All in a Day's Work

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Anyone who's ever queued for their steamed sponge and custard in the hallowed halls of the Refectory can't have failed to come across Simin Taghavi, the most friendly cashier this side of the pond. Ever ready to flash a smile and a witty aside to her work-weary customers, Simin tells us a bit about herself and her work.

I've worked at the University for about 14 years. I came to England from Iran about 15 years ago - well, first we came to Scotland, where my husband and I were both studying. My husband is an organic chemist, and he got his PhD from this University. Two of my children also studied at this University. They both studied law, and I have a son who is studying law now at King's College. All of my children are doing really well, and I'm very glad we stayed in England all this time so that they could have a good education and feel settled. I do love England, although I miss my country.

In the time I've been working here, many people have come and gone, and I miss lots of them - we get on really well. There is one lady who's been here 27 years, but I don't think I'd like to stay that long! The thing I like most about my job is being around students. I love the students - really, truly I do. Some of them even call me Mum! Sometimes people who used to be students here years ago come back and even when they've changed a lot I still recognise them and say hello. And the ladies who come from the offices....I'm friendly with them as well. The situation at the University, with students around me all the time - that makes me love my job. And I have lovely managers as well.

I spend most of my time here on the tills, although I used to do a lot of work at the counter too, serving the food to people. I never make the food, although sometimes I wish I could cook for people a lovely Iranian dish. In Iran we use a lot of rice, and a lot of saffron. There are so many different kinds of food served here - Indian, Italian, Greek - that it would be nice for them to try Iranian as well. I do get free meals here, so I can recommend the food properly myself. The promotion nights are really good: curry night is lovely, you should come and have a look. They do an offer which allows you to get a £1 off the next meal you have. It's a really good idea.

I have worked very hard in my job over the years. It is very important to me to support my family, and by doing a lot of work I have made sure that they can concentrate on their studies and never have to worry about working. I try to support the students with their work too. Sometimes they come to me and say "I'm going to give up, I can't do exams." I say to them "I would like you to come back and tell me, please, when you've had your exam, how it was."

The students often say to me "We're all going drinking tonight" and I say "No, you must stay home and study". They are young, they want to go out - I say, yes, go out - but you must keep working too.