In October 1959, with a joinery apprenticeship plus shop joinery and hours of evening study under my belt, I arrived in Manchester to commence my studies for a BSc Tech.
A faculty member, Dr Morgan, who was a geologist, had been commissioned to shepherd a group of us through the initiation process. I recall well his wise counsel that there were three extracurricular activities in which an undergraduate should engage: 1) Support the Hallé orchestra; 2) Support one of the two Manchester football teams; 3) Read the Manchester Guardian.
I enthusiastically adopted 1 and 3, and sporadically 2.
Both the Manchester Guardian and I subsequently moved to London, the Manchester Guardian becoming the Guardian while I became a civil engineer.
Eventually, I moved to Canada: the first step in a peripatetic career executing construction projects.
The Guardian Weekly has been of enormous importance to me. At times I have been located in very remote circumstances. Sometimes it has arrived via diplomatic bag, sometimes hand-carried by a visiting colleague, sometimes in batches of several copies.
I am retired, over 80, and living in the beauty of Canada’s Annapolis valley. The Weekly arrives every Tuesday, weather permitting, in my mailbox. Every copy gets thoroughly read and passed on to other readers.
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