Exam Revision 1983

October 1981 to June 1982 - 1st Year

A three year BSc. (Hons.) course in Biochemistry and Applied Molecular Biology at UMIST.

UMIST Biochemistry Lab 1981                                                                                                  Me and William Duffield, Grosvenor Place, 1981

Compulsory 1st Year Toga Party - Grosvenor Place                          1st Year Biochemistry, UMIST, 1981

My room - EC5 Grosvenor Place

Grosvenor Place

Sarah                                                                                                                                                 Liz

Mark Bamford   ("Bambi")                                                                                        Maria

Lorraine Clarke and Martin Preston                                       Richard Smith ("Dork")

Steve Wilson                                                                                                 Geoff Smith - without whom I'd never have passed first year maths.

Maria                                                                                   Dave Profit

Jean                                                                                                                                               Sally

The Lazy Summer of 1982

Allyson - English Lake District Mountain Stream - Summer 1982

Allyson with her sister - Mountain Stream in the English Lakes

Me, on a waterfall in Langdale,  Lake District, Summer of '82                             Dork,  Langdale Campsite, 1982

1982 to 1983 - Second Year

Lingbeck Crescent Moss Side - 2nd Year 1982

Sarah and Narrah                                                                                      Jane Parslew

Moss                                                                              Bog                                                                                            Pete

Summer 1983

Stone Henge Free Festival - June 2003

.....most of the summer was spent in the Philippines

Me, Warren and Adam, Whitechapel 1983

Lacey Green                                                                         Niki Barker, Warren Green, Adam Jones - British Rail bar at St. Pancras Station

1983 to 1984 - Final Year at UMIST

Final Year Research Project - which was published

Malcolm J. MacDonald                                                                         UMIST Biochemistry Lecture

My final year undergraduate research project was completed with the excellent support and guidance of Malcolm MacDonald, a very knowledgeable and patient post-doctorate researcher at UMIST.  He made the work enjoyable and understandable, which motivated me to the point where I spent many nights in the lab completing various assays.  The work was imaginatively entitled "Regulation of intracellular cyclic AMP levels in the white-rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium during the onset of idiophasic metabolism".  As you can imagine it was a truly riveting read and was accepted for publication in "Archives of Microbiology" a few months later!  To witness this towering monument to academia click here. 
 

Owen's Cellar Bar Heavy Rock Disco - 1984                                                                                                Jane Parslew

Cellar Bar                                                                        Nessa, Sharden, Mort

Girls night in....                                                                                                 Rare night in...

Denise Byrne ("Den") and Sharden                                                                         Denty, Nessa, Sharden, Mort

Dork                                                                                                                          Denty

Nessa McHugh                                                                                       Dave Profit                                         Me in a suit - interviews before finals!

Finals Revision 1984

Finals Revision - Holm Farm in The New Forest

The final term of our three year course was spent studying for the 5 three-hour exams which would decide our degree class.  I'd already passed the first and second year exams, completed the practical assessments and written up my research project.  There were no lectures or practicals so there was no need to be at the university.  Martin's parents had decided to take a long driving holiday around  Russia and asked us to look after their lovely house on the edge of the New Forest, and feed their geese, donkeys, cats and other wildlife.  We agreed as this seemed an ideal revision location, free from the diversions of friends, nightlife and other students.  We set ourselves a stringent revision timetable giving ourselves only Saturday night and Sunday free from study.  We even agreed to study in different rooms of this huge house so as not to disturb each other.  A gentle routine of early rising, feeding the animals, cooking a goose egg for breakfast, study, lunch, study, dinner was in order......unfortunately, as you can see below, we didn't anticipate the presence of one of Martin's lovelier neighbours....the biggest distraction of all.

Me                                                                                                                             Martin Preston

Martin Preston                                                                                                                                         The Distracting Ingar

I was trying to study for my finals but....

Despite the overwhelming odds we did actually manage to get some work done.  I studied in a room with a beautiful view over the garden and swimming pool, with a wood burning stove for warmth.  We took regular breaks for coffee and meals and would often walk the short distance into the New Forest to clear our heads.  Martin, as ever, was excellent company. 

The actual finals were a month of pure hell, interspersed with interviews.  The final distraction was actually being offered a job a week before the final exams began which seemed to necessitate some sort of celebration.

After the last exam Martin and I trooped off to see a production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show before performing our annual pilgrimage to the Stone Henge Free Festival over the summer solstice.  This was a perfect place to chill out after the pressure of examinations.  We sat round the camp fire each evening watching Martin as he ceremoniously burnt his entire set of biochemistry notes - a carefully planned ritual to signify our moving on......

Stone Henge Festival - 1984      Martin                                                                           Hutch

Stone Henge Festival - Summer Solstice 1984

Summer 1984

Ingar                                                                                                                      Claire Allen                             Helen Ramsay, Bedford Regatta1984  

Mike Pead, Julia Gillman, Me, Chris Downs, Colin Hutchinson ("Hutch") -  Bedford Regatta 1984

Hitching to the Lake District 1984                                                                        Adam Jones and Me,  Langdale, Lake District 1984

Olde Dungeon Ghyll Pub                                           Me with Camera 1984