Our one and only Penny Roy: French

Monday, 25 August 2008

Of Pen's ability to bring unusual items to dinner parties

The term before we were released into the wild for our ERASMUS, year, Julia and I hosted a dinner for the exclusive bunch of UCL history people who were going to Paris. We eventually all became very close, but at that point in the summer of 1996 we weren't aware of Penny's moments of occasional randomness.

The evening of the dinner party arrived. I spent hours slaving over a dish of taboulleh which should have taken no more than 15 minutes. The finest " vin rouge de origine de diverses pays européennes " was uncorked, sophisticated lighting was arranged and some moody French jazz played in the background.

Guests arrived, bringing cheeses, snails, and other foods with a French theme. Pen arrived (late, would you believe it.) and proudly unveiled her contribution:

A coconut

Because she'd seen it at the shop earlier that day and thought it would be fun.

After several hours we eventually managed to get the thing open by attacking it with a screwdriver and bashing the end with one of Julia's spice girl- style platform shoes.
Pen's coconut resulted a laughter-filled evening during which we got a first flash of Pen's occasionall tendencies towards the bizarre. There would be many more....

Biographical notes

Penelope was born in Mill Road Maternity Hospital in Cambridge, the eldest by a minute, of triplets! We moved into Windsor Road when the triplets were 3 and they all went to Mayfield School, Chesterton Community College, and Hills Road Sixth Form.

Penelope loved animals as a child and had a pet rabbit called “Beau” who had the freedom of the garden. We also had a family dog called “Rags”. Penelope attended Guides at St Augustine’s and for a time assisted Jonathan with her brother and sister as servers in church on Sundays. Her other interests were music - she played the piano, French horn, and later in London the guitar. She was very artistic, creative and original, and enjoyed sculpture, drawing and painting for which she had a natural gift. They were lifelong interests.

Penelope had a particular flair for ballet and at a young age she joined Mari Bicknell’s Cambridge Ballet Workshop. Numerous productions took place at the Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds and the Mumford Theatre in Cambridge. Subsequently under Caroline Messenger, Jazz and Contemporary dance took over. When Caroline moved away from Cambridge Penelope joined Eden Dance under the tuition of Maureen Mitchell.

At Hills Road Penelope developed a love for Ancient History under the inspirational teaching of Mrs Oliver. She chose University College London as her university because she could link her Ancient History with a year in France (through the Erasmus scheme).

It was during one of the summer holiday when Pen was marking exam papers for the Local Exam Syndicate that she met a mysterious young man from Kings!!
Pen met Ashwin in 1994 when they were both at university, through mutual friends – Mauritian friends of Ashwin who were then studying in London and living in the same halls of residence as Pen. It all started as a result of Pen’s innate intellectual curiosity and openness to other cultures: she heard Priscilla talking in a weird French on the phone and could not resist from enquiring. This led to a friendship with Pris and eventually the connection with Ashwin.

From convoluted beginnings, Pen and Ashwin’s relationship took root over the following years. They were soon enough inseparable, doing everything together, moulding each others’ personalities and providing each other with the strength and inspiration to embark on their respective careers. Their relationship was deeply entrenched but always naturally comfortable. They were married in September 2005.

After graduation Penelope had a career in Market and Social Research. She started with commercial research to assist in formulating her clients’ advertising strategy, before finding that her interest was primarily for social research informing government policy. Her projects, mainly for government departments, ranged from drug abuse, disability, Islam in Britain and naval recruitment. Her interviews ranged from comic to very dangerous and she had amazing stories to relate. Her ability to see other people’s point of view won her great respect and a multitude of friends.

Pen always had a keen interest in other cultures and their history. She was always ready for new experiences in order to understand others’ perspective. She was well travelled, including holidays to India, Thailand, North America, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco and throughout continental Europe, as well as Mauritius. She was always keen to taste new cuisines and forever the experimental cook herself! She adopted Ashwin’s Mauritian background and Indian origins wholeheartedly, while retaining her own identity. She even spoke Mauritian creole fluently – not a minor achievement for someone who does not live in Mauritius.

Through her work, she was also extensively travelled across the UK. She was always ready to see the positive aspects of this country and was often dismayed by a certain tendency towards negativity.

Work had to have true purpose for Pen and she eventually decided on a career change. She had discovered her true vocation in teaching and was taking a PGCE with the Institute of Education when she became ill. In her first few months of the course, she was regularly praised for the creativity that she brought to her teaching and for her ability to listen.

Pen was a skilled sailor and was working towards her Day Skipper certificate.

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Monday, 25 August 2008

Of Pen's ability to bring unusual items to dinner parties

Our one and only Penny Roy

Biographical notes

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