Luckily my module leader (I was a TA) had begun to test out Teams over the weekend so we weren’t entirely starting from scratch. But that same attitude of senior management prevalent all the way through, during (and beyond) the Sept 2020 reopening and the 2021-2022 fallout as students pushed back

Whole weekend when we could have prepared (hurriedly but at least over 2 non-teaching days) for the switch to online was wasted - and the decision was communicated late on Sunday, if I recall, that we would switch to online from Tuesday.

Wasted opportunity to try to prepare to support students...

I remember the urgent discussions taking place on email lists the Weds-Fri in the week preceding the Monday 16th March 'stay at home' broadcast, where staff were talking about trying to make plans for remote teaching. Meanwhile university management insisting that classes would continue as normal

We moved away a year or so later and I’ve only been back a couple of times briefly since. I think one’s teenage years are quite formative in terms of ”place” - you get to explore on your own etc - and I left just before that. Still have a friend whose parents live just off White Hill…

Somehow didn’t realise you were in Chesham - I grew up there, and have a vague memory of invading the pitch in 1997 when they won the league (despite only having been to see them a couple of times as a kid before that)

Ooft. Will make time to read this properly. Immediate thought based on personal experience: the way universities often infantilise PhD students (rules, working/pay/conditions, policies, and the way that some staff treat them) can have a massive negative impact.

Many congratulations!

Yes precisely - seniority isn’t super contentious by comparison, but across employers?!

I think that’s a peculiarly US thing (as, I think, are other aspects of unionisation over there - like mandatory union dues which AFAIK don’t exist in the U.K.). Labour history in the US is fascinating but to British eyes really odd.

As a kid my parents rented a terraced house in Cambridge for a year. If I recall it was 01223 321023 - one digit off one of the Marshalls aerospace (Cambridge airport) numbers. Had at least a couple of misdials a month.

It's not-quite-astroturfing, but it's a sign that there is at the very least a non-authentic effort on Bluesky to influence opinions via mass-replies to a website that certainly obscures its political leanings.

Thank you! And thank you for all your work more generally, too!

Would be very interested to hear your experience of developing the RAP from an “organisational change” perspective, and any tips on achieving this, if that’s something that you might be able to share eg via a public blog?

We were told to allow 3hrs when we went. It ended up being about 2 due to heavy traffic which worked fine (especially as we had fast track, and there was a late delay to the flight), but it seemed an bit unpredictable. I prefer to minimise time lost in airports but would err on side of caution

Earlier post should read “considered”, sorry. Trying to type while bouncing around on (terrible) buses in Cambridge…

I may well be misremembering and am happy to be corrected. I just remember it stood out as what seemed to be a glaring omission - ie that consideration of airport demand should include potential for HSR to lead to mode shift and wider externalities (eg postponing need for additional runway)

Justification for cancellation of HS2 Heathrow spur: airport demand not good use of London-the north train paths.

But this always struck me as backwards logic: HSR link would enable most domestic flights to be replaced by through-ticketed rail - freeing runway slots. IIRC this angle not consifeted

I’ve had some severe wisdom tooth pain in the last few days. Over the counter Benzocaine and I’m right as rain, but it made me think of how many deaths through history have been caused by things which are now of trifling importance thanks to antibiotics and modern medicine more generally.