Tag Archives: thesis

PhD write-up distractions: National Trust for Scotland properties (Rousse)

Posted on August 11, 2016 by Dreamaticus

When I returned to work after my summer holiday I discovered that two of my PhD students had each become heavily involved in National Trust for Scotland properties, each of which was supposedly associated with their doctoral studies. How would … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged distraction, doctoral, holiday, National Trust, National Trust for Scotland, NTS, PhD, property, site, student, studies, study, summer, theses, thesis, work, write-up | Leave a comment

From student accommodation in Sheffield to unwelcome attention in the garden (Rousse)

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Dreamaticus

I left the conference with a PhD student who was also heading north. She offered me a bed for the night in her student house in Sheffield, which I willingly accepted – and then instantly regretted as we walked through … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged accommodation, attention, black, brown, companion, conference, cow, cows, dinner, Edinburgh, fur, garden, graze, guest, guests, husband, invasion, leg, leg-warmers, net, north, party, PhD, privacy, red, Sheffield, student, submit, table, thesis, train, tutu, unwelcome, warmer, warmers | Leave a comment

Tom Binns, Kev F Sutherland, a trip on the Titanic, and a disputed thesis (Rousse)

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Dreamaticus

Tom Binns was in the pub enjoying a lunchtime drink with my colleague KC. I interrupted their conversation to invite Tom Binns to lunch with me during the Edinburgh Fringe. She (for Tom Binns is really a woman) was reluctant … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged act, Artic, assessment, conclusion, degree, dinner, dispute, dissertation, drink, Edinburgh, excuse, Fringe, funnt, Ian D Montfort, invitation, Kev F Sutherland, lunch, mark, Masters, nose, script, student, students, table, thesis, Titanic, Tom Binns, trip, work | Leave a comment

A PhD on wind turbines (Rousse)

Posted on May 9, 2015 by Dreamaticus

B’s PhD thesis was beautifully presented. Everything was well laid out on the highest quality paper, with a fluent and compelling narrative. I had always thought that he was conducting research into the efficiency of wind turbines, yet – so … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged degree, efficiency, formula, job, mathematics, maths, paper, PhD, qualification, thesis, turbines, wind | Leave a comment

Rogue primary school teacher gives up ‘research fellow’ disguise (Rousse)

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Dreamaticus

My immediate thought on waking in my office was whether or not I had any clothes to change into from my red fleece pyjamas. What I thought was a pair of black and white spotted knickers on a bookshelf turned … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bookshelf, chat, clothes, colleagues, corridor, desk, fellow, fleece, knickers, mark, navy leggings, office, pair, PhD, primary, pyjamas, red, research, rigue, room. private, school, spotted, students, thesis, tutorial | Leave a comment

Cheese throwing with Billy Connolly (Rousse)

Posted on October 25, 2014 by Dreamaticus

Although the purpose of the exercise was unclear, I enjoyed an afternoon of ‘cheese chucking’ with Billy Connolly and BP. The concept was simple. All you had to do was throw lumps of cheese up onto a high shelf. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Billy Connolly, breeze block, brick, cellophane, cheddar, cheese, chuck, chucking, lift, lumps, PhD, poverty, propel, Reading, shelf, thesis, throw, throwing, viva | Leave a comment

Post-PhD depression – Miss Haversham style (Rousse)

Posted on September 11, 2014 by Dreamaticus

She had been depressed for years and now we finally knew why. We found her in her usual spot in bed, cradling a large green cloth-bound book. It was all too apparent that she had never really recovered from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged book, career, depressed, depression, dissertation, dress, PhD, thesis, volume, wedding | Leave a comment

Boris Johnson’s PhD (Rousse)

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Dreamaticus

Boris Johnson’s PhD thesis was so ancient that the yellowing paper cracked as you turned the pages. Presented in two battered cream-cloth bound volumes, the content was somewhat disappointing. I’d hoped that it would come in useful as I did … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged authority, Boris, Boris Johnson, cloth, company, contact, crack, cream, dissertation, doctoral, doctorate, expedition, fishing, industry, Johnson, Linlithgow, pages, paper, PhD, spy, study, Sun Microsystems, text, thesis, uni, volume, volumes, work, yellow | Leave a comment

The sinister story behind Bye baby bunting (Rousse)

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Dreamaticus

“So, contrary to popular belief Bye baby bunting is not a sweet lullaby, but instead a sinister account of child abuse at the hands of a trusted nursery nurse” concluded the speaker. The looks on my colleagues’ faces said it … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged abuse, baby, bag, belief, bunting, bye, bye baby bunting, child, colleagues crazy, conference, inaccurate, nurse, nursery, Paris, story, thesis, weekend, woman | Leave a comment

A posh yacht passenger and a PhD (Rousse)

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Dreamaticus

I ran up to the deck when I heard that the CalMac ferry was stopping in the Minch to collect the dirty washing from a posh yacht. Helpful as ever, I lent a hand to winch the bundle of clothes … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged adventure, baording school, Billingham, blue-eyed, bundle, Calmac, captain, children, crew, dirty, examiner, external, family, ginger, guest, ICI, land, Minch, Mrs Crawford, passenger, passengers, Perth, PhD, posh, red-head, rigging, Teesside, thesis, TPR, travel, twin, undergraduate, unprofessional, vessel, washing, waves, winch, work, yacht | Leave a comment