Journal Entries
Puppy patting at Aberdeen University?
Posted Apr 4, 2013
Douglas? Please tell me this is a belated April Fool!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/student-life/9971106/The-secret-to-exam-success-puppy-love.html
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Latest reply: Apr 4, 2013
Spring now on hold
Posted Mar 22, 2013
Having said three weeks ago what a lovely spring day we were having, we are now back to driech as the default weather setting. Not actually raining or snowing yet (although that's promised for tomorrow, when I'm supposed to be going to London), but raw cold and a strong wind. Pah!
As if that wasn't enough, I have a cold. Started with slight sore throat and sinus-y pain yesterday morning, thought I'd just been snoring, but by lunchtime had runny nose as well. Went home early and to bed at 9pm with Lemsip. Now have 'proper' cold, cough etc. Pah again!
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Latest reply: Mar 22, 2013
Spring!
Posted Feb 28, 2013
Although it's still pretty chilly here in the East of England (btw why have the weather forecasters stopped saying East Anglia?), there are definite signs of spring! Sunny most of the day today, and lots of flowers and green shoots in the College gardens: snowdrops still flowering among the newly-opened crocuses, aconites aplenty, and the buds on the magnificent magnolia tree are looking juicier by the day. It was light enough to cycle home without lights today - yippee!
Had a nice day in London yesterday. Lunch with a friend I hadn't seen for several years, at Brasserie Zédel, near Piccadilly Circus: it's a huge old-fashioned French brasserie, excellent food and very reasonable prices. Then we went to the Manet exhibition at the RA, which was slightly disappointing. After we went our separate ways, I spent some time in Fortnum & Mason's, Hatchard's and Waterstone's (just browsing), called in at my old workplace in UCL, and met more friends for a quick drink before getting the train home. Recommend prosecco for inducing a good mood before battling with First Capital Connect!
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Latest reply: Feb 28, 2013
The luxury of getting up late ...
Posted Dec 27, 2012
Even though I still wake up at my normal time when I'm on holiday (usually between 5 and 6) it's a great treat to make tea and then stay in bed reading or playing on my iPad. However, today I should probably do some of the things on my 'Christmas hols to-do list'.
We finished everything we needed to do in the first stage of the admissions round by close of business last Thursday, so I took Friday off, and was a bit lazy in the remaining days before Christmas, apart from buying nice food - probably a bit too much, as my fridge is still stuffed compared with how it normally looks! Oh, and went for a few walks by the river, which is alarmingly high at the moment - some of the college boathouses have got sandbags in front of the doors!
On Christmas Eve the owners of a local small (and rather posh) restaurant invited loads of their friends and customers for 'a drink and a bite to eat' between 12 and 4. This is an annual event, but as I'm often away at Christmas I hadn't been before, so went along expecting perhaps mulled wine and some nibbles. Instead there was a wide choice of drinks: Cava, mulled wine, other wines, beer from the bar, soft drinks etc, and a huge buffet lunch. You could help yourself to a plateful and then go and sit at the restaurant tables; lots of jolly chat going on at the bar while people waited for the next 'sitting', and the hosts and restaurant staff constantly refilling glasses. It was really very generous of them. Had to have a little lie-down after that!
Went to church on Christmas morning, then phoned my sister. Met up with a crowd of local friends for a few drinks, until about 4pm, then went home to cook - an unusual event for me! I had pork steak, marinaded in maple syrup and paprika, then roasted, served with mini jacket potatoes and sprouts stirfried with bacon bits. Excellent, if I say so myself, and something I'd definitely make again. No room for Christmas pud, although I have got a little one in. Watched Dr Who while eating dinner. Still don't like Matt Smith as the doctor, but loved some of the lines:
- Who are you?
- I'm a lizard woman from the dawn of time, and this is my wife.
Yesterday went with friends to see Life of Pi. Haven't read the book, but won't be rushing to do so. Some very beautiful photography, and of course the CGI tiger is impressive, but it is really too long, and got a bit tedious after a while.
Right - time to get up and do something with the day!
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Latest reply: Dec 27, 2012
4 done, 4 to go!
Posted Dec 6, 2012
Days of interviews, that is. Today was hideous: started off badly when my bike brakes seized up in the cold, at the end of the road. Had to carry the bike home and then walk to work, which made me later than I'd planned. We had interviews going on in nine different subjects (memo to self: be less accommodating to demands of Directors of Studies next year!), and by mid-morning there had been about five minor crises, e.g. applicants not arriving in time, making their way to the interview room without checking in with the sheepdogs (student helpers), not responding to their name in the waiting room, so that we thought they were lost, etc etc. Luckily we have a fab team of sheepdogs - probably the best I've seen (although I say this every year) - who handle every situation with aplomb and tact, and are always on the ball to spot my mistakes!
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Latest reply: Dec 6, 2012
annie_cambridge
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