Dog walking

Steve is away in Cardiff for a meeting, so I have been left in charge of his beloved pooches. I thought my feet had recovered from the battering I gave them in the Great North Run, but after walking them for 3 miles this evening, the big blister on my right foot has flared up again - so I think it will be a VERY short walk for them in the morning before I go to work [I hate getting up early anyway!]

New semester

My own semester started yesterday - and I received a large package from my MA tutor with with some light, bedtime reading in it. These modules [Professional Ethics and The Changing Nature of Guidance] will either be fantastic providing I can say what I think, or if I have to toe the party line, be as dull as dishwater. I am hoping the former...

Student visas

One of the tutors wanted my advice on Monday about the possibility of extending a student visa for a foreign student. My heart sank. We keep clear of advice on things like visas because of the legal complexity of this area, and we are guidance specialists, not legal experts. I explained that it was sometimes possible to enrol on a course and try to extend your visa, and in many cases this happens, but it is up to each college to be satisfied the student is genuine. I gave her details of where the student could do and English Language course, but recommended she return to her own country to apply to university in the UK from there. So imagine my shock when in the Guardian today was a huge article about how easy it is to pay to get your student visa extended, when you have no intention of studying and then vanishing into the black economy. 17,000 students disappeared from British universities last year apparently.
Getting a visa without the graft

Radhieka Pandeya had heard rumours that foreign students could extend their stay in the UK by pretending to attend a course of study. She decided to investigate

Expensive week

I have spent money like water this past week.

It started with a phone call from Ceri at 4.55pm last Tuesday - he needed my credit card details NOW, to finish paying his deposit on his flat, so he could have the keys on Friday. Considering I had put £500 down only a few weeks ago for him, I was a tad taken aback to say the least to be faced with a demand for another £800. But really, I had no choice, so reluctantly coughed up. Saturday was his moving day. He had gone to London on Friday to sign his tenancy agreement, and to enrol at university - but somehow he didn't factor in coming home to pack, so when he came back on Saturday morning it was chaos. I kept out of it - and just ignored it all. Come 2pm, one car was packed and my husband was out walking the dogs - so it fell to me to drive Ceri down. It is very hard to drive when you can't reach the pedals of the car or see over the bonnet - eventually I got the seat adjusted to fit and reluctantly drove down to London. I don't know London very well, especially South London, and driving the Saab is like driving a bloody tank - I just hope I can fit through the gap and not hit anything. Trying to park neatly outside his flat was a nightmare, so I just parked anyhow, and we unloaded... I can't really describe the eclectic junk he just HAS to take to university. Suffice to say, that there is another carload to go next weekend as well!

After unloading, it was trip to Sainsbury's time. Once I had been stung to the tune of some £159 [and that will probably last him a week!] he announced that we just HAD to go to Homebase. I drew the line at using my card to pay for the TV that was on special offer, and the stainless steel kitchen bin for £35 [what the hell is wrong with a plastic one from Wilco for £3?], but still ended up buying cutlery, an iron [?! when was the last time my son actually USED an iron??] a clothes drying rack, an assortment of screwdrivers and a hammer!! I was quite happy to leave him and head home for some peace and quiet, and bring some relief to my hard pressed cards.

Sunday was spending on the other important young man in my life; an internet shop for Patrick who is also back at university in Leeds. We were going to wait until he was back online to do it, but in the end I decided to do it and get a mid week delivery slot. He wanted things that would keep without having to be refrigerated, so I ended up getting him an assortment of dried pastas, rice, tins, dried pulses and beans, pasta sauces, long life milk/juice, etc that could be stored in the garage of his student house. Sainsburys have done very well out of me recently!

Consequently, in consideration for the health of our personal account manager, so far this week, I have been very restrained, and spent a grand total of 60pence on a box of Rice Krispies in the student canteen for breakfast on Monday. Lets hope the rest of the month follows the same pattern!

Have I had a break over the summer?

Technically, I did - but since my return last Monday, my feet haven't touched the floor. Teaching my course every morning is OK, but its a hassle getting everything ready - as my Project Manager went into hospital last Thursday, and isn't back yet. She is SO organised, and I suppose I rely on her to organise me as well!! But hey, So far I haven't forgotten to take anything with me, and I have written the aims/objectives and lesson plan in advance for each day, and the students keep turning up each morning - so they obviously feel they are getting something out of it!

Monday seem to be the worse day - as besides it being a Monday morning - I have to drive 20 miles to another campus to start an afternoon duty session at 1.30 - and so far, the interview slot at 1.30 has always been filled, giving me extra pressure on the drive down not to be late. So far though, I have managed to find a parking space when I arrive there - usually its a real nightmare, but long may a space be vacated just before I arrive [probably some other poor bugger going in the opposite direction to teach on the campus I have just left!!]. I sometimes think video interviewing would be a good idea - but people DO prefer face to face, and its easier to pick up on body language etc when you are in the same room. But because my sessions per week at the satellite campus have been cut this academic year [I cost too much in petrol!], we are trying an e-guidance system as well, that is available "24/7" - so far though not many students have used it, but it is only week 2!

So, roll on the end of term - please. I need a break!

Great North Run

Sunday saw the 25th running of the Great North Run from Newcastle to South Shields, via Gateshead. Last year I was unable to take up my place to run, as I had just had major surgery, but this year, I 'borrowed' a friends number, and ran. Well, due to my lack of adequate preparation, I ran some of it - it was really hot and sunny, and I looked like a beetroot - then when my knee started to make a major complaint at 6 miles, I walked the rest. 3 hours - not good, but hey, I completed it. Next year - I WILL be good, and take it more seriously, and be faster!! The worst bit was the drive home afterwards - It took 5 mins to get my legs out of the car when I finally made it home. This morning was agony - I was teaching a new course at 9.30, so HAD to get out of bed - my colleagues were amazed to see me hobble through the door - talk about mind over matter! I kept moving all morning 'cos I knew if I sat down that would be it.

At least I am only suffering stiff muscles, knee and a bruised ego - it was sad to hear that 4 of my fellow competitors didn't make it - I wonder if one of them was the one I saw being loaded into the ambulance at the 12 mile mark...

Four die as runners feel heat on Great North Run

Venice

What words can describe your first trip to Venice? It was out of this world. Trying to find your way round the maze of streets, while the map in your hand shows you a different planet; the smell of the canals; the noise of the cargo boats and water taxis hooting as they approach the main junction outside your window at 7am; the sunshine during the day, and the persisting warmth at night; the colours of the fading and peeling stucco; the grandeur and the shabbiness side by side; the shops; the wells; the bridges; the sheer variety of door knobs on faded, ancient outer doors; the contrast between the heat in the streets and the coolness of the interiors; the lofty ceilings; the absence of cars, buses and bicycles; the porters transporting everything from toilet paper to flues for central heating in a return to mediaeval working practices [nice legs on them though!]; the lilt of Italian; the silence in the squares during the heat of the afternoon when Venetians retreat inside for a siesta leaving the streets to the mad tourists; the craft workshops tucked away in narrow streets where the artisans can be seen working; the tacky tourist tat on sale at popular tourist spots; the sound of accordion music drifting through the night as a gaggle of gondoliers come poling down the canal singing 'O Sole Mio'; the crush on the last water bus of the evening; the mosquitos feasting on me every night; pasta in all shapes, sizes and colours unheard of in the UK; icecream that is out of this world; sharing it all:

The illusion was shattered on the return to UK. We left Venice in 27C, it was raining and 12C at East Midlands! Welcome back to Britain...

Blandtown

Too many of the the towns and villages in the UK are loosing their local identity. When town centres are 'modernised', they end up looking like toytown. Local building materials are ignored and many wonderfully quirky, original features are obliterated in the name of progress. Walk down your local high street - in most cases it is exactly the same as anywhere else - full of large multiples, who decide what we are going to buy, and can undercut the small local, family business that has been there for generations, and when they finally shut up shop, the premises are snatched up by another large chain, estate agency or bank.

It is time to say no. If there are plans to 'improve' the locality, lobby the organisation to use local materials - lets stand up for being different.

This is the golden age of the internet, a time of glorious anarchy where information is free and anyone, rich or poor, can blog their views to the world. But government and big business are moving in - the clampdown has started.

The lure of controlling all that we see and all that we think will be too much for some governments and big businesses. But the more they try and corral people into a corner and tell us what to do, think, and buy, the more people find ways round it. We are not all the same, and some of us are quite capable of making our own decisions about things that are important to us, without any outside 'direction'. I think this is dangerous because Government control, seeing what we're doing, viewing our emails and storing them for god-knows how many years is dangerous. It's nice being able to be a bit of an anarchist, to do ones own thing. Look at China, where their internet is filtered and controlled just so that the people don't get access to new ideas and perceived risks.


Guardian Newspaper: Government Input in the 'free' internet

Biennial 2

Biennial was good fun. Saw loads of people I haven't seen for ages, gossiped, talked shop, listened to some interesting keynote speeches, and went to loads of workshops. Discovered I could make packaging to transport eggs safely,- including being hurled at a concrete path - without cracking or breaking. The team I was in were shocked to discover that, although everybody's prototype passed the test of being thrown 30m onto grass, ours was the only one to survive being wanged onto a concrete path! YES!!! [Didn't realise i was competetive either!] We also made the most profit, as ours was the cheapest to make, and we gained the extra points for a succesful throw.
Food was good - but I don't want to eat salmon again for a few weeks...
Entertainment was excellent - but the pile up on the dance floor found me at the bottom with a rather sore ankle as I fell off my sandal as we all collapsed in a heap of giggles when most of the line moved and met an unresisting wedge of bodies. Oops! Never mind, it was fun, and I am sure it will only be a minor hitch in my GNR preparation.
Next one will be in London - once the colleges within the University of London finish squabbling over WHICH one will actually be the venue - looking forward to it

A new era

The Grauniad is moving to a smaller, Berliner format from Monday. Although I will miss the broadsheet, it will be easier to read it on a crowded train, and even though it will look different, the style and attitude will be the same. I can test it out to see if it is as good as the current version at lighting my stove afterwards as well!

iPod nano

I saw one of these today in the Apple shop in Birmingham when I was with Patrick. I want one. I don't know why, but I do...
Patrick also showed me how to find podcasts - so I suppose I should move with the times, and find a few to listen to to keep me amused - especially as the evenings are getting darker, and I will be spending more time on my own [the new semester starts soon, so I will have to allocate several evenings a week to studying] - so podcasts can fill some of the time.

No hope for me!

Zebras in zoos are getting fat. The grass in the zoo is 'too nutritious' - they are supposed to spend their waking life walking round the savannah eating poor quality grass, not living a life of luxury with green grass under their hooves. Well, if even grass is too good for you , I may as well give up watching my calorie intake NOW - as its obvious that even salads will possess far too many calories and I need to give up all hope of ever being thin.


Why grass should not be greener for zebras

Biennial

Off to Warwick University tomorrow for biennial conference. Imagine 300 university careers advisers all in one place - scary thought! Don't ask us for advice though - we are there to have fun, not work! I do have to work though, as I am running a workshop about 'Employability' with a colleague - and yes, I left the office this afternoon WITHOUT all the materials. Luckily, I hadn't gone far when I realised, and I was able to go back and collect them. My excuse is that it was a busy day, my brain is not back in work mode yet [technically, I am not back from summer vac until 19th Sept], and I already had my hands full with all the other rubbish. I cleared 150 emails though today, but the other 300 will have to wait!

Cherwell Valley

A late summer day, walking through the Oxfordshire countryside, taking photos and enjoying the company of Ceri and Patrick, before they vanish back into the depths of academia for another year. Will miss them when they go. The dogs explored the canal as well as the towpath, and also enjoyed the lake at Blenheim Palace. Looking forward to seeing the resulting photos.

Ikea

Shopping at Ikea (B'ham) is stressful. Ceri wanted stuff for his new flat, so we wandered around for a few hours. The trolley wasn't full - but it still was enough. But having seen what's there, he can go with his new flat mates to the one in Croyden when they all move in to buy the crockery, cutlery and saucepans. We spotted a suitable table (Bjorkudden) which takes up very little room, so he will contact the agent and ask them to put one in the flat along with folding dining chairs. At least this time I was able to fit everything in the boot - and it is now in a neat pile in his room waiting for transportation down to London. He also needed to be fed while we were there, and demolished a plate of pasta in less than 5 mins - anybody watching would have thought he hadn't been fed for a week... and then home-via Kings Heath. Madness.

Read this book

'Labyrinth' by Kate Mosse is definitely worth reading. It arrived in the post yesterday morning, and I was very good and didn't start to read it until the evening. I eventually went to bed at 1.20am having finished it. It just sucks you in, and you don't want to put it down, you HAVE to finish it. Minor problem - I bought it to have something to read on my trip to Venice - oh well, I will just have to buy a few more to take with me...

number nine the gallery

Artwork by Ronnie Wood is going on display at the above gallery in Brindley Place, Birmingham for a few weeks in September - and I, for some reason, have an invite to a private view - but am not sure yet whether I can make it. Nevertheless, it looks as if it will be a good exhibition, even if I am sure the price tags will be above my limit...

CD Baby

What a nice company this is. I ordered a CD for Patrick yesterday, and had the usual instant email reply. This morning, I had another email from them, and although it still is probably a standard email, it made me feel that they really care about customer service, and want you to shop with them again

"Your CD has been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with
sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow.

A team of 50 employees inspected your CD and polished it to make sure
it was in the best possible condition before mailing.

Our packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush fell over
the crowd as he put your CD into the finest gold-lined box that money
can buy.

We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole party
marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of
Portland waved 'Bon Voyage!' to your package, on its way to you, in
our private CD Baby jet on this day, Wednesday, August 31st..."