"The OU will never be the same again without Martin"
"It's the end of an era"
"He will be missed at every turn by every one of us"
"Martin was one of the best, if not The Best, person to have work for you"
These are just a few of the lovely things that many people said to me on the occassion of Pops' retirement.
The retirement party at The OU was an emotional affair. Over 150 people turned up for the party - quite a few of whom had retired from the OU many years before but had made special arrangements to travel to Milton Keynes to wish Pops well.
Quite a few of his staff dressed up in outfits that had been worn by dad's office to raise money for charities like Children In Need, The Salvation Army, Great Ormond Street ... the list goes on ...
There was a 'Martin quiz' which was brilliantly done, and an awesome presentation was given by Ruth where she had incorporated pictures of Pops on a great big projection screen. The photos that she had were from the past 35 years and were highly amusing. I had been scanning in photos like mad in the weeks before to send over to her! Not to mention frantically baking in the kitchen to make and decorate a cake big enough for 150 people!
Throughout the party there was Rock n Roll music being played, a non-stop stream of photos of Pops through the ages running on the wall and the mirror ball in the middle of the Old Lecture Theatre was especially fixed and made to work for the occassion too!
It was definitely evident throughout the whole event just how fond everyone has been of Martin throughout his entire working career and just how much respect they have for him - not just for his job role but because of the fair, honest and caring boss/colleague that he is.
And now for a personal note from me.
I have spent 31 years watching Pops trundle to and from The OU. I have learnt more from him about Higher Education and the running of The OU than from any of my OU bosses or work colleagues. I have listened to him talk about the good work and strong ethics of The OU and wanted to have myself that same belief in HE and what The OU can do. I listened to other people talk about what a fair boss he was - how he was always keen to promote and advance his staff - a quality sadly lacking in most other bosses at The OU. He really did represent what The OU was all about. A strong and tall pillar of OU ethics. Many would say the last bastion of how The OU used to be when it started. And what have I learnt from all of this? I have learnt that my father is deeply respected by all who meet him. I have learnt the importance of equality, of fairness and of second chances. I have learnt that to forgive is not the same as to be taken for a fool. I have learnt that second, third and fourth chances are not failures, so long as it is not the same mistake repeated each time. I have learnt to be patient with others and to respect their personal, ethical and work boundaries
But most of all pops, what I have learnt from you is how to be a good person. In this busy world we are all too eager to give quick congratulations and move on without telling someone really what they mean to you. How much their struggles or victories make you proud. How strong that person always seems and how proud you are just to stand next to them and be counted.Well, that's how I feel about you Pops. All through my life you have been my moral compass, the person I least wanted to ever disappoint, the person I always wanted to be as proud of me as I am of you. And I know you are proud of all of us. You love us all so much, you are so proud of us and it's only right that you should know the feeling is totally and utterly recipricated. I love you dad.
So - let's charge our glasses and give a HUGE toast to Martin. Well done boy. You made it out the other side! Here's to the next 50+ years of history, memories and fun.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"It's the end of an era"
"He will be missed at every turn by every one of us"
"Martin was one of the best, if not The Best, person to have work for you"
These are just a few of the lovely things that many people said to me on the occassion of Pops' retirement.
The retirement party at The OU was an emotional affair. Over 150 people turned up for the party - quite a few of whom had retired from the OU many years before but had made special arrangements to travel to Milton Keynes to wish Pops well.
Quite a few of his staff dressed up in outfits that had been worn by dad's office to raise money for charities like Children In Need, The Salvation Army, Great Ormond Street ... the list goes on ...
There was a 'Martin quiz' which was brilliantly done, and an awesome presentation was given by Ruth where she had incorporated pictures of Pops on a great big projection screen. The photos that she had were from the past 35 years and were highly amusing. I had been scanning in photos like mad in the weeks before to send over to her! Not to mention frantically baking in the kitchen to make and decorate a cake big enough for 150 people!
Throughout the party there was Rock n Roll music being played, a non-stop stream of photos of Pops through the ages running on the wall and the mirror ball in the middle of the Old Lecture Theatre was especially fixed and made to work for the occassion too!
It was definitely evident throughout the whole event just how fond everyone has been of Martin throughout his entire working career and just how much respect they have for him - not just for his job role but because of the fair, honest and caring boss/colleague that he is.
And now for a personal note from me.
I have spent 31 years watching Pops trundle to and from The OU. I have learnt more from him about Higher Education and the running of The OU than from any of my OU bosses or work colleagues. I have listened to him talk about the good work and strong ethics of The OU and wanted to have myself that same belief in HE and what The OU can do. I listened to other people talk about what a fair boss he was - how he was always keen to promote and advance his staff - a quality sadly lacking in most other bosses at The OU. He really did represent what The OU was all about. A strong and tall pillar of OU ethics. Many would say the last bastion of how The OU used to be when it started. And what have I learnt from all of this? I have learnt that my father is deeply respected by all who meet him. I have learnt the importance of equality, of fairness and of second chances. I have learnt that to forgive is not the same as to be taken for a fool. I have learnt that second, third and fourth chances are not failures, so long as it is not the same mistake repeated each time. I have learnt to be patient with others and to respect their personal, ethical and work boundaries
But most of all pops, what I have learnt from you is how to be a good person. In this busy world we are all too eager to give quick congratulations and move on without telling someone really what they mean to you. How much their struggles or victories make you proud. How strong that person always seems and how proud you are just to stand next to them and be counted.Well, that's how I feel about you Pops. All through my life you have been my moral compass, the person I least wanted to ever disappoint, the person I always wanted to be as proud of me as I am of you. And I know you are proud of all of us. You love us all so much, you are so proud of us and it's only right that you should know the feeling is totally and utterly recipricated. I love you dad.
So - let's charge our glasses and give a HUGE toast to Martin. Well done boy. You made it out the other side! Here's to the next 50+ years of history, memories and fun.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
