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I was delighted to join two memorable study visits organised by the department — to Hungary in 1985 and the Soviet Union in 1986. Forty years on, my memories of Hungary are hazy. We visited a wide variety of sites, including a ball-bearing factory, a cooperative farm, a hospital, a vineyard, and the popular holiday resort at Lake Balaton. The food was simple and sometimes surprising; I still remember one lunch starter that we all happily devoured until we discovered it was brains. I also recall the exceptionally potent local fruit brandy, palinka, that was served with every meal.

In Minsk, we stayed in student accommodation supposedly designed and built by students themselves. Few things worked as intended — the lifts were unreliable, showers flooded the floors, and doors rarely closed properly. Stern elderly women stood guard in the foyer and on every landing, ensuring we behaved. The local students we met were eager to practise their English and keen to buy any Western clothes we could spare, particularly jeans.

We toured the Sekonda watch factory, a cooperative farm, a school, and a hospital, and made a sobering visit to the Khatyn Memorial, which commemorates the victims of Nazi occupation. Everywhere we went, we were accompanied by our Intourist guide — a man who looked the very image of a Cold War spy, complete with grey trilby and trench coat with the collar turned up.

Daily life in Minsk felt strikingly austere. There were almost no shops, only street stalls selling single items such as cucumbers. In the evenings, our only real option was the hard-currency bar at the city’s one international hotel.

From Minsk we travelled by overnight train to Moscow, where we queued to view Lenin’s mausoleum and spent our remaining roubles in the beautiful GUM department store overlooking Red Square. I returned home with a trilby hat and a set of colourful posters that formed part of Gorbachev’s 1985 anti-alcohol campaign — stark illustrations of the dangers of drinking too much vodka. I still have them.

Looking back, those two trips were among the most valuable experiences of my time at university. They were both hugely enjoyable and profoundly informative. Standing in the heart of the Soviet system, we gained a vivid understanding of how different life could be under central planning. More than anything, the visits made us deeply appreciate the freedoms, opportunities, and choices we enjoyed at home.