The University of Keele

The University of Keele was one of the 'new' universities created after the Second World War. It was built in the grounds of Keele Hall, which was used as the administrative centre, and was entirely residential. It offered four-year undergraduate courses all of which started with a common Foundation Year designed to widen students' horizons. In addition, undergraduates took three courses in subjects which they did not have at 'A' level while also following the two subjects which they had come up to take as their joint honours degree.

One of the advantages of the course structure was that it was relatively easy to change main degree subjects: I had not enjoyed the Maths, Physics and Chemistry taken at 'A' level.

My trouble was that, having spent the previous months in Southern Rhodesia and travelling around Africa, I found it exceedingly difficult to settle down to academic work. I found many of the Foundation Year lectures tedious and, since there was no registration at the beginning of each, quickly gave up attending. I don't think my attendance at the other subjects was particularly good either.

This is Horwood Hall where I had my room. I hated being cooped up on the campus with the petty rules that were applied - for example, men had to be out of the women's halls by eight in the evening and there was a campus curfew on weekday nights. The nearest town, Newcastle-under-Lyme, was a half-hour walk and 'bus ride away, and wasn't very exciting. Entertainment on Saturday nights was a 'hop' in the Students' Union building, often to a live band, but the beer was cheap so I spent most of my time in the student bar. I did do one or two useful things: I was a member of the Rag committee and I was able to play for both the university soccer - for which I was fixtures secretary - and rugby teams since the former's matches happened on a Saturday and the latter on a Sunday, and both gave further opportunities to drink. Most of all, I pined to be back in Africa.

However, I stuck with it, seeing Gill Rothwell during the Christmas and Easter vacs and hoping that something would change - which it did when I had a visit from Michael Atkinson, one of the VSOs I had met at Bernard Mizeki, early in the summer term of 1964.