Connections: Raymond Rumkee

What’s your standout memory of Warwick?

When I came for my interview in 1978, I had to walk down from the Gibbet Hill bus stop and through a small, forested area to get to the main campus. In the forested area there was a little lake. It was raining when I came and, as I was walking back, I saw a rainbow falling into the lake. Now, I was not a mystical type, but I believed that it was a sign telling me that THIS was the place I had to come to. I didn't get a place on the course I'd originally applied for, but destiny was not to be denied, and, by a long and convoluted route, I ended up doing the Classical Civilisation course, and what an amazing course it was. I had a wonderful three years.

How would you sum up Warwick in the time that you were there and your generation of students?

For a poor, working class lad from Hull, it was a total revelation. I met people not only from all around the UK but from around the world, and I could not have been happier or more fulfilled. I lived on campus (or Moonbase Alpha as I called it) for all three years and loved it all. . I even got involved in student politics and, during a sit-in at Senate House, ended up doing a linked-arm, can-can with John Martyn. I met some of the most extraordinary people during my time and I treasure every second of it.

What was the student culture like at Warwick, and were there any annual traditions, societies, sports clubs, or events that you remember?

I was a member of the Warwick University Drama Society (WUDS) and took part in many, many shows. Two memories particularly stand out. The Cambridge Footlights came to the Arts Centre with their revue and were, frankly, woeful. Lazy and predictable. I told the Centre Manager, the wonderful Haddon Davies, what I thought and he replied, not unreasonably, "Well, if you think you can do better, YOU do one!" So, we did. 'Delirium Tremens' was performed to a pretty appreciative audience and I am very proud of that.

The WUDS also took a production of Peter Weiss' 'Marat Sade' to the Edinburgh Festival which was a truly extraordinary experience. Not only did I develop a life-long love of Haggis (That's all I could afford to eat - Haggis, chips and gravy once a day from The Kingfisher - 45p) but I was privileged to be part of a show which got a rave review in The Scotsman newspaper which concluded with, and I am paraphrasing, 'Director Sally Davies will go down as one of the greatest in the history of the Fringe.' Not bad. Other cultural highlights included meeting and having a long chat with Tom Stoppard, very worried about his play 'Dogg's Hamlet, Kahoot's Macbeth' that was being premiered at the Arts Centre, a story that I have dined out on for the past 40 years, and being one of about 10 guys who had a drink with Robert Plant in the Students’ Union bar after one of his very low-key gigs with his band 'The Honeydrippers'.

Finish the sentence: Warwick influenced who I am today, because…

It opened my mind and heart to the world and gave me not only three of the greatest years of my life but also life-long friends and so many memories. My wife and I visited the campus last year, my first visit in 42 years, and, although it was radically different, it was somehow very much the same - my spiritual home. And, to top it off, we popped into the radio station and there, on the wall and to my amazement, was a picture of a group of 1970s students, one of whom was me! So, in a weird sort of way, I am still there. I have attached the picture. I am the skinny guy with no shirt, a beany hat and shades. It wasn't a good look then and it hasn't improved much but I still love it.

Raymond Rumkee

BA Classical Civilisation, 1981