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Monday 28 February 2011
An encounter with an old friend.
As many of you are aware, I, your beloved Editor-in-chief recently attended an interview at Manchester University in seek of a place among the very corridors the one and only once paced.
I arrived late to my interview after getting caught up in the rain with a friend of mine. As I rudely intruded on the applicants pre-interview talk there were seats only at the front of the room, dragging my self embarrassed to the front I sat down trying to ignore the dirty looks I was getting from the room and the man doing the talk.
You can imagine my shame a couple of hours later when it was the very same man asking me to step into his office. Much to my surprise the reception I got couldn't have been more perfect - to an extent. After a brief chat about how he paid particular my second name, what with the entire educated population of the UK assuming I'm Cornish, the professor stated he was shocked to see I was actually from Oldham. Not just Oldham, that I attend The Blue Coat School Sixth Form. We finally got seated and, I quote: "Yes, I did see that, I couldn't help but notice your reference was written by an S Hall... Might that be a Sarah Hall?"
I should have expected it, I was after all at her University and by this point I was well aware that I was speaking to none other than Adrian Curtis, Senior Lecturer in Hebrew bible studies, if I was going to meet anyone that knew her. It would be him, it is common knowledge that she is a Doctor of Hebrew and that she LOVES Israel. Yet I was still shocked.
He spoke very highly of her, if he wasn't a well respected professor, you'd have thought something had been going on there.. (what with her reputation) but no, he was very polite about her. In fact.. almost didn't stop talking about her. It was unusual, I never thought she would ever help me get into university - based on her teaching standards, but here she was, wrapped up in Adrian Curtis' memory. After this point, it was hard to really separate my life from the fact that she is after all my religious studies teacher (if you hadn't guessed by this point, I want to do theology - this has nothing to do with SRH, it is based on a firm belief in God, I am not one for her atheistic ways and they do not motivate me... haha.) Every time he asked me a question: "What are you studying at the moment in New Testament?" "You wrote you'd like to look at the original Greek an Hebrew, whys that?" and "Why did you chose to study Theology at A Level?" It seemed, as hard as I tried.. everything linked back to her. It was like she was haunting the interview.
Never the less, I don't think I've ever been so grateful to know the woman. No, not when I got an A at GCSE, nor when I scraped through my As level on a C, not those times she helped me revise in my spare time for my resit (which, we are yet to see the results for) not even the day she sat idly by on the bus whilst Jenny Harrison got attacked or when Sophie and Ellie nearly got run over. Nor when she first suggested the Thriller performance of Christmas 2010, dancing around NE24 and not even, when I seek food after a long day and her fruit bowl is always waiting in the office. (That is, an actual fruit bowl - we must remember that this is LMT writing, not DPF.. his fruit bowl would be VERY different...)
As we left the interview, we laughed and joked about the antics of the Atheist we both know and love, the kind man politely walked me back to the interview room even though he had no one left to interview. He was quick to mention Sarah's name again once we got in the room, informing all of how we shared a common interest in SRH. It was at this point when a girl who was a fellow applicant said "I guess its not what you know, its who you know" directly at me. And, though I know she was just jealous of my good looks and charming wit.. I can't help but think there might have been a bit of truth in it. He left requesting that I "tell Sarah to get in contact" as "it would be nice to hear from her."
Yes. I am happy to say I got in on a conditional offer of BBB. Curious thing is a good friend of mine was applying for the very same department; different course, but only marginally and his offer is to get higher grades, at ABB.
I guess its not what you know, its who you know.
It seems even at University I won't be able to escape from mystery that is Sarah Hall.
L x
I arrived late to my interview after getting caught up in the rain with a friend of mine. As I rudely intruded on the applicants pre-interview talk there were seats only at the front of the room, dragging my self embarrassed to the front I sat down trying to ignore the dirty looks I was getting from the room and the man doing the talk.
You can imagine my shame a couple of hours later when it was the very same man asking me to step into his office. Much to my surprise the reception I got couldn't have been more perfect - to an extent. After a brief chat about how he paid particular my second name, what with the entire educated population of the UK assuming I'm Cornish, the professor stated he was shocked to see I was actually from Oldham. Not just Oldham, that I attend The Blue Coat School Sixth Form. We finally got seated and, I quote: "Yes, I did see that, I couldn't help but notice your reference was written by an S Hall... Might that be a Sarah Hall?"
I should have expected it, I was after all at her University and by this point I was well aware that I was speaking to none other than Adrian Curtis, Senior Lecturer in Hebrew bible studies, if I was going to meet anyone that knew her. It would be him, it is common knowledge that she is a Doctor of Hebrew and that she LOVES Israel. Yet I was still shocked.
He spoke very highly of her, if he wasn't a well respected professor, you'd have thought something had been going on there.. (what with her reputation) but no, he was very polite about her. In fact.. almost didn't stop talking about her. It was unusual, I never thought she would ever help me get into university - based on her teaching standards, but here she was, wrapped up in Adrian Curtis' memory. After this point, it was hard to really separate my life from the fact that she is after all my religious studies teacher (if you hadn't guessed by this point, I want to do theology - this has nothing to do with SRH, it is based on a firm belief in God, I am not one for her atheistic ways and they do not motivate me... haha.) Every time he asked me a question: "What are you studying at the moment in New Testament?" "You wrote you'd like to look at the original Greek an Hebrew, whys that?" and "Why did you chose to study Theology at A Level?" It seemed, as hard as I tried.. everything linked back to her. It was like she was haunting the interview.
Never the less, I don't think I've ever been so grateful to know the woman. No, not when I got an A at GCSE, nor when I scraped through my As level on a C, not those times she helped me revise in my spare time for my resit (which, we are yet to see the results for) not even the day she sat idly by on the bus whilst Jenny Harrison got attacked or when Sophie and Ellie nearly got run over. Nor when she first suggested the Thriller performance of Christmas 2010, dancing around NE24 and not even, when I seek food after a long day and her fruit bowl is always waiting in the office. (That is, an actual fruit bowl - we must remember that this is LMT writing, not DPF.. his fruit bowl would be VERY different...)
As we left the interview, we laughed and joked about the antics of the Atheist we both know and love, the kind man politely walked me back to the interview room even though he had no one left to interview. He was quick to mention Sarah's name again once we got in the room, informing all of how we shared a common interest in SRH. It was at this point when a girl who was a fellow applicant said "I guess its not what you know, its who you know" directly at me. And, though I know she was just jealous of my good looks and charming wit.. I can't help but think there might have been a bit of truth in it. He left requesting that I "tell Sarah to get in contact" as "it would be nice to hear from her."
Yes. I am happy to say I got in on a conditional offer of BBB. Curious thing is a good friend of mine was applying for the very same department; different course, but only marginally and his offer is to get higher grades, at ABB.
I guess its not what you know, its who you know.
It seems even at University I won't be able to escape from mystery that is Sarah Hall.
L x
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