On January 16 th  we were delighted and honoured to receive, as our guest, Professor Charlie Jeffery, Vice-Chancellor of the University of York. With formalities quickly dropped, Charlie, rather than Professor Jeffery, spoke to us about the past history, current ethos and future prospects of his university, which was founded in 1963, when its first Vice Chancellor, Baron (John) James of Rusholme, made it clear from the outset that things would be different here from other ‘ne