Valē Rob Moore

 

 

I was listening to Stephen Fry talk about an arbitrary, momentary decision by someone he had never met, that led to his going to Cambridge and the start of his fantastic and rewarding public life.
My thought turned to my rambling essay which I was sending to academics around the country, trying to find someone who was interested in a half-baked theory of language evolution. One of recipients was Rob Moore, the only UK researcher I could find with an interest in some of the old work of Basil Bernstein. I got an “Out of Office” from Dr Moore stating that he was on sick leave for the year. Then, a day later an email saying that he had read my essay and that something in it was was worth researching and that I “should apply here”. “Here” was the University of Cambridge. The departmental website was a complete mess with no mention of of Dr Moore’s course or position but apply I did, on the last day of the of a deadline.
Never in my life had I seen myself as an “Oxbridge” type but there I was in Oct 2012, a post-grad at the University of Cambridge. I wanted to thank Rob Moore and looked for him but there was no trace.
When I watched Stephen Fry yesterday I immediately thought of my etherial exchange with Rob Moore two years ago and internally voiced the words “for all I know he might be fucking dead”

Valē, Rob Moore

Fri, 02 May
The Faculty has been informed that sadly Dr Rob Moore, who recently retired from his position as Senior Lecturer in Sociology of Education, died yesterday in hospital after a long period of illness.   Rob joined Homerton College in 1987 as Senior Lecturer in Multi-cultural Education and Sociology of Education and in 2001 transferred to the University of Cambridge with convergence of the teaching and research activities of the then School of Education and those of Homerton College.  He was elected a Fellow of Homerton College in 2003.

Valē