I am the first person in my South African family to study in London, although various members from my grandfather to my uncle have come over to London to work. The then-head of the University of the Witwatersrand Philosophy Department had suggested that I look at Goodenough, where he had stayed while working on his PhD at UCL. He described the years there as some of the best in his life. I was hesitant – I’m happy to accept philosophical advice from the HoD, not living advice – but went ahead with applying anyway.
Once my mother caught on that I was actually leaving, she looked at the College website, and saw that Goodenough College is in part made up of London House. At this she realized, and communicated, a number of things. The first was that a painting by Enslin du Plessis in our entrance hall was in fact of Mecklenburgh Square. Du Plessis had spent time in London in the 1920s and 30s working as a journalist and had stayed overlooking the Square.
The next revelation was that my grandfather, her father, had stayed in London House in 1953–4. He was
in Britain on a Kemsley Empire Journalist Scholarship, an award which aimed to encourage the exchange
of ideas and experiences between journalists from Britain and the Dominions. My uncle too had stayed
in London House when he first moved to London in the early 1970s, and was working. Back then, London
House had been male only. He’s still a bit bemused that his niece is staying in a men-only residence.
It turns out that other members of my family have also stayed at London House. Because of the name
change and the current focus on graduate students, no one realized that I was coming to the same place.
Although South Africa withdrew from the Commonwealth in 1961, both my uncle and my grandfather would have stayed at London House because of Commonwealth connections. The South Africa I grew up in has very little to do with the Commonwealth and the idea of a place especially for former Commonwealth citizens to gather seems quite archaic to me. I feel that I am here now by virtue of
being an international student, not because I am part of a colonial legacy. As such, it is perhaps more fitting that my family didn’t make the connections until much later.
Mary Carman (LH 2009–11)
