Change would be dramatic, she thought. For example, in terms of fees, her EU students would now be seen as "foreign students", not "home students". "It will take a lot of intellectual effort to untangle from all sorts of areas."
Of the 8.5 million people living in Greater London, almost one million are from the EU and don't have British passports.
"We are living through the death knell of Great Britain," said Celia, who once worked at Whanganui's Sarjeant Gallery and now works at the Tate Modern. "It's going to be pretty tough ... I think they will lose Scotland in the end.
"London is a very tolerant city, and very mixed. On my bus they'd think I was the only English person, and I'm not," Jocelyn observed.
"My co-worker is Greek with two children born in London, but didn't have a British passport, which costs �1000, therefore she couldn't vote in the referendum. People are already getting letters telling them to prepare to go home."
London's status as a global financial hub can no longer be guaranteed.
HSBC is planning to move 1000 workers to Paris over the next two years and Lloyds of London has announced setting up a new European base to retain privileged access to the single European market. On the other hand, Google, Apple, Facebook and Snapchat are setting up offices in London.
Sadiq Khan, the Muslim mayor of London, has warned that a "hard Brexit" won't necessarily benefit European financial centres like Paris, Berlin and Frankfurt but rather will benefit global centres like Hong Kong, Singapore and New York.
Journalists living in "university, internet and travel bubbles" and looking at Britain through a "London lens" didn't see Brexit coming. Elite Londoners saw themselves as "citizens of the world"; British nationalists called them "citizens of nowhere".
Brexit has unearthed a polarisation in Britain along the lines of age, education, class and geography. Between those who were able to move freely and embraced globalisation versus those dissatisfied with the political establishment and who saw the future with fear and alienation. Between those caught up in lower wages and rising house prices since the 2008 financial crisis versus the financial elite who mostly came out of crisis richer.
Jocelyn and Celia still maintain a home in Castlecliff and call Whanganui a "relaxed and lovely" place. For all its faults, they still find London "staggering" with "layers and layers and layers of meaning and opportunity" for those working in the arts.
What attracts them to London is that it is open and tolerant, that there is interaction across diverse communities, and it continues to attract the "Dick Whittingtons" of the world, although these days, young New Zealanders are more likely to do their OE in Berlin (where it is cheaper to live) than in Earls Court where their parents did their OE.
They are concerned with the rise of the right and nationalism and xenophobia in Britain. "The frightening thing is that Teresa May looks like Margaret Thatcher and Boris Johnson looks like Donald Trump."
"One of the pleasures of living in London is taking the train out into the surrounding countryside to look at the stunning English landscape," said Jocelyn.
"A landscape maintained with EU subsidies," added Celia.
When Fred Frederikse is not building, he is a self-directed student of geography and traveller. In his spare time he is co-chairman of the Whanganui Musicians' Club.
