I studied Engineering Science at Durham University from 1979-82 and was a member of St. Cuthbert’s Society. Durham operates a collegiate system but unlike the other colleges with large halls of residence to accomodate the students Cuths has only a small number of residential students and the rest “live out”. I spent my first year in residence in the South Bailey – at the end of the peninsular formed by the river Wear. But for my second and third years I lived out at the Shafto Arms in Langley Moor. This was a pub that had been converted into student accommodation in a small mining village a few miles outside Durham.
My fellow “Cuths Engineers” who also lived at Shafto were :
Tim DREW
Simon HAYE
John KIDD (Pongo)
Steve BARRETT
The main picture above was taken on Palace Green after our graduation ceremony in 1982.
Living out meant that we needed our own transport and being engineers we managed to run and maintain a motley collection of sometimes working vehicles.
My memory is a little hazy but I think Simon had a Honda 400/4 that he rode up from Reading each term but after a cam chain problem and dropping oil all over the Cuths courtyard he upgraded to a Yamaha XS750 with a very loud Marving pipe. I can remember Tim having a Ford Escort van and Pongo had a very new yellow Mini. Steve had a Honda 550/4 (I had an identical one) and then an Escort van (identical to Tim’s) and finally a VW Scirocco. I started with the Honda 550/4, then a Honda 750 Phil Read Replica and finally a Honda CBX 1000.
Lots of stories I could tell if I could remember them but at least I have managed to unearth some old photographs as memoroy joggers…
