Bill Sheasgreen- No Longer Shrouded in Mystery

I realize that I write a lot of blog posts about Bill.  It's not that I want to be him or anything- he has difficult shoes to fill (when they match).  But when writing about Bill, it's as if the material writes itself.  And I mean that in the most flattering way possible.  Whenever I interview Bill, there's no need for me to actually talk to him.  He seems to be a really good sport about the things I claim he says, which in reality he has nothing to do with.

I write about Bill because he's a universal factor of the London Center.  Not only has he been part of it since its toddler-hood in the 1970's (he only narrowly missed its birth), he is currently one of the main forces that keeps it a study abroad destination that IC students recommend to their fellow students.  As well as most of the ICLC's students from at least 1997 onwards knowing him, Bill is also a fixture of the American study abroad community in London.  I was once told that fame depends on the circles you run in- within Bill's circles, he's famous.  And if I keep tagging him in blog posts, he'll become famous on Google, too.

No, I'm not fishing for a raise.  I'm prefacing a blog post that he pretty much asked me to write: an alphabet of why it's good to be Bill.  He didn't ask in so many words, but he did suggest it.  Sort of.

Here is a compilation of nouns that resonate fond thoughts with the man.

Arsenal- he loves them
Bicycle- may not cycle much these days, but still carries a pump for stranded cyclists at the airport
Claire- gets to work with her
Dance- cuts a mean Dashing White Sergeant

Dancing the night away at a ceilidh

Elsie- he knows her better than anyone else does
Fred- without whom Bill doesn't get to read The Sun
Gardens, 35 Harrington- he never quite seems to leave this place
Heather- gets to work with her
Ithaca- goes there each year
Jokes- his favorite holiday is April 1st. Beware!
Keeps everything- forever.  Explains his office floor
London- he's lived here longer than all 3 of his staff combined
M- if this were James Bond, that's who he would be
North London- without which he couldn't deride south London quite so much
Olympics- has hosted a few conferences on those
Pukka pads- seriously lost without them
QPR- a good day out with sport students (or anyone who wants to see a footie match)
Rugby- likes it almost as much as cricket
Sarah- gets to work with her
Transport for London- does that for free
U-boats- Bill knows a lot about World War II
Visibility- anyone seen his orange Guardian bag in a while?
Walks- is the master of them

Looking for Bill?  He's the man in the bright coat

X-ray- he's had plenty of those
Youth culture- a reason to take his students to east London
Zebra crossing- he's probably just as famous on Abbey Road as the Beatles

This year the ICLC is celebrating its 40th anniversary.  Yes, Elsie has been around longer than many of the buildings on our home campus in Ithaca.  Bill is the latest in the succession of ICLC directors and is the longest standing.  I hope that after reading this you feel like you know the man behind the London Center a bit better than you did. 

You can't knock the man's generosity

 -Claire

An ICLC Tradition

A few things have happened recently that have gotten me thinking.  Completely independently of each other, last week was London Fashion Week, and yesterday my friend wrote into the Guardian newspaper and her comments were published online!  Yes, you guessed it, the combination of fashion and the Guardian can only get one thinking about Bill's orange Guardian bag.  This bag has come to be an icon of many good things.  It represents walks with Bill when that bright, safety-orange bag was the only way you could find Bill to catch up with him in a crowd.  It represents what used to be the prize for the travel writing competition at the end of the term.  I remember being a student back in Ithaca seeing these very bright bags around campus and a friend of mine, who had just come back from his semester in London, looking at it mournfully and wishing he were back in London.

Fall, 2009

This is where we encounter the real issue.  This bag is disappearing from our lives.  The Guardian doesn't make them anymore, so we can no longer give them as prizes, and Bill's bag, which he has carried for many years, looks all the worse for wear.  The Guardian bag is becoming more and more a thing of the past.  Change is good, and Bill has a new bag now.  It's made by Manhattan Portage, it's more on the red side of safety-orange, and has a reflective silver stripe across it.  Content-wise, it probably carries about as much as the old Guardian bag, plus has a zip pocket on the front.  The new bag is held closed with velcro and also clips to hold it closed for extra security.  Bill didn't need this "extra security" in the old bag, he claims all he did with that one was carry really old sandwiches to put strangers off of reaching in and trying to steal term papers from him.  My main issue with all of this, though, is that Bill is a historian by trade.  His Guardian bag has iconic status with alums and symbolizes excellence in writing and walking tours all over London.  It's an ICLC tradition and it's fading in our midst.  Is it possible to begin a "Save the Guardian Bag" campaign?

Summer, 2007

I have looked on eBay, on Amazon, on the Guardian's website and come up empty handed.  These bags seem nowhere to be found.  Perhaps there is a museum out there that would like to de-accession a Guardian bag? 

Bill has a birthday coming up.  Any leads on Guardian bags would be much appreciated.

Thanks.
-Claire