Just a quick note to let you know that I’ve just received an email with a link to a Centenary Reunion for Geography at Aber. The departmen maybe renamed, but ...
Here’s the link - https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/development/newsandevents/dgesandosareunionweekend2018/#event-programme
All good things come to an end
What day to arrive in Aber! What a contrast to that rainy day some 50 years ago when some of first arrived in Aber.
Jenny and I had arrived on Thursday afternoon and had a lovely evening with Dennis, Babs and Richard which nearly stretched into Friday morning we were enjoying the chatter so much.That night we slept in the Midfield Caravan Park in Southgate and after leaving in the morning and doing a brief trip down to Cregiau Lodge where we first setup home, we drove into Aber and spent most of the rest of the day walking around the town. We walked down to the quay and I took a couple of shots of the river and harbour (above and below this post)
We had coffee in The Penguin, we walked into Old College, Jenny blagged her way into the lecture room that she sat had behind Prince Charles for a History lecture; we almost wept at the sight of a library empty of books, and heard that all the maps and map chests in Llandinam had also been removed.
[Even as a digital freak I find this hard to take.]
We met John & Midge and went out again to "kick the bar" and Jenny again blagged a way for us to go into Alex where Midge had lived for a while. What a change!
That evening we had our first get together with the group in the Glen Gower, most of whom had come down during the day. Al Clowes came in and asked where our camper van was [I'd told him we were leaving it in the Midfield site, where he was now camping]; then Tony Bovey and Liz Thomas came in; then Richard, Dennis and Babs and finally Andy and Dot, John and Liz arrived. Andy with his "cheshire cat" grin beaming from one side of his face to the other - a truly memorable moment, and just as I remembered him. Much hugging and some tears of joy I believe. Thanks Dennis for suggesting the venue. An excellent one with loads of room and food that was suitable for travellers who really wanted to talk!
Alan and John Whitelegg got into deep conversation (much as they had done in Eastgate and in the sorely lost Central Hotel where we used to retire to after working up the hill and where I and the others learnt just how much we liked Malt Whisky).
Richard, Dennis, Babs, John and Liz spent some time chatting as did Jenny and Midge with Babs and Dot. Tony and Liz slipped into the group as if they'd been around us forever, not a dearly loved friend that we'd lost touch with, with a partner who was a delight to meet for the first time. Thanks both.
Bedtime was welcome. We like Premier Inn beds. We had one of the best night's sleep we've had for a while ... and it wasn't just the alcohol doing the work!
Morning came and John and Midge were first up and received us all as we trolled into the restaurant. Plus the late arrivals from the night before Nick and Nicky, and Bernie and Eileen. What a noise we must have been making. There was a wedding party as well in the hotel with guests from the US. What they must have made of us ... who knows. we kept on getting in the other guest's way and blocking the way to the breakfast bar, but did we care ... not a bit.
Bernie and Eileen and Jenny and I went out for a walk and it was then that we discovered that Eileen had lived in Noddfa, Bath Street, the year after Big Jen and Little Jen had moved out. A photo opportunity called.
We returned to the hotel to quickly freshen-up before meeting everyone for lunch at the Richmond. The last of the group arrived - Jenny Jones (Big Jen) and Eryl Thomas, and Gareth and Cheryl Davies. Thanks so much for coming Jenny - a trip from NZ puts all our journeys into a different perspective.
We were also delighted to welcome Tony Moyes, Roy and Andrea Lewis, and John and Pat Aitchison to spend some time with us. It was lovely that they wanted to spend time with us and I know we all appreciated that - the swapping of stories and anecdotes, and also Richard's work in arranging their invites as well as the catering. I've got no idea what people were talking about. I was walking around with a couple of photos, also the iPad with the old photos on, and my UCW scarf, as well as my UW and UCW ties - what a hoarder!
The lunch broke up and people made their separate arrangements. John, Midge, Dennis, Richard and I played bowls. I feel I can now reveal the result of the match. After 7 ends the score was tied with John and I on 7 and Midge and Dennis/Richard on 7 also. The next end was to be the decider and guess who won? Yes ... the gentlemen beat the players, the amateurs beat the professionals, the away team won against the home team. John laid up a lovely bowl near to the jack which I knocked even closer and Richard couldn't do anything about it - perhaps he was being generous? I just think it was something to do with me giving John a good telling-off and stripping him of the role of skip. He just upped his game from that moment on. It was all good fun and a great way to spend the afternoon.
Evening at the Med Delight called. A lovely venue. Again thanks Richard for doing the ground work, suggesting it and organising it. I'm afraid the few diners who were left to grab tables after we commandeered the place can't have had a quiet, peaceful evening but when I announced at the end who and what we were I think even they appreciated that a group of friends like us were to be allowed to have our fun at least once every 50 years. Great meal, great company and we finished the evening off in Harry's Bar which was fortunately very quiet but would have been even quieter if Dot had been able to persuade the staff to turn down the music!
So the day was over. The forecast of rain for the morning meant that we went to bed not expecting really to get the walk round Pendinas, and that was indeed the case. We decided at breakfast the next morning to disperse, and that we did, but not before Tony left us with an unforgettable quote - at least it was unforgettable because Jenny wrote it down - and I quote ...
“I am amazed at how many of you are still together after all these years …. … you either love each other very much … … or … … you suffer from a savage lack of imagination.”
... to which the only response could be ... it can't be the latter, so it must be the former. Thanks Tony for setting the breakfast departure tone. One of joy and laughter, rather than any sorrow.
That's all from me. Thanks for coming. Thanks for helping me achieve one of my "bucket list" wishes. I'm up for a repeat in 3 years time. Keep in touch. Keep safe and well.
PS I've updated the Photo Album with shots taken over the weekend. If anyone wants to add their photos from the weekend, or ones from many years ago that would be great.
PPS If you want to share this blog, or the photos with anyone else, please remember we set this up as a private blog, and that the photos are only visible if you share the link with someone. Neither are visible from a Google search. Therefore could you just ask anyone you share the site or photos with, to respect that privacy and not to share them with anyone else without checking back with me. Thanks.
What's in a name?
It appears that I've caused some of you (well Bernie at least) some confusion in respect of what I call myself, and in chatting to him about it, it would appear we may all well have the same problem. The names we used, to use to talk to each other 50 years ago, may not be the ones we tend to use now!
For me, it's quite simple. When I left Aber, probably at my first job, someone who I quite possibly didn't like too much (and certainly didn't have much respect for) called me Dave for some reason, I don't know why I certainly hadn't used that name and I just felt I had to make a stand so I corrected him and said "my name is David". Having done that once, it just became the rule. My professional name was David. [Incidentally Jenny has always called me David, as has my mother.]
However for everyone pre-work days I'm still, and will always be, Dave. We meet up with school friends of mine every month - I am Dave. There are friends I've made since I left Aber - I am quite often Dave to them as well. It's something I like to extend to my friends not for people to take without asking.
Here's Bernie's comments on the same subject ...
Names are a problem. My problem started when I started working at Cambridge Econometrics, they insisted on Bernard. That was usually the reserve of my mother when she was telling me off. Anyway I got used to it but then became Bernie again when I went back to teaching. Then when I visited the USA I was always Bernard with a different emphasis, and also I have lots of French contacts to whom I am also Bernard. I like the way they pronounce it, though it would seem a bit affected to use the French/American emphasis in England. Anyway I usually change who I am according to whom I am communicating with, but sometimes there is an unavoidable inconsistency in multi-person emails!
... I'd also add that Eileen would appear to be the only one who calls him Bern, but I may be wrong in that.
So the names I know you by are frozen in a late-1960's, early-1970's time capsule. It's Andy (not Andrew), Dot (not Dorothy), Babs (not Barbara), Midge (not Margaret), Al (not Alan), Ros (not Rosalind), Tony (not Anthony - although it could be Bovey in the same way that John was called Whitelegg some times, and Neil was called Wrigley some times ... why?). Gareth was sometimes called Callan (his middle name); Dennis was occasionally Den as I recall, but Richard was always Richard, as were Nick and John (JWD). Jenny was Little Jen to distinguish her from Big Jen (Jenny Jones), and I was once-upon-a-time known as Diddy Dave ... why?
So that's it - what's in a name. You'll have to make it quite clear how you REALLY want to be addressed, otherwise it's Aber-timewarp naming that rules OK.
For me, it's quite simple. When I left Aber, probably at my first job, someone who I quite possibly didn't like too much (and certainly didn't have much respect for) called me Dave for some reason, I don't know why I certainly hadn't used that name and I just felt I had to make a stand so I corrected him and said "my name is David". Having done that once, it just became the rule. My professional name was David. [Incidentally Jenny has always called me David, as has my mother.]
However for everyone pre-work days I'm still, and will always be, Dave. We meet up with school friends of mine every month - I am Dave. There are friends I've made since I left Aber - I am quite often Dave to them as well. It's something I like to extend to my friends not for people to take without asking.
Here's Bernie's comments on the same subject ...
Names are a problem. My problem started when I started working at Cambridge Econometrics, they insisted on Bernard. That was usually the reserve of my mother when she was telling me off. Anyway I got used to it but then became Bernie again when I went back to teaching. Then when I visited the USA I was always Bernard with a different emphasis, and also I have lots of French contacts to whom I am also Bernard. I like the way they pronounce it, though it would seem a bit affected to use the French/American emphasis in England. Anyway I usually change who I am according to whom I am communicating with, but sometimes there is an unavoidable inconsistency in multi-person emails!
... I'd also add that Eileen would appear to be the only one who calls him Bern, but I may be wrong in that.
So the names I know you by are frozen in a late-1960's, early-1970's time capsule. It's Andy (not Andrew), Dot (not Dorothy), Babs (not Barbara), Midge (not Margaret), Al (not Alan), Ros (not Rosalind), Tony (not Anthony - although it could be Bovey in the same way that John was called Whitelegg some times, and Neil was called Wrigley some times ... why?). Gareth was sometimes called Callan (his middle name); Dennis was occasionally Den as I recall, but Richard was always Richard, as were Nick and John (JWD). Jenny was Little Jen to distinguish her from Big Jen (Jenny Jones), and I was once-upon-a-time known as Diddy Dave ... why?
So that's it - what's in a name. You'll have to make it quite clear how you REALLY want to be addressed, otherwise it's Aber-timewarp naming that rules OK.
Memories and friends who've passed on
Bernie dropped me an email this week to let me know that someone who we knew from Aber days had passed on. Like Bernie (and I suspect Rick), we played football with the people named in this message, which is a tribute to Keith Bevan, written by Ian (Lev) Edwards ...
The passing of Keith has really made me emotionally think of my time in Aber. It has suddenly made it all seem just a short time ago, regardless of the passing years.
Jim Kettle, Bev and myself spent much time together either playing football and talking about football in the Home Café especially when “Mr Statistics” Bob Culley arrived. We would get drunk together in a variety of venues mainly after games. Except on a Tuesday and Friday nights because we believed that getting drunk before games would affect our performance. So we never had more than four pints.
Keith, as they say , was a “ beautiful boy”. He was as graceful on the football field, with a killer punch, as he was off the field.
I remember one Saturday morning seeing him standing at the crossroads in the center of Aber. I went to the Home Café and when I returned he was still there. I asked him what he was doing. He replied “ waiting to ask someone to the dance tonight”. I relied “what, the first person you ask will come with you”. He said “ No someone will however”. He would turn up with the most stunning women. No one else “had the balls” to do what he was doing and he had a slight stutter!
I know I didn’t realize it at the time but Aber was a very special place. It really was the University for the Welsh as much as the University of Wales. Yet us boys, like Jim and Jerry, from Brum were readily accepted. Jim loved it so much he stayed for seven years.
The 60’s were a time of great change and upheaval around the world. Yet in Aber we were safe, although, I think, we frequently tried not to be. We laughed a lot and we cried when our teams lost, as they frequently did. We played to win on the field and in life, we drank too much and then looked for love, frequently in my case with mind numbing failure. Yet somehow we built a foundation which has supported us for the rest of our lives.
As my old mother used to say “ glorious days in the sunshine of your youth”
We all, and Keith especially, made the most of our coming into manhood.
Thank you Aber!
Lev.
Cen Williams, a friend of Keith and Bernie's, also wrote this poem (originally in Welsh) about Keith ...
The passing of Keith has really made me emotionally think of my time in Aber. It has suddenly made it all seem just a short time ago, regardless of the passing years.
Jim Kettle, Bev and myself spent much time together either playing football and talking about football in the Home Café especially when “Mr Statistics” Bob Culley arrived. We would get drunk together in a variety of venues mainly after games. Except on a Tuesday and Friday nights because we believed that getting drunk before games would affect our performance. So we never had more than four pints.
Keith, as they say , was a “ beautiful boy”. He was as graceful on the football field, with a killer punch, as he was off the field.
I remember one Saturday morning seeing him standing at the crossroads in the center of Aber. I went to the Home Café and when I returned he was still there. I asked him what he was doing. He replied “ waiting to ask someone to the dance tonight”. I relied “what, the first person you ask will come with you”. He said “ No someone will however”. He would turn up with the most stunning women. No one else “had the balls” to do what he was doing and he had a slight stutter!
I know I didn’t realize it at the time but Aber was a very special place. It really was the University for the Welsh as much as the University of Wales. Yet us boys, like Jim and Jerry, from Brum were readily accepted. Jim loved it so much he stayed for seven years.
The 60’s were a time of great change and upheaval around the world. Yet in Aber we were safe, although, I think, we frequently tried not to be. We laughed a lot and we cried when our teams lost, as they frequently did. We played to win on the field and in life, we drank too much and then looked for love, frequently in my case with mind numbing failure. Yet somehow we built a foundation which has supported us for the rest of our lives.
As my old mother used to say “ glorious days in the sunshine of your youth”
We all, and Keith especially, made the most of our coming into manhood.
Thank you Aber!
Lev.
Cen Williams, a friend of Keith and Bernie's, also wrote this poem (originally in Welsh) about Keith ...
Think of the good times, savour the wine
When our days are sad, and life is full of tears
The shadows dark, and the horizon grey;
Savour the wine and think of those good years.
Days when we think of Keith descending in decline,
The hours of sad reflection that upon us weigh;
Delight in all the good old days, savour the wine.
Weeks of unspoken suffering that he had
Those moments of hope, those minutes of dismay,-
Savour the wine, remember the good times not the sad
Times when non relenting waves pounded his shore
Debris and wreckage littering his bay;
Savour the vintage wine and days of yore.
He fought the fight with laughter in his eye.
And let us all remember the old Keith, so we may
Take pleasure in that wine of days gone by.
Diolch am gael dy adnabod Keith, roeddet ti’n un o fil.
Bernie also reports that last week they had attended the funeral of Mike Benjamin whose wife Sue Cole was a friend of Eileen's, and who I vaguely remember from Aber days, and who was a Professor of Physiology at Cardiff.
As Bernie put it "a sombre but enlightening week."
Programme for the Weekend
Well the months have turned into weeks, and the weeks are turning into days. Not long before we meet up and I thought it about time to let you know what might be going on apart from the lunchtime buffet and the evening meal.
After extensive research and fieldwork, and at great expense no doubt sampling the wares, Dennis has suggested that those of us who are arriving on Friday meet up at The Glengower on the Promenade. If the sun's out we can sit outside even and there's a good selection of beer and food available too. Here's a gallery of images from their website. Looks good. I suggest we say 7:30 to meet, but of course if you're going to eat there, we might see you before that, because we'll be eating there.
So that's Friday evening catered for, we might even stroll down and kick the bar I suppose afterwards before retiring for the night.
Nothing planned for Saturday morning so that's free time for strolling and coffee drinking. It looks like The Penguin is still going - must be some kind of record for a cafe, but no National Milk Bar ... those were the days. Do you remember it was about the only place open on a Sunday!
We have the buffet lunch at the Richmond Hotel on Saturday at 12:00 for 12:30. I believe Richard has said in an email I can't find now that there is a bar open for drinks before lunch. In fact I'd be amazed if there wasn't, so that's quite probably the most stupid thing I've ever written. The cost of this will be £15 for the 23 of us, but as we have 6 guests (Harold Carter, Tony Moyes, Roy and Andrea Lewis, and John and Pat Aitchison) please budget for £19 to cover their lunches. This will be a finger buffet with savoury and sweet courses and with suitable provision for vegetarians, followed by tea and coffee. We should probably aim to wind-up by about 2:00pm.
After lunch we're open to suggestions, but one possibility is that Richard, as Captain of the Bowls Club, has indicated that those who wished could have a game of bowls. John and Dennis probably, Tony (I believe), Gareth (I think) and I used to accompany Richard to the public green which was off North Road. Richard's club is at Plascrug between the Crown Buildings and the University playing fields on Llanbadarn Road. A start of 3:00pm is proposed.
Alternative suggestions for the afternoon are welcomed. A stroll up Penglais Hill maybe, or a ride up Constitution Hill on the cliff railway? We can discuss these on the Friday night or even Saturday morning. Nothing too strenuous though ... please!
Our evening meal for 21 of us is at Med Delight on North Parade. We meet at 7:00 for 7:30. I hope you'll take the opportunity to look at the menu - it looks fantastic.
Richard will be confirming the numbers tomorrow (22nd August), so if we have some drop-outs (shame on you) please let me, and Richard, know as soon as possible.
On Sunday morning John and Midge, Jenny and I are going to walk around (maybe even up) Pendinas Hill beside the Ystwyth, up to Southgate (Penparcau) and then back to town via either the cycle track alongside the Rheidol, or Llanbadarn Road, or Waunfawr - depending upon how fit we're feeling. This walk also allows anyone who has to get away quickly to dip out at a couple of intermediary points as well. So please try and join us. I've put a map of Aber so that you can see the proposed walk here.
So depending upon what you'd like to do, perhaps pack some comfortable walking clothes and shoes, and if you think you'd like to have a game of bowls please bring some trainers - heels strictly forbidden.
That's about it. Look forward to seeing you all.
Aberystwyth Geography Department 1970
Bern has dug out this document - Aberystwyth Geography Department 1970-71 which may bring back a few memories. It's made me think I should do a bit of searching and scanning myself.
If you have any documents or photos that you'd like to bring with you - that would be great. If they've been scanned - send them to me and I'll upload it to go alongside this document from Bern. Thanks a lot - helps the little grey cells a little!
If you have any documents or photos that you'd like to bring with you - that would be great. If they've been scanned - send them to me and I'll upload it to go alongside this document from Bern. Thanks a lot - helps the little grey cells a little!
A message from Neil Wrigley
Neil's asked me to pass on this message, along with this photo which some of you may also have a copy of - we have! Anyway, Neil's message ...
Desperately sad I can't make the weekend . As I mentioned to Dave and Bernie, I am booked on a non-changeable/non-refundable flight from Athens to Heathrow on Sat 2nd Sept and just can't get to Aber in time.
The appearance of this photo almost begs a competition to see who can name the most people off the photo. It's great to see some continuity from Spring 1970 as Harold and Tony are in the photo and will be with us for lunch on the 2nd.
I'll be pouring over the picture with Jenny, who's the one with the memory, let's see if any of you can do better than us!
Update - July 13th
The current set of known attendees is to be found here ...
https://aberystwyth2017.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/whos-coming.html
... it's good that Harold Carter, Roy Lewis, Tony Moyes and John Aitchison will be able to join us for lunch on the Saturday.
This means that we can with a high degree of confidence (95% level for Johny A.) say that the buffet will come in at £19 per person.
You can look at the menus for dinner on the Med Delight website here ...
http://www.meddelight.com/menus/Med-Delight-Menu.pdf
... and work out how much your meals might cost.
If you'd like to tell me where you're staying I could complete the table referred to above in the first link.
Also if you'd like to send me a brief bio (John's just done his which makes mine seem like War and Peace) I'm happy to post that.
Finally, you'll hopefully have looked at the photos I posted here ...
https://goo.gl/photos/1yJ4V8CswyA6JriH7
... I'd love to add some of yours as well, if you'd like to send them to me, or alternatively post them yourself to the shared Aberystwyth 2017 album if you've got a Google account. Got one glorious story of Jenny Jones showing them to her Year 13 class in Auckland to mass disbelief. I know the feeling, as I'm sure we all do.
https://aberystwyth2017.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/whos-coming.html
... it's good that Harold Carter, Roy Lewis, Tony Moyes and John Aitchison will be able to join us for lunch on the Saturday.
This means that we can with a high degree of confidence (95% level for Johny A.) say that the buffet will come in at £19 per person.
You can look at the menus for dinner on the Med Delight website here ...
http://www.meddelight.com/menus/Med-Delight-Menu.pdf
... and work out how much your meals might cost.
If you'd like to tell me where you're staying I could complete the table referred to above in the first link.
Also if you'd like to send me a brief bio (John's just done his which makes mine seem like War and Peace) I'm happy to post that.
Finally, you'll hopefully have looked at the photos I posted here ...
https://goo.gl/photos/1yJ4V8CswyA6JriH7
... I'd love to add some of yours as well, if you'd like to send them to me, or alternatively post them yourself to the shared Aberystwyth 2017 album if you've got a Google account. Got one glorious story of Jenny Jones showing them to her Year 13 class in Auckland to mass disbelief. I know the feeling, as I'm sure we all do.
Posting to this blog
As I mentioned in the last email, John thought it would be a good idea to write a potted bio of what we've been up to in the last 50 years. You can do that by writing an email with your name in the Subject and Sending it to "david.ian.harrison.aber2017@blogger.com". I can then pick it up and post it.
You might also like to start a discussion on a subject such as "What do I remember about Sunday's in Aber" for instance. That'll test you. Put your Discussion Topic in the Subject of your email and Send it to the same email address - david.ian.harrison.aber2017@blogger.com.
You might also like to start a discussion on a subject such as "What do I remember about Sunday's in Aber" for instance. That'll test you. Put your Discussion Topic in the Subject of your email and Send it to the same email address - david.ian.harrison.aber2017@blogger.com.
Commenting on this blog
I'd encourage you to comment on any, or all of the posts on the blog, I've made commenting as easy as I possibly can. As it's a private space for us a you can choose to comment in a number of ways when it comes to supplying a Profile in the Comment box. The most obvious and easiest ones would be ...
- Anonymously, but if you do, could you just start by saying "David says:" or whatever;
- Alternatively you can supply your Name with the URL of this blog - eg "David" and "aberystwyth2017.blogspot.co.uk"; or
- If you have a Google account (eg Gmail), you can login to that account and that will identify you to the commenting system.
Accommodation
Just a quick note. There's a bikers' convention on in town the same weekend as us. That's why we didn't stay at The Richmond Hotel, and why John, Midge, Jenny and I are staying at The Premier Inn - formerly Carpenter Hall, we think.
Who's coming ...
| July 3rd | Fri night | Sat night | Accom | Sat lunch | Sat dinner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John & Midge Whitelegg | Yes | Yes | Premier Inn | Yes | Yes |
| David & Jenny Harrison | Yes | Yes | Premier Inn | Yes | Yes |
| Richard Morgan | Yes | Yes | Lives in Aber | Yes | Yes |
| Dennis & Babs Thomas | Yes | Yes | Lives in Aber | Yes | Yes |
| Nick & Nicky Williams | Yes | Yes | Premier Inn | Yes | Yes |
| Andy & Dot Pardoe | Yes | Yes | Premier Inn | Yes | Yes |
| John & Liz Williams-Davies | Yes | Yes | Belle Vue | Yes | Yes |
| Alan & Ros Clowes | Yes | Yes | Camping | Yes | Yes |
| Tony Bovey & Liz Thomas | Yes | Yes | Premier Inn | Yes | Yes |
| Bernie & Eileen Fingleton | Yes | Yes | Premier Inn | Yes | Yes |
| Gareth & Cheryl Davies | No | No | Not resident | Yes | No |
| Eryl Thomas | No | No | Not resident | Yes | Yes |
| Jenny Jones | No | No | Not resident | Yes | Yes |
I'm also pleased to be able to tell you that Harold Carter, Roy Lewis, Tony Moyes and John Aitchison are able to join us for lunch on Saturday.
I'll keep this up to date, as I hear from you.
How things have changed
I've just been looking at the pubs in Aber having been recommended two - the Ship & Castle and the Glengower - by Dennis.
My, how things have changed. No Central, no Blue Bell. The Angel, Downies Vaults and Coopers are still open however - I'll have to pop my head round on Thursday evening. There are links to some of them from the menu.
My, how things have changed. No Central, no Blue Bell. The Angel, Downies Vaults and Coopers are still open however - I'll have to pop my head round on Thursday evening. There are links to some of them from the menu.
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