After many years of dedicated service, two familiar faces left Keble at the end of Hilary Term. Groundsman Dave Turner retired after 35 years, and Accommodation Assistant Tanya Pomroy after 34. Over that time, their work has helped sustain the day-to-day life of the College in ways both visible and unseen.

Dave Turner started work at Keble in January 1991, brought in by Gardens and Grounds Manager Ade Roche to help upgrade the Sports Ground to a higher standard. Dave looked after Keble sports (Football, Hockey, Tennis, Cricket), plus a bowling green which Summertown Bowls Club rented from the College. After the Bowls Club folded in 2011/12, two new tennis courts were added in its stead and a new machine shed was built nearer to the pavilion. It was at this time that St Hugh’s College approached Keble about renting and sharing the Sports Ground.

Ade writes: “Dave has been with us through all this until the present when he has decided to retire after 35 years. I am sure many students past and present will remember Dave fondly. He will be greatly missed by the Gardens and Grounds team but we all wish him well in his well-deserved retirement. As his Manager, I would like to add that he has been a hardworking and loyal friend and colleague and someone I could rely on 100%.”

Tanya Pomroy joined Keble in 1992, after (luckily for the College) turning down an offer at Oxford Brookes. In the subsequent 34 years, she has looked after the rooms of generations of students, staff and guests. More than that, she has been a friend, a confidant, and occasionally a vicarious parent to some, touching thousands of lives in the process. Many former students still remember her, long after they have left the College for the wider world, from the chatty ones always up for a natter, to the shy ones who appreciated her care and kindness.

Tanya has remained a constant at Keble through four Wardens and countless changes at the College doing her job well, without complaint and with a high degree of professionalism, even on the toughest of days. Her manager Mirjana adds: “XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX”

Keble will not be the same without them.

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