autumn/winter 2009 | issue

8/14/2019 Autumn/Winter 2009 | Issue

1/12

MagazineUniversityofReading

forAlumniandFriends

Autumn/W inter2009|Issue

Mygeneration:ThespiritoftheSeventiesAlsointhisissueCh ildrensbooks:Makingabigimpac ton li t tlepeopleJenniferIrv ine:ThePurePackage


2/12


3/12


4/12


5/12


6/12


7/12

UniversityofReadingMagazine

Features

UniversityofReadingMagazine

Feature:Mygeneration

FirstimpressionsAcademically and socially,the opportunitiesthatthe

University ofReadingpresented to prospective students

inthe 70s were seeminglyunbounded.GeoffFleet(BSc

Geography,1975)recalls whenReading rst appeared

onthe radarscreenforhim, and the reasonsthatled

himto studyhere:Mostimportantly,it was a long way

frommyhome inthe north east ofEngland.Thisre-

motenessprohibitedhomevisitsduringtermtimeand

to some extenthelped me to make friends and enabled

meto takeadvantage ofuniversitylife.Thecampus

setting withthe large number ofUniversityresidences

was a denite attraction and the course structureallowinggradualspecialisation withthe optionto

change directly atthe end ofFUE was a relatively

unique feature ofReading.

FrancisJones(ne Rees,BAMusic,1976) also fondly

remembershervery rstimpression ofReading, onher

interview dayin1972:It wasjust before Christmas,

and there werepaperchains and balloons all over

the MusicDepartment, amusinglimericks above each

tutorsdoor, and overall,such a jolly,friendly andinvit-

ing atmosphere.I decided immediatelythatthis was

whereI wantedto be.

The welcomingspirit ofReading wasinfectious,

provingthedestination ofchoiceformanystudents.

So muchso,that bythe mid 1970s,studentnumbers

had growntojustshortof6,000.Expansionofthe

University Whiteknightscampuscontinued, withvari-

ousmomentous developmentsmade.Extensions were

completed to Wantage,Childs and BridgesHall, with

WellsHall opening on a site nextto Wantage in1974.

LifeinHallsHeatherNeil(ne Welford,BAItalian,1975)recallsthe

unique sense ofidentity and reputationthat eachHall

ofResidencehad,althoughadmitsthatit wasprobably

not always100percent deserved:Forsome reason,

Wessex hadareputationforbeingprimandproper,

and the women who lived there were dubbed Wessex

Virgins.Justlastyear,one ofmyItalian department

colleagues wastalking aboutityes,she said,I was

a Wessex Virgin!. Wantage onthe otherhand was

knownforitsgreatpartiesprobably because ithad a

number ofhouses and buildings, all withlarge rooms

separate fromthe mainHall where the partiescould

take place unsupervised.I wasinStGeorgesHall,

which wentmixed duringmysecond yearin1972 we

were delighted.

JanDigby(BALatin andEnglishLiterature,1979)

vividlyremembersher rstmealin WindsorHall:I

caughtthestrap ofmyshoulderbag onsomethingasI

leftthe server and threw my dinner all overthe oor

asaresult!Iactuallymoved out ofHallatChristmas

inmy nalyear whenIgotmarried.Gettingmarried

atthistime mayseemlike anodd thingto do, butit

didntseemstrange atthe time.Several ofmyfriends

were alreadymarried students bythen.

David Addis(DipAgriculture 1972) wasno exception

to this, ashe and hisFrench wife Dominique enrolled

atReadingin1971:We were newlymarried, withno

children and threw ourselvesinto studentlife whole-

heartedly.DavidsHall was a wonderfulinstitution, and

the teas were aninstitutioninthemselves.It washere

that weplannedtheeventCarouse whichinsome

ways was a counterto the traditions ofJantaculum;

theformerinvolvinganythingfromstand-upcomedy

to transvestites.

Mygeneration:The1970

s

Fromlefttoright,toptobottom :Gathered out side StPatr ick sHall.D in ing hallsel f-serv ice.An anonymousscribe on th ebackofthe photowr i te s:The foo dwasok...ienot faggotsor such-like!.En joy ing agame o fpoo linthe af ternoon .70sli fethroughalen sThe Jamwereone ofmanylegendary band sto come out ofth e70sde cade .Inform alget together hatscour tesyofTh ame sVa lleyPo lice.The ent ire content sofaW ind sor Hallroom on the lawn .Relaxing on aSund aya fternoon in1978 .Read ing studentsprotestinJune 1973 w ith gue stsfrom Br isto land Ox ford .Ifyoucanident ifyanyofthesestudents,thenpleasedogetintouch.


8/12


9/12


10/12


11/12


12/12

Development&AlumniRelationsOf ce

Didyougraduatein1960,1970,1980,1990,or2000?Ifsonextyearisabiganniversaryforyouandwewanttohelpyoucelebrate!

Toregisteryourinterest,pleasecompleteyourWhereareyounow?formenclosedwiththeUniversityofReadingMagazineandticktheanniversariesboxorgotowww.reading.ac.uk/alumni

BepartofsomethingspecialRegistertoday!

autumn/winter 2009 | issue

Documents