50th Anniversary Reunion

On graduating I spent two years in the Maths dept. as an assistant lecturer and doing an MSc.   I then moved to Bristol and taught in a college of education, setting up the BEd degree. When my children were small, working for the OU kept my brain active. I drifted into school teaching and eventually found my niche in a sixth form college where I stayed for 15 years. I took early retirement at the age of 54 and continued for a few more years teaching part time in another sixth form college.

What have I done in the nine years since our last Reunion? Well it's a long time since I had a day job but I do some private tuition and teach each Easter at a revision course at GCSE and A level. After 50 years I still enjoy my subject.

I'm involved as a volunteer both at church and in other organisations, helping international students and academic visitors, and also asylum seekers with English conversation. During the autumn and spring I was part of a knitting group for the latter, teaching women to knit simple items. It was also a social gathering. I was asked recently to become a member of the committee of the local l'Arche community for adults with learning disabilities so all in all I'm pretty busy.

I also find time to help with my grandchildren. I go to Bristol during school holidays to look after two grandsons (4 and 7). Their father is continuing the family tradition for mathematics; he is professor of modelling of infectious diseases. The other son is more of a numbers person and works in finance here in Manchester . He has recently become the father of twin boys. It's challenging looking after two babies at the same time. My grown up granddaughter is doing a nursing degree.

As for leisure, I enjoy time with friends here and around the UK and also try to keep my German going by visiting German speaking countries at least once a year. Some of you will remember that as part of my MA I did Ordinary German and would have done Mathematics and German if it had been an option in those days.

It's good to be fit and active and to make good use of my time as at our advanced age we don't know how much longer that will continue. Will we have a 60th reunion?!