I've come to the building where I did learn chemistry.

It's now the art department, and the only part that is left and looks like it did when I was here is this room, which is the prep room where the technician, Mr Watts, used to work on Dhe.

I didn't have lessons in here, though I did, I think, on location do some glass blowing here, but you can see there's still the fume cup, it and the old blackboard.

But it's now got something about art on it.

And if you look out the window, you can see the Houses of Parliament.

In fact, the House of Lords.

I didn't expect to find anything here that I recognized next door.

There's the big lab, which I learned in from the age of 15 onwards, and that has all changed.

All the benches have gone and so on, but it still recognizable, but this looks remarkably unchanged.

In fact, their drawers down there labeled Bure ETS Bure.

It's of her doing titrate a shins.

I have no idea what gas spirits are.

What I also brought for the state of nostalgia was my first chemistry practical book.

It's quite funny to look at the first experiments.

I don't know what the first experiments that you did but mine.

On the fifth of October 1961 when I was 13 was burning of magnesium.

I didn't do very well.

I got six out of 10.

There's this experiment in which I was measuring the gases dissolved in water.

The idea is that you boiled the water in here on the gases, went into this toupee, and you measure the volume of gas on dhe.

It was a disaster.

It said the flask was now heated for about five minutes with the Bunsen burner, and then another one was used until the water boiled.

This it did violently on the violent oscillation set up in the delivery tube.

Broke the you day or motor tube above the surface of the water, wrecking the experiment.

Do you?

Yes.

Do you remember?

I remember.

I was I was devastated, and I got six out of 10 again.

Then we burnt so quite exciting things.

So here is the combustion of sodium in oxygen, so this is dif liberating spoon, and there's sodium burning in oxygen saves the slightly mad experiment because you have water here, but you have a lump of sodium just above the water.

It feels really quite strange.

I've never dreamt when I was 13 or 14 coming back here.

After all, 65 is very old, although it's dead on.

And so I never imagined coming back here and certainly wouldn't imagine coming back here as a professor of chemistry.

Even less is foreign sector of the royal Society.

It's really fun.

I really like the chemistry lamps on dhe.

I knew as much as the chemistry teacher, so I was never very frightened in chemistry lessons.

I'm Tony Roberts, retired doctor now on Dhe.

I talk Martin chemistry 50 years ago, but has Martin taught me chemistry 50 years ago?

Andi is the only pupil I've kept in touch with over the last 50 years.

Other lessons were dreadful maths.

I nearly failed maths.

In one year I got 13% I think, in the exam, but here for chemistry.

Life I felt at home.

So I have good feelings here.

Perhaps when we get to other places and giving the lecture in the hall where I took my exams, then I might get butterflies like it's a great pleasure to welcome back.

Professor Martin.

Theo was always being enthusiastic about chemistry.

Yes, yes, it was a delight to teach him.

I'm particularly pleased to see my former chemistry teacher.

Tell Roberts sitting.

Wave your hands on who?

I think it's probably the only person here or one of few people here Remember these people.

He's always been a very easy person to know.

A very sociable person, Easy person to get on with.

You always got on well together.

Nice.

That's fine.

Which still where is Miss Slightly?

Is that when I was a schoolboy and I went to the Tizard lectures, there were famous scientists giving these lectures in dark suits, and I didn't really understand why it was there.

And there's just a hope that perhaps the present students will feel different.