148: Anne Watkins

My guest this week is Anne Watkins, who came to Lampeter in 1985, after originally expecting to work for the Civil Service, where she studied Philosophy and Ethics in Western Thought. Anne recalls hearing the sheep bleating on the hills and knowing that Lampeter was the place for her.

We talk about long friendships especially with the overseas students and about how Philosophy helped her to think carefully. Anne also did an MA in Interfaith Relations.

Anne talks about growing up in Cardiff and her earliest memories and her traumatic transition to high school. She remembers her Catholic education and the Corpus Christi procession.

She remembers listening to the charts when growing up and discusses how her dreams have changed over the years.  We find out why Anne couldn’t join the Merchant Navy and how she always wanted to travel. Anne failed her ‘O’ levels but ended up staying and working in Higher Education and made it her mission to improve education for others.

Anne is a fanatical record keeper by way of diaries and photograph albums. She started keeping a diary in 1974 and reflects on how the photo interest in the early days, pre-digital, was expensive.

Anne talks about the teachers who inspired her, and remembers dancing around a cauldron at school and being given animals to look after. She also remembers some of the gigs she went to see when growing up.

Anne then talks about what has changed in recent years in terms of going out vs. staying at home due to lockdown. We get to hear her lockdown story which involved her having to change her routine. She returned to letter writing and encouraged others to do so. Anne talks about why she found coming out of lockdown difficult, and how she spent much of lockdown without internet.

Towards the end of the interview, Anne talks about how she would live her life again in the same way and how she tries not to dwell too much on what is negative. She considers whether she maybe has been living too much in the past, discusses why friendships are crucially important and why her home has been referred to as a shrine.

Please note: Opinions expressed are solely those of Chris Deacy and Anne Watkins and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the University of Kent.