Sauntering Vaguely Downward

1SE for April 2026

Fri, 01 May 2026 14:28:08 GMT

This month features Trieste, Venice, Durham, and ice cream, as well as the usual dosages of children and cats.

On another note, I have just sent an e-mail to the wrong person with the same name *three* times. I think I need to step away from the keyboard for a bit.

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1SE for March 2026

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 20:46:18 GMT

Very much feeling as though I'm limping toward the finish line here. The University shuts down at CoB tomorrow for the Easter holiday. I'm running on fumes and caffeine, trying to clear my desk and inbox of things I really shouldn't leave until after it re-opens.

This month features the return of the canal boats*, two trips to London, and the inaugural ice creams from the Ninja Creami (thank you, semianonymous!). Making your own soft serve ice cream from scratch truly is a luxury.

* We missed them last year. The entire lock flight had to be shut for months so the Canal and Rivers Trust could carry out extensive repairs to a lock with collapsed walls.

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The Friday Five on a Sunday

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 10:06:21 GMT

What made you happy this week?

Notification of winning a small summer research grant.
What made you sad?

I was disappointed in a colleague for trying to conceal some serious underperformance when it could have been dealt with easily much earlier on. As it is, now another colleague and I are going to have to put in a lot of effort to attempt to rectify the situation before a deadline next week.
What made you angry?

An academic colleague being outrageously disrespectful to a professional services colleague.
What are you looking forward to in the next week?

Getting that sad piece of work, which should not have been mine in the first place, off my desk at the end of the week.
What are you not looking forward to?

I have to be off-campus for two days next week. I'm not looking forward to the amount of meetings I've had to ram into the other three days of the working week.

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24 hours in Larnaka

Sun, 16 Nov 2025 16:51:13 GMT

When the conference finished in Nicosia, I took the opportunity to give myself a day and night in Larnaka, which is on the beach on the southern side of Cyprus. It's a popular holiday destination for Western Europeans wanting some winter sun, although because it's more northerly than, say, the Canary Islands, it tends to be a bit quieter, especially outside the school holidays.

I picked a hotel on the beach, and was pleasantly surprised to receive an upgrade to a sea view room with a balcony on arrival. It was too early for me to check in when I arrived, so I went to have lunch on the patio and do a bit of work. I cooled off with a small glass of the local beer (Keo). Then I had a long walk along the beachfront promenade, looking for cats.

[Cat eventually located]

As soon as I could access my room, I went up and had a shower, applied sun cream, and went for a swim. Even at 3 PM it had started to cool off significantly - sunset was at 4:45 PM - so I was alone in the pool, and indeed poolside. I did a bunch of slow, lazy laps and got out to soak up the last of the rays. I also popped down to the beach to poke my toes into the sea.

I got changed and went for another stroll, this time in the opposite direction, to enjoy the sunset. The promenade ran for several kilometres in both directions from the hotel, and when it petered out, the compacted sand on the beach made walking easy.

[Big sky, fiery clouds]

[Palm tree silhouettes]

[Night falls]

By the time night had fallen, I was pleasantly worn out. I went to the bar, thought about sitting there, and then remembered I had a balcony. So instead, I ordered a negroni and took it up to my room. I chatted to the family. I listened to the howling of the cats. Everything went very quiet around 8:30 PM. It was too early to go to bed, tempting though it was, so I did some writing with old episodes of “House” on in the background before turning in. I set my alarm so I wouldn't miss the sunrise, which was at 6:13 AM.

[Sunrise from the balcony]

Very glad I didn't miss the sunrise.

[The sun emerges]

I made myself a small strong espresso and changed for breakfast. I turned up as soon as it opened (07:00) and sat outside to eat. I got chatting to another solo woman traveller, who recommended a walking holiday in northern Cyprus to me the next time I had time to myself (“probably not for the children at this stage, my dear”). She supposed I could bring the husband if I really wanted, but in her opinion I'd enjoy it more on my own. I couldn't laugh. She genuinely meant that.

[Breakfast!]

Still chuckling, I went upstairs to change into something less roasting and had another walk toward the east, the direction I thought gave me the best chance of finding some shells. The beach was mostly claggy sand and pebbles, but I did spot a few.

[Meow.]

I changed into my costume when I got back and went down to the sea for a swim. The tide was out and it was possible to walk nearly all the way to the breakwater without being deeper than my chest. I'm not tall. I walked out, had a little paddle around looking at the fish in the crystal clear water, and swam back to the promenade. I sat on a sunbed and enjoyed drying off in the breeze and the sun. Then I went to the pool. Again there was no one in it because it hadn't warmed up yet, so I had a long, slightly more vigorous swim and then sunned myself again.

I knew it must be getting close to checkout time so I went up to shower and attempt to prevent my hair turning into straw after all the soakings. I mostly succeeded, and was pleased I'd succeeded in not getting burnt either.

I chatted with the family, who were eating a late breakfast of dippy eggs. Keiki was excited about his rugby match. Humuhumu was being a teenage potato. Nevertheless we had a nice chat until was time for me to head downstairs, have lunch, and start the long journey home.

I caught the sunset in the airport, sprinting across the terminal to take a photo before boarding the plane.

Due to various delays, I didn’t arrive home until well after midnight, so technically Monday morning. Nevertheless I had to get up six hour later and go to work. Astro here accurately reflects the amount of sympathy I got from the family about this.

[Astro at home amongst the carnivorous plants and prickly cacti]

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Photos from Cyprus

Sat, 08 Nov 2025 07:56:50 GMT

[Breakfast terrace view. Hire cars have red number plates.]

I didn't have much of an opportunity to research Cyprus before I arrived. Nicosia, the host city of the conference I just attended, is divided between Greek and Turkish Cyprus. The hotel I booked - and all I did was select the cheapest one on the conference accommodation list because it’s close to the venue - is only a couple of blocks from the Green Zone, the UN policed buffer that separates the two halves of the island. It is clear to see as soon as you go around the side of the hotel. Many shops are boarded up (though the flats above them are still occupied), their gates rusted and facades crumbling.

[Crumbling gracefully.]

[Crumbling less gracefully.]

A few stalwart businesses keep their doors open.

[Bold claim: “Cyprus: Irresistible for 9000 years”]

Just a couple of blocks away are shiny new high rise buildings and attractive public spaces. You could, as a tourist, choose never to stray from the wide boulevards and safe pavements.

[Eleftheria Square by day.]

[Walking below Eleftheria Square at night.]

Google maps certainly didn't believe I should do that, taking me on a different path to the conference venue every day, past an entirely new set of cats.

[Noble guardian.]

There are cats *everywhere*. Food and water are left out for them on the street corners and in vacant lots. They are even more prevalent at night.

[The Gang.]

I must have spoken to 15 different people after arriving before I encountered a Nicosian Cypriot. The first Cypriot I met was giving a talk in the firzt session I attended who of course lives in London, not Cyprus. He recommended the meze restaurant (see below). The food here is incredible. I've tried something new every day.

Georgian food.

[All of these bean paste / beetroot things are nice, but the ones in the middle are fried aubergine wrapped around walnut paste and I could have eaten about thirty of those alone and been very happy.]

Meze.

[This was about a quarter of the way through the meal, and they kept bringing dishes. Far too much food for two people, although PhD student and I made a heroic effort. Those little fried courgette strips on the far right were my undoing.]

[Dessert.]

“Healthy eating” restaurant.

[This may look heavy / oily but it was not. The pastry was delicate and crisp and the feta inside was like a little fluffy cloud. Amazing.]

Even the breakfast at my otherwise average hotel was delicious.

[The little roll covered in sesame seeds has a sort of olive pate in it which is *chef's kiss*. I had one every morning.]

In summary, 10/10, would come back to Cyprus to Eat All The Things.

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The Friday Five which is really just an excuse for a cat photo

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 08:31:32 GMT

What do you see when you are looking out of the window closest to you?
The canal lock. No boats coming through, though, it’s quiet season now.
Who was the last person coming into your room?
Astro. He is now lounging on the day bed, as is his wont (example below).
What is the most predominant colour around you?
A gentle pastel green. It is very soothing.
What is right behind you?
A box containing a bunch of stuff that I need to take to work. Thanks for the reminder, meme. :/
What is on today's calendar sheet?
More than I could possibly accomplish in one day, and several meetings of different types.

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Maui sunset

Sun, 28 Sep 2025 20:25:46 GMT

[Epic god-light over the Pacific]

I returned to the UK last Thursday evening. I went to work and had a hectic day on Friday, greeting the returning students and my tutees. This weekend we got the suitcase turned around and at midday today, the bloke left for Uganda. At some point our kids will remember what it's like regularly having two parents at home, but apparently that is not this year.

I have to give three presentations tomorrow, one of which is a two-hour lecture, so I shall leave this photo here and go do some deep breathing.

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1SE for March 2025

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 08:33:13 GMT

Contains the usual round of cats, kids, a little bit more work than usual because I spent a lot of time in the lab, and a quick trip to Cornwall.

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1SE for December 2024

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 21:23:52 GMT

Bookended by new whiskies. Plenty of cats, food, and family in between.

Happy New Year!

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1SE for June 2024

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 20:50:47 GMT

Somehow I have failed to post since 10th June, despite having posts written after the last weekly roundup. Life has been a bit stressful lately for a number of reasons but it is getting a little better now. The summer holidays are less than a month away, for both the children and for us.

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The Friday Five on a Monday

Mon, 06 May 2024 08:55:30 GMT

1. Are you happy with your current line of work? What do you like/don't like about it?

Ha. Hahaha. I mean, that is a hell of a question. My line of work is the main subject of my locked entries, which are basically a long paean of the many and varied feelings I have about it. The architecture of academia is hugely problematic. I have never been so taxed, drained, and overwhelmed by any other job. At the same time, I have never been so utterly absorbed and satisfied by my work in my life.

2. Do you see yourself doing the same type of work in 5 years? What about 10?

I’m going to be infuriatingly non-committal here and say that only time will tell.

3. Did you see yourself doing this type of work 5 years ago? What about 10?

Absolutely and unequivocally not. I had no intention of becoming an academic, nor any sense that this was a realistic prospect.

4. Did you have a dream job as a child? What was it?

I can remember wanting to be a lot of things. A veterinarian. A medical doctor. (Both of these ended abruptly when I eventually worked out how squidgy medicine is.) An Olympic dressage competitor. (Our neighbours had horses. I have only ever ridden a horse a handful of times. But I liked the dream.) A writer. A Nobel-prize-winning chemist. An inventor. An astronaut. I’m not sure how pleased six-year-old me would be if they could see me now.

5. If you had to pick a radically different job from what you have now, regardless of whether you'd realistically be able to do it given your skillset, what would you pick and why?

Wealthy philanthropist, photographer, and dilettante artist living in an airy flat with my family and cats in a vibrant city. That would be quite nice.

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1SE for March 2024

Mon, 01 Apr 2024 17:31:26 GMT

As usual, the cats feature heavily. Not much travel in this one except at the very end. One big highlight for me is my masters students disassembling and re-assembling a sounding rocket experiment in the CubeSat facility.

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Nairobi 2023 travelogue

Sun, 20 Aug 2023 20:54:45 GMT

I went to Kenya!

My first (and only) trip to Kenya was in 2010, so I was glued to the window of the taxi for the entire journey from the airport to Kenyatta University campus. The amount of development that's taken place in those 13 years is astonishing. A forest of tall modern buildings sprouted downtown. The roads (thank goodness) now have central reservations, pavements, and pedestrian bridges so there were no repeats of the tragic accidents we witnessed on the roads during the previous trip. I was dreading those in the days preceding the trip, as I had lingering nightmares about them after returning home in 2010. There are safe, wide-laned elevated highways (toll roads) crossing the city, which afford fast passage through congested areas and excellent views of said development.

[Leaving Dubai]

[First glimpses of downtown Nairobi]

The campus was new to both the bloke and me. He has been to Nairobi on numerous occasions for his work on East African air quality, but usually goes to Nairobi University. The conference centre, which included our accommodation block, was located at the edge of the campus' vast acreage. Other than the distant roar of traffic, it didn't feel as if it were in the city. Around 70,000 students attend each year. Most live on campus. Since it was still the summer break and the students weren't there, it felt even more remote. We could see the marabou storks roosting atop the acacia trees outside our windows, and were awakened by the dawn chorus of weaverbirds and flycatchers.

[Marabou storks roosting]

[Yellow flycatchers and their nests]

We arrived in time to catch the last session of the first day of the training workshop we were there to help deliver. Afterwards we went to dinner with the organisers. The dining area was all of about 20 metres from the conference hall. We noshed on tasty Kenyan fare (for me, ugali, lentils and spinach), washed down with, successively, sugary tea, Tusker (Kenyan lager) and Jack Daniels gold label whisky that the main American organiser had procured from duty free (whattaguy).

I was a little stressed about delivering my session on space-based datasets since it was at 8 AM the next morning so partook only lightly of the booze. Thankfully I needn't have worried too much as it went well and I got good engagement in the room and online. It segued nicely into the bloke's and Robin's sessions. They brought things back to the ground (fnarr) and into the room, as Robin did a demo of his awesome light painting technique, which visualises the particulate matter in the room (PM2.5). I later got to help him make some paintings at dusk, with the storks in the background.

[Light painting prep]

[Livestream of light painting from the conference room]

[Light painting at dusk]

Demob happy, we enjoyed the afternoon session and a rerun of the Kenyan food, Tusker and whisky. Having sleep very little the previous two nights due to flying and then anxiety, I turned in hours before the lads did. Unfortunately, most of them were struck down by food poisoning the next day. I congratulated myself on avoiding it, having eschewed all meat and dairy since arriving. This would later turn out to be hubristic.

After Wednesday morning's sessions, those of us from US and UK universities were swept onto a bus and carted to the Administration Complex to have a formal meeting, and tea, with members of the University executive board. We caught the tail end of the afternoon sessions, and turned in early after a quiet meal.

Thursday was our final day. Unfortunately for me, it was also A-level results day, and as I am still nominally the admissions tutor for my department, my attention was divided between C&C activities and the workshop. Nevertheless I enjoyed the pre-lunch sessions, which were to be our last at the workshop.

Word had got round that we were leaving that evening, so the bloke and I had a very busy networking lunch while everyone got a last word in with us. Once that was finished, we hopped in a Uber with Robin to visit the giraffe sanctuary. Unfortunately we managed to get the slowest driver in the world. He was in a battered Nissan leaf and clearly trying to eke the last bit of life out of the thing. A journey that should have been a little over an hour was dragged out into almost two, not least because he got lost. That left us about 40 minutes to feed the giraffes. We opted to skip all the informative plaques and videos and go straight to them. It was worth it.

[Beware giraffe headbutts]

[Giraffes loitering]

[Snooty giraffe was my favourite]

The bloke and I hopped into what turned out to be a much newer Uber piloted by a satisfyingly kamikaze driver who got us back to campus far more efficiently, despite the traffic and missing the exit first time round.

We showered, packed, and checked out. Our third Uber driver arrived to cart us to the airport, which happily transpired without incident or deviation. At the airport, I made my fatal mistake and ate a non vegetarian samosa, thus ensuring a very uncomfortable journey home, from which I have now recovered. Huzzah. Also, the end.

[I’m standing at a lectern, woo]

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1SE for May 2023

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 21:30:52 GMT

Warning: this is mostly kittens after the seventh of May.

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Hashtag Everyday Sexism. Hashtag microaggressions

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 08:36:30 GMT

It’s such a pleasure* to have regular reminders that when you become a lecturer, people don’t automatically stop being horribly sexist at you.

Yesterday, I was in my department’s Education Support Office [ESO], chatting to one of the ESO officers while he located the exam paperwork I needed so I could go off and spend the morning marking them.

As we chatted, someone walked in. I didn’t notice them and I don’t think the ESO officer did either. We were at the back of the office, well behind the reception desk.

We noticed them when this person started shouting at us in the middle of our conversation, as I was signing out the exam scripts. Well, they shouted at me. “Excuse me, Miss, can you come over here,” they snapped. I turned and stared at them, appalled, and didn’t say anything. The ESO officer put on his most professional poker face and said firmly, “I’ll be with you in a moment.”

Was this person put off by that? Spoiler alert: They were not. “I am a new research associate in [professor’s name]’s group. I am looking for [professional services person]. I need to meet them now.” They stared at me. I still didn’t say anything.

The ESO officer replied, “Just wait there. I’ll be with you when we’re finished.”

We turned our backs on the person, who turned very reluctantly away and went out of the office to wait outside. When I left, I sailed past them with my arms full of exam scripts and did not look at them as I went downstairs to my office.

To the person: Do not assume that everyone standing in a professional services office is there to serve you on command. Especially not the women.

To colleagues who do not check whether the people they are hiring are sexist pricks: I don’t care how great they may be as researchers. Please stop hiring sexist pricks.

To the ESO officer: You are a gem. Thank you for your support.

* please note heavy sarcasm

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Happy moments in teaching

Tue, 29 Mar 2022 19:08:26 GMT

I had my Year 1 tutees make cyanotypes in their most recent group tutorial. I asked them to make images of their favourite things they'd learned about in the first year so far. They took the prints home with them, but I kept the transparencies so I can make copies.

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Frontiers of Development

Thu, 03 Mar 2022 23:27:54 GMT

I have had the most fantastic day in London at the Royal Academy of Engineering but I'm also exhausted after a full day of interacting with quite a large number of people. Please have a photo of a small and well positioned sculpture in the building.

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Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep

Wed, 16 Feb 2022 20:42:08 GMT

I had an extremely busy day but by far the best bit was getting to put out a (carefully, deliberately set) fire with a foam fire extinguisher, as part of my fire warden training.

When I told Keiki, he replied, "Get you, tough guy!" Yep. That's right. I'm a tough guy.

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Three for the Memories 2021

Mon, 17 Jan 2022 20:49:14 GMT

[This is cross-posted from the Dreamwidth community threeforthememories, which is great and you should all join it. You have until next Monday 24 January if you want to post three photos to it that define your year last year, and no time constraints on enjoying everyone else's posts. I think it might actually be years since I've either promoted a community or cross-posted from one. Yikes.]

Telstar (RIP)

This is - was - our beloved cat Telstar, just before he turned twelve in June of last year. We had no idea that we only had a few months left with him at this point, as his decline was very sudden. Losing him is an event that will forever be associated with 2021.

( ”+2” )

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Core dump

Mon, 27 Dec 2021 14:33:52 GMT

Not posting anything substantial for a couple of months has left me with that paralysis you get from not writing, when there’s too much to say and it’s difficult to coordinate. I’m getting round this by slapping together some headings and pasting in content. Please do not feel obliged to respond to any or all of this. Not that you ever should, but in this particular instance it really is all over the place. Sorry.

Coping mechanisms + pet ownership
Dealing with the grief of losing Telstar was tough over the past month. My workload was absolutely bonkers for the last four weeks of term, with the actual lecturing compounded by marking, transition to online delivery and assessment as the impact of Omicron became clearer, colleagues being off sick, and the level of demand for my admin duties and fellowship (more on this another time). I reinstalled “Neko Atsume” on my phone, which I haven’t played in years, and for some reason the daily check on my cat garden and appearance of adorable cartoon cats helped me to process his loss. I don’t know why and am not sure I want to dwell on it too much; the point is that it worked at a time when I had to have my emotions pretty firmly compartmentalised to get through the end of the semester.

Now that we’re getting a little distance from his sudden departure, I’m more willing to entertain conversations with the children about what pets we’ll get in the new year. There are discussions about stick insects, reptiles, birds, and small mammals, none of which I’ve ever kept before myself. None of them were options when we had a feline with prodigious hunting prowess; he would doubtless have killed them within 24 hours of their arrival. So although kittens are also under consideration, it seems like it would be a good moment perhaps to take a break from cat ownership and try out some pets that the children would like to have.

Cooking
As I’ve doubtless mentioned before, I’m not a huge fan of cooking. I do like the slow cooker, although I came to realise after making my umpteenth tinned-bean-based stew that I should probably add some more recipes to my repertoire. I asked for a slow cooker recipe book for Christmas and got a great one (“Slow Cooked” by Miss South), which I’m now planning my way through. Earlier in the month I checked out the new Great British Bake Off “A Bake for All Seasons” and we made a few things from that which turned out very well, including the Pecan Pie, Winter No-Knead Loaf (wholemeal bread) and Prue’s Malt Loaf (extremely good for the digestion).

Film & Television
While the children have been off school, we’ve taken to watching films together. We watched all of the Jumanji films completely out of order. The bloke and I had never seen any of them, including the original 1990s Robin Williams version. First we watched the third film: “Jumanji: The Next Level”, which was quite confusing when you didn’t know any of the back story, though it did have some funny bits. Then we watched the original, which was Keiki’s favourite because it was actually a board game and according to him that made a lot more sense. Finally, we watched “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle”, which was Humuhumu’s favourite because of the slapstick humour, dad jokes, and most of all, Bethany and Martha. I’m with her there.

We’ve ~~fallen asleep in front of~~ (re-)watched several Disney films with them. I also highly recommend the series of Olaf shorts in which he parodies quite a few of them.

The bloke and I watched “Hawkeye” which we both enjoyed despite our very patchy knowledge of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. ( Possible spoilers ) Anyway, my primary point here is YELENA FOREVER and when do we get another Black Widow film that is just Yelena being sarcastic about everything? Yes, yes, I know the first film featured a lot of that and so did Hawkeye but I really cannot see myself getting tired of it.

I need to go and make mac n’ cheese in the slow cooker so it is ready for supper. To be continued tomorrow.

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Case breaking

Sun, 19 Sep 2021 19:41:59 GMT

This is a Zero Centurion Elite flight case. It was used to transport the Flight Model (FM) harness assembly for Cassini’s magnetometer to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory back in the 1990s. It has a three-numeral combination lock embedded into it. The last time this combination was opened was at least four years ago. I watched my then-boss, Steve (now retired), open the lock, show me the case internals, and then lock it again.

I remember chuckling at the combination.

(Not the combination).

You can see where this is going, I assume.

I was supposed to “deal with” the case some time ago, but other things kept taking priority. Then I left the lab. Then Covid happened.

Finally I made my recent trip down to the lab. I extracted the case from beneath the pile of stuff that had accumulated on top of it. I looked at the combination lock. I tried the obvious combinations (000, 123, 666, etc). Did any of those work? Of course not.

Here is a list of other things that didn’t work.

Swearing
Talking through the scenario four years ago with my ex-boss in the hopes of jogging my memory
Wiggling a screwdriver in the gap between the lid and the body of the case whilst trying random combinations
Wiggling a screwdriver in the gap between the lid and the body of the case whilst methodically going through every possible combination of three-digit numbers
Drinking wine
Watching YouTube videos about picking combination locks on suitcases and trying to hear or feel the difference in the clicks between numbers
Discovering that three of the numbers (6,6, and 6) had black lines drawn under them, presumably to remind everyone of the combination (PS I KNEW IT)
Drinking gin
Applying graphite to the rotating number wheels
Applying whisky to the humans
Trying 666 with the screwdriver trick while swearing and wiggling a screwdriver in the gap
Trawling the internet for clues about how to pick Zero Centurion (which later became Halliburton) locks, finding many blog posts about how to reset it from the inside if you already know the combination
Giving it a firm whack

Here is what did work.

This blog post, dug up by friend-who-is-not-in-the-journalsphere-any-more whose Google-fu is mightiest
Following its instructions and tapping out the hinge pin with a small punch and a hammer, then extracting it with pliers

PS It is empty apart from foam padding but I didn't fancy taking it to the post office and, upon being asked what was inside, answering "I don't know!"

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Photo summary of last week: in my happy place

Sat, 14 Aug 2021 10:03:02 GMT

Last week, I spent a lot of time in the microscopy labs with cha_mel_eon, and on my own, photographing the growth of silver nitrate crystals on glass slides in various liquid media. It was a real treat.

Me

Tool (confocal microscope)

Result

It's been so long since I had to wear a lab coat. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy it.

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Day 4/5: From my office window

Thu, 29 Jul 2021 07:13:12 GMT

I spend too many hours a day at my office desk, but on the other hand, there's the view from the window in late afternoon.

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What I did today: Practical flight test

Thu, 10 Jun 2021 19:59:29 GMT

To celebrate the end of exams and what, for some of the students, is very nearly the end of their undergraduate careers, we got to have a practical flight test experience today in a Piper PA-28 Warrior II, a delightful little aircraft that resembles an old Buick in more ways than one.
Flight path data from today.

Me with the plane.

My view from the plane.

My project student flying the plane!

She's a natural. :)

After pulling 2g. Everything is fine. Just keep your eyes on that horizon.

Trying to keep a proper flight log of the tests whilst balancing the urge to gawp out the window and excitedly take photos of everything proved pretty much impossible, so I was grateful we weren't being assessed. I had a blast. What a treat to have this as a first flight after 16 months of being grounded.

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Lego build

Sun, 23 May 2021 19:43:16 GMT

[For Josh, with gratitude.]

Some of you may recall that I was gifted a Lego Discovery and Hubble set a few weeks back by my friend Josh. I decided to share the Lego love with some of my colleagues - particularly the technicians, who are huge Lego fans - and organise a Lego-building activity at work. Two of the people in these photos have had to be at work every day throughout the pandemic with the exception of the first month of the first lockdown last year. It was nice to be able to do something fun for and with them. One of the other lecturers brought a homemade cake.

We got through bags 1 through 12, so it's not quite complete. I've arranged another build session for this Friday, so we'll complete it then.

( More photos )

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