Tag Archives: mess

A ladybird problem and an excess of dry goods at Bridge Farm, Ambridge (Rousse)

While a guest of Pat and Tony Archer at Bridge Farm I supervised some final year undergraduates as they completed a maths and genetics project. The assessment task involved the breeding of super-strength ladybirds and storing them in jars. In … Continue reading

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Simon Cowell champions women in science (Rousse)

It was all very well for so-called consultants and other well-wishers to advise me to share out the work, but everyone else was just so busy – and I couldn’t trust them to do the job properly anyway. Everything was … Continue reading

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When home improvements go wrong (Rousse)

When I walked into the kitchen I noticed that TPR had moved some of the appliances. A huge white freezer stood in the hob’s usual spot, and next to it was the tumble dryer. I also spotted that the sink … Continue reading

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Removing a Word template watermark (Rousse)

The directory structure on the shared drive was in a terrible mess. Thankfully I eventually found the file that I was looking for. The proposal read well, but I was somewhat surprised that my colleagues thought it appropriate to present … Continue reading

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A life out of control (Rousse)

Could it get much worse? LC had accidentally timetabled me to teach on Mondays (traditionally my research day); nine other people had moved into my (now filthy) office; and I had a class in 10 minutes for which nothing was … Continue reading

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A forest bedroom (Rousse)

My sister S’s bedroom had always been a terrible mess, but I had no idea that it was now so dirty that trees had started growing in the soil. Before long the room would be transformed into a forest.

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The chaos of rapid expansion in UK higher education (Rousse)

The expansion of Queen Margaret University’s portfolio of courses was so rapid that its building could not cope with the additional student numbers. Indeed something had gone terribly wrong during the extra construction work and now many of the institution’s … Continue reading

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Preparations for a stag party in Dublin (Rousse)

I was honoured to have been invited to JG’s stag party in Dublin, along with KA (how did she know JG?), and AG. I congratulated the latter on her weight loss and enduring beauty. I had to tidy my office … Continue reading

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Efforts for an A grade student (Rousse)

I called to DT that I’d see her at the revolving door so that we could head home together. Then I thought that I had better check my office before I left. The PhD applicants who had unexpectedly turned up … Continue reading

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Ditching a Hugh Grant lookalike leads to divorce disaster number 2 (Rousse)

How had I got myself into such a terrible mess? Six weeks earlier I’d ditched a gorgeous Hugh Grant lookalike for this hapless, over-tall, skinny-framed, dark greasy-haired, pale-faced idiot hovering at conference reception in an ill-fitting suit. What was he … Continue reading

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