Birmingham Town Hall, January 1981

Happy New to everyone for 2017!

In January, 1981, I visited Birmingham, UK, for an interview at Aston University. The photo above shows Birmingham Town Hall on a frosty and slightly snowy morning. The Town Hall is obviously a neo-classical design, and is based on the temple of Castor & Pollux in Rome.

Aston had in fact already made me an unconditional offer of acceptance, but I asked to attend for an interview anyway, to see what the campus was like. As it turned out, of course, I went to Imperial College, London, rather than Aston. Nonetheless, Aston was the first university to give me a “vote of confidence” at a time when many were shaking their heads about my prospects.