft at Keele.

Andy Quin arrived at Keele in 1978 having already turned down an invitation to study at the Royal Academy of Music. He studied Electronics and Music at a time when Keele boasted one of the best music courses in the country and Andy was able to ‘swap chops’ with Visiting Professor, Cecil Lytle, a great jazz pianist himself from the Juillard School in New York. Andy also benefited from a strong departmental interest in American music generally, inspired by Professor Peter Dickinson.

Away from the classroom, Andy formed a band with other students on the same main subject as him, including Simon Hargreaves and Mark Ayres. Random Access was a rock band with funky and psychedelic overtones – almost as eclectic as Andy’s own musical tastes. His dissertation was on the group, Earth, Wind and Fire, whilst his finals recital featured Beethoven and Franz Liszt!

Random Access was popular on campus and played the Union Ballroom several

times, vying with other Keele bands of that time such as The Man Upstairs and Blue Moves. Random Access created the now legendary ‘Cheese Monster’ which was, reputedly, responsible for stealing food from the group’s flat in Barnes Hall and was later famously photographed occupying the Professorial Chair in the Physics Department.

Andy worked closely with Keele’s studio technician, Cliff Bradbury, and composer, Tim Souster, producing recordings on a Fairlight CMI (the world’s first computer sampler) and this proved to have a major impact on his future professional work. He was recommended by Souster to the music production company DeWolfe and this was the beginning of a long and productive career writing music for film, TV, advertising and radio.

At the same time, Andy was writing regularly for Central TV in Birmingham and his music could be heard at the Queen’s opening of the ICC and Symphony Hall. Central TV went on to make a documentary about Andy’s work.

Writing for the DeWolfe Music Library has enabled Andy develop compositional technique in all kinds of styles from avant

Original Soundtrack

The Raven Mason Collection

Adunola Okupe (2006) was the guest speaker at this year’s International Students’ Welcome Ball. Adun is the internationalisation representative of the Keele Society Advisory Committee and she shared her experience at Keele and how important her Keele connection has been since she left.

“I had a decade-long walk down memory lane, attending the International Students’ Welcome Ball, which I had attended as an international student myself ten years ago! The food was considerably better and the spread of the nationalities, I think, was wider. But it was all made extra special by unexpectedly meeting a Nigerian neighbour, Femi Awopegba from Ibadan at the ball! I had never met him before and to meet him at Keele of all places added another treasured memory of Keele. What are the chances?”

A current Nigerian student is a face to remember. Eugenia Abu is a national icon. She is a leading broadcaster, prize winning essayist, poet, short story writer, motivational speaker, multimedia strategist, mentor, wife and mother. She is a member of several national and international bodies, including the Human Rights Commission. To further her already glittering career, Eugenia is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Creative Writing at Keele University.

Keele Encounters

A Golden Graduate has celebrated 50 Anniversaries since leaving the University College of North Staffordshire or Keele University. The Royal Charter of the University was granted in 1962, so in 2012 we held the first Golden Graduates’ Reunion to coincide with the 50th Golden Anniversary of our Charter.

Who are our Founding Graduates?

One hundred and fifty-seven students attended the University College of North Staffordshire in October 1950 and the first 150 graduated in 1954. Anyone who was part of that first class is termed a Founding Graduate.

Who are our Pioneers?

The Pioneers are the Classes of 1954 to 1961 who graduated from the University College of North Staffordshire. They and the Founding Graduates formed the Students’ Union, the Athletic Union and the Keele Society and created the heritage and traditions that have exemplified the Keele spirit for all later generations.

The 2013 Golden Graduates’ Reunion will welcome home the Classes of 1954 to 1963 on May 11th - 12th 2013.

garde electro-acoustic and computer-generated musics, through jazz and easy listening to big band, rock and film music. He has also virtually documented the history of jazz and the brilliance of his playing is especially highlighted in ragtime and stride styles of the 1920s and 1930s. Along the way he has worked with the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Concert Orchestra. His music has been used by Disney and in a multitude of TV commercials, including the After Eight Mints ad with Stephen Fry and a cast of Hollywood greats, not least Liberace miming to Andy’s piano score!

Andy leads a busy life and is hoping to find time to play more jazz piano gigs in the future. He is married to Anne and has three children, and when he has any time left over he enjoys badminton, walking, reading, aviation sports and astronomy (but not necessarily in that order!).

Sean Rourke, STR Music Marketing

Golden Graduates

Passion, the Driver of History

08 09

Close Encounters of The Beatles Kind

Revolution in the Air

Read more about the John Lennon interview in the Keele Oral History Project: www.keele.ac.uk/alumni/thekeeleoralhistoryproject/thejohnlennoninterview

In December 1968 two Keele students – Maurice Hindle (1968) and Daniel Wiles (1970) – interviewed John Lennon and published it in a Keele students’ magazine called UNIT. The interview had an impact far beyond Keele because Lennon spoke frankly about the so-called ‘Black Dwarf’ letters which implied that the Beatles were “less revolutionary than the Rolling Stones”. Lennon’s comments prompted a discussion that continues to intrigue observers of the sixties cultural scene.

We spoke to current student Aynel Tekogul about her journey of discovery of this remarkable moment in Keele’s history.

Aynel, how did you find out about this fascinating part of Keele’s history?

I was researching about old times at Keele for Yearbook and somebody mentioned a John Lennon interview. I wondered how two Keele students managed to interview such an icon and then publish it in a students’ magazine. I knew the music of the Beatles but I didn’t know much about John Lennon himself. Helen Burton, the Library archivist, helped me to find the UNIT interview and many more press items about the interview. It was interesting to read the interview and news pieces about it but there were so many contradictions that I wanted to find out what really happened. Lennon sounded so human and sincere in the interview and I wondered how he seemed to the two students interviewing him.

Did you find the interviewers?

Yes, we exchanged emails after the Alumni Office put me in touch with Maurice and Daniel. I didn’t get to meet them but they were very kind and helpful. The information they gave me was very insightful, and they were willing to tell me the story in detail. This formed the interview I aimed to write after my research.

Has this experience changed you?

Yes, it’s given me more confidence to interview people even if it seems hard to reach them at first. I realised we can reach people outside Keele and get involved. Alumni can play a part in this by supporting and encouraging students with their experience and knowledge. This can be from their time at Keele and what they have done since they left. In my case, with Daniel and Maurice I shared an interest in writing and journalism – we even lived in the same accommodation at Keele! This shows that previous and current Keele students really can have a shared experience and familiarity between each other even if there is 40 years of time difference. The success of past generations can become an inspiration because they can be models for us. I hope Keele will make it possible for more students and alumni to get together and to help each other in the future.

1968: a year of revolution, a year when people – many of them students – took to the streets of London, Paris, Prague, Berlin, Mexico City and a whole host of other cities, to protest against the Vietnam War and vent their feelings at the deaths of Martin Luther King and Senator Robert Kennedy. Revolution was also in the air on the music scene, where The Beatles’ unchallenged supremacy suddenly found competition in the form of those angry young upstarts, The Rolling Stones.

If the juxtaposition of global riots and the battle for No 1 records seems trite, we must remember just how politicised music was in the sixties. Through their music and through their interviews, both John Lennon and Mick Jagger exerted considerable influence on the people that followed their every move, even if sometimes their views came from an artistic, rather than deliberately political standpoint.

And in 1968, the two frontmen – and their music – were never further apart. In the same year that The Rolling Stones recorded ‘Street Fighting Man’ and ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ and Jagger took part in the London riots, The Beatles recorded ‘Revolution’, a song which brought Lennon an unprecedented level of criticism for his apparent indifference to the uprisings happening all around him. Jagger and The Rolling Stones were portrayed as leaders of the revolution while The Beatles, with their OBEs and their messages of love and peace, were labelled part of the establishment that the Left wanted to bring down.

Against this backdrop, John Hoyland wrote the first of what have become known as the ‘Black Dwarf’ letters, published in the radical newspaper of the same name. In it, Hoyland berates Lennon for the ambivalent

lyrics in ‘Revolution’, and for his message of personal change and freedom, coupled with an apparent resistance to challenging the system. Hoyland also praises The Rolling Stones, in a move which he must have realised would antagonise Lennon, for their commitment to the revolutionary cause and for the increasing brilliance of their music.

Lennon responded immediately with a vitriolic response in a ‘very open letter’, also published in Black Dwarf. He attacked Hoyland’s belief that ‘smashing it up’ can bring change to the world order and defended his own ideals. Predictably enough, Lennon was particularly defensive of his music and his own reputation as a pioneering artist. For Lennon, whether in the context of his political beliefs or his music, to be considered less revolutionary than The Rolling Stones was the worst kind of insult.

The Black Dwarf letters caused a sensation when they were syndicated across the world in late 1968. Inspired by their publication, Maurice Hindle, then a first year student at Keele, wrote to Lennon requesting an interview in which he would counter the growing feeling against the Beatle.

Shortly afterwards, Maurice Hindle and fellow student, Daniel Wiles, found themselves at Weybridge train station in Surrey, having hitchhiked down from Keele. They were met outside the station by a very familiar man with shoulder-length hair parted in the middle and trademark pebble glasses. They spent six hours in the company of Lennon and Ono, and their interview remains an important contribution to discussion around that turbulent year of 1968.

Chris Harrison

10 11

Every generation – indeed every year – has its own memorable soundtrack. And that is so true of our university years when music provides the unforgettable backing track to life, love, learning and lunacy.

In 2007 we began to ask Keelites to name the ‘song that means Keele to you’. This was used for our first Homecoming disco and the list has been growing ever since. Over 270 titles now appear in the Soundtrack of our (Keele) Lives at www.keele.ac.uk/alumni/thekeeleoralhistoryproject/thesoundtrackofourkeelelives

‘Never Forget’ by Take That is still top of the pops but if you want to add your song – from any era – let us know through our Forever: Keele Facebook group or direct to Emma Gregory at Keele. Who knows, your choice might make the playlist for Homecoming 2013. If you can’t wait till Homecoming, find the ‘Keele Soundtrack’ playlist on Spotify.

Our success with the Keele Soundtrack has inspired us to discover your favourite gigs from any era – and that includes classical concerts or jazz combos! Again, please send us your choice and your memories through our Forever: Keele Facebook group or direct to Emma Gregory at Keele. We hope to create a new Keele Oral History project page with memories of the most Glorious Gigs.

Here are a few to get you started:

Mike Beattie (2002): Jools and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra for 2002 graduation. We had our customary fire alarm go off and while we were outside the orchestra kept our spirits up by playing a few tunes on the Union fire escape.

Richard O’Hagan (1989): Primal Scream stalking off stage after about two songs because Bobby Gillespie thought someone had thrown a skiff at him (about 1988).

Mark Holtz (1993): Atomic Kitten around 2000. The pre-gig interview was longer than expected and we ran out of questions. Shania Twain was playing in the background so, rather feebly, I asked: “What’s the best thing about being a woman?” to which Kerry Katona grabbed her breasts and said “THESE!” Now that’s class.

Chris Parkins (1981): Ian Gillan (Deep Purple) jumping off the stage and punching a member of the audience was pretty memorable. Mind you, the guy was asking for it.

Gordon Mousinho (1975): Elkie Brooks wearing a skirt that can generously be described as ‘micro’. And Spirit, with Randy California playing in just a jockstrap and cowboy boots!

David Harris (1970): In 1972, Cream at the Royal Ball with Princess Margaret dancing with a triple vodka in one hand and a Gauloise in the other.

The Hollywood Festival at Madeley (May 23-24 1970) was the first outdoor festival in the UK – and it was largely staffed by Keele students! There was an exceptional line-up including the first UK appearance of the Grateful Dead and a performance by Mungo Jerry which raised them from invisibility to eternal glory with one song. Find out more at: www.keele.ac.uk/alumni/thekeeleoralhistoryproject/thehollywoodfestivalandmusicatkeele

What Song Means Keele to You?

Gigs that Burst the Bubble

Jayne Winstanley (2001) on the decks at Homecoming

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In 2002, Antony Sutcliffe (2008) was a local Stoke student who had just dropped out of his A-Levels. Now he works at the University as an Outreach Officer, overseeing community engagement projects and running summer schools. We asked Ant why is he is so passionate about inspiring young people to go into further education.

Tell us a bit about your background?

I’m originally from Burslem in Stoke-on-Trent so I’ve been familiar with the University ever since I can remember.

You work as part of the Recruitment, Outreach and Access team, how did you find out about the programme?

I attended one of the Keele Link sessions when I was at school in 2001. I really enjoyed it and it changed the way I viewed education.

So did it inspire you to come to study at Keele?

Yes and no. I was a bit of an unruly teenager and dropped out of my A-Levels after a few months. I got a job at a fruit and veg warehouse and never thought I’d end up at University. My girlfriend was doing her A-Levels at the time and she encouraged me to go back and study. After getting my A-Levels we both enrolled at Keele in 2005 and we got married a few years later!

So when did you join the Outreach team?

When I became a student at Keele I was actively involved in community projects, joining the widening participation scheme and helping at a number of summer

schools and term-time events. As I was coming to the end of my studies in 2008, I found out about a vacancy in the team and secured an interview on the very same day as my last exam! It was a stressful day to say the least but just as I got home I got the call to say I’d got the job. I never looked back!

What does your day-to-day job involve?

My job is to liaise with community groups and local schools to arrange for them to attend Outreach sessions. One of the biggest projects I worked on was the IAG Roadshow, offering advice and help to more than 3,000 local young people last year. We also run a range of school sessions, which encourage young people to get involved in subjects such as English and Science by engaging in fun activities. Some sessions involve dressing up as Harry Potter and we can transport an inflatable Stardome to local schools. My job is pretty varied and very rewarding.

Why do you think it’s important for universities to engage with young people?

Universities shouldn’t underestimate the impact that this sort of activity can have. Just last year I received a letter from a student saying how much one of our sessions changed his life. I believe that education is key to liberating young people by giving them the confidence to raise their aspirations and to achieve things they didn’t think were possible.

Kate Dawson

Keele for Life

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“I hope you’ll do some more research and writing when you have a chance to come up for air.” Said with a twinkle in her eye, these were the last words I heard from my PhD supervisor, Marjorie Cruickshank.

That was in 1982 when I was just about to take up my first teaching post in a wide-ability secondary school in Kent.

What a baptism by fire that was into the teaching profession, as I tried to prepare to teach four subjects: history, local studies, religious studies and Special Needs Maths (it had been my Statistics subsidy that had got me the position!).

I learned (a bit) from my mistakes, changed school twice and was not bad at my job (I even received a teaching award one year). But I found myself completely bogged down and exhausted by the preparation and piles of lower school exercise books to mark. As for research and writing, I did very little for the next ten years.

Thanks to the Schools’ History Project I was at least able to introduce my students to what I most enjoyed from my research days – using historical sources to carry out investigations, evaluate evidence and form interpretations. My favourite booklet was the ‘Mystery of the Princes in the Tower’, and this gave me the idea of writing something on Perkin Warbeck who claimed to be the younger of the two princes. How serious a threat was he to King Henry VII? From my research into Perkin’s life I wrote a historical novel called Ruling Ambition, an article for the brand new BBC History Magazine and a children’s book The Boy who would be King for Short Books.

I have now written about a dozen books and lots of articles for magazines and newspapers. Of special interest to me are individuals who have been left on the sidelines of history and, I feel, deserve to receive more credit. It has led to me writing on an eclectic range of subjects – almost as wide-ranging as the Foundation Year. I am particularly interested in writing fast-moving short narratives for the 12-16 age range, a kind of advanced version of the old Ladybird series I enjoyed as a boy.

Hooked by a BBC2 series called ‘The Murder Rooms’, I went up to Edinburgh one summer holiday to research the life of Dr Joseph Bell who I was intrigued to find had inspired Arthur Conan Doyle with the character of Sherlock Holmes. Back in my home town of Broadstairs, I paced up and down the seafront dressed in a deerstalker and sporting a Sherlock Holmes pipe, during the annual Dickens Festival in 2005.

Coming up for Air

To coincide with the bicentenary of Britain abolishing the slave trade, in 2007 I wrote a short biography of Olaudah Equiano, a slave who became an abolitionist. Traditionally, William Wilberforce has received nearly all the attention because of his work in Parliament. I was interested to see what black people were doing for themselves to abolish the trade, and found that Equiano had started campaigning and touring Britain making speeches several years before Wilberforce. BBC South East Today came into school and filmed my Year 9 students reading passages from the book: that evening they were TV stars.

After writing about two men I thought I ought to research a woman next, and I chose Mary Shelley. In many respects her itinerant and tragic life has been overshadowed by that of her more famous husband, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. One writer has recently suggested that she did not have the ability to write, and that Frankenstein was in fact the work of her husband. The book has been bought by school libraries and some English departments studying Frankenstein for GCSE.

In 2010 a book to commemorate the centenary of the death of the Victorian sanitary engineer Thomas Crapper proved irresistible. Very quickly I found out that Thomas Crapper did not invent the flushing toilet as is often still assumed (Thomas Harrington did that in Queen Elizabeth I’s time). But Crapper, who is buried in the same cemetery as my grandparents in Beckenham, did make important improvements to it. Out of the research came Thomas Crapper: Lavatory Legend, fully illustrated, with a very silly multiple choice quiz at the back, together with a list of euphemisms meaning to go to the

toilet. My Year 7 students spent a term of lunchtimes helping to make a giant toilet out of papier mâché and were thrilled to demonstrate it on TV on the day of the anniversary.

My brother suggested I write my most recent book. On the way to work in London he spotted a paragraph in the Metro about a Jewish high-jumper called Gretel Bergmann who had finally had her record of 1936 reinstated by the German Athletics Association. Her life is a tale of injustice. Shunned by her former friends, thrown out of her sports club and banned from taking part in the Olympics, she had no choice but to go to the USA to begin a new life.

Although by now I had almost thirty years’ experience of teaching and had quite a stock of lessons prepared, the research for all these books had mostly to be done in the summer holidays. In term time I was increasingly being ground down by target-setting, assessment, lesson observation after lesson observation, OFSTED – and even mock OFSTED! About three years ago I decided that I had had enough and took early retirement.

Nowadays I spend most of my time travelling, and writing (mainly light-hearted) articles with a historical connection for newspapers and magazines.

So, I did “come up for air” – well, eventually. I only wish I had done so sooner.

Robert Hume (1978 History & Psychology)

Warbeck was a pretender to the throne of England in the time of Henry VII. He claimed to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, one of the Princes in the Tower allegedly killed by Richard III. As the death of the Princes had never been confirmed, Warbeck was able to gather support for his claim, whether due to a genuine belief in his case, or because of a desire to overthrow Henry and the new Tudor dynasty.

Warbeck remains a man of mystery, with numerous conflicting stories as to his true

background. It is generally now believed that he was a convincing imposter, though not everyone agrees. What is known is that he undertook a number of attempts to overthrow Henry, backed variously by Margaret of Burgundy, James IV of Scotland and even the people of Cornwall!

Warbeck’s quest ultimately ended in failure and he was hanged at Tyburn, London in 1499.

Disappointingly, Thomas Crapper did not, as is widely believed, invent the toilet. Nor did his name give rise to a popular word for faeces. He was however, a hugely influential inventor and did make a number of important advances in the manufacture of sanitary ware, including the invention of the ballcock. All in all, he held nine patents.

Crapper was a plumber by trade, whose company was known for the quality of its products. He had several Royal Warrants, one of which was for fitting out the

plumbing at Sandringham House, at the behest of Prince Edward (later Edward VII). He also worked for George V.

Crapper was also a pioneering businessman. He owned the world’s first bath, toilet and sink showroom, which was on the King’s Road in London, and he did much to promote sanitary plumbing and make conversations around bathroom fittings more commonplace.

Gretel Bergmann was a German high jumper whose dream of competing in the 1936 Berlin Olympics was destroyed by the Nazi regime on the basis that she was Jewish.

Bergmann prepared for the Berlin Olympics and one month before the Games were to begin, she tied the German record with a jump of 1.60m. But two weeks before the start of the Games, she was expelled (having already been expelled once previously, in 1933) and her German record was expunged from the record books. The excuse given was that

she was being removed due to ‘under-performance’.

Bergmann emigrated to the United States in 1937, vowing never to set foot on German soil again. She won the US Championships in 1938 and 1939, also winning the Shot Put in 1938.

More recently, Germany has acknowledged her achievements, with a variety of honours. Her records have been reinstated, and she even attended a ceremony in her home town of Laupheim, where the local stadium was named after her.

Perkin Warbeck (c. 1474 – 1499)

Thomas Crapper(c. 1836 – 1910)

Gretel Bergmann(c. 1914 – )

Hume’s Heroes

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“I thought you may like to know that Gavin proposed to me (needless to say I said yes). It was very romantic as we walking out on Jackson Lake (which was frozen) when he dropped to one knee with the Grand Teton mountain range as the backdrop! As he didn’t know what type of ring I would like, he had made one for me out of box wood on his dad’s lathe when we were in the UK in November (I had no idea!). I wore it for about a week but unfortunately as it was wood it was rather fragile and split. Two rounds of superglue later and it now lives in my little jewellery box instead! We did in fact purchase a ‘real’ ring yesterday which we had made to include the Grand Tetons, so it acts as a permanent reminder of where he proposed!”

Gavin was in marketing when I met him but he was also captain of an 80ft luxury sailing yacht. His old boss asked him to run the boat again and Gavin agreed as long as he could bring me along too! I was happy in my job, had never done any sailing, and not lived abroad since that semester at OSU in 1998. Nevertheless, by March 2011 I was simultaneously working my notice at Eurostar, training for the London Marathon and trying to revise for sailing exams. In May 2011 we drove to Italy to crew the SY Holo Kai; Gavin as Captain, me as deck-hand and stewardess. Another girl was the chef.

I took a huge risk to start a job with no experience and living in very close proximity with a guy I had known for barely six months. On ‘charter’ you work 17 hour days and have to be available around the clock. I pushed on through; the places we were seeing were incredible and generally the guests were lovely! That summer we were along the French Riviera and the Tuscan coastline and we also visited Sardinia and Corsica.

In the winter we took Holo Kai across the Atlantic to Martinique, and sailed up through Antigua to the British Virgin Islands where we raced with other Oyster yachts, and on to Puerto Rico. Then I got promoted to chef so Gavin and I ran the boat, and raising our workload by 50%. I had not cooked very much previously, as my Keele friends will attest, and suddenly I was cooking for six people and crew. I had to serve three meals a day to ‘restaurant standard’.

We’re frequently asked by people what we do when the guests aren’t on board. We certainly don’t work such long days as we do at sea but boats are notorious for breaking. Gavin is usually wearing his engineering hat fixing things, while I’m menu planning and cleaning meticulously.

Gavin and I are now enjoying a six-month sabbatical from the boat; we are due to rejoin her in June 2013 in Los Angeles. Gavin is also a huge fan of snow sports so we have bought a truck camper to follow the snow around the USA and Canada.

I have finally been able to use my degree – navigation, planning trips in different countries and conversing happily with Americans about their history, culture and politics. I didn’t think when I left Keele that twelve years later I would be making a career out of what I love – travelling and being a host. I owe a lot of that to Keele. I wasn’t the most confident student when I started, but I was when I left. A lot of it is to do with the Keele community and being at a campus university. Keele really improved my belief in my own abilities and gave me the courage to embark on something entirely different and never to look back.

Emma Broome (2000)

From Ski to Sea

I started at Keele in September 1997 and in many ways that still feels recent! I made some amazing friends there and I still see them whenever I’m back in Britain. I prolonged my contact with Keele by being a member of the Keele Society Advisory Committee for a few years.

At Keele I studied Geography and American Studies (including an awesome semester at Oklahoma State University) and, although it didn’t help with my immediate career following graduation with GlaxoSmithKline, it’s certainly helping with my current job.

I was in the ski club at Keele, attending annual BUSC trips and racing throughout the year, as well as the trampolining club. Both of these stood me in good stead for the crazy sport I took up at the age of 26. I had moved into hotel sales and although I loved it, it was never quite challenging enough, so I took up aerial skiing… I pestered the local dry ski slope to put me in contact with the freestyle coach and I hounded him for two months before I finally got to try out for the team. Amazingly, I got selected and began training in Switzerland while working full-time in the UK. I didn’t do anything outrageous but training with the British and Swiss teams was an incredible experience. I stopped aerials training in 2008 – being a 26-year-old beginner was tough!

I then started as a National Account Manager at Eurostar with a £25m portfolio, frequently dashing across to Paris and Brussels with clients. I absolutely loved it and would probably still be there now if I hadn’t met my boyfriend Gavin in September 2010 – he has a LOT to answer for! This is also where my dual honours degree came into its own!

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Andreas Steffensen is the seventh recipient of the Neil and Gina Smith Student of the Year Award. The annual prize of £5,000 is sponsored by Neil and Gina Smith to recognise a final year student who has demonstrated outstanding achievement at Keele.

Outstanding achievement takes many forms – but in this case, the panel looks for academic excellence coupled with a significant contribution to the life of the University and the wider community.

Andreas graduated with First Class Honours in Educational Studies and English. He has secured a training contract with a Midlands-based law firm which will begin after he has completed a graduate qualification in Law. He then hopes to embark on a career in Environmental Law.

Andreas consistently impressed his tutors by outstanding academic performance, averaging 80% across both subjects over three years. His degree dissertation was judged by the Programme Director in Educational Studies to be “master’s level…already publishable”.

Andreas’ achievements are even more impressive when viewed in the light of his personal circumstances. Andreas is a Danish student with English as a second language who has settled in North Staffordshire with his wife. He is in the first generation of his family to attend university. During his first year at Keele, shortly before his exam period, Andreas donated a kidney to his wife who suffers from chronic renal disease. Last month, just after he completed his final year assessments, he became a father when his first child was born.

Andreas has made a strong and lasting contribution to Keele through his work for the Widening Participation team. He has served as a Student Ambassador in roles of mentor, administrator, visitor guide and events leader. He has been praised for portraying Keele to prospective students in a “realistic but very positive way” and for inspiring young people to think positively about the benefits of higher education. He was rewarded for his commitment, maturity and hard work with the Ambassador’s Ambassador Award and the Student Leader Award for 2011-2012.

The combination of Andreas’ academic achievements, his quiet determination to succeed and his commitment to making a positive impact on the lives of others confirm that he deserves to be named Keele Student of the Year.

The Icing on the Cake

We love to welcome alumni back and to involve them in student activities and one person we particularly look forward to seeing is Kath Warrilow (2010). That’s because, after graduating, Kath combined her culinary talents with a shrewd head for business to set up Cupcake Yourself – her own business offering personalised and branded cupcakes.

As a Keele student, Kath enrolled on the SPEED WM programme, a six month funded programme to help young people kick-start their business ideas. Within a few weeks she had turned a part-time hobby into an operational business. In 2012 her cupcakes were featured in VOGUE magazine and she was receiving calls from the 02 Arena.

Kath returns regularly to campus providing cupcakes for various events and she spoke recently to the Keele Enterprise Society, a student society for budding entrepreneurs.

Kath owes a lot to Keele: “The SPEED programme was a fantastic opportunity for me as it enabled me to turn my love of baking into a full-time career. I got a huge amount of support from the Student Enterprise Team during the programme and made contact with a lot of experienced entrepreneurs who gave me fantastic advice and guidance. I definitely think there’s something to be said for talking to a business entrepreneur your own age as they were in the same position as you just a few years ago. That’s why I jump at the chance to come back and talk to Keele’s current students. It feels very worthwhile to talk to the next generation of entrepreneurs and I really enjoy hearing about their future plans.”

The Keele University SPEED Plus programme is expanding: applicants are invited to a Dragons’ Den type panel to pitch their business idea and the most promising are accepted onto the programme.

For more information on the SPEED Plus programme, please visit www.keele.ac.uk/speedplus or email speedplus@keele.ac.uk

Student of the Year 2012

Andreas Steffensen

I am pleased to report that once again the Keele Key Fund had a successful year with over 35 applications to the fund of which 24 projects received grants totalling £74,122.

The Disbursement Committee has been able to offer grants to a wide range of projects this year, including the organ restoration project, the Forest of Light sculpture, the ‘ages and stages’ project, the Moot Court, the Observatory and a number of sports projects. Whether assisting with research projects, public realm developments or simply enhancing the student experience, the Keele Key Fund continues to make a valuable contribution to the Keele community.

The Disbursement Committee continues to meet three times a year, and as ever remain a passionate and enthusiastic group. We were delighted to welcome Pritpal Nagi onto the Committee this year.

I would like to thank all of our alumni who have been very generous in their support for the Keele Key Fund despite the economic climate. Your contributions enable the Fund to make a difference to student life here at Keele.

Keele Key Fund and Fundraising Review 2012-13

Rama Thirunamachandran Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost. Chairman of the Keele Key Fund Disbursement Committee.

The Keele Chapel Organ was installed in 1966 and has enjoyed a distinguished history, including being played at hundreds of graduation ceremonies. Many famous organists have played the organ, among them Dr Francis Jackson of York Minster, Marie-Claire Alain, the most-recorded organist in the world, Peter Hurford OBE, Lionel Rogg, the noted Swiss organist and Dame Gillian Weir.

Sadly, the condition of the organ has deteriorated over the years and this somewhat restricts its use. It is now some way off the ‘concert standard’ it once enjoyed for teaching, recitals and choral performances.

In 2011 Keele alumni supported the Organ Fund with £3,500 from the Keele Key Fund to make emergency repairs. This allowed the organ to continue to be used at Chapel services and at graduation ceremonies. We now need to raise a further £38,000 to enable three major areas of work to be carried out to restore the Keele Chapel organ to peak condition.

£23,000 for refurbishment of the main Console and replacement of the old electro-mechanical system

£9,000 for restoration of the Chests, Bellows, Swell Shutters, Draw Stop Blower and to retune the organ

£5,000 for the addition of an extra rank of pipes for the Swell department.

We have received a generous gift from Edward Lee Spencer (1954) in the USA, to the value of around £11,000.

If you can help bring the organ back to top condition, please send your gift to The Keele Chapel Organ Fund through the Alumni & Development Office – or download a donation form from the website at keele.ac.uk/donations specifying ‘Chapel Organ Fund’.

The 50th Anniversary Keele University Appeal

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Recent Awards by the Keele Key Fund

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A team of thirty student ambassadors called alumni during November to share experiences of Keele and to invite support for the Keele Key Fund. We thank all our alumni for the time they spent on the phone with our team of students – and for their support. We also want to thank our callers for their commitment to Keele.

Telethon Team Roll of Honour 2012

Manager: Athena Wilson (2010)

Deputy Manager: Zoe Richards

Team: Samuel Bercik, Stephanie Boateng, Tom Bowen, Madeline Campion, Matthew Christopher, Nancy Chuchu, Kulthum Dambatta, Joseph Forsyth, Samuel Hill, Lizzie Hunter, Kathleen Johnson, Davina Kanani, Ayisha Karim, Ambreen Mizra,

Christopher Murphy, Bhavini Patel, Afra Rasheed, Stephanie Rawson, Taliah Safavi, Amnah Shaikh, Kate Sidwick, Lawrence Snelgrove, Victoria Spencer, Embri Stuart, Louise Taylor, Kirsty Trent, Emma Walker, Jessica Willis, Lucinda Witts.

Over five years the Key Fund has received pledges of over £500,000 to enhance the student experience and environment at Keele. This year we added pledges of a further £102,144 for the Key Fund.

More and more applications for awards are being received as students discover just how influential they can be. The Disbursement Committee looks for new projects that enhance the student experience and the campus, adding these to over 30 projects that have already been supported.

The great majority of awards benefit students directly through volunteering, co-curricular or study-related projects, but the Key Fund Disbursement Committee also wants students to enjoy the campus. We are considering the restoration of the legendary ‘clock with no hands’ in the Clock House and the renovation of the famous (or infamous) Amphitheatre. These are just the latest in a series of heritage and campus improvements that bring new life to the place we called home for a while and which remains our home-from-home forever.

“I joined the telethon team because I wanted to get more involved at Keele. I had never worked in this way before and I thought I would gain some new skills and enjoy being part of a team.

“I learned a lot about Keele’s history. I hadn’t heard about the original Foundation Year before (I soon learned always to call it FY) but it sounds like a fantastic idea! I already loved Keele – the campus and the feel of the ‘bubble’ – but I now understand so much more why Keele is special and different.

“I also learned a lot about myself. I wasn’t sure whether I could make conversation with people I didn’t know and I had no idea what to expect before each call. My most memorable conversation was with a woman who had worked at the Ministry of

Defence and with the Army. She inspired me to open my mind up to options I had never even imagined before. All the alumni gave me helpful advice but she suggested some unexpected and exciting ideas.

“My plans for the future are still a bit vague – joining the Police, maybe – but my dream would be to become a Scenes of Crime Investigator. I teach dance too, so who knows whether something might come of that? That’s in the future, but for now I am glad I made some new Keele friends in the telethon team. I am proud that we were able to have some successful and enjoyable conversations with alumni. I hope they enjoyed them too.”

Telethon 2012

Winner of the Best Team Member Award Keele Key Fund Telethon 2012

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Keele Key Fund 1954

Robert Lee

Sheila Lee

1955

Bob Miles

Michael Taylor

1956

Stanley Cooper

Roger Hartley

Howard Mounsey

Janet Murrell

Peter Paice

Margaret Roberts

1957

Bill Hanna

John O’Sullivan

Angela Parsliffe

Aileen Roberts

Barbara Ryder

1958

Alan Ball

John Carey

Bob Collicutt

John Sutton

Barbara Thomas

Jack Thomas

1959

Brian Cramp

Pauline Hanna

David Kerry

Peter Maybank

Mary Reed

Maureen Sudlow

1960

Derek Edwards

Christopher Foote

Jim Pierce

David Pownall

1961

Gillian Biggins

Steve Biggins

Clive Borst

Lorraine Fletcher

Mike Fulker

Peter Humber

David Jeremy

Brian Webb

Tony Winnall

1962

Joe Batt

Roger Betts

Malcolm McRonald

Anne Parker

Martin Rogers

Cliff Smalley

Sue Smalley

1963

Kay Bailey

Jill Budd

Tony Budd

John Mallen

Barbara Newby

1964

Celia Cheshire

Faith Flower

Christine Francis

Michael Hurdle

John Samuel

Hilary Williams

1965

Mike Cantor

Ivor Davies

Linda Holroyd

Geoffrey Stanton

1966

Dave Edmonds

Elizabeth Key

Arthur Williams

1967

Keith Cuninghame

Roger Fellows

Peter Fletcher

Joanna Hallett

John Head

Barbara Thomas

1968

George Fraser

Russell Haggar

Geoffrey Hooker

John Meager

Joan Newton

Bill Proctor

Josie Wheeler

1969

Mary Bryning

Kaye Larbi

Pam Maddison

Alice Meager

Mary Mountjoy

Chris Tew

Janey Walder

1970

Anita Gerard

Rob Hedges

Alison Hodgen

David Hodgen

Andy Macmullen

Tom Mayhew

Leo Pilkington

Connie Robertson

David Todd

John Walder

1971

Phil Davies

Gill Laver

Frankie McGauran

Linda Sohawon

Alec Spencer

Jo Williams

Diana Wright

1972

Hugh Coolican

Paddy Costigan

Will Montgomery

Janet Phelps

Stephen Plant

Stephen Robinson

Ian Snaith

Brian Stewart

Daphne Wade

1973

Warren Colman

Shirley Dex

James Fisher

Susan Fisher

Xandra Gilchrist

Jennifer Hedges

Fergus McGauran

Ruth Nicolson

Sue Steging

David Watkins

1974

Trevor Curnow

Christopher Graham

Brian Heaton

Steven Johnson

Derick Parry

Christine Spratt

1975

Sharon Barker

Roger Brandon

Nici Hildebrandt

Martin McArthur

Janet McCartney

Gordon Mousinho

Annie Stewart

1976

Patricia Blackburn

Gina Hall

Richard King

Alison Nicolson

Beverly Rickwood

Barbara Vallonchini

Stephen Walton

1977 Nigel Bentley

Anne Blackburn

Nick Hammond

Eli Hirst

Susan Murray

Katy Mousinho

Michael Murphy

Val Newman

Steve Russell

Helene Wander

1979 Alex Hunt

Sarvanjan Kaler

Susan Maddox

Teresa Macleod

John Patton

Graham Stroud

Martin Webster

1980 Joan Bennett

Carol Botham

Siobhan Burrows

Nick Hughes

Sean McCarthy

1981 Jonathan Brown

Jeremy Daines

Lisa Lee

Helen Lightfoot

Pat Main

Peter Wentworth

1982 Mark Ayres

Terry Bird

Mike Cooper

David Ellis

Timothy Hunt

Simon Knock

Carol Mason

Sona Osman

Kathryn Parson

Richard White

1983 Ian Brunt

Amanda Croft-

Pearman

Cicely Davey

Andrew Eisner

Dave Gambling

Wayne Goodwin

Christine Herbert

Angela Hogan

Phil Isbill

Catherine Martin

Barrie Pope

Janice Price

Margaret Reid

Peter Sheahan

Jeremy Sogno

Ian Wrathall

1984 James Berriman

Paula Blellock

Laurence Broyd

Paul Byham

Paul Howard

Neil Infield

Roger Jackson

Alison Prowse

Christine Snaith

Julia Taylor

Melanie Warburton

Jo Willis

1985

Mark Brundrett

Jon Davey

Phillippa Frost

Ro Gorell

Carol Gray

Liz O’Connell

Anne Smithson

Christopher Spencer

Fiona Whitelaw

1986

Andrew Benn

Vanessa Kearns

Joanna Killian

Robert Oldfield

Richard Russell

1987

Martin Field

Jon Gould

1988

Tracey Baldwin

Martin Bazley

Richard Blows

Wendy Gibson

Katherine Gosling

Simon Jones

Philip Lucas

Susan Smith

Philippa Tyler

1989

Martin Alcock

Catherine Casale

Matthew Hill

Kathryn Maddock

Lorraine Tucker

1990

Katherine Bradshaw

Steve Coles

Jemma Farrance

Marie Fogg

Hafisi Kadiri

Dylan Reynolds

1991

Martin Baker

Fiona Bazley

Aelwyn Guest

Sean MacGloin

Matthew Reed

1992

Lisa Allen

Matt Barker

Robert Dixon

Kay Dowdall

Benson Greatrex

Michael Langford

Irene Plant

Nicholas Preston

1993

Edna Collis

Andrew Freeman

Dave Gambling

Emily Haithwaite

Richard Lawrence

Mary Levesley

Joanne Louff

Colm Perry

Kate Read

James Stonebridge

1994

Richard Batty

Andrew Cooper

Sandra Drewett

Andy Dutton

Helen Harrison

David Hazelwood

Charles Hutchinson

Melanie Jones

Glynis Kirkland

Franco Milazzo

Marsha O’Mahony

Mo Ray

Alan Schofield

Marion Unwin

Roger Walker

1995

Mark Elliott

Peter Granby

Peter Harris

Mark Hetherington

Catherine Holland

Chris Kirby

Mitchell Waterman

1996

Chris Asker

Tony Ball

Linda Beacom

Mark Brannan

John Brookes

Neil Bunford

Roger Burgess

Heather Bush

Leo Chatteron

Jenny Cook

Christopher Dawson

Steven Flanagan

Jennifer Gillian

Richard Gorman

Joanne Green

Robert Gunnell

Esther Jones

Karen Kear

Nicholas Maxey

Ruth McGregor

Helen O’Neill-

Adkins

Jessie Palmer

Antony Philcox

Matthew Russell

Ken Smith

Michael Williams

Nicola Williams

Fiona Wilson

Stephen Womack

1997

Georgina Chancellor

Lindsay Coates

Sara Hedges

Sophie Kelman

Caroline Panting

Naima al-Rawe

Jon Short

Ruth Watkins

Josephine Watson

Tom Woodman

1998

Mark Archer

Paul Brothwell

William Buckley

James Danaher

Krysia Dziedzic

Paul Edens

Simon Forman

Steven Grainger

Jacqueline Harden

Helen Johnston

Alastair Jones

Helen Jones

Simon Jones

Trudy Jones

Warren Legg

Pauline Mifflin

Olutayo Oke

Keith Pugh

James Rivers

Andy Samu

John Skelley

Susan Smith

Ruth Stewart

Judith Stubbs

Sara Taylor

Helen Williams

Matthew

Worthington

1999

Graham Baker

Robert Betts

Heather Craddock

Joline De Ste Croix

Dipak Dutta

Peter Hampson

Sandra Haynes

Katherine Lundie

Hill

Heather McLennan

Teresa Newbon

Faye Nicholls

Maureen Poole

Sarah Richards

Catherine Scott

Nina Shuttlewood

Sankar Sinha

Julia Swainson

2000

Lesley Bunn

Ruhi Singh

Deborah Sutton

Paul Unsworth

2001

Jenny Gray

Janet Parker

Charlotte Pearson

Emma Turner

Thomas Pearson

2003

David Allsop

Amy Church

Sandra Nicholls

2006

Michael Banks

2008

Ryan Bailey

Simon Charlton

Laura Hartley

Natasha Kinsmore

Naomi Lander

Sarah McIntyre

Nick Renshaw

Joe Ruppert

2009

Margaret Allen

Michael Bennett

Adam Betts-Symonds

Lisa Burns

Ganapathy

Dhanasekar

Ododo Ediagbonya

Alexander Fuller

Ewan Henry

Tara Lal

Ian Mahoney

Sarah Northrop

Candida Outridge

Richard Simmonds

Roger Weston

Nicola Wycherley

2010

Kathryn Allan

Alison Beech

Cheryl Bennett

Leanne Brady

Thomas Coppen

David De Lisle

Kirsty Elliott

Ellen Emes

Oliver Fox

Thomas Fox

Lauren Horne

Lindsay Horne

Samantha Horridge

Thomas Kelly

Philip Krone

Amber Lewis

Leigh Martindale

Iain McDonald

Donors to the North American Foundation for

Keele University Inc and Keele in Canada

during 2012

Edward Lee Spencer (1954)

Tim Gibbs (1970)

Richard Levak (1971)

Clive Blackwell (1974)

Mark Hill (1974)

Jatinder Sehmi (1985)

Wayne Millard

Mohamed Rahim

Rahat Rashid

Trudi Rogers

Martin Rowlands

Kariba Sasegbon

Tom Shears

Mark Short

Catherine Talbot

Laurence Woodcock

Wilson Yeung

Dilara Yurtmen

Nela Zebrakova

2011

Craig Shearstone

We apologise to the two following supporters whose names were missed inadvertently from Forever: Keele in 2012

1955 Anne Thompson

Don Thompson

We also thank the following supporters for their gifts:

Mohammed Amin

JM Dean

J L Dickinson

P J & N Evans

John Hartley

R J Walker

Samantha Woodall

And

Lynn Rivera for her gift in memory of Jack Fry

We also thank the very many alumni who wish their gifts to be anonymous.

26 27

Ruth Arnold (2006) and Alex Hayward (2006) were married in 2012 and their colourful Keele photos featured in “British Brides”. You can see some beautiful pictures of the couple and of Keele looking marvellous as the backdrop for their colourful Keele nuptials! www.rocknrollbride.com/2012/09/a-rainbow-wedding-inspired-by-their-living-room-ruth-alex

Alex and Ruth’s Rainbow Wedding at Keele

Ali Lovegrove Photography

28 29

Keele held its first Community Day on Saturday 23rd June 2012 as part of the 50th Charter Anniversary celebrations. We threw open the doors and encouraged visitors to join us for a fun-packed day for all the family.

Keele staff and students joined together to create a programme of over 70 activities for visitors to enjoy. Visitors could explore the beautiful campus through historical and geographical tours, or experience sustainability debates, volcanic eruptions, muggle quidditch or make virtual or visual observations of the earth, sun and stars. They viewed art exhibitions, tried a language or sport or science taster session. Many goals were booted in a penalty shoot-out with Stoke City FC, while others hunted forensic-style for buried bodies. Live music and other entertainments provided a wonderful background to all the activity.

Wide Open CampusNew Trees Bring Colour to Union SquareThe 24 semi-mature trees newly planted in Union Square may look like they are there ‘just to look nice’, but there is meaning behind their selection for the University arboretum and the heart of campus.

Two red maples and three cut-leaved silver maples turn red and gold respectively in the autumn, matched by the foliage of six hybrid elms in front of the Library. These and the deep green foliage of two Persian ironwoods and a Japanese hornbeam between the Chapel and the Union combine to complete a display of the University’s colours of red, gold and green.

These trees also symbolise the former Soviet Union and North America. Much of the funding for these outstanding trees was given generously by Phil Davies (1971) in memory of his late wife Ros Davies (Patton) (1971). Phil studied American Studies and Ros studied Russian at Keele, so Phil’s trees bring both glorious colour and a meaningful international tribute to Union Square.

Phil Davies photo by Alexander McIntyre

The day had a huge impact on people from the surrounding area who were warm in their appreciation.

“We brought our primary school-aged children and visited the sports centre and medical school. The children had the opportunity to hold a Barn Owl, learn how to play golf, trampoline, go-kart, put the siren on a police car, dress up as fire-fighters, see models of the human body and palpate a model abdomen to feel a baby in the uterus, learn about resuscitation, see slides of bacteria, as well as learn about healthy eating and how to burn calories. There was a broad range of activities and opportunities on offer as demonstrated above which held our interest and increased our knowledge and skills.”

“We enjoyed the variety of things to do. We spent two hours in the medical school alone. We enjoyed the walk around the Uni. Our kids enjoyed the medical school, the animal skulls and the trampolining the best. It was nice that the activities were free.”

“We found the whole day to be enjoyable, because it was educational, informative and fun for adults and children alike.”

“We would definitely like another day. There was so much to do we did not have the time to do everything we would have liked. It’s a great way to visit the University and find out what you do.”

Given the overwhelming support, Community Day will become a regular event in the Keele calendar – in 2013 Community Day will be Sunday 2nd June.

30 31

RAG Revival 2013Ticker’s World

Danny Walker

RAG is an essential part of the student experience and Keele kicked off the tradition as early as 1956. Growing out of the 1956 Charity Ball, RAG became a huge annual enterprise, to collect for charity and build bridges between ‘Town and Gown’. RAG day usually involved a long procession of imaginatively decorated floats around the Potteries, accompanied by student collectors in fancy dress. There were bucket collections and a ‘humorous’ magazine called ‘WOOP!’ was sold. Stunts, some meticulously planned and others more spontaneous, were a key feature. RAG gradually lost momentum as regulations restricted the options but in 2009 RAG was revived by the Students’ Union as ‘Raising and Giving Week’. The Charter Year gave

new impetus to RAG and in 2013 even the procession has been resurrected.

In 2013 RAG is dedicated to the memory of Ticker Hayhurst.

If anyone coupled a lifelong love for Keele with the soul of a prankster it was Ticker Hayhurst, lynch-pin of some of the most memorable RAGs in Keele’s history. Christopher Hayhurst graduated in 1960 and married Maureen ‘Mo’ Paskell (1962). In Ticker’s own words, “My main interest at Keele was rugby and academics but Mo and I were deeply involved in the Students’ Union and in the RAG. I was Chairman of the 1958 and 1959 RAG Committees and Maureen was chair of Royal Ball Committee and the Union social committee”.

Ticker loved pranks, and he recalled: “I have found two photos of Tulla Tallianos with the Lord Mayor of Stoke, Dennis Delay and myself. We played a hoax on one of the national papers pretending Tulla was a famous Greek film star and we got away with it. We had a good year in 1958 with the kidnapping of Miss Great Britain and putting a teddy bear with a space helmet in the newly opened Jodrell Bank radio-telescope dish. We also stole the anvil from the Gretna Green wedding smithy… aaah happy days!”

The key person behind RAG Revival is Keele student Danny Walker, so we asked him what inspired him.

I got involved in RAG Week in a limited capacity in my first year in 2010-11. I was sad to see that RAG was not organised the following year as it gives students and the University such an amazing opportunity to do some really good things through fundraising. During the summer vacation in 2012, I noticed that Loughborough RAG raised over £1.6 million for charity but Keele, as far as I was aware, may have raised nothing. I could either sit on the side-lines and complain or stand up and do it myself. I became RAG Representative and the rest is history.

Speaking of history, I began looking through the archives and saw what RAG used to be like. One name kept appearing: Ticker

Hayhurst, Chairman of the RAG Committee in 1958 and 1959. The tales of his and his many fellow students’ exploits have inspired me to do everything I can to make RAG a massive part of Keele once again.

We have decided to support three local causes:

• ThePeterPanNurseryforChildrenwithSpecial Needs in Newcastle;

• The University Hospital of NorthStaffordshire Charity Appeal for support for a new PET CT Scanner; and

• Combat Stress, a charity supporting ex-service personnel with mental health issues.

Ticker passed away on 5th February 2012 and Keele was high on the list of people for Mo to inform: “Sadly, Ticker died yesterday much, much sooner than expected”, just a few months before the first ever Golden Graduates reunion. Mo came to the reunion but Ticker was greatly missed.

Brian ‘Ned’ Lusher (1960) reveals: “Ticker was a gentleman. For some weeks we

shared a room but this came to an end because I snored and his pocket watch (his grandfathers, I believe) sounded like a time-bomb. The watch gave Ticker his nickname. He enjoyed Keele immensely and the opportunities it gave him, not just academically, but because it provided for his sense of humour and his ability to plan and organise pranks. He was always collected, cool and clever at finding

practical solutions. He was a master of sociability and by the end of our first week at Keele he had organised a party in the women’s residences, complete with cider and plenty of fair ladies…”

Find out more about the early history of RAG in the Keele Oral History Project: www.keele.ac.uk/alumnithekeeleoral historyproject/keelerag

We’ve planned lots of events for RAG Week 9-15 March 2013 from street collections, to comedy and quiz nights, a resurrected RAG Parade and even bungee jumping above the Union car park!

Keele has a great history of pranks and, as this Forever: Keele will not hit your doormats until after RAG, I can risk telling you about one prank we are planning. I plan to dress in black and wear a balaclava, ‘break in’ to Staffordshire University Students’ Union, sneak past Security, enter the President’s Office and kidnap him. We’ll bring him out during RAG Week and gunge him in front of a big crowd in the KeeleSU Ballroom! The President at Staffs is happy to take part so we are not doing anything illegal. Honest!

The RAG Parade will set off from the Peter Pan Nursery on Saturday 9th March and will finish along Ironmarket in

Newcastle, where there will be a stage for musicians and performers and lots going on along the High Street. The parade will show the best of Keele, with societies, sports clubs and local groups and charities joining together to travel in unison with lots of colour and sound.

I hope RAG is now firmly back in the Keele calendar and it will be the catalyst for ever greater charity fundraising. Alumni have been really kind to us this year as the Keele Key Fund has sponsored the parade. I would like to say thank you to all Key Fund supporters; it really does make a huge difference to people at Keele. If anyone wants to donate directly to Keele RAG, then you can do so online via www.justgiving.com/teams/keelerag

“Ticker always ‘saw’ what to do

32 33

Green Week

The “Keele Experiment” began in 1949 to explore a unique new approach to interdisciplinary scholarship and as a campus community. The experiment came of age in the 1960s with the award of the Royal Charter in 1962, at the start of a decade of radical change. By 1969 Keele was being described as: “The most original innovation in British university education in the 20th century”. In 1973 the keystone of the Keele experiment – the Foundation Year – ceased to be obligatory for all undergraduates and Keele was forced onto a new path.

Our history of Keele ‘by alumni for alumni’ begun in First Decade continues in ‘A Coming of Age: Continuity and Change’, a labour of alumni love completed in February 2013.

The DVD offers an audio-visual account of Keele students’ experiences of continuity and change from 1962 to 1973; with contemporary photographs, film and music.

In his CD ‘In Our Own Words – Keelites look back at the Turbulent Years’, Brian Walker adds insights through contemporary accounts and interviews with alumni.

The support of the Keele Society Advisory Committee and the Keele Key Fund are greatly appreciated. We thank the scores of alumni involved but especially the production team: Gerry Northam (1970), Nici Hildebrandt (1975), Brian Walker (1970), Matt Bowling (2008), Pam Jones (1970) and John Easom (1981).

Copies of ‘A Coming of Age’ can be obtained from the Alumni & Development Office – there is no charge but we do invite contributions to the Keele Key Fund.

A Coming of Age

“It has been a privilege for me to discover the heritage of Keele through the eyes of 60 years of Keele alumni. Having led many tours of Keele for staff, visitors, guests, alumni and others, I have found that current students are equally hungry to know about our history, heritage, and our myths and legends. Keele students are now leading the way in rediscovering and sharing the wonders of Keele.” John Easom (1981) (Alumni & Development Manager)

“When students were approached by the History department about a volunteering project concerning Keele Hall, I jumped at the chance. The first time I stepped into the Hall I found it completely beautiful. It was only when I began training as a volunteer guide that I realised how closely linked the beginning of Keele University was with Keele Hall’s history. The more I researched the Sneyd family and the Hall itself, the more I loved this piece of history on our campus. It means a lot to me to use the passion and skills of my history degree and to meet others who feel the same way. The Keele Heritage Volunteers project is now registered as a volunteering group with KeeleSU Volunteering. It hasn’t just been facts and dates that I’ve had to learn, but also the skills inherent in organising training sessions, creating solid contacts with Keele Hall and KeeleSU Volunteering, and organising my time so I can be a part of this project. It’s been a learning experience that I never thought possible when I first came to Keele and, for that, I’m incredibly grateful.” Ariana Sevilla (2013)

“The Keele Heritage Society started in my second year. I had walked in the grounds of Keele Hall, but previously never seen inside or really considered the links between the Hall and the University. Training as a guide has shown me how little I knew of the University’s history and the extent to which I had merely accepted the Hall as a beautiful building on campus. In addition to guiding tours, each volunteer conducts their own research into the history of the estate and the University. Understanding the foundation of the University and Lord Lindsay’s vision has made me proud to be a Keelite. It has also given me a chance to utilise skills I have learnt in my history degree, and enabled me to engage with students with similar interests. It has been a wonderful experience, and an unexpected opportunity. I hope that we continue to recruit new volunteers so that the society can continue to grow.” Georgie Fitzgibbon (2013)

Heritage, Myths, Legends and… Volunteers

“Alumni circles” exist by different names to help alumni who want to keep involved with some of our academic Schools; they are usually informal and have grown from relationships between staff and former students. Keele’s Careers, Internships and Volunteering teams are keen to involve alumni similarly in support of students and one another through advice, information and opportunities.

Networking with Keele Alumni is a new initiative to achieve just that: the first pilot event will take place at:

Networking with Keele Alumni

Keele Sustainability Hub (Home Farm)

Wednesday 15th May 2013

5.30pm to 7.30pm

A Joint Event by: Keele Alumni/Careers Employer Engagement. We hope Networking with Keele Alumni will become a regular opportunity for Keelites to meet students and for less experienced alumni to meet fellow alumni further on in their careers. We think this is a good way for Keelites to

The production team in typical low-tech surroundings

Jocelyn Ryder-Smith took this photo of the old Union and huts in 1960; two years later, as Union Vice-President, she and president Colin Thomas laid the foundation stone of the new Union Building.

The new Union Building

Arrival of the Nissan Leaf at Home farm. Vice-Chancellor Nick Foskett, Chancellor

Jonathan Porritt and Kevin Childs of Nissan GB

Keele University has partnered with Nissan to provide an electric vehicle for its staff to use for business travel. The Nissan Leaf was unveiled by Keele University Chancellor, Jonathon Porritt, along with a Nissan charging point installed on campus, as part of the University’s Green Week. The vehicle, which has a 109 mile range, will be available for Keele University staff to travel to meetings and schools around the West Midlands as part of a 12-month trial. The electric vehicle is just one of many green initiatives introduced at the University, which has a strong record of addressing and responding to the environment and sustainability agenda. Keele was among the first universities to be awarded Carbon Trust Standard

and topped the government’s Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) league table in 2011. The car will contribute towards the Keele’s target to achieve a 34% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020.

Efficiency measures implemented on Keele campus include the development of a multi-million pound Sustainability Hub, the refurbishment of a number of buildings to improve energy performance, the introduction of a new sustainable catering and recycling programme and the increase of Fairtrade goods made available to staff and students. Earlier this year, the University also signed an agreement with npower to install solar

panels on a number of university buildings and McCamley UK Ltd has installed a prototype urban wind turbine on the University Science and Business Park.

Jonathon Porritt said: “I’m pleased that we are introducing an electric vehicle on campus; it will not only provide a green form of transport for our staff, but will also encourage car sharing for employees travelling within the region. Universities are in a privileged position to be a test bed for new technologies and initiatives, and at Keele we are focused on introducing greener thinking to our staff and students to help educate future generations.”

help other Keelites where it really matters – through career progression and improving prospects.

The format will involve networking with students and fellow alumni. A buffet will be served and we have arranged entry to the Students’ Union afterwards, for those who wish.

This magazine is a little early for full details but if you want to know more about Networking with Keele Alumni, contact Emma Gregory in the Alumni and Development Office.

We know that Keele is not always the easiest place to get together so if this event is successful we plan to hold more events in Birmingham, Manchester and London, and perhaps beyond. If you could help to host an event near you, please let Emma Gregory know.

34 35

Whether you are in the Class of 2012 and this is your first anniversary since leaving Keele, or your fifth or even your tenth, celebrate at your old home-from-home with your Keele friends.

The Alumni Office and Students’ Union created the first Keele Homecoming in 2008 and the disco was attended by over 350 alumni. Numbers each year usually exceed 400 at the legendary Never Forget Disco in K2 (Students’ Union).

Our dream is for Homecoming to become that regular sunny date around which all Keelites build a get-together with their own circle of friends. We postponed Homecoming in 2012 but the Back to the Bubble Gang and the League of Extraordinary Keele Gentlemen wouldn’t let Homecoming die! In 2013 for the first time, alumni volunteers from the Gang and the League are planning Homecoming. Help them make it live in 2013.

The Union promises food and drink all day and the Lounge Bar will be open with free pool and live sport on screen! Plus, breakfast on Sunday morning. Our volunteers promise activities to revive old memories and create new ones.

Homecoming is FREE to attend during the day.

Disco tickets £5 available from the website KeeleSU.com or buy on the day or FREE to holders of a valid silver or gold Gradcard.

Book your Horwood room at conference.management@keele.ac.uk

Confirm attendance on the Homecoming 2013 Event (Forever: Keele) or email Emma Gregory in the Alumni & Development Office.

Homecoming is Saturday 29th June 2013 3pm to 2am.

They Wouldn’t Let Homecoming Die

Neil Smith (1980) has sent us a great reason to attend Keele events for alumni.

Neil says, “I don’t think that even you realise how your newsletters and the events you put on for Keele alumni pay off in all sorts of unpredictable ways. Little did you know that when you introduced Rick Levak (1971) to me at a Keele event a couple of years ago that something creative would come out of it. We put our heads together and I have just published a book – and Rick is a key contributor. The book is now a New York Times Bestseller! So... the moral of this story for all Keele alums is that you never quite know where a Keele reunion, homecoming or event might lead and the more Keele guys you put into a room, the more the creative juices flow!”

Dynamic Duo Combine for US Bestseller

Cristina Polsinelli is the recipient of 2012-2013 Keele in Canada scholarship, which was created by the generosity of our alumni in North America. She graduated from Windsor University in Ontario in 2012. She spent one semester at Keele as a Study Abroad student in 2008. We met Cristina a few weeks into her MA course to see how things are going.

So, Cristina, what are you doing at Keele now?

“I am doing a postgraduate course – MA in Criminology and Criminal Justice. I have always found the subject fascinating – I remember it was sparked off as a child when I read about Jack the Ripper. On my first trip to England I walked around Whitechapel but this year I plan to track down a Jack the Ripper guided tour in London!”

How did you first hear about Keele?

“In my second year at Windsor (Ontario), I decided to do an overseas exchange. My grandfather told me a lot of stories about England because he had lived in England for a few years after leaving Italy. I narrowed my choice down to Keele as soon as I saw the photos of Keele Hall on the website. I even got a little bit emotional when I saw it – but it’s proved to be even better in reality...”

What was your first impression of Keele when you arrived?

“As a Study Abroad student I was nervous at first of all the new people, and it was my first time in England. But after I tried out and joined the football team that all changed. The football girls were sitting on Keele Hall lawn and one afternoon they invited me over. It was just like some of the pictures I had seen of students sitting on the lawns and it felt perfect! I also joined the Drama Society and my friends were so supportive of me during my performances. I have met some wonderful people at Keele and I have made true friends – everyone has been welcoming and friendly. In fact I am planning a reunion in London in 2013 with all my old Keele friends together.

I feel at home here – I love the campus, the people and the education system. I really enjoy the flexible approach to learning – it’s more exploratory and more like a discussion than a lecture. In fact, it’s magnificent, far above and beyond anything I expected.”

What are your aspirations for five years from now?

“I am going to stay focused on my course and then I hope to work with the police in Canada, using my criminology knowledge. I am also open to opportunities in the UK too. Whatever happens, I plan to travel and to stay part of Keele.”

What do you hope to gain from your scholarship year at Keele?

“Well, the course is already better than I hoped. The lecturers have tailored the programme to reflect my specific interests and those of the 24 or so people on the course. My particular topic is ‘Edgework’ – the ways in which extreme or ‘on the edge’ behaviours occur in modern society and how that applies to criminology. I am so excited to have the opportunity to study at Keele again.”

Anything you would like to add?

“My scholarship depends on the kindness and generosity of fellow Keelites in

Keele in Canada Scholar 2012: Cristina Polsinelli (2012-2013 MA Criminology and Criminal Justice)

Canada – I want to thank them for being so kind and supportive. They have changed my life and made my dream come true, to study again at Keele! I met some Keele alumni in Toronto a couple of years ago and they were wonderful, and it felt like one family despite our difference in years from a gentleman in his 80s right down through all the generations to the youngest, me, who had not even graduated yet. Thank you all so much!”

36 37

WhatHappened To…1954 Stan Beckensall: I can share the publication

of my two books, Northumberland Hills

and Valleys and Hexham Through Time,

and one on Northumberland old churches

will be published soon. I have recovered

well from my stroke last April.

1956 Stanley Cooper: Still sailing my boat.

1957 Mary Bianco (Becker): An eventful year

with travel and reunions. The big trip was

to show my family where I grew up in

England and Scotland as well as the Keele

50th Reunion.

1960 Isobel Palmer (Miller): I have recently

downsized from a large, old, Georgian

style house giving me more time to devote

to voluntary work for the National Trust.

1961 John Idris Jones: I had a short novel titled

Madocks, based on the life of William A

Madocks. He gave his name to the town of

Porthmadog. I have completed a second

novel on a Porthmadog theme, Sail.

1962 Ann Hall (Butcher): I emigrated to teach

in Montreal. I married a Canadian teacher

and we returned to Scotland. We divorced

and now I live in Moffat. We earn a living

by book indexing and teaching indexing.

Both my children also went to Keele and

loved it!

1964 Christine Francis: My work has chiefly

been in science journalism. I now enjoy

a happy retirement, devoting time to

playing the recorder.

1965 Janet Toye (Reason): After jobs in the Civil

Service, teaching and research, I retrained

as a counsellor and psychotherapist. I am a

Quaker and Universalist and join others in

campaigning on behalf of asylum seekers,

economic justice and sustainability.

1966 Jennifer Robertson (Castle): I was county

commissioner for Western Isles Girl

Guiding and a trainer.

1967 Ros Kane: I wrote a book called ‘To have

an only child,’ and founded Carefree

Kids which trains community volunteers

to do therapeutic play in schools. I also

founded the News From Nowhere club in

Leytonstone with monthly meetings on

the arts, history and other topics.

Ian Taylor: I am executive chairman of

Living PlanIT SA which develops software

for urban areas connecting devices,

sensors, and infrastructure. I chair the

European Advisory Board of Brooks

International and advise the Dolma

Development Fund which works mainly in

Nepal with local entrepreneurs to alleviate

poverty by creating sustainable jobs.

1968 James Harris: I retired from science

teaching and Elizabeth (Addington-Hall)

(1970) retired from being a school

librarian. We have moved to Poland to

encourage and strengthen the

Protestant church.

Judith Hollingsworth (Fletcher): Our

daughter is studying for a PGCE at Keele.

Susan Soyinka: Since retiring as an

education psychologist, I have become a

writer. First book was From East End to

Lands End and my second A Silence that

Speaks was published recently.

1970 Stephen Booth: I have retired after 42

years teaching history. I dabbled with local

politics, becoming a councillor and Stone

deputy mayor. I am a local history speaker

as well as treasurer of Stone Historical &

Civic Society. I have published several local

history articles using Keele’s facilities.

Julia Ibbotson (Adams): As well as

running our home, kitchen garden and

orchard, and being wife, mother to four

and grandmother to four, I’m still working

as a senior lecturer at the University of

Derby. I’ve reduced my hours this year

as I am growing my work as an author.

I returned to creative writing with The

Old Rectory: escape to a country kitchen

about the renovation of our Victorian

rectory and am writing my new novel

‘Drumbeats.’ My academic work, ‘Talking

the Walk: should CEOs think more about

sex?’ is re-issued too.

John Park: My novel Janus is scheduled

to be published by ChiZine Publications in

Toronto in September 2012.

Ian Robinson: Recently retired after 17 years as Principal of Sterling Hall School in Toronto.

1971 David Cotton: After a short spell teaching, I trained as a town planner and worked in Lincolnshire and Leicester before retiring in 2011.

John Heys: I’m a director of a number of companies including Career-Cam Online Ltd, a career guidance company.

Frankie McGauran (Shaw): I was one of 5,000 people randomly selected to run five miles into the Olympic Stadium on March 31, 2012.

Steve Mills: Having retired from teaching American Studies at Keele in 2009 I taught history at Ruskin College, Oxford, for three years. I have now fully retired in order to write full time.

Ellen Oliver (Ryan): I have just retired from teaching and am in the process of setting up my quilting business, working from home and teaching patchwork classes.

Jeff Sedgley: I have finally retired and now live in Spain with my partner.

1972 Nick Leonard: I taught history for 10 years and worked for a number of international companies in business development roles. Nine years ago I retrained as a professional tour guide and now guide parties, families and individuals of all ages and nationalities to attractions throughout the UK.

John Wilde: After leaving Keele, I went to live in Le Mans where I have been ever since. I retired in September 2011 from teaching at the local university here. During my career, I worked on a committee which decided the national curriculum for teaching English and was an examiner for the competitive exams which enable students to become teachers in France.

Aris Zacharoff: I have recently become a father to a beautiful girl!

1973 Jil Dobson: Now semi-retired but still working as an examiner for the English Speaking Board.

Margaret Lee (Davies): I gained an MSc in Business Systems Analysis and Design from City University in London; have been in IT ever since. I still manage two weeks of skiing every year. I am now working as a project manager with Tata Consultancy Services.

Owen Kelly: I worked as a community artist

in London and wrote Community, Art & the

State. I worked as a freelance designer, and

created and taught a multimedia course at

Lambeth College. I moved to Finland and

taught online media at Arcada University

in Helsinki. I am currently completing my

doctoral studies at Aalto University.

John Strain: Now in my fourth career: teacher, naval officer, academic and now a vicar! Met Margaret on my first day at Keele in 1968 – and now married

for 40 years with two children and

two grandchildren.

1974

Diane Charnock (Wainwright): Set up

my own executive search business in

2011 and enjoy the freedom working for

myself brings. Able to spend more time

travelling and looking after my two-year-

old granddaughter Constance.

Brian Heaton: Having reached the age

of 60 and about to become a granddad

for the second time, I have passed the

advanced driving challenge and urge

many of my age to try it!

Ann Lester (Mason): Remarried in July

2012 and very happy. Gave up teaching

eight years ago for a less stressful life but

still working in a school three days a week.

Stuart Raymond: We have moved to

Trowbridge after 20 years in Exeter.

Andrew Williams: I went to Switzerland in

1975 in pursuit of Jane (Campbell). We now

have two kids and are probably planning to

leave Scotland in a few years’ time to live

in France and make the perfect ratatouille.

1975 Peter Hall: Married to Anne Hall (Thackray)

(1975) for 36 years. Retired from RBS/

NatWest as regional director after 35

years and now partner in Executive

Recruitment. Still playing a lot of squash

and golf and managing to get into the old

men’s Yorkshire team (over 50s).

Peter Tillisch: For 30 years I have been

running a business supporting people

who may need help because of their

disability or age. I now own two care

homes supporting older people. I live in

North London, am married to Christine

and we have three children in their teens.

1976 Tony Bartley: Became a teacher at Sandbach

School, married a Keele graduate. We have

three sons, two of whom went to Keele.

Stella Lambert: Retired from Staffordshire

Probation Service – now breeding rare

breed sheep on a smallholding. My son,

Edward, graduated at Keele in 2005 and

is now a probation officer.

Jim Moran: Took up my new post in Cairo

as EU ambassador to Egypt in February. A

fascinating time to be in this ancient land!

Read more about Jim’s story on Page 3

1977 Andrew Cassie: Have been running CIB, a marketing agency for 27 years now. I have started to coach my grandson’s under 8’s football team.

Gillian Cook: I was awarded a scholarship year to the University of Massachusetts at the end of my third year at Keele. To earn the money for my return ticket I got a job working with emotionally disturbed adolescents in a residential treatment programme. I loved the work, stayed, fell in love and got married. I worked in mental health for 18 years, got divorced, remarried, and had two children, Kate (20) and Nick (16). For the last 15 years I have worked as a textbook editor. I live in in an old farmhouse, have a large vegetable and perennial garden, and am looking for ways to live and work in both the USA and the UK.

1978 Andrew Howitt: After leaving Keele I went into teaching and followed the career to two secondary headships. I started my own consultancy company in 2008, training teachers and working as education consultant to F1 in schools. I am now CEO of Louth Education Community Interest Company, managing and developing Louth Town Hall as a major community and education hub.

Robert Hume: I work for the East Kent Health Needs Education Service, teaching children who are too ill to go to school. I write features for the Irish Examiner and books, including several children’s historical biographies. In 2010 I wrote Thomas Crapper: Lavatory Legend to commemorate the centenary of Crapper’s death. My latest book, Clearing the Bar, is about the German high jumper, Gretel Bergmann, and her dream of taking part in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Read more about Robert Hume on Pages 16-17

Rick Potter: Can’t believe we have been in Argyll now for nearly four years. Started to record my second album (first was in 1994) and playing twice a week now. Still working in recruitment and still enjoying finding engineers new positions.

1979 Lilian Atkin (McConway): I remained in Newcastle for three years, working as a probation officer. I then moved to East Yorkshire to marry Keele grad Tony Atkin. Have worked for Humberside Probation Trust ever since and currently manage a team of offender managers in Bridlington. Tony and I have a son (aged 28) and a daughter (aged 26).

Edward Charlton: Living in Pennsylvania, running a small publishing company, Scribbulations.

Annabelle Howard: Married the American on campus, Forrest Stone. Our older child is called Keele and is a stand-up comedian in New York City. The younger one is at university in Connecticut. Forrest and I created a non-profit that runs an online ‘motivational learning league.’ We had 22,000 kids enrolled last year. I also write fiction and occasionally try to step away from the computer.

Peter Meade: I have been working as a freelance science writer and photographer for the last five years. I write for the pharmaceutical industry and photograph equestrian sports. During the summer, I watch and umpire as much cricket as I can.

Phil Osborne: Phil and Vana (Honsdale) (1978) are living near Farnham. Phil works for Surrey County Council as Head of the Early Education and Childcare Service. Vana is assistant head at Calthorpe Park Secondary School in Fleet. We have two children, Dagan and Aleiya.

Barbara Smith: I work in peace-building in post-conflict countries, recently in East Timor, Angola, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sudan and DR Congo.

Guy Walsh: Married with three children, working in Birmingham for a Dutch bank, providing funding for businesses.

1980 Paul Garland: Took time out last year to walk the Camino Frances to Santiago de Compostela in Spain and plan to do the same next year, starting from Lisbon. Currently in the hospitality industry.

Carlos Piedrahita: I went to the London School of Economics then came back to my home country of Colombia where I have worked for 30 years, the last 12 for Grupo Nutresa (branded processed foods), as CEO. Married with a son and a daughter.

Helen Terry: Radical changes in jobs (journalism, press officer, Anglican priest, now music teacher). I suffered from cancer and now live with two adult children.

1981 Jenny Bending: Went back to Zimbabwe the year after graduating but left in 2004; now living in New Zealand.

Jeremy Daines: Petroleum geologist, now a consultant.

John Dawson: Established and ran The Spark Magazine in Bristol for 15 years. Since 2000 I have been passionately helping people who hate public speaking to get over it. Married Clare Hughes in 2003.

Kim McKibbin: After 30 years in London working as a criminal barrister, I have left the Bar and escaped to the country with husband and dog.

38 39

Eric Rose: After serving as Social Secretary at Keele in 1981-1982, I worked in the entertainment industry. In 1986 I moved to New York where I spent several years in the newspaper business and attained an MBA before becoming a financial planner and ultimately opening my own practice.

1982 Christine Clarke (Foster): I am a police constable.

Peter Chadwick: Travelled the world!

1983 Jazz Matharu: Had fun making music until parents asked me to get a ‘proper job’. Was chairman of Arts Club Mayfair and run own tax practice for people in film, TV and music and the arts and also run an IT company.

Val Clarke (Dodd): Now living in Huddersfield with my husband Wayne (1983), working in Christian retail.

Wayne Clarke: I’ve now left the BBC after working as a radio producer and presenter for 11 years. I’m now minister of New North Road Baptist Church… Val (Dodd) and I have been married since 1984 and our two children are both undergraduates.

Eileen Harrop (Chew Khean Geok): The Rev Eileen Harrop is the first woman from South East Asia to become a Church of England ordained minister. Married to Brian Harrop (1990), Eileen first worked in an English inner-city high school then after a Masters degree in Diplomacy, managed hospitals. A telephone call from a ‘headhunter’ took her into the world of business and industry, advising international blue-chip companies around Australasia. She and Brian returned to England to set up in business working with clients from Britain to the Urals.

Illya Torbica: I’ve been in International Sales, working in North and East Europe. In October 2011, I met by chance Ian Brunt (1983) on a plane and have kept in touch with him since then, and he’s the one who directed me to reconnect through the ‘Lost Class of 83’. Cheers Ian, we`ll have that weekend drink soon.

Chris Hill: After living for many years in New Zealand I am now settled in Sydney, Australia.

Olwen van Woerkom (Enright): In September 2012 I began studying International Development at University of Amsterdam.

1984 Jo Baldwin (McKellow): Living in Oxfordshire, remarried two years ago in the snow in Cornwall. Now have three step children plus two boys of my own aged

21 and 18. Working as an FM Manager

for Carillion.

Robert Evans: After working in London,

Canberra and Belfast, I ended up in

New Zealand.

Miranda Mawer (Barry): Working in

Wellington, New Zealand; hoping we’ll have a house built by next year.

David Vayro: I am a partner in Gateley, a UK top 50 commercial law firm. My area is construction and engineering and I specialise in EU and domestic procurement. I am married to Ruth and we have two gorgeous boys, Oscar (6) and Luca (4).

1985 Rosemary Gorell (Mee): About to move to Perth on the next stage in my life journey and in the process of writing another book.

Peer Schmitz: I am now working in Munich as a systems administrator for a medical research centre. Married with two wonderful daughters!

1986 Gillian Jowett (Bourne): I did an MSc in Land Management at UEL from 1989 and have been a Fellow of the RICS since 1993 and a surveyor for 24 years. I remember my time at Keele as a mature student with much pleasure. I met Sir David Attenborough and Patrick Moore at Keele. A fabulous four years.

Simon Miller: I work in PR and currently run government and media relations projects for Telefonica O2. I have been married to Kate Jenkins (1988) for 20 years and we have two sons.

Grace Osuman: I have become an author and publisher. I write for Primary Education in Nigeria. The books are titled My Aa Bb Cc Book Series, for nursery/primary children. I also have written poems for secondary education, a novel for senior education and currently have a book being reviewed.

Martin Williams: Now happily remarried and living in Perth, Western Australia.

Niall Wilson: After leaving Keele I moved to Stockport with Christine Baker (1984). Chris and I married in 1989 and have two sons who are both now at university. I taught in primary schools, before training and working as an educational psychologist. I now work as an NHS clinical psychologist with children with autism and mental health problems. I haven’t acted on stage for years and instead satisfy myself vicariously with visits to the Edinburgh Fringe.

1987 Bridget Appleby: Now back in the office after a decade of working at home (and looking after James and Matthew). Now Malcolm is retired I have completed

a Masters in Occupational Health and Safety, and I’m currently on contract to Cancer Research UK, helping with health and safety guidance.

Marcus Brown: From being made redundant last year, I am now working freelance as a self-employed SEN consultant in East Riding. We now have three daughters with Sophia being born last October.

Julie Draysey: Primary teacher; driving instructor; emigrating.

Antony Edwards: A long and varied career in the oil and gas industry with BP and BG Group has led to me starting my own consulting company. Married to Marcela who is from Chile, with three small children. We travel and ski as much as possible.

Julie Jones: Lived in London after graduating and started my career in HR. Moved back to the North West over 20 years ago and live with my lovely partner Steve and our dog.

Jennifer Sutch (Ibbott): I married just after graduating and have four sons –three of whom are now experiencing university life for themselves! I continued to write but nothing published. After years of being a full time stay-at-home mum, I’m now a newly qualified teacher – of English of course!

Alwyn Teh: Married Clare Lucas in 1991 and we have three children, living in south-west London.

Karen Walsh (Costello): Am married to Ian and we have a six-year-old son. Have recently started work at Lancaster University project managing a new HR system implementation.

1988 Amanda Carr: I am now working at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology for The London Project to Cure Blindness.

1989 Bernard Emmett: Worked as a maths teacher in Botswana (1995-2001). Since returning, have worked as a supply teacher and for Royal Mail since 2005.

Maria Skrzypiec: Happily living in the south of France, working as a freelance editor.

Sian Sweeting (Williams): After graduation I worked in IT for 11 years. I am married to Jim and have two sport-mad sons! We have moved around a bit for job reasons and lived in Staffordshire, Yorkshire and now Nottinghamshire. We also spent three years living in New Zealand, before settling back in the UK. I have now retrained and work as a School Bursar in Leicestershire.

Andrea Veale: Living and working in Devon as marketing manager for an architectural firm. Two teenage kids and more grey hair than I’d like!

Julie Welch (Harrison): Living in Herts – still

in HR after entering it over 20 years ago.

Now Group HRD of medium-sized logistics

company. Married with two teenage children.

1990 Maria Cavanagh (Dodd): Working in Nigeria

on a justice sector reform programme.

Andrew Fountain: I live outside Glasgow

with my wife and son. I still occasionally

ski, sail and run (if my son insists on

having company).

Sara Guy (Clift): After 17 years living in

East Yorkshire, our family has moved to

Dorset where husband David is director

of sport at Sherborne School. My children

are now 8 (Lucie) and 5 (Jamie).

Andrew Hartshorn: Married Jill Smith and

now working as an IT lawyer in Birmingham.

Dawn MacKay: Would love to hear from

old friends!

Stephen Thornley: Was made redundant

after 20 years in local government. Currently

retraining as a primary school teacher at

Homerton College, Cambridge University.

Colette Wilson (Hunt): Now mum to

Zachary (born 2009) and Savannah (born

2011), I currently work part-time.

1991 Gavin Coles: Moved to Hong Kong in early

2012 after five years in fantastic Australia,

I am still jumping back to Europe many

times a year to spend time with my two

children from my first marriage. Remarried

a rugby-mad Kiwi and a new baby on the

way in 2013. Still enjoying working in a

specialised field in banking which involves

stopping people doing bad things.

Dominic Crisp: Made and lost a million.

Married twice with three beautiful kids. Live

on a remote farm in the Lincolnshire Wolds.

Michele Gates (Al-Ghashi): Went on to

Chester College of Law and qualified as a

lawyer in 1992.

Claire Hogan (Metcalfe): Since graduating

in 1991, I have worked in a variety of roles

for international companies in finance

in London and Microsoft (in Seattle and

Dublin). I am currently the central marketing

group controller for Microsoft based in

Seattle. I am married to a ‘Seattleite’ and we

have two children, Oliver and Alicia. Spare

time is spent following football (US version)

and having fun!

Abd Zabar Sion: I continue to pursue my

career in IT as a Business Analyst working

in the gas and power industry with a

Shell joint-venture company, Brunei LNG

Sendirian Berhad.

Yvette Thornley: After Keele, I worked

with the homeless and unemployed in

Cambridge before studying law and

qualifying as a solicitor. Now a lecturer in

law for the Open University.

Francis Yam: I have been working in IT

since graduating. The family migrated

to Australia in 1995 and later became

Australians. Later got an MSc in UTS in

Sydney. Currently working for Scotiabank

in a strategic investment project as the

Deputy Head of IT in the Bank of Xian in

the ancient city of Xian, China.

1992 Randhir Amoganathan: Worked in

London and subsequently returned to

Singapore. Got married and moved to

Perth in Western Australia. Currently

balancing time between work and an

energetic young son.

Shelley Brooks (Ruddell): Enjoying being

a really old first time mum! Just got into

cycling and love working in public relations.

Cheung Chock Mun: Was originally the

general manager of Diageo Plc, the

global drinks giant, heading the travel

retail business for Greater China. Left

the company last year and embarked on

our business. Now own a chain franchise

across Shanghai with six outlets.

David Harrison: I headed to Sheffield

to do a Master’s and PhD in Philosophy.

I added a PGCE and became an English

teacher, before moving into education

research. Just moved to Cambridge to

make a new start and a new life!

Amba Wade: I did MA Medieval History

from York University before joining the

National Railway Museum as a curator.

I published a book on royal train travel.

I moved to the charity sector for five

years, working for Marie Curie Cancer

Care and then Barnardo’s. I now work for

central government in communications. I

got married to Stan in 2004 and our son

Alexander was born on Christmas Day 2010.

1993 Stephen Booth: After over 12 years in the

same house (longest I’ve stayed in one

place without living somewhere else at

least part-time), I have moved into a flat

owned by my sister.

Begona Carreno-Gomez: Married, living in

Switzerland, working for Novartis Pharma

and awaiting my first baby due in January

2013. Still enjoying skiing and Eastenders.

1994 Gary Moss: Since October 2010 have

enrolled as a bell ringer at St Andrew’s

Church, Chippenham. Now ringing for

Sunday Service on a regular basis.

Stephanie Riviers (Glasson): Divorced in

2007 and remarried in 2010 a Frenchman

called David. I am stepmother to an

11-year-old boy who lives in Paris. For my

40th birthday last September, we walked

on the glacier in the Vallée Blanche

underneath the Mont Blanc which was an

experience never to be forgotten.

Catherine Williams: Now living in South

Devon with partner Chris, and working

at the Peninsula College of Medicine

and Dentistry.

1995 Robert Bray: I’m now a songwriter,

performing musician and recording artist.

Recently married and became a dad.

Shoa Abedi: I have emigrated to the USA.

Zoe Hancock (Thomas): Currently living

in Singapore with my family. My children

have just started school so I am keeping

busy volunteering and starting to look for

a new job and career.

1996 Laura Neilly: Living and working in Kyoto,

Japan, as a high school teacher.

Nicolas Olivari: I completed military

obligations in Limoges (obligatory back

then) where I taught English as a Foreign

Language to military personnel. I moved

back to the UK to read International

Political Economy at Warwick. I have been

working in banking since late 1999, first in

Bristol and then in London.

Sonja Smith: I recently changed jobs

so I’m now working out in Essex rather

than Central London. I’m still working in

education but I’ve started working with

14-19 learners rather than just adults.

1997 Nikolas Katountas: I am currently in

Athens, having established my legal office

since 2006. Prior to that I graduated

from Athens Greek Law School and

took theatre lessons. Been working as a

musician as well.

Emma Tovell: I joined the Tesco graduate

training programme and went on to

hold national HR roles in logistics

and manufacturing, as well as a spell

in management consultancy before

deciding that although the money was

great, life was boring! I left it all in 2009,

moved back to Norwich and did my PGCE

at the University of East Anglia in 2010. I

am now a reception teacher in a fantastic

school in Norwich. In the middle of all of

that, I am now a mum to Joe who arrived

in March 2010. I’ve never been happier!

40 41

David Williams: Since 2000 I’ve been

working as a self-employed musician and

piano teacher in Lincoln. Robin, my eldest

son, is studying Commercial Music at the

University of Westminster. Meanwhile my

partner Emiliana and I are expecting our

second child in April. Our eldest, Jacob,

was three in December.

Beverley Woolrich: I have two beautiful

children and am disabled by SPMS. I keep

smiling and remembering how lucky I am!

Keele was an amazing part of my journey,

thank you.

Ross Yiasemides: In 2011 I completed my

PhD at the University of Sydney.

1998 Samantha Bailey (Eve): Enjoyed four years

with Tim as an ex-pat in Houston, now in

leafy Hampton, still working in finance,

studying for accountancy exams. Two

beautiful children, still happily married!

Anthony Evans: After working in the sport

of boxing as writer and press agent, I

moved to the world of Ultimate Fighting

Championship in 2007. Worked my way

up to head of media for Europe, Asia and

Australia before accepting role as Head of

Media based out of Las Vegas office last

year. I published two books on the sport,

which can be bought from Amazon.

Christopher Lean: I did a PGDip in

Professional Writing at Falmouth College

of Arts. Worked for a magazine publisher

in Bournemouth and became an editor.

Moved to London in 2007. Now working for

a charity (NAS) and edit the membership

magazine. Married in 2011, baby boy born

July 2012.

Sarah Taylor: I took up a position of

lecturer in ecology at Keele in 2008 and

education officer for GeoConservation

Staffordshire in 2010.

1999 Cheryl Field: After my degree at Keele I

completed a Masters in Archaeological

Prospection at Bradford. I am currently

working as an Environmental Consultant

at Jacobs, working on water resource and

flood risk projects.

Deborah Molloy (Gooch): I moved up to

Edinburgh and got a job in the Scottish

Executive. Am now on kiddie number two

and about to become a full time mummy.

Catherine Scott: I’ve just won Pharma

Times Sales Recruiter of the Year.

2000 Nelson Almeida: Back in Brazil, living

in Recife. Teaching at University. Father

of Nelson Almeida Junior, Anna Cecillia

Almeida and Thiago Rocha.

Ralph Bunche: New York-licensed attorney with expertise in commercial litigation and experience advising governments in transitional societies on commercial transactions and law reform. I have also advised or represented victims of human rights abuses in a variety of contexts.

Annalisa Wooler (Schontal): Living and working for an airline in Australia.

2001 Gillian Dobson: Have been teaching science in a high school for 10 years.

May Jelliti: Now living in Tunisia after having just married my delightful Tunisian husband. We met while I was working as the logistics manager for Save the Children UK’s response to the Libyan revolution.

Andrew Stoker: I have worked at Thomson Reuters in London since January 2002 as a software developer and am now manager for the systems management development team. I married in 2011 and have two wonderful children who I hope one day will pay Keele a visit!

Jaana Rissanen: I moved back to Finland and I am currently working in financial services.

2002

Richard Bagshaw: I made the most of my degree, working for 10 years in the City of London in finance. I moved to Seattle in May 2011 to gain some experience on the other side of the pond – and the West Coast lifestyle is a huge bonus!

Nicholas Brown: Kerry Taylor and I will be getting married in April 2013 in Northern Ireland.

Xavier Cousin: Emigrated to Australia in

2007, finally settling in Western Australia

in 2009 where I married my beautiful wife

Joelene. We have one daughter, Charlotte

and another little girl on the way in

March 2013.

Richard England: Exploration geophysicist currently working in Brisbane, Australia. I have worked in the UK, Nigeria and Kazakhstan.

Diego Garro: Settled down at Keele where I live with my wife Lily (also a Keele graduate) and our daughter Valentina.

Emma Hill (Bough): Qualified as a solicitor in 2007, married in 2008, first child (baby boy) in 2010.

Diane Roberts: Did MRes in 2003, HE Teaching Cert in 2004, divorced in 2005 and finally finished the PhD in 2011. I worked at Keele as a full-time researcher throughout it all then took a new post at Manchester University in March 2012.

Alexandra Rogers (Powell): My son Finley was born on 30th August 2012.

Katie Ta’ssell (Cunningham): Married on 26th May 2012.

Kerry Taylor: Nicholas Brown and I will be getting married in Northern Ireland in April 2013. In summer 2012 I performed

with the Hallé Choir in the BBC Proms.

Jane Woodyatt: Continued to study at

Wolverhampton University where I did

forensic science. I am now a science

technician in a secondary school.

2003 Brian Beckett: I moved to Hanoi in

Vietnam in July 2008 with my girlfriend

from Keele. Now my wife! We have been

living there three years and are expecting

our first child at the end of July. My Keele

degree proved very useful in getting my

first job in the development sector.

Darren Bland: Happily married with a

baby girl and another little girl due in the

New Year.

Sarah Grady (Smith): Completed a PG

Diploma in Personnel Management and

gained my CIPD accreditation and I

married my Keele boyfriend, Liam in 2010.

Jon Hopper: Following my medical

studies at Keele, undertaken while I was

working at the UK Department of Health, I

moved into executive management in the

medical devices industry.

Sandra Nicholls: Working for a

global outsourcing company as a

senior consultant.

Edward Swann: Climbing Kilimanjaro in

July 2012.

2004 Rachel Forsyth: I worked at the National

Trust for four years as a warden and

now managing volunteers, training and

community projects at a private charitable

trust in Cobham. I live in Epsom with

my partner.

James McIntyre: Now working as a

financial adviser for Taylor Patterson with

the hopes of becoming a director within

the next five years.

2005 Natalie Blackburn: Now living in the

Middle East working as a VIP Flight

Attendant for a Royal Family.

Rhiannon Brown (Jenkins): I began work

for an international investments company

in a problem-solving department. I gave

that up to do a gap year as a youth worker

in south east London schools, estates and

churches. I met my husband and became

an ecumenical youth worker. I then

went into teaching and became head of

department after my NQT year teaching

religion, philosophy and history.

David Cartwright: I’ve had a few jobs,

been travelling, got married in 2009 and

now I run my own company building

soundproof studios.

Christopher McSharry: Travelled the

world. Lived in China for a year. Studied

CIMA and passed all exams and currently

in the process of completing my career

profile to become a fully qualified

management accountant.

Roxy Rudzik-Shaw (Rudzik): I was

shortlisted for a Mental Health Hero award

under the category of Professional Hero –

Therapist’s Award for my work with RRS

Counselling Services.

2006 Gemma Daffern (Berry): Got married to

Gary Daffern whom I met before Keele

after 11 years together (2011). I joined the

Police in 2006 as a civilian and Gary and I

have started our buy-to-let portfolio.

Ellen Hickman (Lundberg): Tom Hickman

and I got married last year. As proof of

Keele’s matchmaking ability I have a

photo of 12 people at the wedding, most

of whom graduated in 2006. I met Tom

at Keele and all the other couples in the

photo also met at Keele and are now

engaged or married.

Phillip Rogers: Met Katy McGibbon on first

day of Uni in Hawthorns A block. I moved

to Liverpool and moved in with her in 2008

and married in 2012. We both worked for

Keele security; Katy was a resident tutor. I

am now a lead employment and business

advisor for mental health and Kate is

in business marketing for a well-known

architects. Babies to follow soon.

2007 Stephanie Coverdale: After working

for two years as a Mental Health Act

administrator I returned to study for my

MSc at East Anglia and qualified as an

occupational therapist in 2012. I have

now moved to Norwich permanently to

work in a medium secure forensic unit

in the therapy team helping mentally

ill offenders.

Richard Mould: I completed an MSc in

Quantity Surveying at London South

Bank University. I have now qualified

as a Chartered Quantity Surveyor and

continue to work in London.

Christopher Winfield: After graduation,

I undertook the Network Rail Graduate

Programme and progressed to project

manager. I am also a member of the

Association for Project Management

and studying for an MSc in Project

Management through Warwick Business School.

2008 Sarah Andrew: Still in the area, now in a civil partnership with Gemma Ward (2010).

Roxanne Armitage: Applied for RAF but was refused due to childhood asthma, so now I’m a support worker for autistic adults in a day care centre. I also race motocross every weekend and go on yearly road trips round Europe.

Johanna Jarvis: Running own international astronomy communication and consultancy business.

2009 Emily Gaffney (Wildon): I went to King’s College London to do an MSc in Forensic Science and went from there into a job in the forensic science world.

Lindsey Wolfe: Became an HR advisor and studying for my CIPD accreditation.

2010 Alison Beech: Currently working for an online ordering company in the West Midlands. In the process of buying my first house!

Laura Inman: I recently completed my initial teacher training at Cumbria and I started as an NQT (English) at a school in Cumbria in September 2012.

Caroline Wallett: I have a PGCE in secondary education for music and drama and I now work in Leek.

2011 Jessica Bell: I worked as part of the security teams at the Olympics.

Russell Booth: I’m creating a new product from scratch and will be handling all branding. My business inventORinvest will be launching an online uploading service, similar to Dragons’ Den for inventors. It’s all been very exciting and most importantly good fun.

Dk Nor’ain Pg Haji Hashim: Made the most of my MA from Keele. Currently, I am working in the HR department of Brunei’s Central Bank.

Sam Higham: Vice-President of KUSU (Education) and I have now set off into the world outside the Bubble!

James Marriott: I decided I would like to make a change and become an airline pilot. I have since begun a course at CTC Aviation and should be flying jets within a few years.

Udeni Mudiyanselage: Successfully completed MSc with Merit. At present I am working as a senior software engineer.

Thomas Parry: Moved to Harpenden to work as payroll supervisor for an outsourcing accounts department for recruitment companies.

2012 Padmanaban Sekaran: Presently appointed as Chief of Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation Services in a leading Orthopaedic Superspeciality Hospital in India.

Duc Tran: I returned to Vietnam after graduation. Now working as an investment analyst at Korea Investment Management Company in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

42 43

In Memory1954 John Thomas

1956 Kay Smith

1957 Peter Shenton

1958 John Periton

1960 Malcolm Keir

1961 Judy Henman (Kenyon)Marion Williams (Brinkley)

1962 Roy PrestonMaureen Smith (Harrop)

1963 Jack FanningJoan Riley (Morton)Tony Gifford

1964 Libby Cropp (Gillies)

1965 Barbara Miatt

1966 Elizabeth Key (Sloan)

1967 Keith CuninghameNigel HollingdaleNorman PriebatschNicky Stanton (Pontin)

1969 David Healey

1970 Martin Dutson

1975 Pat Scott (Bennett)

1977 Dave Chell

1979 Les Abel

1981 Robert Holdridge

1994 Thomas Ajoy (Kar)

1997 Lynn Peart (Christopherson)

1998 Natalie BennettJames Davies

1999 Rosaleen CorvanKieron LeggeTina MackayYvonne Walton

2003 Jonathan Thompson

Sean Tull

2008 Sandra Hudson

2010 David Stier

If you have ever said to one another, “We must get together”, and then struggled to fix a time and place, Keele in the City is the solution. No speeches, no presentations – just a chance to mingle and meet Keele pals, rub shoulders and exchange gossip and memories.

Keele in the City 2013 coincides with the Lord Mayor’s Show so we will share our celebration with Fiona Woolf CBE (1970 Law & Psychology), Alderman of the City of London and recent past President of the Law Society of England and Wales.

The Procession: The Lord Mayor’s Procession has floated, rolled, trotted, marched and occasionally fought its way through almost 800 years of London history and has become one of the world’s best-loved pageants. Cheer the Keele float and students between Mansion House and the Royal Courts of Justice then via St Paul’s and the Embankment between 11am and 2.30pm.

Keele in the City: Spend an afternoon in London doing a few of your favourite things with your Keele pals.

Rendezvous on the River: Join us aboard ERASMUS 1 for an evening river cruise along the Thames, 8pm to 11pm. Cruise Tickets will be £10 (numbers limited by capacity of the vessel).

Make it a Big Keele Day Out!Saturday 9th November

Keele in the City 2013: Rendezvous on the River

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We want to hear from youThe Forest of Light stands at the heart of the campus and symbolises alumni at the heart of Keele.

Your views about Keele are very important to us. We want to involve alumni as we plan for the future experience of students and the next steps in the University’s journey.

We want you to be involved with Keele:

•Supportstudents

•Supportemploymentand other opportunities

•Supportouracademicschools and research

•Celebrateourheritage

•Influenceourethosandvalues

•EnhanceKeele’sreputation

•HelpusimproveKeeleforthefuture

Please complete the survey booklet with your up-to-date contact details, tell us your news for “What Happened To” and share what Keele means to you and how you might be involved. All of these questions have value for us and will be followed up.

Thank You!

And to show just how much we appreciate your responses we are offering a prize – all returned surveys will be entered into a prize draw for an Amazon (or equivalent) voucher valued at £250.

Keep Connected

•Updateusonlineat www.keele.ac.uk/alumni/contact

•GettheAlumniMobileAppat www.keele.ac.uk/mobile-app

•FindusonFacebook:Forever: Keele

•LinkupthroughLinkedIn: Keele University Alumni

•InteractonTwitter:@KeeleUniAlumni

•InternationalAlumni:joinyourKeeleinthe World network

•www.keele.ac.uk/alumni