Nostalgia Interviews With Chris Deacy

Richard King is Professor Emeritus of Buddhist and Asian Studies at the University of Kent and in this wide ranging interview Rich begins by talking us through the different places where he has worked. He never would have imagined having the career he does as no one in his family had stayed in education beyond the age of 14. We learn that he might have ended up as a road sweeper. His parents were aware of their class background and Rich talks about how the programmes he watched when he was young said something about one’s class. His earliest memories entail reading out the words in a newspaper and he remembers having the radio on in the house. He recalls swivelling his hips to Elvis and we learn that his first album was from The Police and that he has a particular fondness for 70s music. Rich became a Dr. Who fan in later years and he talks about how it became an important signifier of his identity when he was living away from the UK. We learn why Rich chose to go to the University of Hull and why he fe