Forever Keele 23
named ‘Prince George’, based on
the original 1910 design, with royal
approval, and numbered 2013.
"The connection to Keele is that
whether you were near Madeley
watching trains climb from Crewe to
Whitmore summit and the South, or at
Stoke going to London or Manchester,
you would more than likely have been
hauled by one of these locomotives.
We intend to operate on the main UK
rail network and also on ‘heritage’ lines.
We are endeavouring to re-create the
experience of pre-First World War rail
travel, not currently available.
We are in the ‘living heritage’ business
harking back to the days of Mary
Poppins. But it is not just a project for
romantics and historians. Satisfying
the access requirements of the 2020
railway requires going back to first
principles, so there is much to interest
the maths and physics people in
this design, which marked a key link
between the Victorian locomotive and
the high speed locomotives of the
1930s, whether it’s thermodynamics,
fluid mechanics, or the lost
mathematics of Joy valve gear.
We have already made significant
progress and it is expected that the
boiler shell will be ordered shortly.
We are keen to encourage STEM
education in schools so educationalists
may be pleased to contact us.
Find out more by looking at our website
or contact us by email (georgevtrust@
gmail.com) if you wish to help with or
discuss the project."
Keele alumnus publishes first
book written during lockdown: an
inspirational feel-good journey of
overcoming adversity
It is a common aphorism that life rarely
works out the way that you planned
it and this too was the experience
of Keele alumnus, Barry Bassett
(Mathematics, Class of 1989).
He has written a book during the lockdown,
which tells the true story of life
in a family business as a tempestuous
ride from one crisis to another and
overcoming near certain financial ruin
on multiple occasions. The great news
is that this story has a happy ending
and is told with the author’s positive,
witty and quirky view of life.
He started writing on day 8 of the
lock down and didn’t stop until it
was complete. The book is a family
endeavour too with his son, Josh
Bassett having designed and illustrated
the book.
He has also launched a website with
lots of pictures, videos and stories from
the book which includes a video of an
unforgettable wacky-custard-condom
sports day which was held at Keele
in the summer of 1998. Barry recalls,
“Already having secured a donation of
300 condoms from Durex and custard
powder from a local food producer, I
had a brainwave when we unearthed
an old bath which had been buried
somewhere on the campus that we
could create our own version of the
1980s classic family game show, ‘It’s
a Knockout’ for RAG; the twist was
that it would be based on custard-filled
condoms!” Watch what happened on
www.fullexperienceliving.com
Barry graduated in 1989 with a Maths
degree and Full Experience Living
is available to buy or download on
Amazon. 10% of all proceeds raised
are being donated to MAG to help
clear landmines.
Staffordshire poet and Keele
alumnus wins prize in
international competition
Keele alumnus John Mills (Creative
Writing, Class of 2019) has written
a poem about Parkinson's disease ,
which was awarded 3rd prize in The
Hippocrates Prize, a celebration of
poetry inspired by health issues. Read
about what inspired John to write and
the poem itself below:
"One of the joys of poetry is the actual
writing of it. It may not provide the
answers but it can straighten out your
thinking. Writing about Parkinson’s
disease is, for me, cathartic and
leads to a better understanding of my
adversary.
For most people Parkinson’s is just
a tremor and I wanted to tell people
about the oddities of the illness. It
takes away facial expression, your
handwriting becomes minuscule,
buttons become impossible and you
struggle to dress. The list goes on but
I wanted the readers of the poem to
be entertained and to understand the
disease not feel sorry for me. So, I
decided to write a conversation from
the disease’s point of view. That didn’t
work. I realised there is no dialogue
with this disease; it is in total control
and so the idea of the letter, with the
opportunity for a one-sided argument,
was born. The character I created was
completely self-centred explaining to
its victim that there is nothing personal
about it just this is the way it is. You
have something I want so I will take
it. I gave it an upper-class, I’m of the
society that is born to rule, persona
with its language, “My dear fellow,” and
its little joke, “I tremor with excitement.”
The writing of the poem gave me no
real emotional hardship but it did give
me enormous pride when it was given
third place in the international poetry
competition the Hippocrates Prize. It
has also been adopted and used by
Parkinson’s UK".
A letter from Dr. Parkinson's Discovery
My Dear Fellow,
For years I've been lurking in the dark
recesses of your substantia nigra,
where, with the quiet cunning of the
cut throat, I've been picking off your
neurons.
Once I was content with my harvest I
shook your arm by way of salutation.
Gently at first, then with increasing
vigour. Now we are properly
acquainted I shall do it continuously.
Without invitation, I will slide into your
dreams giving you glimpses of the joy
of unfettered movement that I snatch
away when I fling you into the bedside
furniture.
Think of it like this, you ask me for
movement, I ponder, then give you
what I think fit. I'm afraid your needs
are beyond my consideration and
you must know your place. When the
thriller's plot begins to unravel frankly,
my dear, so will you.
A particular satisfaction is to make