After 41 years, Jonny Clothier has finally graduated from the University of Bristol. Source: Simon Cobb, Wikimedia Commons.
A 62-year-old English man who was denied graduation for 41 years, due to a £64.80 (127.29) unpaid bill relating to a bird, has finally been allowed to graduate on the same day as his son.
The ceremony took place on Thursday in the Great Hall of the University of Bristol’s Wills Memorial Building.
Jonny Clothier studied architecture and was supposed to graduate from the University of Bristol in 1983.
But just before graduation, Clothier’s roommate’s pet parrot was left unsupervised in university accommodation, and was said to have wrecked the place.
The students found alternative housing, but staff at Bristol demanded he pay the final term rent, which Clothier refused to pay.
The university did not allow him to graduate due to their rule — which has since been abolished — that students must settle all accommodation bills first.
All three of Clothier’s children studied at the University of Bristol like their parents.
The youngest son, Carter, was set to graduate with a biology degree, when his dad received an offer from the university.
Finally, after 41 years, the University decided to waive Clothier’s bill, allowing him to graduate in a “beautiful ceremony” alongside his youngest son.
Clothier, who lives in Petersfield, Hampshire, said: “I loved my time doing architecture at Bristol — we worked really hard, but we also played hard. We danced, we partied and then we went back to work.
“It’s been really nice watching the kids go through the same things 40 years on and it’s been amazing to all be together for these graduations.
“My old studio desk was right beneath my seat for the graduation ceremony, albeit one floor below. It kind of felt like coming home.”
Clothier said the ceremony was “enormous fun”.
“It’s not really about me, it’s about them, and signing off on the 20-year project to get the kids through the whole cycle of education,” he added.
“We are so proud of them because they’ve all done so well — I literally take my strange, new, flat hat off to them.”
In the years since he got his degree, Clothier married his girlfriend Helel Hill and had three children.
He left architecture for a brief while, and worked as a TV director and executive producer, before rediscovering architecture.
He is now working on a contemporary net-zero treehouse in the Forest of Dean.
Professor Evelyn Welch, Bristol University’s president and vice-chancellor, said: “After 41 years, we thought it was finally time to waive the bill and it was great to see Jonny officially graduate.
“We are so pleased that Jonny, Carter and the rest of the family had such a great day, and we wish them all the best of luck in the future.”
