The Memory Bank

The year I got my doctorate, in 1969, there were 23 lecturing jobs I could have applied for in Britain; and at least one had no applicants. The fifteen new universities that had just been created were still recruiting and their graduate students had not yet reached the market. The situation quickly turned to one of job scarcity; and Heath’s government chose this moment to announce a pay review that included the polytechnics and teachers training colleges as well as the universities. The lecturers’ union, the Association of University Teachers (AUT), chose to stay out on the grounds that we were part of the ruling class, the Civil List, and should not be considered with the others. Continue reading ‘How my generation let down our students’ »

…be cheerful, sir. Our revels now are ended. These our actors, As I foretold you, were all spirits, and Are melted into air, into thin air. — The Tempest IV: I, 147

There is a shop near our local park that sells little girls’ ballet dresses. The yellowing models in the window do not speak of a thriving enterprise. When I tell English or American visitors that there are still lots of specialist shops like this in Paris, they invariably ask, “Yes, but do they make money?” Wrong question. The family of the old lady who runs this one is happy to subsidize her – it gets her out of the house; it grants her the company of children; it is what she likes to do; and she may even contribute something towards expenses. It doesn’t matter if she makes a profit or not. Continue reading ‘Varieties of national economy’ »