Thames Polytechnic

Thames Polytechnic

While not exactly Oxford or Cambridge, it did have a good reputation as a vocational engineering college, and these days University of Greenwich is quite highly thought of.
I lived for the first year in the halls of residence, a converted office block made into apartments by sticking a load of breeze blocks in place. Comparisons to prison were inevitable. The location of my room meant that I ended up being friendly with Chris, other Chris, Julian, Mark, Howard and Brian, my fellow floor mates.

I was extremely home-sick in the first term, perhaps for much of the first year. But by Xmas I was beginning to find my feet. I put on a lot of weight which didn't help. I felt incredibly self-conscious about it. college wasn't what I thought it would be - a hotbed of radicalism and left field taste in music and the arts. I immediately met up with largely conservative northerners who wanted to be managers, supported Thatcher and loved Iron Maiden or Phil Collins. It was worse than what I'd left behind.

the front entrance 

London Marathon early in 1996 went past our Halls. It started in Woolwich – two separate starts joined together at top of Wellington St. I saw the Sad Man Jimmy Saville. Also saw a nearly as sad man – whoever it is that used to run as an emu every year – Bernie Clifton??

At Thames Poly I started out being mostly miserable. I thought everyone there would be cool. How wrong could I be? There were some real reactionary types in the Halls of Residence. After I was moved in by my parents, and sent them on their way (puh-lease!) I tried to meet people, get myself organised etc. The music I played was supposed to impress people with what good taste I have. but my first Sunday night I found it just as difficult to socialise as ever. There was a northern kid (Chris Monroe? - there were many chris's) who I was on friendly terms throughout the first year just cos we talked to each other first, someone from Northern Ireland who was into Cult/U2/Simple Minds shite. Early on I met Chris Meager. He had such bland taste in everything that we ended falling out. He went out of his way to criticise my music, because he took my viewpoints personally. I was very vocal about what I liked and was very forthright about how crap the mainstream was. I didn’t intend to criticise what Chris liked, at first I didn't know what he liked; I think I assumed that anyone who was at Poly would have better taste.

back entrance - which we'd mostly use walking between lectures

However he was my first “friend” and through him I met others. College itself was good. I enjoyed learning. The people on my course did not fire my enthusiasm. There was a girl who seemed quite attractive at the time, and there was always a little band of blokes hovering around her. I considered myself a geek, or untouchable so never tried to talk to her. Not until the end of the year anyway when she turned out to be very approachable and easygoing. I liked her quite a lot. But I talked to Jackie first. Nearly 30 when she started there, wore mainly long black skirts or jeans, was into Heavy Metal. We became good friends.

I got to know two blokes who were more my style, eccentric but kinda cool -  a trendy, but into alternative stuff type, and his dorky mate who did TA at weekends. We were in same group for practical sessions. When I was really lonely I tried to become closer friends to these two, but never succeeded. 

Also tried making headway with political contacts early on, particularly Clause 4 people, Owen Tudor and his mob, but gave up on that within a few months after attending a New Marxist seminar at Goldsmiths College. Incidentally I did meet Billy Bragg and Neil Kinnock and ended up loaning Billy my Guardian to read the football results and Neil joined us, and the discussion went from football to American folk music. I couldn't believe I was actually there. And I had to be there because Billy had my Guardian in his hand - I wanted it back! 

Can’t remember how I started talking to Dave and Harvey, but it was probably Dave who talked to me first. And it was almost certainly about music. We shared musical likes, though he was way more knowledgeable and a capable musician too, and I was able to bounce my explorations off of him. We ended up with parallel musical tastes. Although I had dangerously mainstream tendencies at times. Less so these days. 

Went to the cellar bar in first week and stood about drinking, unable to talk to anyone. When The Smiths came on I had to leave – I was so depressed. I felt safe in my room, with music, a small B&W portable I had bought. I ate comfort foods and got fat. My exercise had stopped. Chrsi M. introduced me to Chris P, Howard and Paul Simon. Although I felt left out a lot of the time they became the group of people most important to me while at TP (as my friends sister put it, all the losers found each other). I got invited to the pub and everyone got knocked up. Then this depressed hippy type got knocked up, called Mark. He said he wanted to watch the gardening programmes and infuriated everyone. Still, we went out to the DG on Wellington St. I stared at the girls and looked an idiot. It was clearly, looking back, dysphoria at work. I so wanted to be a girl, and among women rather than out with the lads. Even then I way preferred female company and it was nothing to do with sex. 

Started going to gigs with Dave. We saw the Wedding Present and Soup Dragons. There were others too. Went to see The Fall, who I already liked, from the Beggars Banquet sampler tape that came out earlier in the year, and from John Peel. It was in the Coronet. I got roped into giving leaflets out before the gig by the Labour Society. They mainly got used as paper aeroplanes during the gig.  I’m pleased that I helped influence a Fall gig in such an important way.

Met bloke called Paul Harvey who if anything was more of a depress-head than me. He was into Factory stuff especially New Order (claimed he hung out in their studio and I don't think he was one for fantasy or hyperbole) and African guitar stuff. I enjoyed sitting in his room listening to music. In fact I really liked the guy but the bond of friendship never sparked. Plus my suppressed bisexuality - I might have scared guys away quite a lot. 

Visited Phil Ratcliffe one day at Middlesex Poly. Never went again. Was it after Christmas? It felt awkward. I was offered a drink and we sat in his room and talked. I never asked to visit and was never invited again. No more friendship.

Early on I joined two Student Socs. The Ski Soc - and I went skiing once on the army ski slope in Woolwich. Felt so out of place, though I could ski, and the artificial slop wasn't really much fun, I never went again.  Also joined the Labour Soc which was a defacto branch of the Labour Party. Was elected by Labour Soc to sit on Constituency Committee. But they rejected my membership. The party was mired up in infighting and anti left witch hunts at the time. I'd been slightly active in Plymouth against the Militant Tendancy which to my mind was true interventionism and anti-democratic, and I opposed their agenda, but it had got silly and people like me were being blacklisted. So I said stuff it and left the Labour Soc. And within 4 years had left the party, only rejoining after Corbyn was elected leader. 

The first term was mainly depression, especially after sun-set (the off-licenses all shut early when i needed them as well), not fitting in, panicking about the work-load, eating and gettng fat. I had a terrible hair style, greased back, long and messy, and an ever expanding waste line. I’d given up with my hair. Wore pseudo combat jacket and jeans. The pictures I have of me from them show someone who is into left politics, a bit, but not too, overweight, obviously a politically conscious student. A cross between Rik and Neil from the Young Ones.

I was aware of my physical decline, having been quite fit, and tried going jogging but ran into people I knew once too often so stopped – didn’t want to be seen. Later in the year it occurred to me to bring my bike up to London. I really missed cycling.

I was extremely home-sick in the first term, perhaps for much of the first year. But by xmas I was beginning to find my feet. The weight gain didn't help. I felt incredibly self-conscious about it.

Met up with people from school and we compared experiences. I think it was then I arranged to visit Phil.

Nipping out for kebabs when meal was unplatable, which was often. Occasionally managed to get up for breakfast. Very occasionally. Ended up sitting at table with “the lads”. Invented the art of squeezing the condiment sachets so the contents flew across the table at those sitting opposite. I had one hit the pillar we were next to, and it stayed there till end of term. Someone stuck a bit of paper to it and that stayed there too.

Tried going jogging but ran into people I knew so stopped – didn’t want to be seen.

Woolwich college     
Had to walk there turn right at Thames and walk for 15 minutes.

It was technical college. Electronics tutor was right wing and reminded me of Micheal Caine. Had a go at me one day when I was wearing my boycott News International badge.

Made useless electronic things. Sat in class-room and soldered things onto a board. I’d never soldered anything before, and the object of this exercise was purely about learning how  to solder electronic components.

Made a dimmer switch – mine worked.

The other part of the course involved mechanical engineering. Using a lathe for instance. It was really an extension of metal-work at school but using precision tools.

Practical work
Found the recording aspect of practical work a bit stressful – report writing. Though I managed it. Sometimes having to falsify my results as the practical work didn’t.

Electrical lab – ground floor, Riverside House. An annexe. Can’t remember any of the tests but guess they involved quite basic electrical principles.

Was paired with black guy in these practicals – never became really friendly with him. I guess racism or fear of it kept people in their own groups and I wasn't exactly self aware in those days - even though I had done a fair bit of challenging racism in my community and in my family, I hadn't done much of challenging myself. 

the old entrance: where the bars were

bitz

Drew judges Bowie and Jagger for 2000AD but didn’t get published. Photocopied it on machine in Poly library using my magnetic card.

Drew quite a lot in 1st year. Particularly women wearing nice clothes.

There was a girl who I hung out with for a while – and I really liked her, but she was even more self deprecating than I was and unbelievably told me I was too good for her. We went to gigs together, hung out, but drifted apart. Maybe that was my fault. She was almost a first girlfriend except that we never framed it like that – we were just friends. Dave thought we were going out though - I found out a year later - because he was jealous, he liked her too. But nothing happened, beyond hanging out and I didn't ever want anything to happen. to me it's clear this was my need for female friendship - like most women, i wanted women as friends. I got on better wiht women. But most women are very wary of men and at that point on the surface, I appeared to be a man. It used to hurt and it damaged my brain I think, because none of it made sense. 

Fluid mechanics lab - involved empirical testing and quite involved reports. To bloke with no hair, about 50. Mainly sending water through pipes and things and observing its behaviour compared to previously recorded data.

Second year practical work was the best. I even managed to work the fall into one exercise involving reproduction of sound comparing bandwiths, noise levels, audio and digital (reducing the number of bits until music became unlistenable) using diferent forms of sound. Voice, classical music, and I used The Fall too – extra category. I went into lab one day waving my wads and shouting “loadsamony”. It was actually money for rent which I was paying to Pathak later that day. Voice was the most enduring and only needed a very narrow bandwidth. The Fall seemed to improve with higher noise and narrower bandwidth. Classical music, as you can imagine, did not survive for long.

I think I had to make decisions about what bandwidths I would allow for, say, Hi Fi, telephones, television, etc.