Category Archives: pandemic

Educational Disadvantage

Posted on 1 September 2023 by Athene Donald

With many schools in England apparently in danger of crumbling around or upon pupils, the start of the new school year offers the potential, once again, of being disrupted for thousands of pupils. Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, generati… Continue reading →

Posted in A levels, education, Equality, pandemic, reading | Comments Off on Educational Disadvantage

Inefficiency as a Blessing in Disguise

Posted on 20 August 2023 by Athene Donald

In the process of tidying up my office I have managed to fill several large bins for recycling. I found many unremembered old reports. Indeed, sometimes I found multiple copies due to my incompetence in remembering where I filed the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in comfort break, inefficiency, pandemic, Research, Science Culture, Writing | Comments Off on Inefficiency as a Blessing in Disguise

Cynical and Irritable

Posted on 9 January 2022 by Athene Donald

‘This is not an era in which good things are taken at face value. We are cynical, irritable and tired, and if there is a bad intention to be read into anything, someone will scratch away at it until they … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in committees, pandemic, resilience, Science Culture | Comments Off on Cynical and Irritable

Scientists Who Stand Up to be Counted

Posted on 3 January 2022 by Athene Donald

In the UK the pandemic is rushing towards its second anniversary, changing, but no less dangerous for the life we used to think was ‘normal’, and indeed our very lives. During this time, as a scientist I have had confidence … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in abuse, Communicating Science, David Spiegelhalter, Devi Sridhar, pandemic, Sander van der Linden, Science Culture | Comments Off on Scientists Who Stand Up to be Counted

Burnout

Posted on 21 March 2021 by Athene Donald

As we ‘celebrate’ the anniversary of the UK’s first national lockdown this week, reflection seems in order. Things that seemed unimaginable last March, we now take in our stride, in the sense that we simply get on with them. Coming … Continue reading →

Posted in education, kindness, pandemic, Science Culture, Spring | Comments Off on Burnout

How are Universities Supporting Those Worst Affected by the Pandemic?

Posted on 14 March 2021 by Athene Donald

This pandemic has thrown all kinds of inequalities into sharp focus, ranging from fundamental matters of health and wellbeing to job security. The consequences of all these issues will echo down the years ahead, long after the pandemic is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Athena Swan, Equality, Liverpool University, National Academy of Sciences, pandemic, tenure clock, Women in science | Comments Off on How are Universities Supporting Those Worst Affected by the Pandemic?

Cold

Posted on 9 February 2021 by Henry Gee

A pandemic is sweeping the nation. No, not that one – this one is avian flu. People with poultry are advised to keep their stock under cover. Chez Gee we have a number of semi-retired and fancy hens (that is, … Continue reading →

Posted in avian flu, beast from the east, Blog Norfolk!, cold, DEFRA, Domesticrox, emergency jelly babies, Erebus, Franklin, James Clark Ross, michael palin, North-West Passage, pandemic, poultry keeping, wind chill | Comments Off on Cold

Studious

Posted on 9 January 2021 by Henry Gee

As you’ll both know by now, playing live music means a lot to me. I’ve been playing live since student days — before — and at times music has been the only thing that’s kept me going. Many of my … Continue reading →

Posted in blues, D C Wilson Band, flabbey road, friendship, home recording, Music, pandemic, voodoo sheiks | Comments Off on Studious

Microeuoi

Posted on 7 January 2021 by Henry Gee

Somewhere in Neal Stephenson‘s sprawling Baroque Cycle, two men are urinating against a wall — and remark on the simple joy of such an action. Both had undergone lithotomy, an operation to remove painful calculi, in their case, bladder stones. … Continue reading →

Posted in Baroque Cycle, bladder stones, COVID-19, diabetes, golden arches, i have spoken, it is the way, jelly babies, life always feels better after a big poo, lithotomy, Neal Stephenson, pandemic, poo-phoria, Samuel Pepys, SARS-CoV2, Science Is Vital, the mandalorian, urination, vagus nerve | Comments Off on Microeuoi

Mmxxery

Posted on 3 January 2021 by Henry Gee

Being the contrarian that I am, I shall defy convention by saying that 2020 has been a year that’ll stand in the anals annals tale of years as historical and transformative. True, millions have suffered, in all sorts of ways, … Continue reading →

Posted in a very short history of life on earth, Apparitions, christmas university challenge, Domesticrox, education, Leeds University, Lockdown, pandemic, Politicrox, SARS-CoV2, Science Is Vital, Science-fiction, vaccine | Comments Off on Mmxxery