Month: December 2025

STOIC News & What’s On: 1979

This time I have an item that doesn’t really have a story attached to it. I thought it would be interesting to hear the news and what’s-on for a specific time in Imperial’s life. In this snapshot from 3 October 1979 Mark Foley is presenting the item that was within that particular week’s News-Break programme. Only item mentioned of particular interest to STOIC was the cable laying to provide an outlet link to Beit Hall (whatever happened to that link I wonder?).

Colin Grimshaw – Christmas Day 2025

Studying for the Future: 1985

For the 1985 “Technology 2000” exhibition held at Imperial College, two videos were produced: Studying for the Future and Discovering the Future. Both made use of the same visual stock-footage material, such as teaching, research, and campus footage. Studying for the Future was a promotional video for potential undergraduates. I’ve managed to colour-correct and enhance the 40-year-old videotape.

A lot of what you’ll see in this video has long gone—for example, the old main entrance, the college shop, the Reactor Centre, and the TV Studio. However, as I’ve said, it wonderfully captures what Imperial looked and felt like all those years ago. My memories are of a nicer, much happier and friendlier place back then, when people knew each other.

How much do you remember of the old place? Indeed, are you featured in the video, let me know?

Colin Grimshaw – December 2025

James Watson: 2007

Once again, here is a video that I’ve rescued from oblivion. This is another video that was located on the old video server that was decommissioned a year or so ago. With days to spare, I had all (I hope) of the videos transferred onto a normal hard disk drive. The server was then scrapped, and the hard drive either erased or destroyed.

During the 2007 year of Imperial’s centenary, many special lectures were given, and here is a very special one indeed. James Watson (1928–2025), along with Francis Crick, is famed for the 1953 proposal of DNA structure. He gave the special centenary lecture entitled “Rules for Important Science“ on 18 June 2007.

The quality of the image is not going to be great, as I’ve had to convert and enhance it from an old “RealVideo” encoded” video file.

Colin Grimshaw December 2025