Memories of Alnwick
Al Neff ’86 ’89, Denver, Alnwick 1986
My Alnwick story comes in the early summer of 1986. A month
or so before I had traveled to various parts of the continent
during our break. One of the best stops was Greece, and
the reason my traveling partner Luke and I decided to go
there was that we needed sunshine.
I loved living in Alnwick and in the castle, where there
is a special smell of wetness and stone which defines the
feeling for me still today. But it can be very gloomy when
the clouds and rain go on and on...and that was the tone
of the time that led up to the story.
We finally had a sunny day. It looked beautiful through
the window. But I had class all morning, then my work-study
job on the lunch crew, then another class and then it was
my team's turn to do the prep work for dinner. The day went
by as I continually checked my watch and looked out of every
window I passed, almost hoping the clouds would roll in
so I wouldn't be left out. I was imprisoned in one of my
favorite places in the world. But there was still time at
the very end of my day to catch maybe a half-hour down by
the river at my favorite spot. I grabbed a notebook and
bolted outside the second my obligations ended, ran out
of the big doors and turned right to head down the hill
to my hideaway. And then, I spotted someone else right where
I wanted to be. It was one of those times when you feel
that the deck has been stacked against you. All I wanted
was solitude and sunshine for a few precious minutes, but
the obstacles kept me away from the pay-off.
I'm an American. I got an attitude and examined my options.
From my vantage point I could see a beautiful patch of the
waning sun on the hillside on the other side of the road.
The problem was...it was in the Duke's park and we had been
told that this was strictly off limits to students. I looked
both ways, tossed my notebook through the tall iron fence
with really sharp points at the top and climbed over, risking
my safety and the future of the family line. It was like
being a sunshine-seeking commando...and I made it to my
destination.
I had the most incredible perfect view of the castle, being
warmed by the rare English sun as I sat on the Duke's hill,
and I relished in the ultimate coolness of my life. I began
to write a letter to my girlfriend and became lost in the
process until I heard something behind me and turned to
see an older gentleman walking with a cane, smoking a pipe,
and coming toward me. Realizing that he was probably a grounds-keeper
and knowing I was not supposed to be there I smiled and
said hello, following with "it's ok that I'm here isn't
it?" He said "Well it looks like you're here now
anyway doesn't it?" He had the upper hand, but rather
than tell me what kind of trouble I was in he said, "You
must be one of the students from the castle" and asked
me how I liked living there. My enthusiasm came naturally,
and I went on to have a great conversation with him about
my travels and experiences. He smiled a lot. Then he asked
if there was anything I didn't like about living there and
I told him that it really seemed to rain a lot. He knew
that Alnwick received about 40 inches of rainfall each year.
So in making polite conversation, and appreciating the fact
that he didn't seem like he was going to bust me for trespassing,
I asked if he lived in Alnwick. He said "Oh yes, I
live over there," as he pointed with his cane to the
castle. "I'm your landlord".
I had remained seated on the ground until this point. I
stood and addressed the Duke as "your grace" as
I had been told to do if on the odd chance we would ever
be in his presence. He was of the Percy family, often written
about by Shakespeare. He dined with the Queen. He owned
large parts of Northumberland. He had personal status and
importance that I had never encountered. I felt uncomfortable
that I was in his presence, especially under the circumstances.
I think he realized this and shortly thereafter he bid me
a good evening and continued with his walk. It was getting
dark.
That night I felt compelled to write him a letter to apologize
for trespassing, and whatever lack of etiquette I might
have displayed. In the letter I thanked him on behalf of
the students and again told him how exciting it was to live
in such a place. I signed off with my apology, but then
added that I was glad I hadn't let the fence stop me, after
all I'd had a chance to meet him. And that's where the story
really begins.
I still remember addressing the letter: "Duke of Northumberland,
Alnwick Castle, Alnwick Northumberland and a zip code."
How do you send a letter to a person and place like that?
I didn't really think it would get to him, but it made me
feel better. Then time went by, a few weeks at least, until
one morning I came down for breakfast half asleep and there
was our program director Kent Frohrip, his wife Karen, and
the instructors. They all came to me and began shaking my
hand and patting me on the back and saying "well done!"
and I had no idea what they were talking about. "It
was your letter Allen. The Duke has decided to continue
the program!". I didn't know it until then but St.
Cloud State had a 5-year lease, beginning in 1981, and it
was about to run out. There had been a few problems with
the students at the castle, mostly just drunk and disorderly
and trespassing issues, but the issue was up in the air,
at least it was until our conversation and the letter.
Of course I was only an instrument of a larger design, but
here's the fun part. I later ended up meeting a woman named
Margaret who had been the nanny to the Duke's children,
including the current Duke. I had the chance to tell her
of my story and when I got to the part when I described
how he had walked up with his cane and was smoking a pipe,
she interrupted me and said "Oh, I understand. He's
not supposed to be smoking". The Duchess wouldn't let
him smoke in the castle, so he was out in the park doing
something he wasn't supposed to do, just like me. To be
perfectly honest, I was smoking something out there too.
We all live in this world together.
Here's the final poetry. A few years later I graduated
with my master's degree from SCSU. My parents weren't able
to be at the ceremony so I didn't participate, but I wanted
to be there. The keynote address that year was given by
a man named Bill Hugginin, who was the Duke's representative.
Imagine my feelings as I sat there in the audience and heard
him speak of the wonderful international connection we have.
Then he pulled out my letter. He prefaced the scene and
then read the last part, ending with the part about the
fence. He paused and said, with great gravity and conviction,
"He didn't let the fence stop him".
Of course the message is obvious, and it's a message that
I now sometimes bring to my classrooms as a professor, and
to people I meet who may be on the verge of climbing the
fences in their lives. So often we can see what we want
on the other side. The fence is just a metaphor. The opportunities
are real. I thank St. Cloud State University, the Center
for International Studies, the late Duke of Northumberland
and all of the other players on the stage of life and on
the other side of the fences I've climbed with these insights
in mind.
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