From the archives: alumnus meets Churchill

Seventy-five years ago [Friday 8 May], Sir Winston Churchill announced the end of the Second World War, now remembered as Victory in Europe (VE) Day. Michael Wemms (BA 1963) remembers his encounter with Sir Winston Churchill, who not only led Britain to victory, but led Bristol as its longest standing Chancellor from 1929 – 1965.

It was, I think, 1956. I was still at school and met the local MP (Humphrey Atkins). A long story, but the result was a call to meet him at the House of Commons. When I arrived, there were five of us, all from different schools. None of us quite knew why we were there.

We were ushered to a smallish room and, completely by chance, I was the first through the door. Sitting alone in an armchair was Winston Churchill. He jumped up to welcome us like long lost friends, poured our tea and offered cakes.

It took a while for even the bravest of us to get our wits together, but he quickly charmed us into a very relaxed and free flowing chat. We asked lots of questions, especially about the War, and even ventured a few views about the state of the nation and our politicians. I remember that we all held strong political views.

Towards the end he said how much he had enjoyed the chat, but we hadn’t asked him the most important question – why had we gone to War and why had it all mattered so much? If only I could remember his actual words. He spoke a little about honour and decency and how we couldn’t stand by, but then he began to gaze out the window – for a moment I think he was in some other time and place.

He explained that we had fought for our identity, our heritage and our history. He went on to talk about beauty in all its forms and I particularly remember how he described the beauty of outdoor things created by man, but changed by time and nature, how we had to preserve beautiful things as well as the way we live our lives. He talked very sadly about there being no choice, but what a terrible price we had paid.

Suddenly, he turned directly to me and asked what I was studying. ‘Literature, Economics, Latin and History Sir,’ I managed to say. ‘Do History my boy,’ he replied, ‘at Bristol.’ So I did!

With thanks to alumnus Michael Wemms. This piece was originally published in 2015.

How can baking support our wellbeing? Bristol alumnus, Tim Leach, explains…

Visit a supermarket during lockdown and the empty shelves which once stocked flour, yeast and eggs give an indication of the nation’s newest obsession: baking. Whether out of necessity or curiosity, people up and down the country are trying their hand at creating their own loaves – with varying levels of success.

But could this new hobby bring other benefits? Could it even increase our ability to live mindfully? For Bristol alumnus, Tim Leach (LLB 2006), the two go hand in hand. Also known as the Mindful Baker, when not in lockdown Tim teaches breadmaking workshops through which he explains the principles of mindfulness.

However, Tim wasn’t always a baker. As a law student at the University of Bristol and a resident of Wills Hall, he was on track for a legal career in the city. But his path altered courses drastically, after he suffered a life-threatening accident on a post-graduation ski holiday.

After skiing off the side of a mountain, Tim broke his back and neck and had to be induced into a three-week coma. He sustained significant head injuries, which have impacted his memory ever since.

Forced to spend years focusing on his recovery, Tim felt like he was being left behind by his peers.

“My friends were all doing well in their jobs, getting promotions and some of them were starting to get married,” says Tim. “I could have really hit the ‘feel sorry for me’ button, but it wouldn’t have got me anywhere and most likely it would have sent me into a depression. I made a conscious decision to work my way out of the situation I was in.”

Tim set up his own shirt-selling businesses, which he ran for a number of years. But his true turning point came when he discovered mindfulness in the most unlikely of places: on a day long course which promised to improve attendees’ success in the dating world.

“We got to the last session of the day,” says Tim, “and the man running it started by saying: ‘You’ll never find the person you want to be with or find inner peace until you learn to love yourself.’ I couldn’t help feeling a bit sceptical. But then he asked us to shut our eyes and breathe deeply in and out and all of a sudden, I was completely engrossed. He led us though a guided meditation which was something I’d never done before. I found it pretty incredible.”

“He gave us his email address and told us to write to him every week to let him know how we were finding meditation – just as an incentive for us to keep going. He said that statistically only one per cent of us would actually do that, but that he wanted us all to be one per cent-ers.”

Tim kept his meditation up and a couple of months later he was still faithfully emailing the course instructor once a week.

“After a while we met up for a really nice lunch,” says Tim. “He was so lovely and was genuinely interested in how I was getting on with meditation. At the end of the meal I asked him how many people from the course were still emailing him and he said: ‘You’re the only one. You were the one per cent!’ Hearing that just made me think – I can really do this. I can keep this mindfulness going and learn even more about it.”

Tim went on several courses to expand his knowledge of mindfulness and the practice became an intrinsic part of his life.

“The baking side of things came into it all a few years ago,” says Tim. “I had a party and my cousin’s husband arrived with a couple of homemade loaves of sourdough. It was such a great gift and I asked if he could show me how to make them too.”

“He came round and taught me how to make this bread and I was amazed by the simplicity of it all,” says Tim. “Sourdough is made with a starter, a kind of fermented dough, that you have to look after and ‘feed’ every week with flour and water. I could see how it related to being mindful and looking after yourself. I realised that having a tangible thing to work with like bread would be a really good way to explain mindfulness to people and demonstrate different techniques.”

Tim set to work creating a course which would teach participants how to make delicious bread, as well as giving them a grounding in mindfulness.

“When you make sourdough you put the starter in first and then flour and water,” says Tim, “and the whole thing turns into a massive, muddy mess. It’s similar to the state we can get ourselves into when we’re trying to deal with problems. On my course I get people to create that mess, and then we go into the other room to talk about mindfulness techniques such as breathing and visualisation exercises.”

“During that time the starter, flour and water mixture will be developing and forming gluten bonds. It demonstrates how you can use mindfulness when you’re faced with a problem. By simply observing it and acknowledging it, rather than trying to solve everything or change things we can’t change, often things will come together all on their own.”

Usually, Tim’s courses are delivered to around five people at a time at his home in Battersea. But with lockdown keeping us all indoors, he’s adapted by creating his own Youtube channel, full of baking tutorials. He’ll soon be uploading videos which go through various mindfulness techniques, which he hopes will provide comfort for people in lockdown.

“Learning how to observe and let things be can really help people to cope with the current situation,” says Tim. “For those of us isolating at home, there’s absolutely nothing more we can do other than keeping ourselves out of harm’s way and following the social distancing guidelines. Apart from that, all we can do is accept the situation that we’re in and allow it to be the way it is.”

Tim also suggests that keeping a list of daily achievements, no matter how small, can help during this turbulent time.

“It’s good to be able to compliment yourself,” he says. “Being kind to yourself or even being kind to a stranger can help you to live in the moment and appreciate the people around you.”

For all those now baking at home, Tim hopes their foray into the world of breadmaking has a lasting impact: “I’d like to think that they are finding the peace and the meditative state that can come about through the process of baking,” he says. “At the end of the day, there’s nothing quite like homemade bread.”

To learn more about Tim’s courses, head to www.themindfulbaker.com

COVID-19 Research Appeal goes from strength to strength

As we reach the end of another strange month in 2020, with the UK still in lockdown, it is wonderful to report that alumni and friends’ support for our appeal for COVID-19 research continues to be an enormous success.

If you are perhaps feeling overwhelmed by the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic, please take some comfort in the fact that Bristol’s team of COVID-19 scientists, researchers and academics – over 147 of them – are working hard to tackle this enormous global challenge. They are helped, in no small part, by the £200,000 donated so far to our COVID-19 Research Appeal, an astonishing outpouring of support and belief in Bristol.

Professor Jeremy Tavaré, Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences, recorded a thank you message this week for the 600 donors who have given to Bristol’s COVID-19 research.

It’s important to remain hopeful that Bristol’s research, in collaboration with partners in the UK and around the world, could be key in getting us back to some kind of normality. Support from alumni is crucial, because like many universities in the UK and around the world, Bristol has had to freeze capital budgets as we wait to understand the full impact of the pandemic on higher education. The passionate interest that alumni and friends are showing for our research is certainly spurring on our COVID-19 team at Bristol.

Progress to date on ramping up our research

From the donations coming in to our appeal we have so far managed to achieve the following:

The installation of a new incubator into Drs David Matthews and Andrew Davidson’s secure laboratory, to enable their teams to scale up their research. David and Andrew’s work on SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID- 19, is focused on understanding the pathogenesis of the virus. Their work is taking place in Bristol in one of only two specialist university labs in the whole of the UK and is critical to the development of diagnostic tools, drugs and vaccines to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

Setting up additional secure (Category Level 3) laboratories at Bristol University’s Langford site to facilitate research into the airborne transmission of SARS-CoV2, led by Professor Jonathan Reid and colleagues from the Bristol Aerosol Research Centre.

The purchase of a state-of-the art microscope, which will enable the rapid imaging and screening of cells, providing critical data for researchers working on COVID-19 at Bristol and much further afield.

The purchase of an ELIspot Reader, a highly sensitive instrument for measuring immune responses to infection and vaccination. This instrument can extract large amounts of data from very small numbers of cell samples, so it is key for developing new vaccines and treatments for the virus at speed.

The acquisition of an RNA extraction instrument, which prepares cell samples for COVID-19 diagnostic testing. The University will now be ideally placed to test and validate new approaches to the diagnosis of the virus, while also being ready to contribute to the national capability for COVID-19 testing.

Critical funds for the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute, which is supporting researchers across the University who are applying their expertise to the pandemic.

Bristol’s researchers in the fields of immunology, infectious diseases and public health continue to contribute to the world’s understanding and control of this shocking epidemic. It is truly an interdisciplinary project and there’s real momentum behind the work. Bristol is incredibly well-placed to take advantage of this and to use our expertise to help the world through this pandemic. You can read about everything we’re doing as it happens on our web page dedicated to the University’s COVID-19 research and on this blog.

Bristol is one of the few centres in the UK with such specialist expertise in the study of coronaviruses. This appeal is a great opportunity to make a difference in the race to unlock valuable new information about the COVID-19 virus, which we believe can result from Bristol’s expertise.

– Dr Jonathan de Pass (MBChB 1979) and Mrs Georgina de Pass, COVID-19 Research Appeal donors

 

“I made lifelong friends at Bristol and for that I am forever grateful” – Alumni profile of William Lewis

 

William Lewis (BSc 1990, Hon LLD 2010) is the CEO of Dow Jones & Company and publisher of The Wall Street Journal. Prior to this William served as the Chief Creative Officer for News Corps, the parent company of Dow Jones and Editor-in-Chief of the Telegraph Media Group.

Why did you choose to study Politics and Economics at Bristol?
I’d been interested in politics from my early teens – I remember watching election nights in 1983 and 1987 avidly. I also did pretty well in Economics at A-level, largely thanks to a superb teacher called Horace (later Emma) Wills. So the two subjects together were a natural fit. But I suspect the fact my older brother Simon had studied PPE at Oxford ten years earlier was also an influencing factor.

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Alumni share their government and third sector career insights with students

A big thank you to our Bristol Volunteers for giving their time and expertise to our final year students and recent graduates, at our London Careers Insight event in early March.

Alumni working in government and the third sector shared their career stories and experiences to inspire students and help them understand more about the sector. From what it’s like to work at the Department for International Development to starting out as an entrepreneur, the alumni panel were on hand to discuss a wide variety of career paths.

The panel members explained how different jobs in different industries can help you get on the career ladder, and that it is fine to compromise a little at the start of your degree to get to where you want to be.

Panellist India Fallon (BA 2014), who now works as a Programme Officer at Youth Business International, highlighted the importance of continuing to develop skills after graduation. For India, undertaking internships and taking part in volunteering programmes helped her to build on skills learnt through her degree and secure her current role.

Sitting alongside her on the panel, was Ella Hopkins (BA 2015), who now works as a Gender Project Officer at Bretton Woods Project. Speaking about the event she said: “It was a real privilege to speak at this event and to hear about all of the other speakers’ career journeys. It was also great to speak to all the other graduates and hear about their plans and ideas” (Ella Hopkins, BA 2015).

All alumni who helped out at the event are volunteers on our Bristol Volunteers programme. Due to the current climate we will not be running any careers networking events for the foreseeable future, however if you would like to share your experience and expertise you can sign-up as a Career Expert on our online platform exclusive for alumni – Bristol Connects.

Become a Bristol Volunteer: Current Opportunities

At the Development and Alumni Relations Office (DARO) we work with departments across the University to match alumni volunteers with relevant and rewarding opportunities. There are so many different ways to get involved as a Bristol Volunteer and all of them make a huge difference to our community. Whether you give your time or expertise, you’ll be helping to enrich the lives of students and graduates alike.

We’ve rounded up some of our volunteering opportunities below so that you can find the programme that suits you.


Bristol Connects: Share your Bristol experience as a Career Expert

Bristol Connects is an exclusive, online space for alumni, which enables you to connect digitally with your alumni community. The Bristol Connects community is growing all the time, especially now as communicating and connecting online are becoming so important in our daily lives.

We are looking for alumni to sign-up as Career Experts and lend their experience and knowledge to our current students. Share your career insights and advice to support students in their studies and careers.

Simply:

  1. Register for Bristol Connects
  2. Update your details – download our guide to getting started on Bristol Connects 
  3. Activate your Career Expert profile so that students can access your details and contact you for advice

If you would like to find out more information about becoming a Career Expert, please contact the Volunteers team at alumni-volunteers@bristol.ac.uk.


Bristol Mentors applications are open

We are now accepting applications for Bristol Mentors 2020/21. Becoming a mentor is a great opportunity to share your valuable career insight and help students from underrepresented backgrounds reach their goals. Our alumni mentors support students for a couple of hours per month from October to June.

To apply, please complete the Bristol Mentors application form. For more information about the Bristol Mentors programme, please get in touch with the Bristol Volunteers team at alumni-volunteers@bristol.ac.uk.


Connect with alumni groups and networks 

Working in partnership with the University, we have alumni networks, professional groups, Halls Associations, sports groups and groups in many places around the world. These groups help members to gain new social and professional contacts, benefit from advice and expertise and gain access to exclusive activities.

To find out how you can connect with our groups, or for more information about starting a network, please contact the Bristol Volunteers team at alumni-volunteers@bristol.ac.uk.

Join the Midlands Branch

The Midlands Branch is looking for alumni based in the area to join as members.

The branch enables Midlands based alumni to connect with one another, meet locally and keep in touch with the alumni community and the University. The branch organises events and activities throughout the year to keep its alumni community connected.

If you would like to find out more about becoming a member, please contact Tim Drakeford at timdrakeford@btinternet.com.


To keep up to date with our latest volunteering opportunities sign-up to Bristol Volunteers digest, or explore our ongoing volunteering opportunities online.

COVID-19 appeal launched to overwhelming support from alumni

As the COVID-19 pandemic has spread around the world, a group of researchers at the University of Bristol has united to collaborate on finding ways to overcome the disease. An appeal for funding to support this work has been met with fantastic support from alumni.

The University’s COVID-19 Emergency Research Group (UNCOVER) are addressing a wide range of areas as a priority, which are explained in great detail on our main website.

In particular, Dr David Matthews and Dr Andrew Davidson, who have been working on the human coronavirus since 2002, have mobilised their teams to scale up their research. Their work on SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is focused on understanding the pathogenesis of the virus. Their work is taking place in Bristol in one of only two specialist university labs in the whole of the UK and is critical to the development of diagnostic tools, drugs and vaccines to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

To date, alumni donations have procured critical equipment and resources, including a new incubator for Drs Matthews and Davidson’s laboratory. Additionally, donations have funded the preparation of another high-security laboratory, suitable for handling SARS-CoV-2, to allow the expansion of this fundamental research. And alumni have matched the funding offered by the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute, enabling research into testing and vaccines to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

Researchers around the University are now looking to quickly scale up our research on COVID-19, which includes: growing the capacity of our secure laboratories and providing our researchers with the equipment they need; early tests on vaccines that could be capable of combatting the virus; and tapping into our unique ‘Children of the 90s’ cohort to track the factors that impact susceptibility to infection and understand the true frequency of infection.

So far hundreds of alumni have donated to this vital research and for this we say a resounding thank you. We know that unfortunately many of our alumni are facing financial hardship as a result of this pandemic, but for anyone who may be able to support the research you can read more and donate online.

Bristol medical students lead the way on nutrition for health benefits

Ally Jaffee and Iain Broadley founded the Community Interest Company (CIC) Nutritank in 2017 while studying Medicine at Bristol. Jaffee is currently in her fourth year and Broadley is a member of the cohort who have graduated early [April 2020 instead of July 2020] in order to quickly support the NHS during the COVID-19 crisis.

Described as ‘an innovative, informative hub for food, nutrition and lifestyle medicine’ Nutritank is a one-stop shop for students of medicine, current medical practitioners and anyone interested in food for health. In a world where many widespread conditions such as heart disease and diabetes have contributory dietary factors, the founders are passionate about advocating healthy eating for all, promoted by those working in the health sector.

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Bristol Voices launched to support students through COVID-19

The first wave of Bristol alumni and staff have already volunteered to support remotely – via phone or messaging services – current students affected by social distancing as a result of COVID-19, through our just-launched Bristol Voices programme.

The University is home to many students and this is a particularly difficult time for them. Whilst the University has comprehensive support available, a lack of regular contact with friends, colleagues and classmates can quickly lead to feelings of isolation and anxiety.

Bristol Voices is our response to supporting students during this uncertain time. Through Bristol Voices, we are connecting students remaining in Bristol with a dedicated member of the Bristol community for enhanced, one-on-one interaction to support their social wellbeing. Bristol Voices is a collaboration between the Development and Alumni Relations Office (DARO) and the Student Services team and is part of the University’s wider response to the COVID-19 crisis.

The University of Bristol already has a dedicated support system in place with free services for all students. Bristol Voices is an additional programme established with our alumni community in mind, to offer extra, informal social support for our students during COVID-19.

Our volunteers have a wide range of experience and backgrounds, and knowledge of student life at Bristol. We have alumni signed up to volunteer who studied an array of subjects and work in many different fields, including teachers, managers and researchers. But what they all have in common is a willingness to help and lend an ear to these students who may currently be struggling with social isolation.

We are very appreciative of the alumni who have put themselves forward during these difficult circumstances, and we welcome them joining the hundreds of volunteers we currently work with across a wide range of programmes.

Read more about alumni volunteering opportunities.

Alumni interview: Ai Ching Goh, Piktochart Co-Founder

Co-founded by Malaysian-born Ai Ching Goh (BSc 2008), Piktochart is a visual communication tool that allows users to create infographics, posters and more – without the need for design experience.

Ai Ching Goh launched the start-up alongside her partner, Andrea Zaggia, a few years after graduating from the University of Bristol with a degree in Experimental Psychology. Since then the business has seen tremendous growth and is now used by more than 20 million people worldwide.

Last month, Ai Ching Goh was recognised for her achievements when she won the entrepreneurial category of the prestigious 2020 British Council Alumni Awards. Here she talks about her time in Bristol and her path to entrepreneurial success.

Congratulations on your recent award! How did it feel to be recognised for your entrepreneurial achievements?
Very unexpected. So grateful! I never thought that my journey as a student at Bristol would have led to this.

You co-founded Piktochart with your partner, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
Ten years ago, it was the golden age of click through rates – meaning adverts at that time received a far higher number of clicks per view than they do now. As time went on it was becoming increasingly apparent that companies would have to ‘pull’ their customers to them through interesting and valuable content. We predicted that this trend was only going to get more visual, which is why we started focusing on infographics. They really help to communicate complex information that otherwise would not be as easily understood. That’s how we got started with Piktochart!

We believe that effective, great communication is essential to every business. Every role (not just the CEO, HR or PR person) needs to be really good at it. It helps the company to represent itself in a very clear way to its customers and stakeholders and expand efficiently by being one single cohesive unit.

You’re passionate about creating a positive working culture at Piktochart. Can you tell us a bit more about why this is so important to you?
The first company I joined after graduating was a big corporate. I arrived bright eyed and bushy tailed – ready to take on the world. I was sure I was going to make a great impact. But instead, I learnt a series of lessons that would forever change my point of view about ‘work’.

I was hired as an Associate Media Manager, managing a $14M portfolio of radio, TV, magazine and newspaper expenditure and often networking with the celebrities of Malaysia. It was a glamorous job, but I encountered difficulties in the workplace. I became quieter and more lacking in confidence until I withdrew into my tortoise shell. I had a lot of ideas, but I worried so much about whether I sounded stupid that I just stopped asking, stopped doing and tried to guess what was wanted from me.

I was so affected that every weekend, come Sunday, I would start crying because on Monday I had to go to work. I was only in my 20s but I was so burnt out and stressed that eventually my physical health took a toll and I was hospitalised. It took me three months of resting to get better. I spent my days with my iPad, reading about life and thinking about what kind of future I wanted for myself. The biggest thing I learned was that I couldn’t work in an environment like that again.

When it comes to the workplace, you’ve got to get the people and culture right. You can build a successful and enduring corporate business, but if the employees are crying on their Sundays, it’s not a business that I want to be part of.

Example of a Piktochart Instagram template

How do you find balance outside of your working life? What do you do to wind down?
I spend time with my daughter and at the moment there’s very little winding down! My daughter, who is almost three, is a ball of energy. Her nicknames are ‘tornado’ and ‘earthquake’. So as you can imagine, I usually feel like I’m working harder over the weekends – but no complaints! She’s been one of the best things that has happened to my husband and myself. We love cooking, going to the parks, exploring and trying new things, reading the bible, singing.

What kind of student were you?
I was outgoing, took on multiple part time roles, I didn’t do very well in my studies during the first and second years but caught up in the final year. I spent a lot of my time in AIESEC, mingling with the Europeans, and checked out a lot of bars when I was there.

Where was your favourite place to spend time in Bristol and why?
Clifton Hill. I had multiple favourite places but I think this one would top it all. It’s such a pretty place to go for a walk, especially because of its quaint little shops. I also loved the farmers’ market, whenever they had one on!

How did studying at the University impact you as a person?
It made me think more critically which came in handy for writing essays etc. Apart from that, it constantly forced me out of my comfort zone. I took on multiple roles in AIESEC, travelled for conferences and built some of my most enduring friendships. I also was part of the Telethon team at the Development and Alumni Relations Office (DARO). I had to survive not being at home for more than three years, but all of it really shaped me to be someone who dared to take chances.

What advice would you give to Bristol students who might be hoping to start their own businesses?
I think that work experience is important. However, if you’ve been entrepreneurial throughout your life, then find a way to quickly validate your ideas and fail fast. The path of an entrepreneur is filled with failures and you would be wise to find ways to “shortcut” it, for example by learning from books, by getting a mentor, by building prototypes and not being afraid to fail.