Alia-801's Friends page

Like most people, my life has been a continuous stream of ups and downs. Unlike many people, I have some of the best friends in the world to help me through the downs... this page is a tribute to them. They're sorted by how I met them... and they're all great!

(A few of my girlfriends have recently got married - my sincere apologies for completely forgetting your married names!)

School, College, Uni | LINKS | Astronomy | Miscellaneous | Dance |

Nicola Dick - Probably one of my oldest friends. I've known Nicola since I was 11... We've both had some pretty rough times but generally we've seen each other through them - we've also been bowling, tennis and blood donating partners. Nicola is working for Ford in Essex.
Clare Raffle - another person I've known almost forever. It's been a while since we last saw each other, but I'm sure we'll manage to meet up eventually! Clare works in a call centre somewhere in Scotland... and is now married to Alan.
Stella Mui - Stella and I were in the same maths group at Cadbury College. We've met up since we left, and we exchange emails from time to time...
Chris Barratt - Another mad physicist from Keele. Chris also did computer science, and has just completed a Masters course at Imperial College. He's now thinking of doing a PhD.
Rupert Green - Probably one of the maddest people I know! Rupert was the housemate of my ex-fiance - and since I virtually lived at their flat for my entire first year, I got to know him quite well. He was a frequent visitor to my flat when I lived at Keele (mostly so he could visit Keele Union and go swimming to Waterworld!) Not too sure what Rupert's doing at the moment - it seems to change every time I phone him!
Vic Tyne - Vic did his PhD at the same time I did mine. He kept me going through some of the darker times, as well as helping me move house and generally making sure I was ok. Vic recently finished his PhD and is now doing many diverse things, including tutoring for the Open University..
Sean Harmer - Sean, Vic and I were the terrible trio - when it was revision time, no lecturer was safe! We always seemed to have our luck going round the three of us - we take it in turns for major crises to come along, but thankfully the others are always there to lend a hand. Sean finished his PhD and is now working somewhere on something to do with computers..
Ines Koppen - Ines was on my Chemistry course. We had some interesting times in the lab - and her experiment always seemed to go better than mine! (Good job she's the one doing chemistry PhD!). I finally managed to visit her in Leeds, after she spent the past 2 years yelling at me for not visiting! She is now teaching Chemistry in Germany.
Jon Vickers - My lab partner through the first year, we tried to find asteroids on a photographic plate and ended up with major headaches... Jon finished a PhD at Coventry and has now vanished into the ether! Jon - if you ever read this, drop me an email! (alia[UNDERSCORE]801[at]planet-save[dot]com)
Laura Walker - Laura did Chemistry and Physics with me - and we shared a flat in our second year. We had some very strange times... Laura now works at a nursing home in Biddulph.
Zoe Botfield (nee Wood) Zoe and I went to Yardley Wood Primary School together, and we got back in touch through http://www.friendsreunited.co.uk. We met up recently for the first time in 8 years, but we recognised each other straight away!

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Since I spend half my life doing LINKS/St John Ambulance stuff, it's not surprising that that's where most of my friends come from...

Steve Griffiths - the one who's a Teacher (Steve is also a Rocky Horror fan and often comes along to see it with me and the other hordes)
Marianne Wyllie - Marianne was a great friend in LINKS at Keele. A few problems got in the way, but she always kept smiling. She's now a Veterinary Nurse.
Helen Ibbotson - Helen has now graduated, and is doing something biological near Edinburgh.
Marie Langdon - The Busy one (Marie is great - she does stuff! She was about as deep into LINKS as I was and we were often seen on duty at the theatre together - somehow she fitted it in with everything else... She spent a year in France and Russia, and is now teaching Maths in Exeter.
Rich Tune - The Psychological one. Rich has now graduated and is working in his home town of Chesterfield... And I haven't heard from him in an age!!!
Dave Walmsey Dave is another good mate who I met through St John. We covered many theatre duties together, and were partners at defibrillator training courses. I also dragged Dave along to some Omega LRP role-play events, where we had a great time.
Rosemary Shakespeare - Rosemary is a British ex-pat who joined the same Aussie St John group as me. Rosemary has since returned to the UK, but we stay in touch.
Shaun & Lucy Taylor Shaun was a member of Monash Combined division (our group in Victoria) until recently. He and Lucy are family friends and often visit, sometimes accompanied by their pet dog.
Helen Miller Helen runs our group, doing a fantastic job of making sure everything goes well and keeping things under control. She's also a good friend.

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James Bleach - James used to share an office with me, which was great - when we both worked late I usually persuaded him to come to the postgrad bar for a drink! He's just got back to the UK after spending a year working in Japan, where he survived by finding an English pub which sold chips and pies! (Lee, his gf is great too - we got on really well when we were all at a conference in Tenerife). I found out recently that James is also a Derren fan! They're getting married in Scotland later this year.
Natalie Webb - Natalie is the most energetic person in the group - if it's dangerous, she's probably done it! She dragged me trampolining for a while... She's now working somewhere in France and skiing at every available opportunity.
Richard Ogley - Richard (my significant other) started a PostDoc at Keele in March 2001 (when I was on holiday). He was warned by other members of the astro group that I'm scary (me - never!), but managed to overcome his dread to chat, and has regretted it ever since! We share a love of Welsh castles and could often be found wandering around them on Sundays when we're in the UK.
Monica Pozzo - Monica is the quiet italian one. We shared an office for a while (thanks to various random moves round the building I've shared offices with half the postgrads in the department!), and Monica came to see Cinderella with me at the local theatre (where I went dressed as Cinderella in order to raise money for the Starlight Children's Foundation). She's now working in London, and has a daughter, Laura.
Simon Thompson - Simon and I demonstrated Astronomy Subsid together - explaining science and maths to people who last used a calculater 3 years ago... we're both good at stress relief now - it was usually a case of calm the other one down or they're likely to try to kill you!
Stelios Tsangarides Stelios is a PhD student working with Sean Ryan (my boss) at the Open University. Stelios is from Cyprus and sent me some great postcards from there when he went home during the holidays. We shared an office during my time at the OU.
Simon Campbell - Simon is another member of the astro group at Monash. A group of us (including Lisa and Amanda) went to a conference in the US, so we got to know each other quite well. Simon is also veggie and we often meet up to go to peace rallies.
John McCloughan - John is one of the few people at Monash who has not got a degree from the place... He's currently working towards one though (a PhD in fact). He's completely mad, has quite a thing for chocolate, and generally keeps me on the right side of (in)sanity (not sure which side that is though...)
Carolyn Doherty - Carolyn is also a PhD student at Monash, having done a Monash degree, then wandered off to do something else for a while, she decided to come back and study some more. She is currently working on meteorites, amongst other things. She also does a whole range of physical activities, from Wu Shu to yoga, and more recently ballet, so we often compare injuries!
Rafael Lang - Raf came to Monash during my first year at the Uni. He was visiting on an exchange programme from Ulm University in Germany. We visited several veggie restaurants and had some interesting philosophical decisions over food, telescope control rooms and on trains! Raf is now back in Ulm, working on a project to detect neutrinos in Antarctica.
Tim Barry & Kathleen Humble - Not strictly speaking astronomy related, I met Tim and Kathleen through John Mc. We've spent many happy occasions playing board games, card games or watching dodgy sci-fi!
John Lattanzio - John is my boss at Monash University - and he's the best supervisor anyone could want. He's supportive, dedicated and funny, as well as the person responsible for introducing me to the work of Derren Brown.
Jules Kajtar - Jules started out as a third-year student on my observational astronomy course, but then went through honours, and is now studying for a PhD. He also tutors on the first-year astrobiology unit I help to run.
George Angelou - George is also a PhD student at Monash, and a tutor for astrobiology. As part of my job is managing the tutorials, I get to know the tutors quite well. George has a great way of putting things in perspective.

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Sean Bennett - Somehow we met. It's too complicated for me to try to figure out, but Sean is great... He lives in Cambridge, is a Star Trek fan, and randomly disappears off round the world from time to time. He currently works somewhere in the City of London.
David Bradley - Probably my oldest friend. Dave lived next door to my mum's house in Birmingham (where I lived until starting uni) - we've known each other for 19 years... He did a degree in Linguistics at Manchester Uni, then decided to wander off round the world - he spent 18 months in Australia and New Zealand and is now back again. He's only in the country for my birthday one year in every two... and he worked in Berlin, and now he and Larissa are married and living in Melbourne!
Corina Brown - Corina and I went to the same church, a long long time ago. We were also both in the same Girls Brigade company, and both played in the band. We shared a love of singing and could often be heard thumping on the piano... Corina finished doing a drama degree at Alsager, and is now teaching in Hants. One of the days we'll get round to meeting up again!
Kerry Coutts - Kerry replied to a post I made on the Rocky Horror Show webpage and we've been mailing ever since. We've met up to see the show together twice. We share a love of chocolate. Kerry works for an animal rights charity in London - Well done Kerry!
Susan Coulson - Susan is another of the virtual friends I seem to have accumulated. This time, it's through Joseph... Susan obtained a computer science degree from Durham University... We finally managed to meet at Joseph in Woking - without even trying! Susan is now studying for a PhD at another UK university... but there were so many hassles and confusions involved that I've temporarily forgotten which!
John Hills - I met John a year or so ago, when Mum and I wanted to go to Cornwall to see the eclipse (well, actually I wanted to see the eclipse, mum just wanted the holiday!). John is some importantish person at the Camborne School of Mines - he's the one who keeps the place running. He's great, and one day I will get him to Rocky Horror!
Tanith Messenger - I met Tanith over the web (she's another of my e-friends!). She's a Joseph fan and has the best Joseph site I've found... We've since met up a couple of times in real life, and had a great time! We've even managed to see Jo together in Woking!
Cathy Slaughter - Cathy was a demonstrator at Keele while I was doing my undergrad degree - she soon made the mistake of actually being helpful, so she often found us waiting to ask her loads of questions about bits of physics she'd forgotten (pretty much like people do with me, now I'm a demonstrator myself!)... Cathy is now working somewhere in the midlands, doing something with computers. More than that, I can't really figure out! Don't forget it's your turn to visit us Cathy!
Lee Staniforth - Lee and I met while organising a convention based around the TV programme "The X-Files". Manchester, where he lived, was my regular bolt-hole when things at Keele got too stressful after I split with my ex-fiance... We still email regularly and even manage to meet up from time to time... Lee currently lives and works in Macclesfield. Lee has also recently become a dad! Congrats Lee and Flic!
Jamiee Wade - Again, complicated to explain how we 'met'. Jamiee lives in the US, and we've met up twice when I've been out there. We email regularly through the day. She collects beanies, and has a little girl, Jerrika, and a little boy, Jonathan.
Melissa Taylor - Someone who's as mad as I am! Mels and I have zoomed off round the country together to explore, as well as to continue our mission to see Joseph in as many places and theatres as possible... We also get together and sing (loudly and often badly!) too... Mels finished an Archaeology course at Southampton University, worked as Manager of their Ents crew for a while before heading to York.
Jon Ward - A friend of a friend, who I met while going to see the Rocky Horror Show. Jon works at Aston University doing something with computers... (allegedly!) He also makes excellent food and provides a good place to crash when everything goes pear shaped.
Bridget Kenyon - Bridget is Jon Ward's significant other, and we've spent some time wandering Birmingham, looking at clothes, and sitting in coffee shops together!
Nathalie Beaumont - Nathalie was at Keele for a year, studying English (she's studying in France). I took part in a "Family Friendship" scheme, and was her host "family" while she was here. We had some great chats, and regularly stay in contact by email. She's currently working in the USA.
Kay - Kay studied at Keele, and shared a flat with Marie Langdon (see LINKS) among others. She works for the Logistics team at Omega LRP events, so we get to chat occasionally.
Paul & Juliet Wilder - Paul and Juliet are two of the partners who run Omega LRP events, which I've been first aiding at almost since the beginning. We usually get time to chat every now and again, and I now count them among my friends.
Anne-Marie Williams - Anne-Marie is another Omega person. She regularly staffs at LARP events, usually in the bar, but she can also be found banging her head on things, first aiding, or (at one event) catering. Anne-Marie married Neil not too long ago, and now lives in North Wales.
Larissa Telley - Larissa is David Bradley's wife, and we've had plenty of chats, usually over food at the Warehouse Cafe in Brum. Larissa lived with David in Berlin, after doing an English teaching course in Italy. Larissa moved back to her native Melbourne in September 2002, and married David Bradley here in March 2003!
Thelma Williams - Thelma is the WWF representative for my home region in Birmingham. We met several years ago when I took part in a sponsored walk she organises each year, and now we chat online. I help out with a sponsored walk she runs when I'm in the UK.
Mark Olsen - Mark responded to my ad on a Vegetarian network board asking for vegan email pals in Australia - I figured the best way to find the good places to eat and buy stuff was to ask someone who knew! The theory worked too - Mark knows the best vegan-cake-selling place in the world! We head there about once a month to meet up and eat cake.
Hannah Gardner - Hannah was the first brit I met when I moved to Australia. We were both staying at Bayview Conference Centre, and someone had told her that a new "scottish" girl had moved in! Hannah is also a St John member, and is studying chemistry at Sheffield Uni when she's not on a year abroad placement in Aussie!)
Deborah Ogley - Richard's sister. We've had quite a few chats when I've visited his family home - mostly early in the morning before everyone else gets up, and usually over The Sims or Worms!
Karen Davies - Karen is one of the coaches at Whitehorse Gymnastic Club. She only joined this year, but she is the closest person there to my age and we get on really well.
Tess McLaren - One of the most awesome gymnastic coaches - she can work with anyone of any age and get results, as well as making them feel special. She's training to be a teacher, and she's going to be fantastic at it!
Clare Griffin - Clare was one of the rhythmic coaches at Whitehorse when I started my coach training. She taught me everything I know about rhythmic, and lots about being a good coach. She's also a great friend.
Joan Duquemin - Joan is the senior rhythmic coach at Whitehorse Gymnastic Club. She is also an international level judge, and a fantastic mentor.
Sue Faulkner - Sue is one of the Kindergym coaches at Whitehorse, teaching gymnastics to the tiny tots. She's also my greatest adviser, friend and helper - we chat often after class and she has a great way of putting things in context.
Kerrie Saba - Kerrie is another of the Kindergym coaches. She is also responsible for running events and competitions at the club, and rearranging/tidying up.

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Yvonne Mitchell - I met Yvonne through my dance classes - we're both somewhat long limbed so tend to end up dancing similar steps, and put well away from everyone else so we don't clobber them by accident!
Chris Sculac - Chris dances at Studio D, where I started out - we've done jazz and ballet together. Chris always has so much energy and enthusiasm, and she takes really good care of me.
Toni Storey - Toni has been my jazz teacher for 5 years and ballet teacher for four. She's also a really great friend and mentor, and often pops around for dinner and a chat after class. She also dances professionally - Oh, and did I mention that she's got more energy than anyone else I've ever met! :)
Olivia McHenry - Olivia has done the same ballet and jazz classes as me for a few years now. She's always really helpful and friendly, and we've kept each other sane while working backstage at events!

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Last updated 25 Dec 2007 Page designed by: alia-801
Image use policy: All images on this site are copyright alia-801, unless indicated otherwise. You may use images from this site for non-commercial purposes, so long as credit is given to A. Ford. Please email me if you have any queries - alia_801 [at] planet-save . com