Mary Sullivan

My guest this week is Mary Sullivan who undertook a long journey towards doing a degree in History and Religious Studies at the University of Kent, having previously worked as a psychiatric nurse and a social worker.

We talk about her previous experience of going to Ruskin College, Oxford which specialized in offering education for working class people, and about how the two sides of her degree blended so well. We discuss the advantages of studying Religious Studies, including finding out about faiths different to one’s own and I ask Mary whether her own perception of herself changed during the course of her degree.

Mary shares her earliest memory, from the time she was in her cot, and she discusses her family’s Irish roots. She has since reacquainted with an old childhood friend from Tunbridge Wells. We talk about the notion of ‘stranger danger’ involving children and how we negotiate the past as well as ‘fitting in’ at school, detention, and issues around behaviour and the change in culture over the decades.

Mary reveals how she would listen to Radio Luxembourg on her transistor radio, and she became a Beatle-maniac. We find out who her favourite Beatle was, and about her passion for Van Morrison, and Mary tells us the name of the first record that she bought.

We find out how Mary has become more politically active as she has gotten older, and we talk about the election of New Labour and the concept of the ‘centre ground’ and her support for Jeremy Corbyn. We also chat about the change in technology over the years and how it has changed the way we engage with family and how we conserve information.

Towards the end of the interview we learn why Mary’s memories are mainly positive and we discuss the nature of work post-retirement and what happens when your identity is bound up with your job and how you deal with life post-divorce. We learn why her younger self would be gobsmacked to find out what she is doing now. Mary obtained a first class degree and she tells us how it has made her realize how much more there is to know, and we find out why she is a forward looking person.

Please note: Opinions expressed are solely those of Chris Deacy and Mary Sullivan and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the University of Kent.