Journal Entries
Film report
Posted Jun 1, 2005
Just a quick one, as I should really be sorting and ironing clothes, ready to pack tomorrow. I leave for Canada first thing on Friday, hurray! The people I'm staying with near Calgary both work in IT from home, so I may get a chance to pop in here and/or ML while I'm away, but we'll see ...
Over the long weekend, I went to see two films:
1) Notre Musique (Our Music), latest offering by Jean-Luc Godard. Martine says he's an old fraud. I knew I probably wouldn't like it much, but I don't like to miss an opportunity to listen to French. It's partly documentary in style, partly shot during a visit by J-LG to a culture festival in Sarajevo, and has a lot of references to Israel-Palestine. But quite why the three Native Americans keep popping up, I couldn't say.
2) Los Lunes al Sol (Mondays in the Sun), can't remember the director, leading actor Javier Bardem (also the lead in Mar Adentro - The Sea Inside). Enjoyed this a lot, although the premise is quite depressing: the day-to-day lives of a group of unemployed shipbuilders. A bit like Ken Loach, with more jokes.
That's all.
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Latest reply: Jun 1, 2005
Summer at last?
Posted May 27, 2005
Temperatures up to 28 or even 30 today, according to the Beeb 5-day forecast. Mind you, that changes every 5 minutes, sometimes I wonder why they bother.
Anyway, the garden at work is looking fabulous - we have a section with sunken beds with a pond and fountain in the middle and at the moment it's full of irises and lupins about to be in full bloom, plus lots of other pretty border plants which I don't know the names of.
Not much to do in the office this week - there was a big mailing which I was getting slightly worried about, but my lovely boss came and helped me with envelope-stuffing for an hour on Wednesday and we got it all done between us.
Today we had a 'going on maternity leave' party for our Head Housekeeper. There was a collection to buy her a present, and as well as an activity cradle for the baby and some nice bubble bath etc, the main present was ... a tumble-drier! Needless to say, she was completely overcome, but managed to make a little thank you speech before dissolving into tears.
That was at 11 this morning, in one of the College's beautiful meeting rooms. After a couple of glasses of wine, I went back to my office in a slight alcoholic haze, but was able to sober up with coffee and (very rich) chocolate cake at the Pudding Seminar - last one this term. It was another science one, so hard to understand for me - and many of the rest of the audience, judging by the questions! After the student giving it had been speaking for 5 minutes, the chairperson interrupted to ask if she could give a simple explanation of what a semi-conductor was. The speaker looked amazed that anyone could not know this, but went on to create some brilliant analogies to explain other aspects of her project, e.g. how many chairs you can fit on two square of a carpet pattern, knitting, etc.
I finish work at 4 on Fridays, so cycled into town and booked some cinema tickets for this weekend: the new Godard (Notre Musique) tomorrow and Mondays in the Sun (with Javier Bardem - swoon, thud!) on Monday. Sat in the bar at the Picturehouse for a bit with a pint of soda and lime (only 50p!!) and the newspaper.
Cycled home across Parker's Piece, a big green space in the centre of C., populated in weather like this by groups of foreign language students, either playing football or sitting round chatting.
Should really go to the supermarket this evening, but it's too hot. As I haven't got a car, I try to do part of my weekly shop (basics and heavy things like fruit) on a Friday evening, but I think I'll just have to make two journeys tomorrow - it's only 5 minutes' walk, so can't really complain!
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Latest reply: May 27, 2005
Catching up
Posted May 22, 2005
Less than two weeks now till Canada, so the pressure is on to get organized! Have emailed the friends I'm staying with to ask about what they miss - one lot want me to take them Daddies sauce and Weetabix! Eventually found a pair of jeans which fit, and have made a few decisions about packing - slightly tricky when the temperature could be anything between 10 and 30 degrees.
Apart from that it's been a quiet weekend: went out for a pub lunch today with my best friend here in C. She's a semi-retired freelance language teacher and always spends several weeks abroad at this time of year, conducting oral examinations for Trinity College. She's just back from northern Italy, and next week she goes to Naples, then Galicia in June. Anyway we went to our usual Sunday lunch venue - a local, slightly scruffy pub which does brilliant roasts, with about 10 different vegetables to choose from.
It's a very friendly place - we tend to sit at a small table in a corner, but a lot of the regulars (mostly gay men - it's a well-known local gay venue) sit together at a long table. There's also a transvestite who plays the piano - what more could you want?
[I was undecided whether to put this last paragraph in - I don't want it to seem that we go to this pub with any voyeuristic intention. We were told about it by gay friends - my mate has been around in the C. hippy scene for years - and we've adopted it as a regular port of call because it's a) friendly and relaxed and b) cheap.]
The weather's been weird this weekend - alternating between heavy showers and bright sunshine. Blue sky visible through my study window at the moment. No plans for the rest of the evening, just the usual 'getting ready for work' chores: clean shoes, sort bag etc.
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Latest reply: May 22, 2005
Pudding seminar
Posted May 21, 2005
Forgot to put this in yesterday's entry - better late than never!
Went to the lunchtime Pudding Seminar (so called because coffee and cake is served) and it was very entertaining. Given by a first-year graduate student, who got a First in Classics last year. She was talking about her research on a 1st-century Roman philosopher called Musonius, and whether his views on philosophy and women could be described as 'feminist'. She clearly loves her subject, but could make jokes about it too.
I really enjoy these seminars and yesterday was a good example: audience included undergraduates, College Fellows, visitors (some of the speaker's friends who are still around in Cambridge, for example), and the Principal, a distinguished philosopher who gave the Reith lectures a few years ago. Everybody participates on an equal basis - the speaker's remit is to present their research so that it is accessible to non-experts - and the questions are usually extremely interesting.
Some sample titles are given at: http://www.newn.cam.ac.uk/admissions/pudding.shtml
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Latest reply: May 21, 2005
It's raining for a change (not)
Posted May 20, 2005
C., 20 May 2005
By that I mean that it's not a change, not that it's not raining, if you see what I mean.
I am so fed up with this unspring-like weather! But I will soon be off to Canada, where according to my friends in Calgary, spring-like temperatures mean anything between 5 and 25 Celsius. By the time I get there, I can expect between 10 and 30 - makes packing slightly problematic, but I've decided to assume that they will be in the higher range, and borrow sweaters if necessary.
It's been an average week - just enough work to stop it being boring, but not really enough to make me tired by Friday. Took the day off on Thursday, with the intention of doing stuff to get ready for Canada, but spent most of the time looking (unsuccessfully) for a new pair of jeans. Bought a nice jacket (denim) which I don't desperately need. Got some Canadian dollars from the bank - so at least I could tick one thing off on the list.
Have spent a lot of time pottering in the office, thinking "Oh there's masses of time before I go", but today realised that there's less than two weeks, and quite a lot of things happening immediately after I get back that I should flag up to various people before leaving. Still, at least it means next week will be anything but boring!
I should stop wittering on ... Phoned my sis to find out if she's got a new job, for which she was interviewed yesterday, but they haven't told her yet. A whole team of people where she works are being made redundant, so they are all applying for any job in the field which comes up, and she is in competition with one of her colleagues for this one. Sounds from what she says as if she is better qualified, but he lives nearer the area. Fingers crossed.
Off to watch Have I Got News for You.
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Latest reply: May 20, 2005
annie_cambridge
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