Jane 27th October 2020

Ann Waswo was responsible for employing me as the Secretary, as it was then known, of the Nissan Institute, back in 1998. Roger Goodman was on sabbatical at the time, and we often laugh and say that Ann has a lot to answer for, for employing me when I am being particularly annoying to him. I would like to add to a couple of things that Professor Stockwin mentioned in his Eulogy, when he mentioned the keys of the Institute. In my 22 years here, Ann instigated two resuiting of the keys to the building. I think it was around 2001 when she thought I was finally responsible enough to replace her as “keeper of the keys” for the entire Institute. The other was about the interior of the Institute, that had been meticulously planned by her and Jenny, and designed right down to the colour schemes for every office. The carpet in the main office was mauve with bluish tinge, when I started in 1998. Sometime in the following year, I decided that I need a kick-step, desk tidy, card index box, and a hole punch. I ordered them all in red, as this was then a favourite colour of mine. After they arrived, and Ann saw the kick-step, I was politely but firmly told that didn’t match the colour scheme of the office, and it was duly banished to a room elsewhere in the building. A few years later, Ann visited Japan and, in her own inimitable way, brought back two gifts for me: a reddish-coloured pen-holder and a lovely wooden picture of two horses, with the comment “I know red is your favourite colour”. In the last few years, Ann started to refer to me as “her responsible adult” when required; for those of you who know Ann, you’ll recognise as a term of affection, without having to say as much. I am proud to have worked with and known Ann for 22 years. She made me the Administrator I am, and instilled in me the passion that she had for the maintenance and upkeep of the Institute. Thank you Ann, you will be missed.