That is awful, and I'm so sorry. (Please don't feel you need to reply - you don't know me, but you sound like a lovely person from your posts.)
There were killer pagers in my favourite episode of the 1960s TV series The Avengers (repeated a few years ago). The contrast between what was then futuristic tech & city gents in bowlers is surreal
I went to a GS from 11-14 (& a comp after we moved) and would abolish them all. Not only did most kids go to a sec modern the GS selection meant years of practice tests at primary school & was also sexist - boys got in with a lower score than girls
Gnocchi mozzarella from the Guardian (should be online). You buy the gnocchi & don't have to make it. Takes a bit longer than risotto but not much
I think it really goes back to WW1 which affected very many more people. I'm older than you and both g-fathers had an awful time. My mother was impacted by her father's experience and that also impacted me
Yes, my parents rented a TV as well when they got a colour one, and we even took it with us when we moved when my dad got transferred - this seems so weird now, but was so common then
The text processing environment LaTeX/BiBTeX deals with all that for you (mathematicians don't use Word). Good luck in the viva!
That makes me feel old. My first vote was for Thatcher - I'd just turned 18 and my parents were very Tory. I learnt better at uni, and have never voted for them since...
What was KS like as DPP? Did he do big things & fix stuff that wasn't working or just faff around the sidelines?