Nostalgia Interviews with Chris Deacy

My guest this week is Justin Pugh with whom I went to school in the 1980s. Justin recalls those days of playing cricket at lunchtimes and the two of us reflect on our years at the Bishop of Llandaff Church-in-Wales High School in Cardiff.

Justin talks about how Cardiff has changed since the 1970s when it had a much lower profile, and how since the 1990s Cardiff suddenly became cool, and Justin refers to how the city flows through his veins. We reflect on the devolution campaign of 1997 and how Justin speaks Welsh as a second language.

Justin has been fascinated by the cause of the Liberal Party since he was young and we learn why David Lloyd George and Harold Wilson are among his political heroes, and why he thinks David Steel was misrepresented on Spitting Image, as well as how some politicians can grow on us when they are out of office.

Justin has always liked classical music and ska and he talks about what he thinks is the golden age of cinema and how Julie Christie was a teenage heartthrob of his.

Justin studied Economics at university but wishes he had done something different, and he discusses how it is better to do something one is interested in as that motivations you to hit the top grades.

Justin nearly did a Masters in Psychology and is doing an NVQ in Counselling. He has a particular interest in Wellbeing, and we talk about how there was more of a stigma around mental health a few decades ago when people who were perceived as different were derided. We talk about experiences of bullying in school and the need to know why people behaved in the way that they did. The negative things that happened in the past do impact on our present, and Justin reflects on how it isn’t acceptable to say ‘just move on’.

Justin talks about what student life was like for him living at home, how it was a largely yuppie culture which he was watching from the outside in, and how the world is a lot less innocent now than it was a few decades ago.

Justin has been collecting toys and other mementos from the 1970s and the effort one might go to in order to find them, and how it can deepen existing friendships – as he recently discovered through watching an old Tom Baker set of Doctor Who episodes with a friend which took him back to his childhood.

Then, at the end of the interview, we discover why Justin ringfences positive memories and why he believes everything happens for a purpose which can make us a better person for it. We learn what his younger self wanted to be, why it is good to have role models to aspire to, how it is important not to get too isolated, and we discover whether Justin is a looking back or a looking forward type of person.

My guest this week is Emma Astra, based in Leicester, who is writing a Diary of a Disabled PhD student. We talk about pilgrimage journeys and the notion of doing a PhD as a pilgrimage journey.

Emma talks about her chronic illness and how it impacts on her ability to travel to places. We learn about her three wheelchairs and all the different makes and models she has had to navigate, and Emma talks about an artist who is making a non-disabled person feel like they are in the shoes of a disabled person. Emma also reflects on how technology has opened up a whole new world for disabled people.

We learn how the return to physical meetings and classes has posed a problem for Emma, and we discuss how technology will evolve post-Covid.

We talk about the days of queuing up to use the phone and renting TVs, and Emma shares a wonderful anecdote about hiding from the TV rental man.

We learn about Emma’s PhD and how she has done something really innovative. She talks about referencing academics who wrote about a council estate in Leicester which they had never lived in and which anyone who lived there wouldn’t recognize.

We find out how the creative writing aspect of a PhD appeals and what they teach us about social issues. It will be more of a novel than a traditional PhD, and Emma also talks about how there are many people in the media with hidden disabilities.

Emma tells us why last year was the Year of Death as many people she knows died and Emma talks about Leicester-based Sue Townsend and the letters she received after she opened up about her disability in later life and the added labour that has to be done by disabled PhD students.

Then, at the end of the interview, Emma reflects on how the twists and turns we experience in life make us who we are as a person. We learn what she always dreamed of doing from a young age and we find out whether she looks back or forward and how bad experiences can be put to good use, as well as the importance of exploring.

My guest this week is David Mannion, weightlifter and astronomer, who often gives cruise ship lectures on astronomy. He was a teacher for over 30 years, and Head of Physics at a grammar school in Kent. We find out how David got into astronomy, and he reflects on whether we will ever go to Mars and we learn about his specific driver for space interest, as well as about how we calculate the age of the universe, of which we know only five per cent.

David discusses his thoughts around teaching, and why teachers should be paid more, and we find out about the educational journey that follows, and why he doesn’t think that university is necessarily right for everyone. We discuss too the 11-plus and the concept of being 'in the middle of the road', as well as why Brian Cox is quite an atypical astronomer.

We talk about how we measure happiness, and whether people who do well at interviews are necessarily good at the job they subsequently go on to do. We discuss how money doesn’t always reflect someone’s worth, as in the case of some footballers vs. those in the caring profession.

David gives his thoughts on whether we can judge people for what they said in a different era to now, and we reflect on how if we were to take a different part of someone’s life to the one we are familiar with then history would judge them very differently.

Then, at the end of the interview, David reveals why he remembers the good times, and why nostalgia is great so long as one doesn’t have regrets.

My guest this week is Dr Nikolaos Karydis, Senior Lecturer in Architecture at the University of Kent. Nikos and I have a twin passion for cinema and radio, and we begin our conversation by talking about the way architecture is represented in movies and why films tend to present alternative architect lives to what happens in the real world.

Nikos grew up in Athens before moving to the UK, and we hear about what attracted him to architecture in the mid-1990s via furniture design, and about how his field now is architectural history and the architecture of churches. We discuss the concept of the journey of discovery and whether we could ever have anticipated the final destination, as well as about the role of serendipity in shaping us.

Nikos and I talk about the way limitations can sometimes generate great creativity, and why improvisation is essential, before moving on to discuss classical music and especially the piano, and the use of such music in Kubrick’s cinema, together with the use of contrasts and counterpoints.

Nikos and I discuss empathy in cinema, and how cinema was very specific in Greece when he was growing up. Cinema was a window to the world like no other. We talk about the ritual of going to the cinema, and the tradition of open air cinemas, as well as about how Nikos perceives Greece and his childhood now in the days since the internet.

We reflect on pilgrimage and the pursuit of knowledge and how it is not just the holy relic of the destination but the ritual and path there that is important. We also learn about Nikos’ passion for Radio 3, and how we can travel in time through those broadcasts, and the curation of radio programmes.

Then, towards the end of the interview, we learn why Nikos is an optimist, and how our response to adversity can be positive. We find out how he couldn’t imagine having followed a different pathway and about accident and our response to it in relation to North By Northwest. Would we both like to be Roger Thornhill? We also find out about the recapturing of lost dreams and worlds (and buildings) that play a key role in Nikos’ life.

My guest this week is Wendy Dossett, whom I have known for around 30 years from when we were both based at the University of Wales, Lampeter. Wendy is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Chester, specializing in Buddhism, and has more recently been studying Addiction Recovery Spirituality. Wendy grew up in Hastings and we talk about what it is like to return to the place of one’s birth and the teachers who actively chose to teach in a school with challenges.

We find out about Wendy’s love of live music, the first gigs she went to, and how she got into American protest music, Bob Dylan and Two-Tone. We talk about pop nostalgia and the importance of lyrics and the ‘moment in timeness’ of seeing an artist live as well as about cover versions and how they match up.

Wendy discusses why she studied English and Religious Studies at university. Her mum was an Anglican and her dad was interested in the paranormal, and we find out about her interest in ‘meaning of life’ questions and against whom she might have been rebelling.

We discuss the interplay between Buddhism and nostalgia, and the changing nature of the self. Wendy reflects on the past in the light of addiction recovery and the notion that change is possible, and we find out about the project that Wendy has undertaken around such fellowships and the concept of Higher Power. Wendy focuses on the notion of recovery and the moving forward element to it.

We talk about the living element to these terms and the importance of ‘ordinary experience’ vs. the power dynamics that lead some figures to be presented as authorities, and how it applies to what for example is ‘proper’ Buddhism. This leads to a discussion around power dynamics and who are the legitimated voices in any discourse.

We discuss the alchemy involved when people share their negative experiences of the past, in the context of recovering from addiction, and the notion of ‘busting shame’, and how all of this links with questions of impact in academia, and how we are all struggling human beings. We find out what Wendy’s younger self wanted to become when she was older and whether she looks back more than she looks forward.

My guest this week is Joanne Pettitt, Lecturer in Comparative Literature at the University of Kent. Jo and I begin by talking about the art of teaching and the feeling of history that one gets from reading a physical book and the nostalgia of children’s books.

Jo comes from what she describes as a typical British working class background in Nottingham against the backdrop of the miners’ strikes. She didn’t grow up in an academic environment, and Jo reflects on developing consciousness at university. She developed quite a strong liberal agenda at university, and talks about how this doesn’t always fit with going back.

Jo talks about being a really nostalgic person but having a terrible memory and how university comprises the building blocks of her life. We also discuss whether it is good to go to another institution after graduating for postgraduate study and why some institutions don’t always accommodate people from particular socioeconomic backgrounds.

We learn about Jo’s work in Holocaust Studies, what shapes our academic practice, the limitations when she was growing up of television, and along the way we cover Mr. Blobby, Rodgers & Hammerstein and Jojo Rabbit, as well as why Jo thinks it is useful to read a book twice (and why she lost her love of reading for reading’s sake), diaries, children’s literature and whether there is a romanticization of childhood.

We also cover how it is the case that there are some things not directly learned in a classroom – one can become more socially aware from, say, going down the pub. We also discuss the necessity of dealing with students who are struggling and why her aim in her job is to be a safe space.

Towards the end of the interview we learn why Jo is quite a positive person, why she has fond memories, and how during Covid we were channelling nostalgia for the Second World War, and that the recent death of Queen Elizabeth II inspired some of the same feelings of nostalgia.

We also find out what Jo wanted to do as a child and why a PhD is not a marker of intellectual prowess. Jo also talks about her peer group and what they are doing now.

My guest this week – and for the second time – is Nichola Zacher, a children’s story writer from Ontario, Canada (see http://marleysdream.com/). Nichola talks about her English roots and how her father worked on the railroad and her mother was a secretary for the Teachers’ Federation.

When she was born, Nichola had an operation and she was written off and told she wouldn’t be able to go to school or live independently. But, she overcame her disability and received extra support in schooling from her father, particularly in maths. 

We learn about her earliest memories and about why Nichola wants to help other children, and she speaks about the importance of unconditional love. We learn how she used to spend her summers and about the music she listened to, including Olivia Newton-John.

We learn about the time when Nichola taught in a hospital day care environment and about the value she places on reading to children.

We discover who the teachers were who inspired her, and the role of Christmas and churches in her life. Religion was important to Nichola when she was growing up, and we talk also about political allegiances.

Nichola became an author after her dad was diagnosed with dementia and she explains why she then decided to buy him a puppy. We also learn about the importance for Nichola of closing the gap of division that people are feeling and how the universal message of love always brings people together.

Things came full circle for Nichola when she looked after her father when he became ill. We also learn that Nichola is in touch with friends from her past and why she isn’t the sort of person who likes to sit still for too long.

My guest this week is Linda M. James, an author, poet, screenwriter and creative writing tutor, originally from Swansea. Linda (who explains the significance of the initial M) tells us why she is nomadic and about to make her 48th move.

Linda has been running writing classes for 20 years, and we find out about her MAs and her historical novels set in the Second World War, especially involving Spitfires. We learn about her flying experience, too – all part of the inspiration for her writing – and she discusses how she draws on her life experiences in her novels.

Linda explains how she had a good singing voice in school but, as a left-handed Protestant in a Catholic school, was told by the nuns who taught her at the age of 11 why she was ‘doubly damned’. This leads us to talk about these unhappy teachers, how it was a harsh environment, but that she had close friends with whom she is still in contact.
We discuss what education is about, and how the discipline she had at school made her something of a rebel. We talk about how it has worked her way through her writing. All her education came after she left school, e.g. at the Open University. Linda talks about how one should never tell someone they can’t do something.
Linda once lived in Vienna where she wrote poetry. We hear about how in Vienna she illegally played Mozart’s piano – and why it would have been worth going to prison for.
Linda reveals her writing process and whether she knows in advance how a story will unfold. She plays with identity in all of her writing and explains why this is in terms of her own background, and why she is fascinated by people’s roots.
We talk about the evolution of friendships and how the students she has taught are imprinted on her. We also find out why she enjoys writing about wartime, and the importance of using different senses when writing. She is a fan of Pat Barker and Kazuo Ishiguro, and we discover too that Linda keeps a diary and why the happier she is the less she writes and how her writing saved her sanity.

My guest this week is Chris Hamilton, with whom I went to school in Cardiff over 30 years ago. Chris is a full time professional (and award-winning) musician and composer who started his career as a lawyer, having gone to Oxford to study Law and worked in the City for a big corporate firm in London and New York. We talk about having gone ‘full circle’ as Chris learned the piano when very young.

We talk about our schooldays and the importance of learning and how Chris loved standing up and performing from a young age. We talk about how school can be a traumatic experience whether you were on the A list or Z list (and we reference a film that is very much a guilty, or not so guilty, pleasure for us both – Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion). We are here because of the past and Chris says that he wouldn’t change any of it.

Chris explains why we are the lucky generation in that we have memories of life pre-social media. He talks about going to India and Egypt on a one way ticket and whether that would be feasible these days.

We discuss social media posts and mental health, and Chris reflects on the different type of people who appear on social media. We talk about what people think about social media, and the implications of what we post, and how we are celebrities in our own little bubbles. We also reflect on the use of algorithms on Facebook and whether we would still post even if our posts received few likes, before moving on to discuss cliques and how we project ourselves.

We talk about Chris’ love of music, too, and how he often performs as the headliner on a cruise ship these days. His parents couldn’t understand though why he would want to give his music up to study Law. We also discuss how we both enjoy hearing the sound of our own voices.

We find out about Chris’ lockdown cabarets and discover that he has learned every Oscar winning song since 1934 as part of his stage shows. Chris asks me about my diaries and I ask Chris about his favourite songs. We also learn that he has composed songs since he was a child, has written a musical, and why he is his own worst critic.

Then, at the end of the interview, we learn that Chris lives in the moment and how he has found that we tend to become more nostalgic as we grow older.

My guest this week is James Kloda who works at the University of Kent in technical support, where he has worked since 2011. James has a background in live events (technical management) and, as we discover, cinema has always been a part of his life.

James talks about how he went to the University of East Anglia to study Drama and English, where he managed to direct his own play. James reflects on the importance of film when growing up in Wolverhampton, when he used to record films off the TV. He was into horror films from the age of 11, and James talks about the joy of using the Radio Times to see what was showing and tick off the films he wanted to watch.

We talk about the solitary nature of cinemagoing and our apprehension of Official Competition (Mariano Cohn & Gastón Duprat, 2021) and whether James has ever considered writing a film blog. James talks about avoiding reviews before a film as he likes ‘the shock of the new’, and we talk about Marvel movies.

He discusses his apprehension of Amélie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001) when it came out and how the second time around he thought very differently about it. We also talk about our respective experiences of watching The Fugitive (Andrew Davis, 1993) at the cinema in 1993.

We learn that James loved listening to music when growing up and why the one sense he couldn’t do without would be hearing. We learn that he and a friend also recorded the John Peel show.

We learn about how James might have gone to university in Manchester and he reflects on what he enjoyed about studying at UEA. He encountered various luminaries there including Peter Ustinov and W.G. Sebald and also read Sight and Sound.

He talks about getting Iain Sinclair down to Kent and we learn about James’ daughter who also has a love of horror.

Then, at the end of the interview we find out what the younger James would have expected he would be doing now, and he reflects on the importance of aspiration, why he wouldn’t mind one day moving to Bristol, and we end with a really touching story with an intergenerational dimension around the imminent funeral of his father’s best friend of nearly 60 years.