People
Nursery Open Day
Nursery Supervisor, Rosie Jones, writes:
The Nursery was filled with teenagers for a change when it celebrated its 30th anniversary with an Open Day in July. They had all been here as three and four year olds and revisiting awakened many a funny or embarrassing moment for them especially when they saw themselves in old photographs. They all commented on how small everything seems now, and equipment such as the `fire-house', climbing-frame, tunnels and playhouse were recalled by almost everyone. Children who attend the Nursery now also came to visit, some staying for almost the whole day. All the current staff were there, as well as two of the three previous supervisors, and for all of them it was lovely to see how the children they had known as toddlers had blossomed in the intervening years.
We send our very best wishes to those former nursery children who were unable to come to the celebrations. We are hoping to compile a book of memories. If any past parents and children would like to send drawings, photographs or recollections in to the Nursery we would be grateful for contributions.
New Faces
Mark Broom, Maths Lecturer
New recruit to SMS, Dr Mark Broom, has managed to take the birds out
of bird watching. As a statistician he has a healthy interest in
Game-Theory, in particular mathematical models of bird behaviour.
Mark comes to Sussex having spent a year lecturing in Glasgow.
As a
Statistics and Probability Lecturer his advice to all lottery
participants is "forget about it and put your money on the horses.
The odds aren't great either, but they're better than the lottery."
Mark also turns out to be a bit of a mean chess player: "My best
success is when I won an open tournament where there were titled
players competing". Besides other things Mark is "quite keen on real
ale. Although it doesn't help your chess if you do a lot of drinking
with it, beer afterwards is essential."
REUNITED ...and it feels so good
Readers old enough to remember the 1960s will recall the many newspaper
pictures at the time of the Jay twins. Sussex students and daughters of the
then Labour Cabinet Minister Douglas Jay. Most memorably perhaps sliding down
the Library steps in their Courrges boots and mini-skirts. Thirty years on,
the
twins Helen Pennant-Rea (right) and Catherine Boyd were among more than 200
alumni who returned to campus for their Class Reunion. The entrants from the
years 1963 and 1964 (among the first to study at Sussex) broke the attendance
record for reunions organised by the Alumni Office, and campus was buzzing with
excitement. One of the highlights was a discussion led by founding fathers
Professor David Daiches, Lord Asa Briggs and Professor Roger Blin-Stoyle on The
Idea of a New University Revisited. This proved to be a lively debate as to
whether they believed their ideals held in the early days of the University had
been achieved.
Dinner in the evening was followed by a 60s disco which had everyone grooving the night away before returning the following morning to say farewell, swap addresses and have a final look at the memorabilia displays. As the Class of 63/64 drifted away they all agreed with one member who said "...what could have been a disapponting occasion proved to be such a warm experience...I felt really sad when I got home!" So enjoyable was the occasion that another reunion is planned for September 2001.