25 years ago I graduated from Portsmouth Polytechnic with a degree in Computer Science. That’s me on the left on the steps of the Guildhall looking suitably excited about collecting my degree along with my friends Dirk and Andy.
Wind forward 25 years to last Tuesday and I was back on the same steps but this time behind the camera as our eldest son went to his graduation. It was a truly odd experience to go through the same process but from the outside looking in. In fact it’s been eerie for the whole last three years as Alex has trod the same streets in pursuit of his degree as I did all those years ago.
While we were on different courses we did at one point share the same lecture theatres at Mildam, although I have to say that the buildings have been done up considerably since I was there. This injection of money has also improved all the facilities, including the halls of residence which I wasn’t able to attend due to insufficient space being farmed out to a guest house in Southsea where all sorts of things went on that would fill a separate blog post.
I like Portsmouth greatly. It’s a compact city and eminently walkable, which was one of Alex’s criteria for selecting a university in the first place. Actually strictly speaking his principal criteria was that there had to be an HMW within easy walking distance. It has to be said that Alex has fared far better over the last three years than HMW and I strongly suspect he spent very little time there along with everyone else which is the reason for their nose dive.
And now the next big challenge begins for Alex as he looks to move onto the next stage in his life, which he should do with ease should Michael Gove keep his fingers out of the education system. Of course teaching is just a stopgap until he can keep Helen and I in the manner we would like to become accustomed to through his book sales!
oh my god not only are Alex and u twins but so are ur best mates….