| Description | An interview with Jonathan LLOYD, a single man with no children, who is a Student, born in London and now living in Birmingham. Jonathan LLOYD’s father was a Vicar, born in England and his mother a Housewife born in England. In the interview, he talks about …
'MS2255/2/026 LLOYD, Jonathan Logged by Lorraine Blakemore
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I was born in 1979 in London….I was brought up in Essex. Father is a vicar, Christian upbringing. Vicarage located near to council estate in Braintree.
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Loved primary school. Enjoyed sports. Passed 11+ and went to grammar school, King Edward VI. Pressurised academic environment. Didn’t feel that culturally he fitted in with the ethos of the school.
3.17 Outside school heavily involved with church activities, help with youth groups, football.
3.57 Took a gap year after leaving school. Worked for Essex County Council in the Treasury Dept.
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Work experience useful in formulating ideas about what he didn’t want to do in the future. Job raised money to go away with an organisation called Latin Link, a Christian Missionary Organisation to South America. 4 months in Ecuador. Primarily a building project working with local church. Experience of team work very valuable.
2.53 Contrast of life in UK and Ecuador.
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Returned to UK and prepared to start university. Obtained a grant so in a better financial position than some students. Has now been at Birmingham University for 2 years.
55” I chose Birmingham for quite a few different reasons…I chose it because it was a big city…big university….good degree, I study geography and it was a good department…far enough away from home.
1.57 Didn’t want to go to Oxbridge partly because he wanted time to build on non-academic pursuits.
3.08 First impressions of Birmingham.
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57” Gradually more involved in out of university activities. I’ve got a part-time job working for the council, which has been a good experience….
1.41 I’m working for the council in the parks and landscape dept. …essentially what I do is two-fold, but the main thing is doing door to door interviewing, in what I class as the more run down areas…focuses mainly in the Lee Bank area of Birmingham and going around knocking on doors and asking what do you want in your local area…..some people do want parks, some people put parks as a very low priority…
3.47 The housing we were mainly in was big tower blocks….the residents said “we live in a rough area”….it can be quite intimidating walking through some of the flats seeing people smoke drugs on the stairwell and thinking I don’t really want to get attacked, and that’s probably wrong in itself thinking just because it’s a run down area you’re going to get attacked…..
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I think I saw fear in people which you don’t expect to see in Britain…when you see people who are actually too scared to leave their homes…
1.14 I may not see it myself , but from what people describe, the place being riddled with crime, lots of muggings, lots of prostitution, lots of drugs….
1.53 Describes involvement in local football via University’s Community Action Programme. Going into primary schools in run down areas where there isn’t much provision for after school activities. The school I go to is Montgomery School in Sparkbrook, which is pretty much a completely Asian population…So I guess you see how ghettoised parts of Birmingham really are…. Anecdote about coaching football at the school.
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Impression of Sparkbrook.
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Contrast between Birmingham and Braintree, Essex. Birmingham is so much more varied in its character…
1.50 In the schools I went to, whether it was stated or not, there was possibly more racism. The butt of people’s jokes would be the minority….
2.55 I go to a church called Vineyard, which is held in a school in Bournville, Dame Elizabeth Cadbury School. It’s a very lively church, very different to what I’ve gone to in the past. All my life I’ve been brought up in a C of E church…. But this is… quite a charismatic church….I think the appeal for me of the church was its welcoming and friendly nature….
4.37 Going to church, it’s my life really…I try to make God the centre of my life…it does give me a focus of what my life is going for…
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It’s difficult to judge because it’s a big church, but I’d say it’s pretty much middle class and young if I was going to try and classify it in social terms…not many older people, it’s a new church, 10 years old…there are quite a few black and Asian people there…it’s good because often it doesn’t happen, you get black congregational churches and you get white, middle of the road evangelical C of E churches and it’s a problem…
1.54 The church does a lot of work with the homeless in the city centre and as a result of that there are quite a few homeless people that come to our church.
Explains why Vineyard Church is particularly welcoming to students.
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Describes social life. Pubs and clubs in Birmingham.
2.26 The clubs I like are DNA, which is a pretty new club that has opened….it’s big, good sound system, you get decent dance music, house music. It’s got a cleaner image than The Dome which is quite seedy in my opinion. As far as I’m aware there’s not a drugs problem whereas quite clearly in Pulse, which has just closed down there is.
4.07 I go to Bobby Browns which is just off Broad Street, which is a really nice club…apparently it’s changed over time because I’ve been talking to past students and it used to be an old person's club….
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Describes the drug scene at university and outside. Loads of people smoke cannabis…. But generally not continually, they are not addicted, it’s more a social thing at a house party or just in their room or something with a few mates….
Reveals Christian standpoint on drug taking.
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Describes student accommodation at university.
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Describes people in current shared house.
Students reliant on student loans and parental support. I think most students at our university don’t struggle that much because they are supported by parents…
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Student eating and drinking habits and budgeting.
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Future prospects. Main interest is development geography in terms of the Third World….I want to do a job that is actually worthwhile, money isn’t a motivation….Maybe I’ll do some voluntary work for a couple of years after I graduate, maybe working for a development agency…
2.14 The effect of living in Birmingham.
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ENDS |