A very pleasant surprise to hear you on my radio this morning, Kevin. A tremendous contribution, as always.

After your previous message, I was on tenterhooks waiting for this one.

Listening to it now. Excellent!

It’s not bad. It’s set (and was filmed) where B grew up, so has become a bit of a favourite. York, MacCorkindale, Agutter - what more could you want for a Sunday afternoon? The book is very good, if you like derring-do (and can ignore the anachronisms).

The Riddle of the Sands. Phwoar!

Agree. And after that @dieworkwear, whom I think @deevybee.bsky.social follows…

Can very much recommend “Limitarianism” by Ingrid Robeyns, for a very thoroughly argued case along exactly these lines.

Sorry to kibbitz, but maybe dried cranberries (esp. if it’s a FODMAP thing)

Thanks, Aidan. I think that’s right. As long as management behave like a “professional managerial class”, by appearing to defend government against staff rather than staff against government, our mutual interests are catastrophically deemphasised, with the consequences that we see.

I suppose we ought to consider, too, what alternative course of action, might extract the sector from the race-to-the-bottom implied by your three points (of which 3 is, of course, the most galling, as John notes), if strike action were definitively off the table. Ideas?

…refused to sign up to a collective, sector-wide campaign might actually focus all our minds on the underlying funding issue, common to all. The key problem, I think, is that VC’s are selected for a lack of solidarity with the staff body from which they sprang. Maybe not irredeemably so, though?

Pragmatically, I think you are right, of course. And yet such a management stance would lack any logic. VCs WANT higher unit funding (some have been v explicit in saying so); between them, they have a monopoly degree-awarding powers.  Selective strikes in institutions where the VC…1/2

But what if a strike were aimed at addressing 2 first, and thence 1? That is, a strike that tried to unite staff and management (yes, inc. VC’s; UUK, etc.) in pushing Gov to increase home-student funding. Along the lines of: No home degrees to be awarded until unit funding somewhat restored.

Have you listened to the Macrodose guest-hosted by Nick Bano? Gave me food for thought re. “supply and demand” (though admittedly haven’t read the book yet

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/against-landlords-w-nick-bano/id1646528688?i=1000643612673

U ok hun?

I reluctantly admit you have a point, but I’m still quite chuffed with its renaissance. I had to get it on DVD because nobody streamed it, even when that had become the default. Come down to NW11 for a screening!

…and always print the name and affiliation on any badge, so that those of us who occasionally fail to retrieve the names of even people we know well, can craftily look at the name while sagely stating “ah, still at University of X, I see”

Have you worked out the gCO2/p.km? 😉