click here Peter Day was one of the most asiduous participants of the NoSIC (Not Strictly Inorganic Chemistry) meetings, where he showed his interest in, and knowledge of, historical, sociological and other non-scientific aspects of the research activities in the institutions led by him as well as in those he here visited worldwide, both as a lecturer and as an active participant.This article tries to stress that side of his personality, reflected also in his three autobiographical books, and in his motto “the past is another country”, a quotation from L.P.Hartley.