Young fools, drama queens and great friends

Those who have read this blog for a while might remember a post from last year about meeting up in London with my old university friends.

We made plans to reconvene in Sheffield this year, since it is the 30th anniversary of our graduation.

The eagle-eyed among you will notice a change; Alex couldn't come this time, but Jane travelled over from France to join us. 

It all started here, the University of Sheffield's Theatre Workshop.

Andrew, Jane, me, Martin and Clare.

None of us have been back in this space for 30 years. It contains a lot of memories.

Martin, Jane, Clare, Alex, Annabel (where are you?) and Martin in the workshop in 1984.

And top row, middle, there's Sue, our lovely friend who is no longer with us. We missed her.

(That's me, bottom right.)

Oh the masks we wore; hopefully, we realise we no longer need them. 

It was a strange and fascinating experience, wandering around this place where we spent so much time all those years ago. Parts of it, I barely remembered (although it has changed, of course) while other areas brought back strong memories which packed a visceral punch.

There were no mannequins back in our day, and no prop store either, but of course there was a lighting tower...

look, there are Alex and Martin up on top of it.

I must give credit to a lovely man called Rob, who is the theatre and productions manager at the university. I emailed him to ask if there was any way we could have a nosy round, and he was kind enough to agree to this strange request, not only meeting us on a Saturday but spending lots of time showing us round, and taking us into the Drama Studio as well.

We really did appreciate it. 

This former Baptist church was converted into a Drama Studio in 1970; evidence of its ecclesiastical past is evident inside as well as out. 

Five characters in search of their history...

which appears to have made them thoughtful and amused in equal measure.

We had a wander around the university campus;

we had our lectures in the Arts Tower, which was sadly closed so we were unable to revisit the famous paternoster lift, but the Octagon Centre was open as it was being set up for graduation ceremonies. 

That's where this photo was taken in 1985.

We strolled through the Botanical Gardens, much improved since the 1980s...

as are we. We toasted absent friends...

and ended up at Thyme Cafe for a delicious meal.

1985; the miners' strike ended and Eastenders began, the wreck of the Titanic was located, the disaster at Heysel stadium led to English football clubs being banned from Europe, 17 year old Boris Becker won Wimbledon, riots occurred in London, Birmingham and Liverpool, and Live Aid was a phenomenon.

We got into the groove, walked on sunshine, danced in the street, didn't need another hero, ran up that hill, built this city on rock and roll, had a view to a kill, and knew a good heart was hard to find.

We left the safety of university, its protective routine and the friends we had made there, and went our separate ways.

It's good to know that we can come back together and find genuine warmth, great humour, and valued friendship all over again after 30 years.

Rerum Cognoscere Causas; to know the causes of things.

There is always more to discover about life and each other; where to next year, gang?

xxxx