Cannington College (5)

At the end of the academic year there was always a staff meeting. Colleagues who were retiring or moving on to a new job would be given their leaving cards and presents when all the academic staff were gathered together. There had been very few resignations from the Food Technology department during my decade in Somerset - indeed four of the five lecturers who had been in post in 1980 were still there in 1990 - but by coincidence, and it was certainly no more than that, three Food Technology lecturers handed in their resignations during the summer term of 1990.

I don’t know why Norman didn’t follow the example of other departmental heads and make the three presentations to “his” staff at the normal time. Suffice to say he didn’t and I can remember being surprised when the staff meeting came to an end and nothing had been said about me leaving. I suppose it is just possible that the circumstances surrounding the departure of one of my other colleagues were such that a formal “good bye” for them was seen as inappropriate but I don’t see why that should have made any difference to my own rite of passage.

I never did have a formal presentation. All that happened was Norman, very casually, gave me a book when I was sitting in the staff room. Curiously, or perhaps not curiously, he also chose a day when almost none of my remaining departmental friends were on site. With hindsight this was just another example of the "way Norman was" - not a very nice person!

I had ten enjoyable years at Cannington College but by the end I can honestly say that I was pleased to be going.