In September 2015, Simon was working at the University of Birmingham and running an Effective Altruism group. “It’s a movement that assesses charities, giving people information and advice about how and where to donate,” he explains.
When Simon saw the Facebook guest list for the first event of the new term, he spotted Ben. “So I recognised him when he arrived but I pretended not to know who he was, as that might seem weird,” he laughs. Ben was a student in a different part of the university. “I’d been involved with an Effective Altruism group at home in Exeter and decided to carry on in Birmingham,” he says. When he was introduced to Simon, he thought he seemed “quite serious and knowledgeable”. Although they had a good conversation, it wasn’t love at first sight. “Ben seemed quite nervous,” says Simon. “It was just a general chat about the group and what we were doing.”
