I am the outgoing head of student administration at the University of Salford (soon to be the head of registry at the Royal Northern College of Music) and a new subscriber to your publication. I was keen to write in, but was unsure what to discuss: the UKBA and London Met? Government policy? The personal challenges I face in moving from a large university to a smaller conservatoire? As it turns out, I am writing to point out that you don't know your Happy Mondays from your Stone Roses.
One of the photographs illustrating Nick Hillman's "Is it really so strange?" (Off-piste, September) shows Happy Mondays frontman Shaun Ryder, but the caption describes him as a member of the Stone Roses. Like Hillman, I too am a child of the indie and "Madchester" era: coming from Leigh on the outskirts of Manchester and being a fan of the Smiths since I was 14, it was in my genes or something. Perhaps my next letter to Times Higher Education will be more academic in content and more open to debate, but one thing's for sure: no one can argue with me this time and I can bask in the knowledge that I am right!
Stuart R. Sephton, Head of student administration, University of Salford