asks Scaryduck
...I really can't remember, because I was boycotting Murdoch newspapers at the time, so couldn't bring myself to buy a copy for the archives. Various copies were pinned up on the JCR door, in the bar - a Willobite and an ex-Willobite being slagged off in a Sun editorial! Didn't happen every day in Willoughby Hall. In fact, it only happened once in my entire time at Nott'm.
It was something about "irresponsibility" and how, unlike those Nottingham University students, Mr Powell was in favour of free speech. They also accused us of setting off the fire alarms as well as shouting; it's only just occurred to me that, as well as not being true, it was logistically unfeasible.
It was a big day on campus. Perhaps the biggest ever. But, rather than try to rely on memory of half a lifetime ago, I have gone back to the Paper Diary of the time. November 1986
Me in November 1986
For a few days I was very famous, and for the remainder of my University career I had a residual fame, and did not need to prove my credentials - which was not altogether a good thing...
And yet, the next week, it was the great Willoughby Food Poisoning and your intrepid Campus Reporter was reduced to phoning the Health Centre to determine how many had been kept in overnight.
Friday got off to a slow start, well, I went to breakfast, which was quite unusual for the friday, only I needed a packed lunch. It was Children in Need, so URN were broadcasting live from Willoughby Hall.
I did very little work-wise during the morning, but I did go off to my Tops Theories of Politics lecture. On the way up I saw the police assembling outside the Trent building. I was afraid that I would have missed the demo against Enoch Powell, but there were plenty of people there, including (many I knew). For ages we stood around waiting for Enoch to arrive, and we were chanting fairly unoriginal things like "Enoch is a Racist" "Racists Out" etc. I had a ticket and my Union card (known Lefties were refused tickets but I had been there for six weeks and was yet to make my mark); people said I should go in, in order to demonstrate, but to be honest, I didn't have the guts to. However, another girl, who I know vaguely by sight, and whom I discovered later to be called Jenny (according to Friends Reunited, she's 'very happy with life'), also had a ticket, so we said we would go in together to protest. As we walked over to the door , people called out "Don't go in, don't go in" - they obviously thought we were going to give his views intellectual credence. We were subject to a police search, but it seemed a particular waste of time, because they - or rather a policewoman - said "Oh you've got a butty bag". She didn't even look to see if my camera case included a petrol bomb, and, furthermore, wearing my CND badge and 'Support Silentnight Strikers' badge, I hardly looked like a Conservative Student!
Well, we got inside, and because we were on th elate side, we were told to go to the back. We sat listening to Enoch Powell prattling on about Shakespeare and the British tradition for about five minutes, we also planned our tactics. In the event though, events took their own course. The fire alarm went off, drowning out what he was saying. He struggled on for what must have been half a minute, then sat down, so Jenny and I looked at each other, stood up, and started shouting "Racists out, racists out out out. Enoch is a racist." Well, there was a fair amount of Conservative fluster, which was tremendously exciting. We sat down and this guy came along and asked us very nicely to leave, or else be arrested, which we did - well, I'd seen the police moving in, and I couldn't help thinking of the parents and my bank balance.
As we left we were given a cheer from the assembled crowds, then Heinke from URN came over to interview us. Joe Harker (was Union Pres, now writes for the Guardian) also came over to ask us what had happened, but by then Jenny had gone to get some food, so I was left to explain all to Joe. He seemed well impressed.
After Enoch had left the demo dispersed and I went over to URN - the news team started pouring in. Gillian had a tape of our little disruption - it sounded fantastic! James said that we had even been on Radio Trent news at two o'clock. However, we had been displaced by three o'clock because a couple of guys from Trent Poly had been arrested for throwing themselves at his car.
Most of the afternoon was spent getting Campus Reports and the News ready; really hectic work - you know how it is, some days we're almost inventing news, but on Friday we had Enoch Powell and Children in Need (about which I interviewed someone) and we also had to leave space for Tony Benn.
Having edited my interview, I pogged off to PBLH, where I attracted a fair amount of attention (modesty for - I was the centre of attention, well, until Tony Benn arrived...) from Labour Club members & Politics Students. Mick asked people who had attended Enoch Powell's meeting to leave, but I don't think that that could have applied to me! I was hardly endorsing the guy's views.
Tony Benn arrived, much to my excitement, and spoke for about twenty minutes before dashing off to Chesterfield. He was very interesting, saying how important it was for people to "tie your ropes together", because Thatcherism was fundamentally divisive, dividing black and white, male and female, south and north, Catholic and Protestant etc etc. Alan Simpson (PPC) also spoke, and I was quite pleased to see that many people stayed to hear him.
I then rushed off, in order to put Campus Reports on to tape (Which is brilliant - it also lasted until ten past seven). I watched Midlands Today but they only mentioned the arrests. I later learned that Central had covered it more comprehensively.
I hurried out to see The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui at the New Theatre starring Dave. The theatre was 1/3 full of Willobites; it isn't clear from my diary whether I got the recognition I believed I deserved...
The following evening was the Willoughby Blues evening. I got pretty well pissed and spent quite a lot of time dancing with long list of men - amazing what a bit of self-confidence does.... I also chatted with various people, many of whom were congratulating me on being told to leave Enoch's meeting. Wonderful feeling!
The following evening I went to a Telemann and Poulenc concert given by the University Chamber Orchestra. Two days previously I had seen Ben Elton live in the Ballroom.
And the next week Radio Derby interviewed me on a CND demo "Lining the Routes"
The Guardian wrote:
Two people were arrested during angry scenes at Nottingham University yesterday when Mr Enoch Powell arrived to speak to Conservative students. One protester threw himself into the path of his car at approached the university's Great Hall.
The Ulster Unionist MP's speech was drowned by jeers and the sound of the university's security alarms. Security was tight, with many police officers patrolling the campus
Hmm, funny they didn't mention the snipers on the Trent building...
The bully boys of the Thatcher regime
~It's not too late to ask a question
