Mike Tovey – managing a new role in retirement
safe and accessible to start the major inspections and repair work. This work went on seven days a week for months.” While the damage throughout the College site was significant, the earthquakes also offered an opportunity to replace old underground services and carry out a range of repairs. “As bad as they were, it was a chance to upgrade the damaged facilities and bring the buildings up to higher building specifications,” he says. Mike has loved the environment – “working in the midst of an established history, where we’re custodians, not owners”. “The site is spectacular, and it was always lovely to bring people through and show them working boarding Houses and let them experience the vibrancy of teenagers,” he says. One of the most satisfying aspects of his role has been seeing the development of modern buildings that meet the needs of teachers and the community. He has been particularly grateful to have the opportunity to have a positive influence as “we are to respect and care for each other and help each other along the journey”. In retirement, Mike will be focusing on his land at the back of Oxford, undertaking tree pruning, and enjoying beekeeping and road-bike riding, while also carrying out property renovations for his daughter.
F rom burst water pipes to the aftermath of the 2010–2011 earthquakes, Mike Tovey has seen it all during his time as Christ’s College Maintenance Manager. His background as a builder – initially involved with rural housing and light commercial buildings – and later with energy provider Southpower and leading a team of meter reader contractors, has meant that he has been well- suited to the role. “I dropped my CV into the College office and the then Bursar, Colin Sweetman, employed me very soon afterwards,” Mike recalls, 20 years after his arrival. He believes that having staff on the site who know the buildings intimately and all their quirks is very important. “There’s a mix on this site of the old and the new buildings,” Mike says. “A lot has been done over the years and not necessarily
reported, so there are always surprises. There is a huge array of buildings, and, from a practical point of view, you see the old ways of doing things – from old diesel boilers, electrical and plumbing, through to the latest commercial heat pumps. It’s a very interesting place.” Coping with the aftermath of the 2010–2011 earthquakes is an experience he will never forget. “Because College is such an established institution in the city, and because it has had the same bank and insurance company for more than 100 years, it was relatively simple to engage with the insurers during this period,” Mike says. “It just took one phone call to them for Fletcher and Naylor Love to arrive straight away, so chimneys were able to be taken down immediately, and for the material from the huge number of fallen buildings to be cleared away to make the site
COLLEGE 2023
135
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online