Nostalgia Interviews With Chris Deacy

My guest this week is John Partridge, Honorary Lecturer in Linguistics at the University of Kent. John came to Canterbury from Bavaria in 1977 where he had taught English. We talk about how we once bumped into each other at a Gerry and the Pacemakers gig and about broaching conversations with idols. John tells us about his PhD on performative verbs and we discuss whether new forms of language have arisen since lockdown, and we learn why John is disinclined to use social media conventions. We discover how John regrets not having taken full advantage of the many cultural benefits available in Liverpool (though he did gain two qualifications and a wife). We find out that he had a happy time growing up in Sutton Coldfield and doing lots of outdoor activities e.g. mountaineering, and John discloses why he is quite a parochial kind of person. We learn that he meets up with friends from sixth form once or twice a year and we talk about how places mean different things to different people. John discuss