Latest posts

What Should You Be Doing Now?

Posted on 22 April 2020 by Athene Donald

One of the questions you ought not to pose to someone – be it a mentor, supervisor or sponsor – is ‘what should I do?’ Because, the answer has to be: ‘that’s up to you’. There is no uniquely right career path, there is no right order in which to tick things off your career bucket list or boxes to tick all of which are the sine qua non to get you to the destination you want. There are, of course, p Continue reading →

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Clampdown

Posted on 15 April 2020 by rpg

“

Hey Mike. Mike? Mike.

Mike, can you hear me? Cannn youu hearrrr meee. Continue reading →

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We’re All in This Together

Posted on 15 April 2020 by Athene Donald

If life were other, if we weren’t all ‘wfh’ and trying to stay sane as well as productive, today I would be putting the finishing touches to a talk I was due to give at the end of the week to graduate students at another university. Being the kind of person who always worries I’ll be struck down by an incapacitating migraine at the wrong moment, I tend not to leave talk-writing to the 11th hour/ o Continue reading →

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In which we lock down

Posted on 13 April 2020 by Jennifer Rohn

Garden

Pandemic existence: reaping what we’ve sown

There is nothing I can write about life on lockdown that has not already been written. Doing so risks the scorn of the likes of Times journalist Matthew Parris, who on Saturday opined:

I’m encountering what for me is an almost intolerable level of guff about reconnecting with nature, learning the joys of contemplation, home-cooking, realising how mu Continue reading →

Posted in Domestic bliss, Gardening, staring into the abyss, The profession of science, work-life balance | Comments Off on In which we lock down

Is Losing a President Careless?

Posted on 8 April 2020 by Athene Donald

So what really is going on in Brussels regarding the ERC? I have had no direct contact with them in recent months, nor ever met Professor Ferrari, the short-lived and outgoing (outgone?) President. I cannot spill any beans because I have no beans to spill, but I did spend six years sitting on the Scientific Council (ScC) and perhaps can read a little between the lines. The extraordinary statement Continue reading →

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Three weeks

Posted on 5 April 2020 by Stephen

Just three weeks ago, on eve of the weekend, my wife and I met an old friend for dinner at a restaurant in Southwark. Even then, the most normal things in the world were beginning to feel risky.

Two metres apart

Our friend works for Public Health England, but even if he hadn’t, the conversation would still probably have locked onto the coronavirus pandemic. We could feel it coming – my university had already deci Continue reading →

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The Story of a Piano

Posted on 3 April 2020 by Athene Donald

As working practices are turned upside down, as our whole pattern of live is disrupted in ways that are unlikely to feel pleasant, I am sure turning to music will be the solace of many. I hear – as confirmation of this – that sales of pianos and sheet music, and downloading of music teaching apps etc, have all risen in recent weeks.

Music may be of use to soothe a toddler’s tantrums or your own (p Continue reading →

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Working From Home

Posted on 28 March 2020 by Athene Donald

Hugh Kearns wrote this week

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Aphorism

Posted on 23 March 2020 by Erika Cule

Do one day at a time.
If you can’t do a day at a time, do an hour at a time.
If you can’t do an hour at a time, go minute by minute.
If you can’t do minutes, do seconds.
If you can’t do seconds, do moments.
Do moments, all you have to do is moments. Continue reading →

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In Time of Crisis – Be Kind

Posted on 22 March 2020 by Athene Donald

In A Time of Crisis

You might think that our present, extraordinary and challenging global circumstances might call for ‘patience, flexibility, practicality and ability to withstand misfortune’. All of those traits do indeed need to be practiced now as we, individually and collectively, try to traverse a landscape that changes every day (so far, always in a bad direction). In fact the full quote t Continue reading →

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