'Our Keele' Standout Moment!

Mark Holtz (1993) Horsing Around

There used to be a bloke who'd ride a horse through campus, and tether it outside Union Square while he went for a drink. I asked him once if the horse wanted a drink as well. His reply was "No, he's on antibiotics".

The Keele Oral History Project David Stephen Williams (1995) Baby Graduate

It is reminiscent of my life, as I met my wife during my year abroad and even married her before bringing her back to Keele with me for my final year. It wasn't really a moment, per se, though, and wasn't actually at Keele. She went on to become a Keele student too though, while I stayed on to work towards a PhD, and the first of our three children was probably the first baby to attend chemistry, German, classics and biology lectures... or to wear a graduation hat at my graduation, at the tender age of 7 months.

Rachel Burkinshaw (1999) Study Abroad

Mine was definitely my semester studying abroad. I ended up at Ottawa University, met my now husband there and we're now 13 and a half years of marriage and 2 children on!

Mike Beattie (2002) Smitten

26th September 2001 - A day that will live in infamy. The day I first clapped eyes on my halls neighbour, Helen Ashpool. I was smitten. While the final academic year didn't work out as well as expected for me, I fell head over heels for the girl. Long story short, Helen Ashpool is now Helen Beattie (2002) and we now have Caitlyn added to the family.

Kathryn Darragh-(1996) Hospital Pulp

My great memories included meeting both Blur and Pulp, on separate occasions, backstage after they'd performed in the ballroom... must have been around 1995. Jarvis Cocker said he thought the university campus looked like a hospital!

Peer Schmitz (1985) Soaring

The Keele Oral History Project Once upon a time, on a very fine Keele University summer sunny day, me and five friends pass by O-Block in Horwood, you know, the big tower block that has at least 10 floors and where every student has a room with a window that only opens sliding down horizontally. We were on the way home from the refectory. As our group passes by O-Block, on the top floor a student room window slides open, and at the window, appears a student, holding in his hand, the most perfect paper airplane the world has ever seen. It must have taken hours to make. It was lovely and perfect and only waiting to discover the distant reaches of the blue skies of the glistening sunshine outside of the window in the top floor. So our group of people stops dead in its tracks. In awe, we look and await to watch the most amazing paper airplane display that is evidently about to commence. No-one spoke a word. All our eyes are glued on the airplane, as the student throws the airplane. And off it goes!

It flies and flies and in throws of lovely turns excites all it should with its perfect display of whirls and twirls, just the way we always wanted the perfect paper airplane to be. It flies at least 30-40 metres away from its launch site. And THEN. The paper airplane turns back towards O-Block, and approaches the third floor, which coincidentally had a window that was standing open, only ONE INCH wide. And you guessed it. It flew straight and perfectly into the window without touching any sides. The next thing you know is a totally perplexed and confused student appears in the third floor window, opening the window with said airplane in hand, and looking around desperately trying to figure out how the hell someone got a paper airplane into his window on the third floor. At this very moment and before the student with the airplane has a chance to look up, the very quick thinking and wise student on the top floor, closes his window. And all the third floor student was left to witness, was six people breaking down in the street in laughter and in tears. I shall never forget that as long as I live.

Photo: an early aerial view of Horwood