Think twice
and then don’t
Zero tolerance
that’s me
Step out of line
and I’ll have you
sprawled in the dust
as the warning shot
screams past your ear
into the gloves
A sniper’s brain
a hair-trigger arm
Take me on?
Make my day
by Simon Rae
Follow @telescoper..is the relative position of the two teams in 16th and 17th place in the final Premiership table!
Of course, it would have been more satisfying if Sunderland had finished one place lower but then you can’t have everything!
Anyway, that’s the Premiership over for another season. Time to concentrate on the cricket. If the Ashes Tests producing anything like today’s play against New Zealand then it should be an exciting summer!
Follow @telescoperSo farewell, then,
Wigan Athletic.
You weren’t
Athletic enough,
Apparently.
Keith’s mum says
Wigan is not
In the Midlands.
But she’s wrong.
Obviously.
by Peter Coles (aged nearly 50).
Follow @telescoperI’ve been offline for a couple of days owing to being back at the old place in Cardiff, and consequently without internet connection. I could have used my phone, of course, as I’m doing now, but the 3G coverage in Wales is very poor so I find it frustrating to blog on my Blackberry.
Anyway, I came back to Cardiff to take care of a few loose ends and also to attend the annual Chaos Ball on Friday evening, which is run by the staff-student society in the School of Physics & Astronomy. It was a pleasant experience to see former colleagues and students again, so thanks to the organisers for finding tickets for me and my guest at the last minute!
Yesterday it was a different ball that took centre stage, as this year’s Six Nations rugby came to a dramatic conclusion with Wales’ comprehensive and well-deserved victory over England in Cardiff. I didn’t go to the game, but did watch it in a local pub. There’s a very special buzz in Cardiff on such occasions, and I was glad to experience it one more time, despite being an Englishman..
Now I have to get my act together and head back to Brighton. I wonder what sort of balls the British railway system will serve up?
Follow @telescoperSo here I am again, in the office on a Saturday. This morning was the first UCAS Admissions Days during my tenure as Head of School so I came up to campus in order to make a short speech to welcome the prospective students and their parents to the University. Although I’ve only been in post for a week and hadn’t had time to prepare a proper presentation I think it went reasonably well. It’s bound to sound like a cliché when someone like me stands up and says it’s a very exciting time to be coming to the University of Sussex, but it just happens to be true in this case. We’re currently in the middle of quite a large expansion in the faculty across the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, or MPS for short, which means that there’s a lot of new blood coming with lots of new ideas in both teaching and research. The buzz around the place is unmistakable.
As far as MPS is concerned, today’s event was exclusively for students applying to do Mathematics so I had to pretend to know about draw on my past experience of working in a Mathematics department in speaking to students and their parents. Of course the various activities inside the School were more detailed, so I tagged along a bit in order to find out what goes on in such events. Among the things that have changed since I was a postgraduate student here 25 years ago, is that there’s a thing called the Creativity Zone, which is a flexible interactive working space for the students to use in a variety of ways. I’m not saying we didn’t have any creativity when I was a student but teaching was rather one-dimensional in those days. I think the wider the range of teaching methods we can deploy the better, because different students respond differently to any given style; what’s best for one may not be best for everyone.
Anyway, in case anyone is interested I managed to find myself a flat in Brighton and took possession of the keys on Thursday morning. I then had to dash around buying bits and bob – bedlinen etc – before coming into work for some meetings in the afternoon. OnThursday evening I made a quick trip back to the old homestead in Cardiff to check everything was OK and pick up some stuff for the flat (and my P45 which hadn’t arrived by the time I left last week). Passing through London on the way to Brighton last night I managed to make it to the Athenaeum for dinner with the RAS Club before returning late and very tired to my new Brighton residence.
If I hadn’t had to do the honours on campus this morning I would happily have slept until noon. It’s been such a busy week, that I’m definitely a bit knackered. But then I knew it was going to be hectic and it’s all gone fairly well so far really. Now I’m going to head back home, put my feet up and do today’s crosswords.
The one complication is that Brighton and Hove Albion are playing at home today (against Hull) and their stadium,as you can see from the map, is right next to the campus, just on the other side of the A27…
However, the match is not until this evening (17.20) so I should be able to get home without too many problems.
Follow @telescoperSo here I am, then, in the office on a Sunday afternoon,which I suspect is going to be a pretty regular occurrence for the foreseeable future. I mainly came in to sort out papers for tomorrow’s Senior Management Group meeting, which will be the first such meeting I’ll be attending in my new capacity. I have managed to prepare for it in fine style by losing my diary, which isn’t a very good start to my career as any kind of manager.
Yesterday was taken up with flat-hunting which, if all turns out well this time, was successful. I also had time to watch a bit of the opening match of the Six Nations Rugby between Wales and Ireland. For the last five years or so I’ve always been in Cardiff for Wales’ first home game of the competition, although I’ve never actually managed to get a ticket for the match. It felt a bit strange not being there anyway. It has to be said that Wales were pretty chronic in the first half, going into the break at 30-3 down, but they recovered in the second half and it was quite an absorbing match all considered. Ireland’s excellent defence held off a spirited Welsh comeback and Ireland won 30-22.
Although I’ve lived in Wales for a while, and have enjoyed the match-day atmosphere in Cardiff, I’ve never switched allegiance from England as far as rugby is concerned. Later on yesterday England beat Scotland in their opening match of the Six Nations, showing quite a bit of flair in doing so but also making quite a lot of mistakes. The 38-18 scoreline flattered England, I felt, and they’ll have to up their game a lot if they’re going to match Wales’ Grand Slam last season.
Football is another matter in which allegiances are difficult to change. Many’s the time I’ve thought of giving up being a Newcastle United supporter but I’ve never managed it. I disapprove of people who think they have an option concerning which team to support, actually. I was born in Newcastle therefore I support Newcastle United. That’s the end of it. We all have our cross to bear. Anyway, yesterday brought an unexpected ray of sunshine into a gloomy season for the Toon with a 3-2 victory over Chelsea. Following a first away win of the season against Aston Villa last week it may even be possible that they’ll avoid relegation. Perhaps.
Switching allegiances between universities is almost as difficult. In today’s academic world we’re supposed to think of higher education as a marketplace in which different institutions compete for funding for both teaching and research. I’ve never felt comfortable with the idea that opening up higher education to “market forces” is in anyone’s interests. Certainly on the research side, there are so many collaborations between groups in different universities that cooperation is more the rule than competition although, as with any rule, there are exceptions. Friendly rivalry is as good a thing in higher education as it is in football, but anything more serious than that can only be justified in the case of Sunderland.
Follow @telescoperShocked and saddened by news of the death of former England cricket captain Tony Greig, at the age of only 66. He was a controversial character, but a fine all-rounder and skipper as a player, and also part of the finest comedy double-act in cricket history (with Geoffrey Boycott) when he became a commentator:
Follow @telescoperApparently there’s been a posh do this evening at the Royal Society to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Diamond Light Source. In fact the Diamond Light Source has its own anniversary blog that’s been posting celebratory things for a while; the actual anniversary being celebrated was the signing of the agreement to set up the Diamond Light Source, which happened on March 27th 2002. Actual operations didn’t commence until 2007, at a total cost of £260m, which is when STFC was created and told to pick up the tab for running the facility which, together with a few other things, precipitated a financial crisis from which UK particle physics and astronomy are only just starting to recover.
I don’t be churlish about the good science the Diamond Light Sources is undoubtedly doing so I thought I’d mark the anniversary here. The blog I mentioned above has a video page but it sadly doesn’t contain the video I most expected to see. This, Diamond Lights, was released – or did it escape? – in 1987 and it “stars” Glen Hoddle and Chris Waddle who, as singers, were both excellent footballers. I’m surprised STFC Chief Executive John Womersley didn’t record a cover version of this as part of the anniversary celebrations…
Follow @telescoperIt’s a dark and wet Monday morning in November and I’m up early again for my nine o’clock lecture. Before I go however I couldn’t resist a quick post to mark the England cricket team’s splendid victory in the 2nd Test Match in Mumbai, India. It’s an especially good result because it comes after a weak performance in the First Test in which they were comprehensively beaten.
I know I wasn’t alone in thinking that it was madness to have gone into the First Test with Graham Swann as their only spinner. That, some inaccurate bowling by the other bowlers, and poor fielding led to England conceding over 500 runs in India’s First Innings. I was relieved, therefore, that the selectors saw sense this time and put Monty Panesar in the team. He bowled beautifully, achieving exceptional bounce and turn from Day 1. Here you can see a few examples of his bowling in India’s First Innings.
I’ve always liked Monty, actually. It’s not just that he’s a fine spin bowler, and I always enjoy watching a good spinner. Nor is it his infectious, almost child-like, enthusiasm. Most of all it’s the fact that he’s clearly by no means a natural athlete; he’s a man who has had to work very hard at his game to get where he is. We’ve always known he could bowl, but when he started out he was a truly hopeless fielder. He subsequently put long hours in during practice and is now at least competent. As for a his batting, he’s a genuine No. 11 but he tries hard at that too. And of course there was that memorable day in Cardiff in 2009 when he and Jimmy Anderson held on (somehow) to save the First Ashes Test against Australia.
So from a cold and gloomy morning in Wales, here’s a heartfelt “thank you” to the England team, and especially to Monty Panesar, for bringing us a bit of sunshine from the sub-continent. Now I’m looking forward to the remaining two test matches in what is already a fascinating series.
P.S. Apologies if you thought this post was going to be about jazz clarinettist Monty Sunshine.
Follow @telescoperJust time for a quick post to record the fact that yesterday I made my annual pilgrimage to Lord’s to watch the third day’s play of the third Test between England versus South Africa. I had to get up at 5.30 to catch an early morning train to London, hence yesterday’s “full many a glorious morning have I seen” post. That choice was motivated more by the forecast than immediate reality, however, because it was raining in Cardiff when I set out. I did however, take a sun hat and shades with me, which turned out to be a wise move as there was bright sunshine when I arrived in London. Lord’s is conveniently situated a relatively short walking distance from Paddington, but even at 9.30 in the morning I could feel the heat, so there was a glorious morning after all…
Once again, courtesy of my old friend Anton I found myself among the member’s guests in the Warner Stand, with an excellent view of the proceedings, from a position a few rows back in the direction of fine leg for a batsman at the Pavilion End. There was a bit of high cloud early on, but it soon cleared. We had warm and sunny conditions for the duration, and a full day’s cricket ensued.
England resumed on 208-5, chasing South Africa’s first innings total of 309. Bairstow and Prior started pretty well. Mindful of the match situation they played carefully and scored quite slowly. Then, after 9 overs, South Africa took the new ball, a dangerous moment in any innings, so I expected the England batsman to play even more carefully. Prior, however, had a mad moment against the very first delivery with the new ball, played an awful shot at a wide ball and departed. England were on 221-6, and hopes of them reaching South Africa’s total were fading fast. Bairstow batted well, but when he got into the 90s nerves clearly got the better of him. He was becalmed on 95 for what seemed like an eternity, and then fell. A fine innings, and such a pity he didn’t get a maiden Test century at Lord’s. At 264-8 it looked certain South Africa would get a first innings lead, but Swann and Finn added 32 for the last wicket and England eventually closed after lunch on 315 all out, just 6 runs in front.
To have any chance of winning the match, England needed to take South African wickets quickly with the new ball. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Indeed, Swann was the only bowler who looked really threatening. Although England tried hard, the South African batting is very strong and the bowlers just couldn’t put enough pressure on them consistently to break through. South Africa finished the day on 145-3.
My prediction, I’m afraid, is that South Africa (who only need to draw this game to win the series and displace England at the top of the world rankings) will bat England out of the game today. If they can reach a score over 300, which seems very likely, and the weather remains good, I think they’ll win this game. But I’m not complaining. I think South Africa have outplayed England this summer, and thoroughly deserve their success.
Not many runs were scored in the day, but it was absorbing stuff. There’s nothing to match the ebb and flow of Test cricket. But anyone who has ever been to a Test match at Lord’s knows that it’s not just about the cricket. Few people remain in their seats for the whole day; you can easily pop out for some refreshment, stroll around the various shops and other facilities, or even just sit down and have a picnic.
Unfortunately, the combination of the heat and excessive consumption of “refreshments” was too much for one gentleman I saw flaked out as I stretched my legs. The stewards and the police between them were politely suggesting that it was time for him to go home…
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In the Dark 