1980s Group

Hello Everyone

The theme for this month is mental health which, from the lens of the 1980s, is quite a different angle to explore. Since the pandemic, this topic has become much more significant in the public mindset. Many different mental health resources remind us of habits which can help us to feel more grounded and reduce our anxiety. I do not claim any expertise in this field but I was inspired by one aspect of the alumni journey which I think is relevant.

It has made me think specifically about reunion and reconnection with people. When we look at the SIMS 1980s Facebook feed one of the most popular topics is the ‘where are they now?’ theme. If we look for an old friend or remember an event where specific people were present or different striking things took place, the people are what really sparks conversation across the group. There will be a flurry of activity. Comments and head scratching as people try to link up the facts from the myths and legends. There are usually more comments whenever a post like this is placed. It could be a photo that is blurred and out of focus. Best still are the pics which you might even be in when you cannot remember the event or the people standing next to you clearly.

So then you might say ‘where are they now?’ Reconnecting with people can be a challenge. What is their married name? Their nickname was this but their real name was hard to recall.

Over the summer I managed to find an old housemate of ours quite simply with an email address that I had thought was long out of date. I realised that our summer trip to the UK took us close to his address. Thirty five years later, there we were standing on a doorstep in the Lake District, it was like yesterday. That human connection. Catching up. Laughing at memories shared and memories forgotten. Recalling people and events. Places, habits, stories. It was a huge mental health boost to just share the connection again over a cup of tea. Two hours passed quickly but the serotonin levels were up. It was a huge boost. I had a swim in Lake Windermere while we were there too. Where did the time go?

Perhaps you have a long lost SIMs connection that you would love to contact again. Maybe you can find them on the alumni socials. You could be surprised by the memories that you find. It could be the best way to find a smile and recover some laughter from your youth.

Liz Jones (1987-1990)

Fresher’s week in the '80s

Arriving on campus in mid-September in 1987, there were so many mixed emotions. Excitement, freedom, and dread. A fleet of cars with parents dropping off their near adult offspring for a three or four year stint in a different place, many having driven long distance from around the country. There were hugs and farewells, a few parental tears and a lot of waving goodbye. “See you at Christmas! Don’t forget to write or ring.”

Picking up pass keys, finding rooms, and lugging luggage. Realising that there was laundry and cooking, and adult responsibilities that couldn’t be picked up by other people. Bags were unpacked. Time to knock on neighbouring doors. Finding people who might venture out into the campus to explore and find our way. I remember this being the biggest challenge, aware that finding a friend was so important.

The Student Union was probably the first stop. Clubs and societies to join or not. Was it cool to do this or that. Did the third years manning the sign up look appealing or intimidating? Might that put you off? Were they your kind of people? Find your Porter’s Lodge number. “Any post? Not yet!”

It’s hard to recall how we got timetables etc. Maybe they were in the Porter’s Lodge too. I don’t think the academic side was a big feature in Fresher’s Week!

That first week is a bit of a blur after more than thirty five years later, but it is easier to recall the Fresher’s Weeks for those who came a year later when there was less to take in. In my local town the freshers can be seen wandering around in groups participating in orientation activities of various sorts. At SIMS we did a fair bit of socialising with a wide range of refreshments. Is that another link to why we call it Fresher’s Week? There were welcoming discos and music, and a really social atmosphere. It did help people to feel at home and I also think it is why the place has such a positive impact so many years later.

Myself and a group of new friends decided to walk to Richmond on the second afternoon. I suspect we weren’t too sure about buses and money was an issue too. Maybe we thought it would help us to orientate ourselves. Either way, it took rather a long time and I suspect we got the bus back.

Sooner or later we found our way around the campus, navigated the running track to the main buildings from Doyle, found the launderette and the canteen. Walked to Twickenham and found food shops and supermarkets, and the occasional pub.

The community gelled and became more close knit, we became less fresh faced and more familiar. What are your Fresher’s Week memories? Do you have a story you could share on the alumni Facebook pages? Do the memories make you smile? Are there people from that week you are still in touch with now?

Liz Jones (1987-1990)

Hello everyone

For the theme of innovation and creativity, I wanted to reflect our time at SIMs back then.

When I took up residence in my first year at the end of the sports field in Doyle, I brought a bad full of clothes and two boxes. In these boxes were all the tools I needed to take up life as a semi-independent human. I remember bringing a special adaptor for the sink. It attached to the taps and mixed them. It was the height of modern convenience for washing your hair.

We were told not to bring a full-size kettle as the electricity supply would not cope so it was a travel kettle and iron for anyone who wanted to bring such a thing. Notice the size of the plug for scale. Along the corridor there was a kitchen. It had a large fridge and a two-burner plugged in cooking appliance. Many of the other Doyle residents were disappointed there was no oven. This was in a time when microwaves were relatively new. We had padlocks for the huge wardrobe where everything was stored during holidays. On our Facebook group we had some lively threads about the gadgets that people brought along, even a trouser press in one instance!

To access your room, you had a card that was punched with holes. I glued three playing cards together and created a spare with a hole punch. It was quite handy and modern. At the end of the hall there was a payphone. It rang incessantly and someone might answer the phone if they were passing. The payphone and letters were the only contact with anyone outside campus.

I had no phone, no ear buds, no kindle, no laptop. When I commenced studies, all essays were hand written on lined paper. There was a computer room on the bottom corridor of old house which was where I created my final dissertation three years later and saved it on a floppy disk. These were not networked computers, there was no server, cloud based or otherwise. Save to the disc, and pray it didn’t get corrupted or fall out of your bag. If it did, that was that.

In Doyle today, the view is the same but the rooms are quite different.

• Kitchenette containing: kettle, toaster, microwave, fridge, iron, and ironing board.
• Common room social space.
• Shared bathroom facilities.
• Superfast Wi-Fi access.
• 24-hour security.
• Decure door entry system.

I expect that everyone relies heavily on their laptops and they access their learning through a portal with podcasts and multimedia learning. There is an accessibility room in the library. The campus today has moved with the times. I think often that we didn’t know what we didn’t know so we were content in this un-innovative environment.

PowerPoint was invented in April 1987, the same year that I started my degree. Our teachers and lecturers did not have any devices for sharing their ideas. They lectured in the most traditional manner, occasionally making notes. We supplemented our knowledge with books and discussions. We visited the library to access microfiche based stored of information or went up to the British library or other repositories of knowledge to supplement our research.

As I teach now I rely totally on the technology in my school. I can hardly believe the differences from now to then. If you needed to travel you got the bus timetable from the stop. You wrote a note or a letter. I still have many of those from my Porter’s Lodge number.

What technologies do you remember from your SIMs days? Is there a gadget you were proud to own? Were you the student with a Walkman or a toaster who was the envy of your friends?

Liz Jones (1987-1990)

Hello everyone

In 1987 Margaret Thatcher won her third term in government and the world population was 4.3 billion. Diane Abbott was elected. Rick Astley released ‘Never gonna give you up'. The Channel Tunnel was given the go ahead and Docklands light railway was opened by the Queen. London City airport was opened. The Black Monday Wall street crash led to 50,000,000,000 being wiped off the value of share in the London Stock Exchange. The Poll tax was introduced.

The great storm of 1987 happened in the UK and the windows of St Mary's rattled with that wind. In 1987, the United Nations Brundtland Commission defined sustainability as 'meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'.

The World Environment Day has a theme this year called #GenerationRestoration. Their intention is that while, 'We cannot turn back time, but we can grow forests, revive water sources, and bring back soils. We are the generation that can make peace with land'.

In the 1980s I don’t recall much emphasis on planetary issues and the environment, however we were living with less impact. There were no smart phones and far less electronic waste. The mobile phone was just beginning to be more common place.

There was concern about acid rain and the hole in the ozone layer. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were talked about and banned in 1987. This lead to improvements in the ozone layer hole. Climate change: The environmental disasters we've almost fixed (bbc.com).In 1988 Global warming was an new term for the problems the world faced ‘We are damned fools’: scientist who sounded climate alarm in 80s warns of worse to come | Climate crisis | The Guardian

It’s hard to look back at our university days to explore whether we could have made an environmental difference, but I think recognising that we lived more simply then might help us to support the World Environment Day theme for the sake of future generations. I only remember one student having a car in the Doyle car park. Getting to Simms from the West Country was a trip on the National Express coach or by train.

We had to cook with fresh foods from scratch and there was much less takeaway apart from the odd curry, fish and chips or kebabs if our budgets would stretch to that. When we look at this type of topic in the Facebook group there are a lot of mentions of beans on toast and low budget low impact meals. I remember washing all my clothes in the sink and using the campus laundrette occasionally.

The current fluctuating weather systems that we are experiencing make it hard too. What can we as ex students who are now in our 50s and 60s do to support the climate initiatives?

Maybe if we do more to live like we are in the '80s it would be a good thing. Smaller TVs, walking more often to get our shopping, taking time to support the library, and spending less in this consumer world. Sharing our awareness with those we teach. These are all concrete actions. What will you be doing to support World Environment Day? Share your ideas through the Facebook group. If it has an '80s spin then that might be more entertaining too.

Liz Jones (1987-1990)

Hello everyone

The social media pages have been very busy for the 60s and 70s groups this week with the graduation events for Cert Ed students from that period of time. As a member of the 80s group I have been so moved seeing those proud faces of our predecessors as they collected honorary degrees in St Mary’s chapel on campus. It’s a fantastic juxtaposition seeing alumni in their robes and mortar boards being celebrated by their off-spring instead of the more common photos of graduating young people. There are some amazing shots of families and reunited groups sitting in familiar locations on the campus.

There have been stories of individuals who are getting recognition in their eighties too.

Reflecting on this momentous time for the alumni and the significance of such a wonderful weekend has been powerful. The build up to the ceremonies over the past few months barely covers how important it is to have this opportunity.

It made me think about life-long learning and education. The news of senior people being recognised for their career and achievements is truly inspirational. Studying between the ages of 18 and 22 is often the ‘norm’ and more familiar as the regular route for acquiring knowledge. Yet the life long experiences these people have had is such a great event to celebrate.

It is also a good opportunity to recognise the contribution that we have made and are making to teaching and learning. The network of St Mary's alumni reaches across the world. There are communities of people in England, Ireland, America, Europe and elsewhere. I am sure those of us who are in education have encountered other people who studied there too. It’s a small world as they say but the St Mary’s net casts very wide.

Many of the alumni were very modest and self-effacing about their achievements and some felt they didn’t deserve the recognition but seeing the celebration was a real thought provoker.

If you are a teacher, senior leader or working in education have you considered the journey you have been on since you graduated? How many students have you taught? How many years have you served? How many joyful or challenging memories do you have of the learners and their families? Do you think of a particular event or breakthrough that happened? Is there a trip, performance, celebration or exhibition that you think of with a smile? What are the funny stories of your career that you share with glee when remembering pupils or students fondly or with trepidation?

I often think back to the time in Twickenham and it is only now that I realise that those years helped me choose my life. They also helped me find the path in teaching that I have followed. It is great to have the opportunity to see the alumni graduating and recognise that this is a path from St Mary's to today that started back then.

Life has many influencing factors, events, opportunities and people. I hope seeing those smiling faces and recollections inspires you to feel proud of your achievements.

It may also be an opportunity to join one of the social groups online and find a friend or flatmate from that time so that you can share your journey. There are a variety of ways to do this whether on the Facebook groups or by email. I can recommend getting in touch with people, so perhaps you might be inspired by this momentous occasion too.

Liz Jones (1987-1990)

If you attended St Mary’s in the 1980s, you can join our Facebook group.

Photo credits: Jacquelineanne Earley

Hello everyone and belated Happy New Year!

New Year’s resolutions are such a common topic at this time of year. It might be thought that I would see if I could remember any of mine from our time at SIMS. I am pretty sure I can’t remember any or whether I made any.

Instead I was thinking about how the task of making a resolution might link back to the days at SIMS in a new manner. What I was wondering was whether 2024 might be a time to look back and make a resolution today to connect to our former selves.

Is there something that we were passionate about then which is much neglected in our lives now? January is a time of reflection for many. I find myself reflecting on whether I should rejuvenate the ceramics skills I picked up in a foundation subject or take a renewed interest in the Eighties music that I enjoyed so much back then. I never imagined that I wouldn’t be hugely keen on those tunes so perhaps it’s time to listen to them deliberately?

When we look at our younger selves we may easily cringe at mistakes we made or embarrassing things we said or did to the wrong people. Perhaps instead we should embrace the positive traits that we had then which we have let slide.

Maybe we were once outspoken campaigners? Perhaps we played hockey then? Did we have a passion for nature that has since been overlooked? Is there a place we haven’t been in thirty years that was special to us at the time? Did we really enjoy the carol singing up in town yet haven’t sung a note since?

I guess I am thinking that we often reflect on how our college days were really positive compared to now yet we gave up a lot of the things we were doing at that time which we enjoyed. Revisiting those experiences might give us a boost.

I’ve decided that there are three things that I want to do that I haven’t for three decades. Firstly go and visit Richmond Park next time I am in the area. I can picture so many different times I was there. Either playing frisbee, walking by a lake, watching the deer or having a picnic. If I can’t make it to Richmond Park then maybe it will be a park near me.

Secondly, I want to go to the beach and make some sandcastles. Although this isn’t something directly linked with my Twickenham times, it is something I haven’t done since then and probably should have done. Beaches are places that we played as children but we should still enjoy them more as adults.

Thirdly, I want to re-read some of the books that I studied during my English course. I have kept a few for all that time and brought them with me to another country. They sit on the shelf, preciously, but I haven’t necessarily referred to them again.

I am about to move house after twenty years. I think it’s a good time to combine a backward looking resolution and a fresh start.

What could you do to re-engage with you at 19, 20 or 21? What have you been missing? Perhaps you  could share your ideas on our Facebook alumni page?

Liz Jones (1987-1990)

If you attended St Mary’s in the 1980s, you can join our Facebook group.

What's your graduation memory?

Christmas Balls, sporting fixtures and graduations are big topics on the Facebook groups. It’s partly, of course, because that is where we took photos in the days of cameras and reels of film with only 24 or 36 snaps. It is also because these are the key milestones and memories for many people. An opportunity to celebrate. Now, where tiny tots graduate from nursery school with mini mortar boards, it is harder to see how significant it is when you receive that degree certificate and take the nervous walk to the podium, hearing your name read out in front of proud family and friends. Yet that graduation moment is one that can influence your whole life. St Marys has been a teacher training establishment since 1850. More than a hundred and seventy years of influence in education. I would not attempt to estimate how many teachers have passed over the threshold.

It is no surprise then, that one of the busiest topics on the Facebook group for 80s Alumni is the recognition of teaching certification with an honorary degree status. Across the UK many universities and teaching colleges are offering the opportunity to former students to upgrade their Certificate of Education to an honorary degree.

Until the 1980s the main teaching qualification was a certificate rather than a degree and was achieved with two or three years of study. In the 1960s degree courses for education evolved and there might be a choice of which you followed. Eventually in the later 80s a degree was a requirement for teaching and the certificate was no longer a route to the classroom.

In recent times in the UK, colleges and universities have been exploring this issue and SIMS joined the movement recently. As a result more than 700 people have approached SIMS requesting the opportunity to graduate now, fifty years later, and the processing of the applications is underway. The team involved in the work is small and the deluge of requests is very high volume.

For some in the social media discussions, there is a suggestion that the degree status is something they personally don’t deserve although serving several years in the classroom might indicate that they do. As a teacher of more than thirty years’ service myself I am clear that classroom experience is a graduation earner. In March, St Mary’s will welcome those proud veterans to collect their certificate. They will wear their gown and mortar board proudly. Their children will see this event. There will be reunion and recognition that will be proud to see. It will be a day that this generation will be able to celebrate too.

Liz Jones (1987-1990)

If you attended St Mary’s in the 1980s, you can join our Facebook group.

Ghostly goings on

With Halloween looming and asked to reminisce about college life in the 1980s only one thing seemed appropriate - ghostly goings on!

There was a college haunting night, which I recall being in November (forgive me if I’m wrong), when supposedly paranormal activity across the campus was at its peak. Now, with it being coincidentally close to Halloween and there usually being a reading week when Halloween took place at the end of October, a cynic might suggest it was rather convenient that the night when the college’s famous ghost and perhaps others too came out was not long after.

It was not unusual that there should be ghost stories in a place like St Mary’s though, after all its heart is Strawberry Hill House (formerly Walpole House), a stylish but imposing 18th century gothic stately home just waiting to have some sort of supernatural shenanigans associated with it. Indeed the man who created it, Horace Walpole, was responsible for penning the original gothic novel - a book called The Castle of Otranto (1764) which spawned all modern horror. It has been alleged that Walpole was a necromancer and that the round tower in Walpole House with its perfectly proportioned circular rooms had been created specifically for the purposes of magic ritual of a dark kind.I heard it said that shortly before my time at St Mary’s Walpole House had been the setting for a spectacular outdoor staging of The Castle of Otranto by the drama department. I would have so loved to have seen that.The college had many ghost stories, no doubt accumulated over the years, but the main one related to Lady Frances Waldegrave, a one-time inhabitant of Walpole House, whose spirit was said to come out and terrorise people on said November night.

Lady Waldegrave was most noted for adding the sumptuous Waldegrave Drawing Room to Walpole House, where if you attended Christmas or Going Down Balls in the 1980s you got to dance to a jazz band following the meal. Indeed she actually saved Walpole House from ruin. Many of the ghost stories were suitably vague, about Lady Waldegrave’s terrifying spirit and other evil presences that had deeply disturbed and permanently scarred everyone from students to wardens - and even resident priests. It was said that Lady Waldegrave had killed two of her husbands (well, she was married four times) and even her own children and as such was a pretty evil woman - no doubt the sort of character whose spirit would be doomed to walk the earth for evermore.

My memories of the haunting night were of people starting to build the suspense days in advance, sharing stories of the terrible tales of college hauntings. I’m fairly sure the Film Society used the occasion to show a suitably frightening film like Friday the 13th or Poltergeist.It would also be a busy night in the bar, slightly nervous students who lived on campus gathering to share ghost stories while taking advantage of a bit of Dutch Courage. I also remember the legendary Fr Perry Gildea being there, who would subtly do his bit to add to the tension if asked what his views were on the subject. His answer would usually start something like: "Well, I'm sure there's nothing in it, but......"

I definitely joined people gohst hunting on some of those occassions, wandering the grounds after the bar had closed. Other than that shared sense of fear (and fun) I don't recall anything ever happening, though I do remember people sating they had some strange and unexplained experiences and even a tale of a mysterious phone call of a positively paranormal nature being made to a hall of residence. A female student, told there had been a call for her on the hostel payphone, answered it to be greeted with the strange and distant voice of a small child saying: "Hello, is my daddy there?" Okay, that one was a bit off the wall but I'm sure many of you will have your own stories. 

One of my favourites is by 1980s alumni and friend Davy Craig, whose own experience spans attempts to scare his friends before having his own unexplained encounter. Davy published it online. Called The Ghost of Strawberry Hill, it’s well worth a read and make of it what you will.

So, what of Horace Walpole and Lady Waldegrave? Were they dark forces who have left a paranormal legacy that continues to spook students and staff of St Mary’s to this day? While there might be enough hearsay to send a chill down the spine there’s little if any historical evidence to support a sense of evil personified in either of them.In fact both were more associated with being notable socialites and hosting gatherings of the great and the good at the gothic mansion so splendidly imagined by Walpole and enhanced and extended by Waldegrave.

When Walpole went on his Grand Tour with his friend, the poet Thomas Gray, the two had differing agendas, with Gray keen on exploring historic buildings while Walpole was more focused on partying and living the high life.Additionally Lady Waldegrave’s parties were famous, with reports of ‘traffic jams’ all the way to Twickenham station whenever she held one. So, it’s perhaps apt that the historic house should still be used for events and social gatherings today - and you can hire Strawberry Hill House or the Waldegrave Suite out for everything from a wedding to a film shoot. Recent reunions have also seen the Waldegrave Suite as the sumptuous setting for a sit-down meal - with ghostly goings on not necessarily on the menu.

Enda Mullen (1987-1990)

Enda Mullen and Liz Jones run the 1980s Simmarians Facebook group, an informal alumni group for anyone who attended St Mary’s College, Strawberry Hill, during the decade. It’s a forum to share memories, photographs and news and also a platform for reminiscing and general chit-chat. It also provides the chance to catch-up with old friends and acquaintances who people might have lost touch with. If you’re in contact with anyone who might like to be a part of it do please tell them about it or sign them up. We’re not far short of 1,000 members and it would be great to hit that landmark figure.

If you attended St Mary’s in the 1980s, you can join our Facebook group.

New beginings

The summer is a time where young people contemplate their futures and make plans just as we did. 
The A level results come in, and hopes and dreams are opened or diverted.

Just as we did back then, St Mary's new generation of students will be making their way to campus this September.

My cohort at St Mary's are now approaching their 55th birthdays. It’s been 36 years since we walked through the white gates into our next opportunity. 

I headed to Twickenham from Devon with all my worldly goods packed into the boot of a car. The first steps in independence. I had no idea what I was doing, of course. There were many car boots heading for Doyle that day presumably with many less certain individuals too. As soon as my parents started trying to help me get settled I waved them off on the long return journey.

Those corridors and the memories within them. The things we remember and those we forgot. People, parties, essays, friends, adventures of all kinds.

I suspect that the next cohort are doing exactly the same right now. Do they have all they need? The skills and the equipment? Domestic and educational. We had no laptops, no phones. A state of the art mini kettle and a pencil case was about the average.

On the Alumni Facebook group recently the most advanced gadget was a trouser press, but I’m not sure that would be common now. 
Where will they be in 30 years time? It’ll be 2053 I wonder what their St Mary's experiences will bring to their lives? 

Liz Jones (1987-1990)

If you attended St Mary’s in the 1980s, you can join our Facebook group.

Rewind St Mary's

This time, although Strawberry Hill was on the train destination list, we stopped at Twickenham. There were no welcoming crowds of rugby fans or celebratory banners, just a sign saying 'Home of St Mary’s University'.

The familiar steps up to the over bridge were recognisable enough, even though it was night time thanks to delays at Gatwick. In a taxi (not a phrase much used 30 years ago) I spent the short journey to our accommodation having friendly flashbacks of familiar pubs, street corners, addresses, and traffic lights. There was plenty of deja vu.

The accommodation was out past Fifth Cross Road, where I lived as an early career teacher (another new phrase) in 1997. Queens Road another address in that period too. The pub (now Tesco) on the railway line where we had ‘that party’ for Halloween.

The morning brought brilliant 80s-style sunshine to walk us to the college campus. Yellow bricks, white gates, that iconic red running track, passing the Strawberry Hill station on the way. If you are feeling nostalgic, then the area hasn’t changed too much at all in thirty five years, though I cannot guarantee the weather.

We were fortunate enough to have a wonderful tour of the campus ranging from the famous late night staircase to hand in 3am essays and avoid an extension, to the peace and serenity of the chapel. The Library and the Ref have been revamped but are still familiar enough, though our Student Union has disappeared inside a three storey lecture building.

I am very pleased to say that the college (albeit now University) still has that unique atmosphere of community and history. You still can ‘see’ familiar faces, events and people. There is laughter in the hallways and a special sense of the place I remember so well.

And what of the social, informal reunions of last weekend? Was there laughter, tears, merriment, and celebration? Of course, but the details, just as in the eighties, are not available now.

Had we had the planned reunion, I know that we would have encountered more of those special memories and stories of our past. We’d have recalled those we have lost and those we have lost touch with - equally precious. I’m very keen to ensure that a reunion does take place soon. I’m not intending to wait long to return.

Who would you want to meet at a reunion? Do you have their details? 
Which parts of the college would be on your ideal tour? 
Head on over to the Facebook groups to find those people and reconnect!

Liz Jones (1987-1990)

If you attended St Mary’s in the 1980s, you can join our Facebook group.

Hello Everyone,

I went to St Marys from 1987 to 1990. Looking back now, I often credit that time with a huge impact on my current life.

It’s more than 35 years since I started in first year. There were a number of memorable events in the UK at that time. That giant storm that demolished several of the trees of Sevenoaks and in Twickenham too. The sinking of the Zeebrugge Ferry, the Kings Cross fire which led to dramatic changes to wooden escalators. The Beatles released their first CD format music. Margaret Thatcher won her third election. Boy George was banned from a TV show for fear he might be a bad influence. Pope John Paul embraced a child with AIDS in San Francisco.

George Michael released the album Faith. I seem to think I was most aware that election result and the infamous storm as those are two things I remember. Emelie Sandé, Joss Stone and Andy Murray were born that year.

Technology in 1987 was also taking an upward turn. Microsoft Windows 2.0 was launched by very youthful bill Gates. I remember word processing my final dissertation in the computer room at SIMS three years later and saving it on a floppy disc, after generally hand writing all my previous assignments. This is what a 1987 laptop looked like.

 The below was General Motors first solar car in 87.

Pagers were the new flashy means of communication on the move. Hard to believe that a text-like tool could be used to send a message to pick up a phone and call someone urgently. Mobile phones were a cool 2,500 pounds in the UK. Digital cameras were in their infancy. In those days, before social media, to organise an event it took a poster on the student union wall and word of mouth. Writing letters home that would be picked up at the porter’s lodge in your precious pigeon-hole was the key. The only notification that a letter was waiting was the view through the glass window not a small blue circle on a screen.

With this as the backdrop for our late teens seen from today it seems like another world. Each aspect of those first few years away from home might fast forward us back to life today. The time I spent in Twickenham influenced my life because, in the great tradition, I became a teacher. Although my PGCE wasn’t a St Marys one, it was influenced by the college. I am now working in EdTech full time. I have two much smaller laptops and various other handy tech tools at my disposal.

Consequently, my first two jobs found me teaching in Greater London for six years, including a stint back in Richmond. I then moved abroad. I’m proud to be part of this education legacy from SIMS. I still meet other educators with a Strawberry Hill connection from time to time. I’m also grateful that it gave me the opportunity to travel and move to The Netherlands which I now call my home.

I remember too that many graduated from the education department and chose other career paths.

I wonder where your SIMS years took you? Which path did you follow? Were you the dedicated movement studies student who went into a sporting career? Did you take the education route? Maybe you headed to another part of the world or stayed in the Twickenham area. 

If you have a story to share why not pop into the Facebook Group for students of the eighties and share some of those great memories with others. We now have 927 members in the 1980s Simmarians group. It’s only existed for a couple of years. Maybe you can track down an old friend there to share your memories with. We are hoping that we will be organising a specific 80s reunion soon.

Liz Jones (1987-1990)

If you attended St Mary’s in the 1980s, you can join our Facebook group.

Hello Everyone,

I’ve now written a couple of pieces for the alumni newsletter and started to scratch my head in anticipation of the next issue.

In a few weeks’ time there is a huge opportunity to walk down memory lane and revisit a place dear to all our hearts. SIMS is hosting a huge get together for former attendees in June 2023. Not exactly a lightbulb moment, but thinking about the reunion reminded me of my first visit to the college for my interview.

Now I look back and think about the influence that day had on my life and that SIMS inspired me to be a teacher which is something I am very proud of so many years later.

The interview process has some clarity in some aspects and less in others. I had a friend in my school who was already at SIMS probably in her second year I think. We arranged that I would travel to Twickenham and then stay in her student flat the night before.

The journey

I left Plymouth on a National Express coach which would have been a three and a half hour journey. At 18 in early 1987, before the advent of such things as internet booking etc I suspect that we had the timetable and paid the bus driver. I had also not really travelled much on my own so this was an adventure. I had strict instructions to go from Victoria coach station to a train station where I could then get a local train to meet my friend. I distinctly remember thinking it was pretty grown up to get a taxi between the two, wondering if the driver would think I was a total fraud rather than an independent traveller.

The local train brought me to Strawberry Hill station. It was evening in spring. I then had directions to walk to the address. Again, without any google maps to help me out. This was quite huge. Does the station still look like this?

I can picture Twickenham itself. Some of the images are related to events like the going to the supermarket or the greengrocers. Or people in specific spots. Maybe it looks like that now or maybe it does not.

My friend Carolyn had cooked spaghetti bolognaise. I painstakingly picked out all the onions so I wouldn’t have bad breath next day. I expect she thought that was slightly odd. I may have slept on the couch as I can’t think there was a spare room.

The interview

My most clear recollection is that I sat on a bench in the grounds for the RS part of one of my interviews with a member of the faculty who wore a dog collar. The chat we had was pretty relaxed and informal even though I had been extremely nervous. It was a sunny day, and there were trees in full leaf. I was really impressed with the atmosphere and the setting. It may also be that the journey and the welcome from my friend had a huge influence on my choice when I got a great offer for a place.

Memories

Memory is a strange process. As I look ahead now to the June reunion, I expect that the station may not have changed much and that the green leafy trees will still be as inviting. I can picture the chapel and the area in front, the porters lodge and the Big bar. I can even clearly picture the halls at the end of the running track which were my home in first year.

I know these places have changed. What aspect of SIMS will you be keen to see in reunion week? There will be tours of the faculty areas and Walpole House. Are these going to be your focus or will you be checking out Old House and the launderette? Will it be the Porters Lodge and the very important pigeon holes which we will miss, even though we remember our numbers well?

There was something about walking down the main corridor into Old House and through to the main teaching areas. Will we remember as much as we expect or will it feel really odd?

I recently heard that a colleague of mine had a son at St Mary’s and he kindly sent a couple of photos. It did look familiar enough. I can’t wait to see it! And I hope there will be many familiar faces too.

Liz Jones (1987-1990)

If you attended St Mary’s in the 1980s, you can join our Facebook group.

 Hello Everyone

One of the lecture rooms under Old House at St Mary’s doubled as a cinema. I am sure many of us remember different memorable screenings.

According to the 1980s Simmarians group, there are some great stories of these films. From Dirty Dancing to Good Morning, Vietnam. Tommy wasn’t well received by all who saw it according to the eighties page. The memorable films shown in the lecture theatre seem to often include classics like Apocalypse Now, Ghandi and others. I’m not sure who chose the films or how it was organised. We also had the opportunity to go to Richmond cinema by bus but of course it was cheaper in Old House. 

 The film I remember most vividly was when Cry Freedom, starring Denzel Washington and Kevin Klein was shown. One of the main characters in the film was Donald Woods a South African journalist. His wife, Wendy Woods, came to the St Mary’s screening. (Their family were still getting death threats from SA Gov at the time.) As a result, the lecture theatre was packed out. Wendy answered questions after the film. I remember at the time feeling immense respect for the intensity of the experience she and her family had.

This film was released three years before Nelson Mandela was released from prison. Those were the three years I was at St Mary’s. It was a remarkable time in history. His long walk to freedom was finally realised soon after I graduated.

 “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Nelson Mandela.

I wonder if we would have been aware of the power our education gave us at the time. The words of Wendy Woods as she answered our questions were very thought provoking.

The late eighties provide a number of classic films that might stir your memory too. Beetlejuice, Die Hard, Rainman, A fish Called Wanda to name just a few. I think my favourite film from that time could have been the haunting ocean adventure The Big Blue which was inspired by the life of two European free divers.

Which films do you remember from that time? Is there a specific memory that you associate with St Mary’s. Perhaps you went to the cinema in Richmond or Twickenham. 

Liz Jones (1987-1990)

If you attended St Mary’s in the 1980s, you can join our Facebook group.

Hello everyone

On reading the last newsletter which touched on religious studies (RS) with Duncan McPherson, I was reminded of a field trip for RS in the late 80s.

I was at St Marys from 1987 to 1990 and I suspect this trip took place in the second year. Duncan’s task was to guide us in a journey of raised awareness through the various world religions. This included the culture, tradition, holy books and sacred places. At this point in our lives our cultural awareness was potentially not too high so he was very enlightening. 

A trip was proposed to help us on our journey through the world religions. We travelled in a luxurious minibus (must have been rented) to Coventry to spend time appreciating different types of religious buildings and places of worship. 

It may have been that the ‘dedicated’ RS students had trip envy against Geography or Biology whose trips were notorious. So, the two-hour drive to Coventry was a big adventure. 

In the course of, possibly, two days we visited Coventry Cathedral and a Sikh temple. Coventry had a rich variety of communities and cultures. 

I remember listening to The Hot House Flowers in the minibus which likely puts us in 1988. The same minibus memories included travelling through a very long run of rainbows along one stretch of bypass so the weather was cold, rainy and damp. Some dedicated attempts to photograph those rainbows were made.

We stayed in a youth hostel of some description. I seem to remember that the delicious curry which complimented our cultural experience also re-coloured the tables a startling yellow. Cleaning them took a lot of effort and wasn’t that successful. It may be that some accompanying alcoholic beverage made the job harder. 

The cathedral was stunning. A memorial to wartime bombing and devastation of which was later restored. It had amazing stained glass and a very modern feel. I also seem to remember that the cathedral was multi denominational so I hope Duncan would be pleased that was something I recall. 

At the Sikh temple or gurdwara I remember being met by tremendous hospitality and tasty foods. I hope my memory is correct that it was the Guru Nanak Gurdwara, one of the oldest in Coventry. It was a colourful and welcoming place. 

As a group I think we were impressed by the various locations. We later also visited places of worship from other religions closer to home. 

I’d like to think I remembered the names of other people on the trip but it’s difficult now. Jackie Collins, I believe was there and so I think was Michael O’Moileoin.

I remember also visiting a children’s playground where we played on the swings and I took quite some photos. 

Thinking about this trip has been quite an eye opener. I wonder who else was there and what their memories are. Did this trip happen again? What are other people’s memories? Which St Mary’s trips do other people remember? I’m also going to need to start thinking of more great memories.

Liz Jones (1987-1990)

If you attended St Mary’s in the 1980s, you can join our Facebook group.

Getting over the January blues

Returning to college after the Christmas break always felt tough - to me anyway. Students would have enjoyed the comforts of family festivities and returned to the prospect of cold winter months before the advent of spring.

I have a few vivid memories of religious studies lectures during the early to mid 1980s and they included the booming sound of Concorde flying over at precisely the same time en route from Heathrow to JFK, prompting lecturers to pause in their tracks until the noise abated.

January 1984 springs to mind too. 

In what was most likely the first RS lecture of the New Year during my first year, normal business was suspended with an acknowledgement that January was a pretty miserable time of year (this was in the pre Blue Monday era) and what better way to get the year off to a good start than by having a religious studies department party.

A committee was formed to take the event forward and me and my friends found ourselves given the important task of running the bar.

Our task was made easier by an introduction by RS lecturer Duncan McPherson to a local Twickenham-based business called West Country Products.

West Country Products was effectively a wholesaler for real ales and ciders, somewhere near Twickenham Green if my memory serves me correctly.

Barrels of beer and cider were purchased for the event (other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages were provided too), with the understanding it was a perishable product and must all be used on the night of the event. I’m pretty sure we over-ordered as I have (vague) memories of the bar committee being instructed to deal with the surplus that was left over - what a thankless task!

Memories of the event itself are of a particular perry (I’m talking cider here - not a priest of the same name) and that it really was the finest cider/perry I have ever tasted.

Back then I had yet to become a real ale aficionado but cider was one of my favourite tipples.

I also remember the event being tremendous fun - and this was down to the in-house entertainment.

One of the great things about college in that era was the way we made our own entertainment - linked to a regular annual event that used to be known as the Staff Student Social.

As many will recall this was an informal and convivial get-together where anyone who had a talent (usually musical but not exclusively) would take to the stage and entertain those present.

My memory is that members of staff from the religious studies department ever-presents at such events, particularly Father Perry Gildea and Father Michael Prior.

Religious studies students were also a pretty musical bunch, many being part of the talented and tuneful folk group that performed at the 6pm mass in the college chapel every Sunday.

I can’t remember all the acts on that January 1984 RS social bill (helping to run the bar really was a rather all-consuming task) but I know it was in C1 and am sure the aforementioned priests did a turn. My fellow Graham Hall resident and good friend John Carroll was also performing, as was Mick Truman.

Anyway, it proved a great night that really did help people settle in for the Easter term and switch off from the hardships of winter for an evening.

It also signalled the start of a very long and happy association with West Country Products for me personally - a company I would return to many times over the years - particularly when thirsty friends from my home town of Birmingham were planning a visit.

I don’t believe it exists any more but I have to say I would do anything for a glass of that excellent perry.

Enda Mullen

The January 1984 religious studies department social (probably)

1. John Carroll
2. Richard Powell, Peter Brindley, and Sean Delaney
3. Michael Gardiner and Mick Truman

If you attended St Mary's in the 1980s, you can join our Facebook group.

An autumn hello from the 1980s Simmarians Facebook group. 

Our numbers continue to grow with a grand total of 811 people now on board. As always the group continues to be a busy forum for sharing photographs and memories from college days and also enables old friends who might have lost touch to become reacquainted.

Since the last group update we have welcomed a second admin, in the shape of Liz Jones.
Liz has been a massive help to me in managing the group and helping to keep members engaged. As well as coming up with inspired posts, which get people talking and interacting, Liz has also added topics to a large number of posts, which will help people find something specific they may be looking for a lot more easily.

We’ve had some fun threads recently, ranging from ‘do you remember your porters’ lodge number?’ to whether you were a Christmas Ball or Paupers’ Ball person. I don’t know whether the Paupers’ Ball is still a thing but back in the 1980s it offered an affordable alternative to the Christmas Ball. The events really were like chalk and cheese but the Paupers’ Ball, organised by the Chemistry Society, was hugely popular.

Unlike the Christmas Ball, where people dressed-up in their finery and danced to a big band in the Waldegrave Drawing Room, the Paupers’ Ball was fancy dress and held in the music block (well, the one I went to was). The thread saw some great Paupers’ Ball fancy dress photos, including some amazing home-made costumes. Angie McTreby’s home-made costumes were the stuff of legend - one of the best and most unusual seeing her dressed as a Tesco bag of shopping!

Another post which really got people talking was about which hall/halls of residence you lived in.
As with all Facebook groups there are many members who take an avid interest but don’t necessarily post or comment. I met one such person recently who said they were most definitely in that category but they told me how much they loved the group. A hacking incident had led to them leaving Facebook and minded never to return but they rejoined purely for the 1980s Simmarians group.

As always, if you know people from the era who haven’t yet joined do please get them to sign-up. The group can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/376098909452307

Enda Mullen

Summer’s greetings from the 1980s Simmarians Facebook group.

We’ve had quite a bit of activity in the group and some interesting posts during the month of May.

I’m wondering whether that might at least in part have been prompted by the abysmal weather.

When the weather is good people tend to be out and about enjoying the sunshine rather than interacting on their screens.

More sunshine and less social media I hear you say - and I have to agree, in theory at least.

In reality we’re always looking to expand the steadily growing 1980s Facebook group and want people to both sign-up and engage as much as possible.

Whether that involves sharing old photographs from the decade, or simply asking a question that gets people into a conversation, this is what the lifeblood of the group is ultimately all about.

Perhaps two of the best posts in recent weeks have been just that.

Jacquelineanne Earley asked which song, or songs, take people straight back to their time at Simms? For her it was The Only Way is Up by Yazz and the Nina Simone classic My Baby Just Cares For Me.

The question prompted a flurry of 1980s classics and some entertaining spin-off tales too.

Favourites included Hungry Heart, Come on Eileen, Down Under, In the Name of Love, Boys Don’t Cry, Kayleigh, Heaven is a Place on Earth, This Charming Man, Ride On Time and Fool’s Gold.

That is just a small smattering by the way of what would be a genuinely huge playlist.

Many suggestions were Freshers’ Week disco favourites, but not all were confined to the sounds emanating from the speakers in the SU Hall or the Refectory.

Other suggestions included some of the more risqué songs sung during drunken singalongs in the bar and at the other end of the spectrum the college folk group’s rendition of Here I Am Lord at evening mass every Sunday.

If you haven’t seen it check out the thread - it’s a fun read.

Arguably a slightly off-the-wall discussion ensued around the subject of Concorde, many remembering the supersonic airliner making a hell of a racket as it flew over on its morning flight - the college being right on the Heathrow Airport flight path.

Of course at this time of year - and June in particular - one always looks back to it being the end of term and for those finishing their time at St Mary’s a special occasion in the shape of the Going Down Ball.

It is an event which many people might remember best from their time at college as it was effectively both a poignant and raucous farewell to college life.

As someone who organised a couple I have to say it was a privilege to have a hand in putting them on.

The aim was to cram in as much as was feasibly possible, in order to let people make the most of their last social event at St Mary’s.

This month I’m sharing some of the photos I took at the last Going Down Ball I attended in 1989.

They include an atmospheric night-time photo of an illuminated Walpole House, as well as a few faces from the event (including at a boat trip the following evening - because one night really wasn’t enough) and the Bootleg Beatles performing in a room that I recall used to be known as C1.

The 1980s Facebook group continues to grow - we now number 765 members - but are always looking for more.

So remember, if you’re in touch with anyone from the eighties era and they haven’t signed up do please get them to do so.

❮ ❯

Hello from the 1980s Simmarians Facebook group.

The group continues to grow - we now number 738 members but are always looking for more.

So remember, if you’re in touch with anyone from the eighties era and they haven’t signed up do please get them to do so.

Despite there being many familiar names and faces we still only number a fraction of all those who studied at Strawberry Hill during that ten-year period.

The group continues to be a great place for sharing old photos and memories, as well as offering a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with college friends and acquaintances people may have lost touch with.

Quite a few posts recently have looked back on college life during the eighties and the content has ranged from ball photos to college memorabilia and all manner of artefacts from the era.

Perhaps one of the most keenly discussed photos recently was a movement studies year group photo from the late eighties posted by Emer Kiely.

Discussion ranged from eighties’ haircuts to the rather ‘unusual’ fabric the movement studies tracksuits were made from.

As someone with moderate (honest) hoarding tendencies I still have lots of photos, college-related memorabilia and more besides.

Most of it is ‘filed’ away in boxes in the loft and from time to time I discover one and instantly I am transported back through the decades.

Occasionally my parents present me with a box of college artefacts that I didn’t even know existed - discovered in their loft during a clearout.

One of the most interesting of late was an extremely detailed post-trip report on a religious studies field trip to the Holy Land during the 1984/85 academic year.

It was virtually the size of a dissertation and almost forensic in its scope. Everyone who went had been invited to contribute their post-trip reflection and analysis.

There were some hilarious submissions - including complaints about the toilet arrangements in the self-catering accommodation (no locks on the doors for starters) and someone saying a downside of the trip was having their duty free cigarettes stolen from one of the overhead lockers on the aircraft on the outbound flight.

Other things shared recently in the Facebook group include old NUS cards - with some seriously youthful looking photos - and membership cards for college clubs and societies.

Who can forget the mayhem of clubs and societies night in the student union hall where seasoned students would try and extract membership fees from impressionable young freshers through a hard sell of the benefits of signing-up, knowing full well that they would probably never see any return for their £1.50 membership fee, or however much it was.

Of course those figures for the cost of anything back then seem paltry and it’s shocking to think how much inflation has seen the price of everything skyrocket. Apologies for sounding like a pensioner at a bus stop who insists on telling you how much you used to be able to buy for a shilling but you get my drift.

So to one of the most interesting posts recently, a selection of menus from popular Teddington restaurants, including Bunters and Libertys, shared by Nicky Woodroffe (well done for hanging on to them Nicky).

The prices are surreal. A cocktail at Libertys could be had for as little as £1.35 - and there was even a happy hour where the cocktails were half-price!

A margherita pizza at Bunters would set you back just £1.50, or you could splash out on a top of the range supreme pizza for £2.65.

And finally another fascinating read from the past was an acceptance letter from November 1978 posted by Nicky Wood.

Interestingly it talked about the local attractions as much as the college itself.

I expect many people still look back on how they came to be at St Mary’s and something I discovered recently made me ponder on that.

Among my carefully filed away (okay, that’s a job for retirement) artefacts I discovered a 1982/83 college prospectus.

That dates from before my time but I recalled that I had attempted to secure a place that year, very late in the day and had been unsuccessful.

Slighted somewhat by this rejection I think it reinforced my determination to get in the following year and that’s just what I did.

Anyway, that’s it for now. Best wishes to all as the world starts to return to some sort of normal, albeit gradually.

Hopefully we can look to the prospect of alumni meet-ups going forward, be they small and informal or something a little more organised.

Enda