It seems like only yesterday when I met my future amazing wife Philippa (nee Swaby K84) in a Marley Court kitchen but the reality is that it was a long, long time ago way back in the autumn of 1987, the day after “the Great Storm”. Next week we will be celebrating 26 years of marriage.
She was a housemate of a friend of mine and I was living in Thornden Court with four other friends from my second year. Amazingly, two of these, Simon Field (R85) and Ian Dewing (R85) also went on to marry partners they met at Kent. Another friend of mine, Lawrence Gold (K85) also married a Kent graduate, Donna Glasscock (K85).
We have been living in Perth, Australia for the past 13 years and are now Australian citizens. In 2013 we made it back to Kent for a 25 year post graduation reunion with my housemates from Thornden Court. I’ve attached a few photos taken of my family at the time. Henry will be 13 next month and Bronagh 11. Bronagh’s name is partially an acknowledgement of my Irish ancestry but the idea from the name came from a Bronagh I met during my third year at Kent. I was struck by what an amazingly lovely name she had which stuck in my mind over the years.
During our visit we also went out to the house Philippa rented over the 1985/86 academic year. As she walked up the road towards the house she recognised her original landlord and landlady who were preparing the house to rent to new students that coming academic year. You could not make that up!