March 1st, 2012 by Archchancellor
Had an Open Day last week, which is always enjoyable, as there is free food, although nowadays I just enjoy the deserts. I tend not to find out until the actual day, but it is always clear when you get off the train. If there is a collection of parent + teenager pairs at the tram stop and they are unsure which tram to take to get to the university, then you know it’s an Open Day. I find it a bit weird, that one would take one’s parent (two parents is unusual, I don’t know whether there is a quota) to have a look at your prospective universities, but there you go, it’s a funny old world.
February 29th, 2012 by Archchancellor
We’ve been getting our weekly vegetables from Riverford for about six months now and really enjoy the quality. You order the stuff via the internet and it then gets delivered to your doorstep. Brilliant! Also because the primary order is a box of assorted veg there is the excitement of finding out what is in the box when it arrives 
. Recently we’ve also been trying out their other offerings such as meat, fruit, and dairy products and they have turned out to be just as lovely.
Last week I was a bit late with ordering (there is a cut-off time so that the order can be processed in time) and hurried through the process. Only when the order was delivered on Friday did I notice that instead of ordering two 1 litre milk bottles, I ordered two 2 litre milk bottles. We’ve been having hot milk / chocolate and any other milk-based dishes we can think of since .
February 16th, 2012 by Archchancellor
I’ve been commuting from Warrington to Sheffield for almost three months now and I must say that as commutes go, it is a very enjoyable one. At 1 1/4 hours it is not just long enough that you can get some proper work done, while at the same time not making the day excessively long.
Additionally the journey takes me through the Peak District and the view is simply beautiful in almost any weather. When it snows (not much, but there has been some) then the hills are covered with a lovely, white dusting. One a sunny day the sun hits the green grass at such an angle to give it a lovely, warm glow. In the fog the hills seem to rise into nowhere. It’s a great way to start the day.
The trains (East Midlands Trains refurbished class 158 Express Sprinters, for those who wish to know) have mostly been on time so far, at least in the evening when I’m heading home (and when it counts most). The morning train tends to get stuck behind the slow stopping service into Manchester and then sometimes there are further holdups as it fights its way through Manchester and Stockport (which, I have just seen from the train window, has a “Hat Museum”). However, since I always have a seat by then and can work on the train, it doesn’t bother me much (funnily it seems to be worst on Thursday, I haven’t been able to track down why).
In Sheffield I get the tram up to the department. It’s a comfortable ride, except for the first few hundred metres where it runs on a dedicated track. I don’t know who laid the track, but it is neither straight nor flat. Weird.
January 18th, 2012 by Archchancellor
I have just discovered an interesting warning on one of the toilets in my department in Sheffield (I haven’t checked whether similar ones are on other toilets as well). It reads as follows:
Any member of staff caught using the cistern to keep beer chilled will face a disciplinary investigation. — The Mgmt.
This raises a host of intriguing questions. Who was/were the member(s) of staff that did this and thus caused the sign? How often did it happen that a sign was needed? What about PhD students, are they allowed to keep beer chilled? What if I want to chill a bottle of white wine, is that ok? Inquiring minds wish to know.
January 15th, 2012 by Archchancellor
A somewhat belated post, but here are some photos taken in the Autumn of 2011. These were taken in our old garden in Milton Keynes, in Simmonds Yat, and in Cambridge.
Also some photos from the New Year’s party we went to in London. Good fun it was too .
