tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60132371592292481632024-03-05T10:12:54.716-08:00Charlie Williams - own thoughts and musingsCharlie Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11383371143461342486noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013237159229248163.post-10223391208116198602022-08-27T06:43:00.000-07:002022-08-27T06:43:26.842-07:00Extolling the virtues of a hybrid meeting done well<p>Following a very successful three-day conference recently, I wanted to write a few words to extol the virtues of a hybrid meeting done really well. Lots of people at the moment are enthusing wildly about getting back to in-person meetings and general socialising, but not all of us are quite so excited about this return to the old world.</p><p>If this makes me a miserable old git, then so be it.</p><p>The meeting in question was a Galileo Conference, entitled 'The warm Pliocene: Bridging the geological data and modelling communities' and held virtually and in-person at the University of Leeds from 24-26 August 2022. It was sponsored by the NERC UK Integrated Ocean Drilling Programme, Past Global Changes (PAGES) and the European Geosciences Union (EGU), and was run by an organising committee led by Dr Aisling Dolan and Dr Heather Ford (from the University of Leeds and Queen Mary University of London, respectively). The conference website can be seen at <a href="https://www.egu-galileo.eu/gc10-pliocene/general_information.html">https://www.egu-galileo.eu/gc10-pliocene/general_information.html</a>. The conference focused on the mid-Piacenzian Warm Period (sometimes also known as the mid-Pliocene Warm Period, mPWP), an interval between approximately 3.3 and 3 million years ago when CO2 levels were roughly equivalent to today, global mean temperatures were 2-3°C higher than today and sea level was approximately 20 m higher than today. This makes it an important analogue for a possible future.</p><p>Normally, here, I would continue with the science, but that's not the purpose of this post. The purpose of this post is the meeting itself. The meeting took a hybrid format, meaning there were approximately 50 people in the room and approximately 50 people joining virtually. I was in the latter group. For ease, I will refer to the former group as 'reals' and the latter group as 'virtuals'; let's not get into a philosophical discussion over the validity of these terms.</p><p>Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic in 2020, and even more so since its 'supposed' end in 2022 (not a statement I agree with, but I'm in a minority), I have attended a great number of virtual and hybrid meetings. Almost always, something has gone badly wrong; inadequate technology, glitching, freezing, inaudible lecturers, audio echoes, etc. However, 'The warm Pliocene...' meeting demonstrated that with the right technology and, more importantly, the right know-how to use it properly, a hybrid meeting can indeed be done perfectly. Here, I will cover the various elements of the meeting, how they have been done terribly in the past and how they were done flawlessly here.</p><p>Firstly, the main lectures (or short presentations), directed at everybody in the audience. This, in theory, should be the easiest part to arrange of any hybrid meeting. All that is needed is a camera (this is usually and most easily a laptop running Zoom, Teams or whatever, but could be a more sophisticated camera/microphone setup) pointing at the podium, a roaming microphone for the reals (so the virtuals can hear them), the slides shared via Zoom and a speaker (so the reals can hear the virtuals). Sounds simple, right?</p><p>Wrong.</p><p>Without mentioning any names of meetings and their organisers, I have lost count of the number of times I have spent the entire time staring either at the lecturer's crotch, or the top of their forehead. Neither is particularly desirable. Three things are important here: the direction the camera is facing, the angle (i.e. vertically) the camera is facing and the distance between the camera and the lecturer. Get any of those wrong, and we are into crotch territory. The camera needs to be far enough away to see the whole person behind the podium, but not too far away for them to resemble a matchstick. It is not necessary to see the main screen at which the reals are looking, because the slides can easily be shared. So the reals see a person next to a large screen containing their slides, whereas the virtuals see the slides directly and then the lecturer as a thumbnail in one corner. Ideally, there needs to be a separate person dedicated to moving the camera/laptop; let's call them the 'controller'. The controller is not the lecturer or the Chair, but is solely responsible for moving the camera left, right, up or down so that it is always facing the lecturer during the talk and then the audience during the following questions/discussion. When anybody in the audience wants to speak, they use the same microphone that the lecturer was using.</p><p>Happily, the organisers of 'The warm Pliocene...' meeting got this spot on, constantly moving the laptop to the correct place depending on who was talking. The only thing that might have improved this would be to have a dedicated virtual constantly communicating with the controller (perhaps via the chat), to say whether the camera needs to be moved slightly; but this is only really necessary if the controller cannot see themselves.</p><p>As an aside, the concept of being moved around by someone else in order to see properly is unfamiliar to many people but, given my personal circumstances, is very familiar to me. Although most of the time I use an electric wheelchair and can therefore move myself, some of the time I use a manual wheelchair and therefore cannot. Given that I am not really able to turn my head from side to side, in order to see somebody or something I need to be directly facing them. I am therefore very used to asking "<i>Please turn me a bit to the left</i>" or similar. The difference between turning me in person (i.e. turning the wheelchair) and turning me virtually (i.e. turning the laptop) is exactly what?!</p><p>Secondly, the poster sessions. If you are at any train station or airport, anywhere in the world, and you see a bunch of nerdy-looking people holding long cardboard or black plastic tubes, you can be sure there is a conference somewhere nearby. Traditionally, the idea is the poster is physically printed and displayed in a large room, and the author stands next to it at the allocated time and talks to people walking by. This, in theory, is not so easy to do in the virtual space; again I have lost count of the number of failures using Zoom, where people haven't known how to use the breakout room function, people have been lost in virtual space or people have all tried to talk at once. </p><p>Or, the now famous "<i>You're on mute</i>".</p><p>However, again, happily the organisers of 'The warm Pliocene...' meeting got it right. There was a combination of traditional and virtual poster sessions; for the former, the reals were able to interact in the old-fashioned way, whereas the virtuals were able to view the posters that had been uploaded, in advance, to Padlet, as well as a two minute introductory talk that had been pre-recorded by the authors. The virtuals could then post questions on Padlet, which could be answered by the author either instantly or later on. For the virtual poster sessions, both the reals and the virtuals operated in virtual space; the reals were told to find a quiet corner of the conference centre and interact virtually using Zoom, whereas the virtuals were already on Zoom. Within this virtual space, every poster presenter was assigned their own breakout room, where they would wait patiently for the audience to drop by. Everybody could see a list of the breakout rooms, and could therefore choose to whom they wanted to talk. If there was more than one person in a given breakout room, they would simply wait their turn to talk to the presenter; much like they would if they were they standing in a crowd around a physical poster and presenter.</p><p>As I always tell my students, presenting a poster is actually a lot more hard work than giving a talk, and this is true in both the real and virtual world.</p><p>Thirdly, the discussion and breakout groups. Again, in theory, this is not so easy to get right in the virtual world. This is usually because of two reasons. Firstly because of the same problem as above i.e. the breakout room function not being used correctly, and people not knowing whether they were supposed to be in the main virtual room or in a breakout room. But secondly, because of people basically not knowing how to use Zoom. As time goes by this is becoming less of a problem, but at the beginning it was ridiculous. Almost every virtual meeting I attended in the first couple of years of the pandemic - and don't forget that most of these were academic meetings, so everybody has a brain the size of a planet (except me, obvs, as I am always the dummy in the group) - began with everybody shouting "<i>Can you hear me?</i>" for the first ten minutes.</p><p>However, once more, the organisers of 'The warm Pliocene...' meeting managed to arrange everything seamlessly. There was in a little bit of confusion, at the beginning of the first day, as to exactly which breakout room the virtuals were supposed to use, but that was quickly resolved and the rest of the days went very smoothly. The reals were divided into groups of four or five, including a member of the organising committee who was responsible for leading the discussion, taking notes and then reporting back to everybody at the end. Likewise the virtuals were divided into similar-sized groups and assigned to a breakout room, again with a member of the organising committee taking the lead. After half an hour or so of discussion, everybody would return to the main room i.e. the reals would stop talking amongst themselves and turn back to the main screen and podium, whereas the virtuals would return to the main virtual room, which was again facing the main screen and podium. People would then report back, either in person or virtually. Given that the reals all used a roaming microphone when speaking, and the virtuals were projected visually on the main screen and audibly via the speaker system, everybody was able to hear everybody and a normal discussion could be had, whether real or virtual.</p><p>Lastly, the only part of the conference which, sadly, is almost impossible to translate to the virtual space is the socialising and indeed the scientific conversations had during these times, either over coffee, lunch or during the evenings. I do not doubt that one day we will have Star Wars-style holographic projections on a small floating platform, meaning that in any given setting (such as round the restaurant table, or standing at the bar), there will be a mixture of real people and holograms that can interact as if they were physically present.</p><p>But we are not there yet.</p><p>In the meantime, this is probably the one and only part of a conference or scientific meeting in which the virtuals cannot fully participate. I have had meetings where there has been an attempt at this, such as after the meeting where the virtuals are told to get a drink and then chat to each other via Zoom breakout rooms. But this never works particularly well; either because there are too many people in one breakout room, meaning everybody talks at once or just a handful dominate the conversation, or because the organiser assigns people randomly to a breakout room, meaning you get stuck with a bunch of people you have never met and would possibly never choose to meet. In the real world, over coffee, you can choose with whom you chat, or you can choose to sit in the corner and be unsociable. In the virtual world, you can do neither.</p><p>Chit-chat or small talk always makes me uncomfortable, and this is exaggerated in virtual space.</p><p>To summarise, therefore: 'The warm Pliocene...' meeting was a masterclass in how to get a hybrid meeting right. I firmly believe that the main reason it was so successful, for both reals and virtuals, is that (like in many aspects of life) it was completely inclusive. I have been to several hybrid meetings where the virtual attendees are treated a little bit like second-class citizens, allowed to say their piece at the appropriate time but otherwise supposed to be quiet, because they are not really there, are they? This is a shame, but common. Sometimes it is completely unintentional, just an artefact of the organisers being too preoccupied with people actually in the room to remember about those who are not. A lot of my friends and colleagues argue that attending a meeting virtually is not the same, but I completely disagree. It is not the same if the hybrid part is done badly, yes. But, as the organisers of 'The warm Pliocene...' meeting have shown, when it is done well, a hybrid meeting can be as enjoyable, if not more enjoyable, than being there in-person.</p><p>I want to finish with just a few, more general thoughts concerning fully virtual, hybrid or fully in-person conferences and meetings. Moreover, some thoughts on how these principles translate into our university teaching, which was obviously 100% in-person before the pandemic, then out of necessity became 100% virtual and now is moving back towards the old world i.e. 100% in-person.</p><p>I should stress that I completely understand the vast majority of people who are very happy to go back to the old world, be that at work attending in-person meetings or generally socialising. Concerning teaching, I completely understand that many students struggled during the various lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, and that many are very happy and indeed keen to go back to the traditional way of teaching. This has resulted in a push, by most universities, to return to 100% in-person teaching as soon as possible. But this university-wide policy has often resulted in a new reluctance, by many university IT departments, to invest in new technology to allow better hybrid meetings. This, in my humble opinion, is very misguided. We know, now, that virtual and hybrid meetings are possible, work well and, when done correctly, can be preferable for some. To abandon this experience and technology in favour of the traditional way is a very big mistake. There are three reasons why I believe this.</p><p>Firstly, it doesn't take a genius to work out that the next global pandemic is only around the corner. This is not being pessimistic, but rather realistic. The scientific community knew, way back in the 1980s, that concerning impact versus likelihood of occurrence, a global pandemic came first amongst all other natural and man-made disasters, as having both the highest impact and the highest likelihood. But, when it did happen almost 40 years later, we were still not ready for it. If we abandon our new experience of virtual and hybrid meetings and teaching, and do not invest in the technology to make this better, we will be caught with our trousers down once again.</p><p>Secondly, for the vast majority of the world (or rather, the Western world - much of the Global South is still suffering massively), COVID is over. This is either because most people have had it and it wasn't too bad, or most people are not vulnerable to it and don't know anyone who is, or most people have had several doses of the vaccine and therefore (incorrectly) think they are completely shielded from it, or most people became so fed up with the restrictions that they simply don't care anymore. Either way, the fear (often of the unknown) has gone. However, for some people - not many, but a significant minority - COVID is very much not over. This might be because they are elderly, immunosuppressed or, like myself, have some other underlying condition which means they are still highly vulnerable to any respiratory-related disease. For those people, COVID is still very much a real and present danger. For those people, like myself, who have not yet caught COVID (or, at least, not that I know of) because of their super-cautious behaviour and actions - which is often disapproved of and ridiculed by even close friends and family, "<i>You've just got to learn to live with it</i>" - the fear of the unknown is still very much there. Therefore, if we abandon virtual and hybrid meetings and teaching, there is a real risk that this significant minority will feel even more marginalised and excluded than they did before the pandemic.</p><p>Likewise, concerning teaching, although most students appear to prefer the traditional way, this is not a constant. Based on my conversations with them, many students quite like a mixture of in-person and virtual lectures, seminars and discussions. This might be for health reasons, or because they quite like the anonymity of being behind a screen. When I was an undergraduate, over 20 years ago, if I had had the option of watching my 9 AM lecture in my pyjamas at home or making the 20 minute, bleary-eyed walk onto campus and into a cold lecture theatre, I know exactly what I would have chosen. Moreover, for those students who need to have difficult conversations with their tutors - possibly bursting into tears because they did not get the grades they wanted - doing that over Zoom is, I would imagine, far more of a safe space than doing it in the tutor's office. To completely abandon virtual and hybrid communication would, therefore, marginalise these students as well. Instead, the option of doing things virtually should be made available, now that we know it is a viable option.</p><p>Lastly, there is the issue of travel, which is more relevant to the scientific meeting or conference than it is to teaching. This is particularly relevant to those in my profession; as somebody once said, climate scientists fly all over the world telling people not to fly all over the world. This is something of which we have all been guilty. Now, however, we don't need to do this. As long as whatever meeting or conference is prepared to put the technology and know-how to good use, I can attend any meeting I like, anywhere in the world, with minimal effort and zero carbon emissions on my part. I agree, it is not quite the same and you certainly don't get the change of scenery, but surely it is better, from an environmental perspective, than the old way? Returning to 'The warm Pliocene...' meeting, it was not a large international conference involving thousands of people, but rather a relatively small meeting and workshop. It was, however, international, and we had participants from all over the world. For them to fly all the way to the UK for just three days, when they were able to participate fully in virtual space, is nonsense and goes against everything we are trying to preach.</p><p>So, in summary, virtual and hybrid meetings are not only possible, but can actually be preferable when done really well, as the recent masterclass demonstrated. To abandon everything we have learnt over the last three years, in the knowledge of what it would do to a significant minority and the knowledge of what is probably going to happen in the future, would be utterly foolish.</p>Charlie Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11383371143461342486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013237159229248163.post-71557518299335555592019-03-29T03:36:00.003-07:002019-03-29T03:36:58.642-07:00SWEETJust a very quick blog post to advertise another blog I recently wrote, as part of the SWEET project. You can see my post at <a href="https://www.deepmip.org/sweet-team-blog-3-november-2018/">https://www.deepmip.org/sweet-team-blog-3-november-2018/</a><br /><br />For those not in the know, SWEET stands for "Super Warm Early Eocene Temperatures" and is the current project I am working on at the University of Bristol. The early Eocene, roughly 55-50 million years ago, was a time when the world was very different from today, with higher global mean temperatures (of around 5°C) than today and, in particular, much higher temperatures at the poles (potentially up to 20°C higher than today). This weaker pole-equator temperature gradient resulted in a world without ice, and where all but the driest deserts were covered in rich vegetation (including Antarctica). <br /><br /> The reason I am interested in this period is because, unlike other periods in the past that were also warmer than today (e.g. the mid-Holocene, ~6kya), the early Eocene temperatures can be directly attributed to much higher levels of atmospheric CO2. In fact, levels that could have been up to 4 times higher than today. Given that all future projections of climate change predict higher global mean temperatures due to increasing CO2, and the last time CO2 reached our predicted levels was during the early Eocene, it makes this period a highly appropriate analogue for future climate change.<br /><br />My current task, as you can read in the above blog post, is to model it!<br />
<br />Charlie Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11383371143461342486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013237159229248163.post-57045675313091590942017-09-29T09:03:00.003-07:002017-09-29T09:06:50.186-07:00SMA Awareness Week: Some (possibly controversial) musings<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 307.25pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">For
those of you who know me well, you will know that historically I have
purposefully stayed away from all things related to disability. This is partly because I reject the notion
that if you are disabled then you should automatically be involved in that world
- it would be extremely racist to suggest black people should only have black
friends, yet a similar assumption about the disabled is commonly held. It is also because, in my experience, the
views of many disabled people I have met tend to diverge significantly from my
own, and I therefore feel like I have little in common with them. However, in recent years my once
semi-militant views have mellowed significantly, and I am now tentatively
becoming more involved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">As
such, for the last year or so I have been volunteering for a couple of Spinal
Muscular Atrophy (SMA) charities, either by providing support and advice or by
writing articles for them. This week,
beginning on Saturday 23 September 2017 is SMA Awareness Week, which culminates
on the 30<sup>th</sup> with SMA Awareness Day.
In preparation, I was asked to write a short piece about SMA and why we
should support research into it. I will
admit I had no idea what to write. So, to get inspiration, I checked out
all of the various websites, banners, flyers and the like. I was
overwhelmed, and indeed depressed, by the total negativity of absolutely everything
I read. Endless stories of dead children and babies, grieving parents,
struggles at school, nasty operations, an inability to find work or form
relationships, etc etc. Very few stories of any people just getting on
with it – the only stories that I found along these lines where written by
people who have spent their lives banging the drum. This, in my opinion, can
also give a negative impression overall – because, unfortunately, in my
experience the ‘disability brigade’ often go too far one way or another, EITHER
saying how horrible everything is for them and how something must be done, OR
saying how difficult everything is but “<i>look
at me and how well I doing despite everything</i>”. So, society views us
either as wasters and whingers, or superhumans beating all adversity.
There is rarely a middle ground.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Therefore,
I wrote this article. My Godfather,
himself a retired consultant anaesthetist, read an early draft and summarised
my ramblings in one neat sentence: “<i>Putting
it simply the caring and medical services fit round the life rather than the
life fitting round the services</i>”. However, as he correctly admitted,
hospital doctors very rarely see it like that. Perhaps, even if
unknowingly, my piece was attempting to educate people along these lines.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">So… As I said, I was
invited to write a short article about SMA and why we should support research
into it and raise awareness. Although I
fully intend to meet this brief, what I am about to say might be considered by
many as controversial - if this causes offence to anyone, either those with SMA
or their families, then I apologise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In short - SMA is not
necessarily always that bad.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Before I am bombarded
with hate mail, a little bit of background about me: I am 36 years old and I
have severe Type II SMA (borderline Type I).
With no exaggeration, I can only (just) lift a finger. I use an electric wheelchair, need 24-hour
non-invasive ventilation (NIV) and obviously require someone-else to do
absolutely everything for me, 24/7. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">However, despite this
I am a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Reading and part-time lecturer
at the University of Oxford, having obtained my doctorate roughly 11 years ago
and working full-time in academia since then.
I am an internationally recognised scientist, have published
significantly (including an undergraduate textbook several years ago) and have
lectured extensively across the world. I
live independently from my family, employing a team of people that I manage
myself with funding from my local Social Services.<span style="background: white; color: #222222;"> Outside of work, I am
an experienced traveller and am fortunate enough, either through work or
pleasure, to have been able to visit countries within every continent. I am lucky enough to have someone very
special in my life, and we regularly indulge our passion for travelling and
experiencing new cultures, languages and food. At home, I am a keen
foodie, enthusiastic home-cook and amateur restaurant critic, and am also an
experienced yachtsman.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Now, I am most definitely not saying that my life is perfect
- I have my fair share of problems. I
have bad days, like everyone else - regardless of whether they have extra needs
or not. I am certainly not writing this
to boast. The point I’m trying to make
is that, if the will is there, then SMA is not always the barrier that many
people assume. Of course, I’m very aware
that there are many worse-off people and children more affected by SMA than I -
and many less so - but quality of life is a highly subjective concept and
indeed some people, as has been reported in the news several times recently,
would rather end their lives than live like I do. Therefore, regardless of severity, SMA isn’t
always the living hell that many people suggest, or rather it doesn’t have to
be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">For those
of you who are parents of someone with SMA - of course, I cannot speak for you
because I am not yet a </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">father. I cannot possibly comprehend what it is like,
as a parent, to be given that diagnosis.
But, what I can say, is that it is no longer the hopeless death-sentence
that it was when my parents were told 36 years ago.<span style="background: white;"> Research into SMA is progressing
all the time, increasing rapidly with the introduction of treatments such as
Spinraza, and this is one very strong reason to support future research into
this field. However, in the meantime,
current technology (e.g. electric wheelchairs, NIV, eye gaze software, etc)
exists to allow your child to lead a long, full and exciting life. With your support, there is absolutely no
reason why your child can’t achieve everything they wish, whether it’s a
cracking education, successful career, a family of their own, etc etc. Another thing I can say, connected to the
beginning of that last sentence, is that the</span> diagnosis of your child no
longer means you have to give up your dreams and ambitions and be a slave to
them (or rather, no more than any other parent). My father, for example, has had a passion for
sailing since he was 12, and now in their 60s my parents are only truly happy
when out on the water. He is, in the
nicest possible way, a stubborn man - so the idea of giving up his passion just
because he had a disabled son would have been completely ridiculous. Fortunately, he is also a very resourceful
man and pretty handy when it comes to DIY, so every single boat he has owned through
the years has been modified slightly - a door added, a bulkhead removed, a seat
fitted - to enable me to come along. I
was not always impressed by this, particularly as a stroppy teenager who wanted
to see his mates rather than being dragged out sailing every weekend - but one
of the many positives to come out of this was that I didn’t develop the sense
of entitlement that, sadly, some disabled people possess. Our family joke was, and still is, “<i>the boat comes first</i>”. My parents did not treat me as special,
unique or requiring bubble-wrap as protection, they just got on with it. Therefore, your child’s diagnosis, although
there will undoubtedly be difficult times, does not mean you have to forget
about your own ambitions and treat them like they were made from crystal - you
probably <u>will</u> feel like their slave, even after they turn 18, but that
should have nothing to do with SMA.<span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">For those of you with SMA, regardless of age - ditto the above sentiments. Anything is possible, with the right mindset (both
yours and those around you). You have
probably heard that many times before, as have I, and find it highly
irritating. You might be thinking “<i>what does he know about what I’m going
through, I’m different</i>” - and my response would be “<i>I don’t know what you are going through and yes you are different</i>”. I am not trying to be inspirational, and
thoroughly dislike the often condescending tone of people who usually say
this. But the principle is the
same. Of course, don’t be unrealistic -
if your ambition is to play up-front for Arsenal, you may have to modify your
expectations somewhat. But, being
realistic, as long as the will is there, then no barrier is insurmountable -
the problems only begin when the will is not there. Working part-time for a disability charity
does not have to be the best you can hope for, not if you don’t want to<span style="display: none; mso-hide: all;"> 4</span>.
SMA does not have to define you, if you don’t want it to. I will admit that I am often irritated by the
numerous so-called ‘inspirational’ disabled people, who claim that they are not
defined by their disability - yet spend every day talking about it, work in the
field of disability, post on Facebook about it, etc. I’m not saying you shouldn’t, just that it’s
not the only available option open to you.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Personally,
I do not see SMA as something intrinsically separate - I have no sense of ‘me
but with a disease’. It is deeply
ingrained into my DNA, as much as is being male or white, but that doesn’t mean
it is the defining feature. I do not really
think about it, do not talk about it all the time (my Facebook timeline should
confirm this), and certainly do not blame any of my problems on it. I would probably have many of them anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">So, this SMA
Awareness Week, I would urge everyone to absolutely spread the word and
encourage people to support research into SMA.
Of course, pioneering research into SMA, to better understand it and
perhaps one day find a cure, is a hugely worthwhile activity. But it shouldn’t be the only aim. In addition, I believe SMA Awareness Week
should also focus on the positives, and all the good things people with SMA
have done and are doing on a daily basis, some of whom go unnoticed because
they are not constantly banging a drum.
In doing so, I believe it’s important to avoid the negative rhetoric of ‘curing
this dreadful condition’ and rather concentrate on a better understanding of SMA,
so that people with it are able to achieve as much as they want and parents of
someone with it do not despair. The
overall point is just that sometimes, with the right mindset and a bit of luck,
having SMA doesn’t have to be the end of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Charlie Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11383371143461342486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013237159229248163.post-23544600400506970452017-06-10T03:49:00.000-07:002017-06-10T03:50:42.285-07:00Was June really the end of May?Following the media and political furore of Friday 9 June 2017, the day after the snap General Election, we all now know the outcome. As always, the social media platforms were awash with comments and rants, pretty much straightaway. After the EU referendum last year, I also began ranting straight away. This time, however, I have purposefully waited at least 24 hours before commenting - I wanted to have time to digest and assimilate, think and contemplate, reflect and meditate, before making my opinions known. So, here goes.<br />
<br />
Although I began yesterday morning thinking this was a good result, and that a weaker Tory government and stronger opposition was the best possible realistic outcome, now I'm not so sure.<br />
<br />
There are, of course, positives, of which there were many yesterday. Here are a few:<br />
<ul>
<li>Positive #1: May, and the Tories in general, got a well-deserved pounding, and May emerged yesterday visibly battered and bruised. She made a massive gamble, and it spectacularly backfired. She was arrogant and ran a complacent campaign, assuming that the people would simply fall in line. She refused to interact with real people and U-turned on several issues. She is now paying the price.</li>
<li>Positive #2: Corbyn did an amazing job. I will admit I was against him at the beginning, and still am against some of his policies. However, I will take my hat off and congratulate him on a really good campaign. He galvanised the youth resulting in an unprecedented turnout, brought back politics from the traditional sleazy image and achieved a huge increase in support. He, and Labour supporters, should see this as a big victory, and I will eat humble pie and think much better of him from now on.</li>
<li>Positive #3: The increase in left-wing support and decrease in right-wing ideology proved to the world that, despite Brexit, we are not all inward-looking self-serving citizens, and the virtual destruction of extreme right-wing parties (such as UKIP) is something of which we should be very proud.</li>
<li>Positive #4: On a personal note, my constituency finally got rid of that Tory bastard Rob Wilson - who has repeatedly ignored several personal pleas of mine - and we are now Labour. A well-deserved end to a nasty piece of work.</li>
</ul>
However, I'm not convinced we should be celebrating as much as some people have been.<br />
<br />
At the end of the day, no matter how well Labour did, they still lost - and not by a slim margin. Admittedly, it was always very unlikely they would win - and they didn't. Likewise, although my chosen party made small gains, we still lost. We were always completely unlikely to win - and we didn't. The other parties in the progressive alliance either stayed the same, or in some cases made losses.<br />
<br />
I therefore fail to see how it is the good news that some people are claiming. Corbyn can call for May's resignation as loudly as he likes, but she will ignore him. The Labour Party can try as hard as they like to put together a minority government, but the Tories are still larger. The people have spoken and have demonstrated a rise in left-wing ideology, but the Tories don't care. Ultimately, they are still in power. They will still be able to get through all of the nasty policies they proposed, some of which will impact upon me profoundly.<br />
<br />
Even worse, their failure to secure a majority has meant that their only option is to request support from the DUP, and undoubtedly will have to make concessions in order to get this support. Until now, not many of us knew much about the DUP. However, this is a party that was founded by the Rev Ian Paisley, the embodiment of hardline Unionism, and has been described as "<i>one of the most extreme political entities in the British Isles</i>...". This is a party that is anti-LGBT+ (and especially anti-gay marriage), anti-abortion, anti-climate change and pro-Brexit. Of course, assurances have been made by May that these sort of divisive and nasty opinions won't penetrate into Westminster - but if you believe that, you'll believe anything. Of course they will.<br />
<br />
Regarding Brexit: what sort we will have is still very unclear, as is the impact of the DUP on this process. However, now that May has a stronger opposition, she will be forced to rely more heavily on her own MPs in order to get any agreement made. Many of them, as we know, are hell-bent on a rock-hard Brexit. So, in my mind, it's very plausible that she will be forced to go even harder than at present, just to get them on side. The purpose of the election, according to May, was to destroy the opposition intent on confounding the Brexit process. Another purpose however, much less publicised by May for obvious reasons, was to gain more of her own MPs, in order to be able to outvote the really hardline Tories. This plan failed, meaning she now has to rely on these hardline Tories to get anything through. So, for those of us against the process, this is a far worse situation then it was on Wednesday. Moreover, she has now shown herself to be the exact opposite of strong and stable, which the Europeans know full well and will punish her for it. She still believes she is the best person to negotiate, so I fear she will go into the negotiations next week and be eaten alive. This will undoubtedly result in either no deal, or a terrible one. I'm not sure which is worse.<br />
<br />
So as I said, on balance, I'm now not so convinced that progressive liberals like myself should be celebrating yesterday's surprise result. Corbyn said repeatedly that people, especially young people, voted for hope - however, sadly, hope lost. If anything, this will just show the youth that their vote doesn't matter after all. Labour might be a stronger opposition and Corbyn might be energised by this, but they still have no power. Although bruised, May's control is still absolute. She even managed to successfully retain her core vote, the older generations, despite seriously attacking them with a triple-whammy of the pensions triple lock, the dementia tax and winter fuel means-testing. Yet they still voted for her.<br />
<br />
So, returning to the title of this piece, I think the answer is absolutely not. Whether or not she survives her own party over the coming months is unclear, but on the assumption that the Tories do make an agreement with the DUP, they are still in power and will be for several years. Opposition is stronger, but still nothing more than that. Therefore, how was yesterday cause for celebration?<br />
<br />
<br />Charlie Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11383371143461342486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013237159229248163.post-88086246378934185972016-11-07T01:20:00.000-08:002016-11-07T01:27:48.828-08:00We have a sickness - and it is spreading like the Martian ‘red weed’<div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">I have been meaning to write this for quite some time however, as is the case for many people, there never seems to be enough hours in the day. However, so many thoughts and ideas have been flying around in my head over the last few months that I thought it was about time I put them, as well as various Facebook and Twitter rants, into a more coherent and logical structure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;">Please note that the following piece is not about Brexit per se - that is merely an example of the much wider picture, in my mind. That being said, whilst I try to be as balanced as possible, in the first paragraph I make my feelings on Brexit very clear. For those people reading this who voted Leave, you may not like this first paragraph. You are, of course, entitled to your opinions, as am I.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;">It is no secret that I was absolutely devastated by the EU Referendum result on 23 June 2016, and continue to be utterly depressed as the farce that is Brexit continues to develop. The recent High Court ruling that Article 50 cannot actually be triggered without a Parliamentary vote is a small glimmer of hope, but will undoubtedly be contested. Whilst very serious, I am relatively less upset about the financial and economic ramifications, which are already starting to be felt as the pound continues to weaken; these range from serious impacts to each individual (e.g. rising petrol prices) to the less serious impacts to each individual (e.g. not being able to buy Marmite a few weeks ago). I am more upset on a moral level. As I said on Facebook the day after the result, I blame 3 separate bodies: i) the Rt Hon David Cameron and the Tories, for putting their own greed, political aspirations and careers in front of the country’s well-being; ii) the media and in particular the tabloids, for deceiving people and spreading xenophobia and racism throughout the country in a bid for higher readership; and, importantly, iii) the British people, for showing the world that, as a whole, we are a society of inward-looking, self-serving individuals, far more interested in what we can take rather than what we can give. <b>In a world full of global problems such as climate change, mass migration and terrorism, we have collectively decided that going it alone is better than coming together</b>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;">Throughout history, that way of thinking has always led to disaster.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;">Obviously we are not all like that, and I would never dream of saying (although sadly some have) that everyone who voted Leave is racist - people voted that way for a number of reasons, including (but not limited to): making a protest vote against the government, never thinking they would actually win; harking back to historical ‘better’ times when Europe was weak and Britain was strong; naïvely believing the lies of the Leave campaign and tabloid newspapers; being overly centred on their own community and not seeing the bigger picture (either through ignorance or on purpose); and, sadly, a large number of people who ARE indeed very xenophobic. <b>However, whatever our motivations, the image that the world (and especially Europe) now has of us is the one painted above.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;">In many ways, there are a large number of similarities between the way Brexit developed and was reported in the media and the way climate change is developing and is reported in the media. In both cases, our side (i.e. the Remain camp and those who know climate change is real and dangerous) is predominantly presented by the broadsheets, and argued by the younger generations, the educated (and often middle) classes, the academics and experts, and the majority of politicians who lean to the Left. The trouble with these groups is that they are in a minority and are often not trusted by the majority. I, and my colleagues, will never forget the statement by the Rt. Hon. Michael Gove: “people in this country have had enough of experts” - for an expert like myself, albeit not in politics or economics, this is a deeply troubling attitude. <b>Worryingly, though, it is probably true for a large number of people. </b> Another major problem with our side is that we are often not very vocal, instead citing facts and figures and being conservative (with a small c), balanced and cautious in our claims for fear of getting the science/facts wrong. The Remain camp, in my opinion, lost because we focused on all the negative impacts of leaving the EU, rather than the positive impacts of staying in it - allowing the Leave campaign to shout ‘Project Fear’ after every announcement. Likewise, those of us warning about climate change are focusing on the numerous negative impacts and, to prevent or at least mitigate these impacts, we are advising actions which will be painful at both the individual level (e.g. cutting down on car use) and the governmental level (e.g. reducing carbon emissions). I’m not saying we should focus on the positive side of climate change - there are a small number of positives for certain countries, but these are greatly outweighed by the negatives - but that perhaps we need to be more vocal and work harder to get our message across better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;">In contrast, in both cases the other side (i.e. the Leave camp and climate change sceptics/deniers) is predominantly presented by the tabloids, and argued by the older generations, the less educated classes, and the majority of politicians who lean to the Right. This side, and in particular the tabloids, are very very vocal, and are also often in greater numbers. When it came to Brexit, the Leave campaign and the tabloids spun numerous lies (many of which they have now openly admitted were lies) but with a positive and loud spin. As a result, whether through ignorance, naivete or on purpose, a large number of people believed them. When it comes to denying climate change, the tabloids are again citing unproven research, ‘experts’ that are either unrecognised or discredited by the rest of the scientific community, and theories that have been categorically disproven - however, and this is the point, they do it loudly and often it sounds very plausible. Even as an expert in climate change, I sometimes have to think hard about a certain claim - so what chance does someone have who is not an expert?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;">Moving away from climate change and back to politics… as I said at the beginning, in my opinion Brexit is merely an example of the much bigger picture. We are seeing similar attitudes across the world, be it the rise in right-wing parties in France and Germany, or the very real risk that Mr Donald Trump becomes the next US President tomorrow. All of this, in my opinion (and I’m sure I’m not the first person to think this), is underpinned by the same thing. <b>We have a sickness</b>. This sickness has always been present, becoming very evident at certain times throughout history, and now it is being brought out by the likes of Mr Trump and the right-wing parties. It is a sickness that each and every one of us has on an innate human level, but that many of us successfully manage to suppress, ignore and rise above. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;"><b>It is simply a fear and distrust of those who are not like ourselves. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;">This is not confined and targeted towards any one minority group - since the EU Referendum in the UK we have seen an increase in hate crimes against numerous groups, including Muslims, the disabled, women and ethnic minorities. It appears to have been legitimised. Mr Trump, the right-wing parties and right-wing propaganda are slowly and surely bringing this sickness to the surface, and an increasing number of people are giving in and allowing their sickness to consume them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;">The cause of this current epidemic is not just Mr Trump or the right-wing parties. <b>I admit this next statement might be controversial, but I would say that, right now, the so-called Islamic State is winning.</b> It is achieving all of its goals. It is not winning on a day-to-day timescale, in that we are not all cowering at home, terrified to go out to public places; in contrast, whenever an attack does occur, there is generally a feeling of solidarity among those affected and the wider world. But, on a longer timescale, they ARE winning - in that, through their attacks, they are causing the sickness to spread, insidiously and slowly, creeping into our minds like the red weed in Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds. Mr Trump and the right-wing parties, for political gain, are using and accelerating this process, and in my opinion this road eventually leads to only one outcome.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;">To lighten the mood ever so slightly, this outcome is scarily depicted by the writings of Gene Roddenberry, the original creator of Star Trek. Gene Roddenberry died in October 1991 so, throughout his life although terrorism existed in smaller regions (e.g. the IRA or Basque separatists), the idea of global terrorism and IS was not yet around. Nevertheless, the back story to Star Trek (which was first aired on TV in the US in 1966) is that at some point in the mid-21st century a power emerges and gradually threatens global freedom and democracy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;">Does any of this sound familiar? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;">In the Star Trek story, this ultimately results in World War III and the death of millions due to nuclear warfare. The Earth is left devastated and all governments are dissolved, with the world being divided into individual factions. Eventually, many years later, First Contact is finally made with extra-terrestrial life and issues in an era of global peace, as we finally learn we are not alone in the universe. Of course, I am not saying that the 2nd part of the story will happen (although it could), but in my mind the first half of the story feels very very familiar. <b>If Mr Trump becomes the next US President, if other countries in Europe follow Brexit, if existing alliances and groups break up, if people who want to threaten freedom and democracy are allowed to do so, and if the sickness is allowed to spread, then I fear this outcome is inevitable.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;">It’s difficult to conclude on a positive note, so instead I will conclude with a plea. For any Americans currently unsure as to which way to vote, and for any Europeans thinking that Brexit should be repeated, and for any British thinking that Brexit was a good idea: <b>I implore you to stop and think about the wider picture, and prevent the sickness from taking over.</b> For the Americans, I am very aware that Mrs Hillary Clinton has her drawbacks (as does any politician), but for the prosperity of the US and the world as a whole she is a million times better than her rival. For the Europeans, breaking up a strong and solid Union only benefits one group of people - those who want to impose their own ideologies on everyone else and therefore threaten freedom. For the British, it is perhaps too late for us and it now seems likely that, sparing a miracle, Article 50 WILL be invoked. All we can now hope and fight for is a ‘soft Brexit’, in which we retain at least some access to the single market and, importantly, maintain freedom of movement and labour. Stopping this would inevitably devastate every sector of the UK, ranging from science and universities all the way to pubs and bars. <b> It would be wholeheartedly giving into the sickness and, as already explained, that road has only one destination.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;">The day after the EU Referendum in the UK, I said on Facebook that I was ashamed to be British. I have perhaps mellowed slightly since then, and have a little bit of hope and faith left in humanity - I believe it is still possible, if everyone made that extra effort, to stem the rising tide and cure the sickness (or at least suppress it, as it will never be completely cured). For me personally, I still love Europe (and always will) and still plan to go there regularly - I just wish there was a way for them to know that.</span></div>
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Charlie Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11383371143461342486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013237159229248163.post-75651522183175173232016-07-03T06:45:00.001-07:002016-07-03T06:55:18.978-07:00JULES Annual Science meeting, Lancaster, June 2016Given that it's been a SERIOUSLY long time since I last posted to this, I thought that my recent few days in Lancaster to attend the JULES Annual Science meeting was a good opportunity for a blog entry. To get wider readership, I will also post the following on my other blog, <a href="http://ccrg2013.blogspot.co.uk/">http://ccrg2013.blogspot.co.uk/</a>, as it strongly relates to the Climate Change Research Group, of which I am Chair. For a less serious, and more food-related, account of the week, see a separate post from my alter-ego, The Peripatetic Foodie - <a href="http://theperipateticfoodie.blogspot.co.uk/">http://theperipateticfoodie.blogspot.co.uk/</a>.<br />
<br />
For those not in the know, JULES stands for the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator and is a community land surface model that evolved from the Met Office Surface Exchange Scheme. It can either be coupled to the Met Office Unified Model (UM) and used as its land surface component, or run off-line as a stand-alone land surface model. For full details, see <a href="https://jules.jchmr.org/">https://jules.jchmr.org/</a>.<br />
<br />
The meeting, running this year from 28-29 June 2016 at the Lancaster Environment Centre (LEC), is an annual event designed to bring together the JULES community, to discuss the latest upgrades, simulations and ongoing work using the model. There was then a training course immediately afterwards, from 29-30 June also at Lancaster, for those just starting to use the model and for anyone wanting to know more.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Tuesday 28 June</b></i><br />
The meeting began around 10:30 AM to allow people to arrive, but we had driven up the day before (which, following a 6 hour drive, was a good thing) so we were able to have a fairly leisurely start, putting up my poster (see below) before the first round of talks. The first session was an introduction to JULES, as well as an interesting outline of the various updates since the last meeting. In short, in the last year we have moved from version 4.3 to 4.6, with apparently the latest upgrade to 4.6 being a major one and containing over 40 science additions and numerous technical changes and bug fixes. We then had a couple of interesting talks on how JULES fits into the various model inter-comparison projects (MIPs), which are now being formed in time for the next IPCC report, as well as a discussion of some of the assessment and benchmarking tools used by the Met Office and others for various MIPs (e.g. iLAMB).<br />
<br />
After lunch, the focus moved to vegetation and disturbance, with a number of talks on using JULES to look at biophysical homeostasis of leaf temperature, disturbance and mortality in global vegetation, and forest thinning. There was also a very interesting talk of the incorporation of INFERNO into JULES, an interactive fire and emissions scheme. The 3rd session, after coffee, focused on crops and ecosystems within JULES, but I admit I ducked out of this session as I had some urgent work that needed doing. Unfortunately, although it would be nice to attend every talk, when you are working on multiple projects simultaneously, a whole day away from the computer is a big mistake.<br />
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I rejoined the group around 5 PM, just in time for the poster session in the LEC Courtyard (which was fortunately covered, as it was monsoon-like (only without the heat) outside. Around 20 posters were presented, including mine which can be seen below and downloaded at <a href="http://goo.gl/M322ab">http://goo.gl/M322ab</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfo5Zzrb5y4jC31A16LZMpM-nj4A9fzTg0DPOfmu0N5TouA601htl4zWNKc2u47v8euXm7oF_6L8kYJaXFrsNxsgVcOEngyT3CJ2SYQWMD_1lUhbh-vIA7dtb5P8BidY3UHFDqkIKPeUM-/s1600/poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfo5Zzrb5y4jC31A16LZMpM-nj4A9fzTg0DPOfmu0N5TouA601htl4zWNKc2u47v8euXm7oF_6L8kYJaXFrsNxsgVcOEngyT3CJ2SYQWMD_1lUhbh-vIA7dtb5P8BidY3UHFDqkIKPeUM-/s400/poster.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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In my poster, which focused on the ability of JULES to simulate African river discharge under both present-day and mid Holocene (~ 6k years ago) conditions, I firstly ran JULES (version 4.3) twice, both for 30 years over Africa but with different rainfall datasets as input data. The results suggested a general insensitivity to the forcing data. I then ran the model again, this time with river routing turned on, under present-day conditions, comparing simulated river discharge with observations from the GRDC network. The results suggested that the model was able to reproduce the seasonal cycle of river discharge for selected African rivers, but did less well in terms of magnitudes. Lastly, I ran the model once more, but with the input rainfall forcing data modified slightly to represent mid-Holocene conditions (essentially an exaggerated seasonal cycle, with increased rainfall during the wet season and a drier dry season). Initial results suggested a slight increase in the seasonal cycle of river discharge for selected rivers under mid-Holocene conditions, relative to the present-day.<br />
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The day concluded with a conference dinner held on the other side of campus.<br />
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<b><i>Wednesday 29 June</i></b><br />
The morning session focused on soil and urban processes within JULES, including the impact of carbon, but again I ducked out of this session as I had several things that required my full attention. I rejoined the group later on that morning, to listen to several interesting talks on other applications of JULES - of particular interest to me was a talk on using JULES to investigate drought probabilities over East Africa, and another talk on using the model to look at the current and future water balance over West Africa. This session concluded with a short discussion of practicalities: the date and venue for the next meeting, the committee, and planned updates over the forthcoming year.<br />
<br />
After the official end to the meeting, and after lunch, the training course began. This was held in a computer lab in the Management School, and the afternoon session consisted of a number of short talks (also broadcast live, as a webinar) to introduce JULES: what it is, installation and running instructions, how to interpret output, etc. We were then given a worksheet with a number of tasks, and left to get on with the exercises whilst the demonstrators circulated and gave advice. Although the talks and exercises were interesting, I will admit that (and this is not a negative reflection on the course demonstrators) it was nothing I hadn't already done, many times before. This was entirely my own fault and, in retrospect, perhaps I should not have attended the course. I registered for it soon after Christmas, because I only began using JULES in November and therefore thought it was worthwhile to attend a training course. However, over the months in between, I used the model a great deal in a number of different configurations - undoubtedly helped by my 10 years experience of using the UM, which is significantly more complex - so things like FCM were already second-nature to me. Nevertheless, despite having done many of the exercises before, the afternoon was interesting.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Thursday 30 June</i></b><br />
The rest of the training course was simply an extension of the previous afternoon, giving us all more time to work through the exercises and ask any questions. Perhaps a little selfishly, I latched onto this latter aspect, and brought up a reasonably high-level problem that I have been experiencing over the last few months; namely, my inability to run JULES in regional mode (over Africa) when using river routing. Globally it was fine, but when running regionally it was generating a highly cryptic error which I could not resolve. Fortunately, however, after much discussion and fiddling by several of the demonstrators, they fixed this problem. So a very useful morning.<br />
<br />
All in all, therefore, I enjoyed the science meeting and the training course afterwards, and the whole event was thought-provoking with some very interesting talks and discussions afterwards. I just want to finish by saying a big thank you to all those who organised the event, and to all the demonstrators who ran the training course. Much appreciated.<br />
<br />Charlie Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11383371143461342486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013237159229248163.post-24653909719401610382014-05-25T05:11:00.001-07:002014-05-26T06:49:18.872-07:00India trip, February 2014<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">A bit belated I know, but thought people might be interested in reading all about my adventures in India - a week-long trip (as a mixture of work and play) to Bangalore and Mumbai, which happened at the end of February 2014. Here is our joint diary…</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Friday 21 February 2014<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">A fairly quiet day,
preparing and packing. Fortunately I had
actually packed most things the day before, so was able to spend much of the
day just checking everything and doing little chores ready for
the following morning. We had a relaxing evening eating curry and watching ‘The Best
Exotic Marigold Hotel’ to get us in the mood for what lay ahead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Saturday 22 February<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I didn’t sleep
awfully well, suffering from insomnia from about 5 am, but perhaps that was
always inevitable given the approaching trip.
Still, I felt fine by breakfast and, after the usual rush getting
everything finally together, we left around 10:30 am. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Traffic was light
and we arrived at Heathrow soon after 11 am, waiting while Tony dropped off the
car and then checking in without hassle.
We were all relived to find the suitcases were well under the weight
limit. Passing through security was
uneventful, if slightly embarrassing as we were told to jump the queue, and
after a bit of shopping we had our picnic in the airport lounge. At the due time, we walked to the departure
gate via the tube/metro; this was actually quite impressive, and we worked out
later that the tube runs under the tarmac to a separate building, containing holding
gate C. The lounge was fairly empty when
we arrived but filled up rapidly, and we had a quick chat to the Imperial
people as they arrived. When told, we
were ushered through the barrier, again with some embarrassment at jumping the
queue, and were amused to be sat with all the hostesses and pilots for our
flight. We learnt from them that our
plane was delayed, slightly worryingly because they had to get a new/spare one
out of the hanger. However, eventually
we boarded without incident and took off about an hour late. The flight was
long but uneventful. The meal – chicken
tikka with rice and bean salad – was actually quite good and we passed the time
watching movies or dozing. Breakfast
several hours later was less pleasant, consisting of a full English breakfast
with some truly nasty scrambled eggs.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Sunday 23 February</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">We landed around 5:30
am local time (5 ½ hours ahead of GMT), and were hurried through the airport by
two helpful men who, again, embarrassingly made us jump all the queues. After a long wait at baggage for Tony’s
suitcase to arrive – which it eventually did – we joined the others and found
the cars waiting for us, after getting our rupees. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The weather outside
was cooler than expected, with a grey and misty start to the day which soon
burned off as the sun come up. It was
light as we drove away from the airport, and we had our first view of India –
actually remarkable similar to driving into Accra, the capital of Ghana, with
numerous billboards, construction sites and either developing or derelict tower
blocks. The drive took about 40 minutes
and was a suitably scary experience, but we arrived safely and turned into the
guarded campus which was quiet and green and peaceful. The guesthouse was a functional building, and
our room (or rather mini-apartment) was basic but spacious and perfectly
adequate for our needs – big double bed with ensuite bathroom, then a small
kitchen and actually a second bedroom and bathroom which we didn’t use. All rooms had a large ceiling fan, making it
nicely cool as by now outside was already warming up. We also had a nice little balcony at the
front. We had a brief breakfast in the
visitor centre dining room – although we weren’t really hungry – after which
the Tony and Judi left us in search of their hotel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">After a much needed
sleep, we had a simple but good lunch of dahl, rice and chapattis, and then we
left the others to be nerdy with their laptops while we went for a walk through
campus. This was lovely, with the now
very hot sun nicely shaded by tall trees.
The place was fairly busy, and we passed numerous people on motorbikes
or rickshaws, as well as several people just chatting outside their homes –
which varied from lavish houses to much more run down apartments and
shacks. As I suspect will be a
continuing theme, the juxtaposition of very rich and very poor side-by-side was
evident and stark. The university
buildings in between were also a mixture of rundown buildings next to ultra
modern glass blocks. After a nice
stroll, and watching some monkeys scavenging in the dust bins, we returned to
the room and spent a pleasant afternoon reading our books on the balcony and
writing this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIDyiSeR2ef9z4YRH2TSirz2Q2PLzLgLl4Do8VHtAQ-P0lx8zCDArZ1ixNm8t98ulJ71pDzfqER_kNMtcwqOSRdy1wwXOwOBPHpeRIi-vRmJ0qxNYqe18Qmws2MAS_PUvfVj-odqqO8VNI/s1600/IMG_0977.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIDyiSeR2ef9z4YRH2TSirz2Q2PLzLgLl4Do8VHtAQ-P0lx8zCDArZ1ixNm8t98ulJ71pDzfqER_kNMtcwqOSRdy1wwXOwOBPHpeRIi-vRmJ0qxNYqe18Qmws2MAS_PUvfVj-odqqO8VNI/s1600/IMG_0977.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Monkeys scavenging on campus</b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">We had agreed to
meet the others at 7 pm and find somewhere for dinner.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">However, at the agreed time we learnt that we
were meeting at 8 pm instead, so to kill some time we went on a beer finding
mission.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">This proved to be quite
exciting and perhaps, in retrospect, unwise.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Upon leaving the serenity of the campus, we were faced with a manic
street of non-stop cars (all hooting at once), motorbikes, tuk-tuks and
bicycles – and the odd dog or ten.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">The
pavements were almost non-existent or were massive broken slabs of bricks, and
were also strewn with vendors selling coconuts, clothes and earthenware
pots.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">The shops were what I would
imagine a blend of UK and Africa would be like, if possible, with glass fronted
shops selling familiar brand names of shoes and clothes next door to open
fronted shacks and stalls selling food, fruit or trinkets.</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgYSTTCzFvvj8F52xKqaIDuOuEPYkH69MjMkviTlNspqVzr6gavoUeh2MoAsaLWMHogYAantgM5PzbgxLTQcaNy2wzUNGKHUqcn5DsSvDqi-g5zwG6pFbpDHErLI0RdWFiSmYH6rCa8reh/s1600/IMG_0978.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgYSTTCzFvvj8F52xKqaIDuOuEPYkH69MjMkviTlNspqVzr6gavoUeh2MoAsaLWMHogYAantgM5PzbgxLTQcaNy2wzUNGKHUqcn5DsSvDqi-g5zwG6pFbpDHErLI0RdWFiSmYH6rCa8reh/s1600/IMG_0978.JPG" height="200" width="149" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">After walking
around a bit and narrowly avoiding being hit by tuk-tuks, we found an open-fronted
liqueur shack and bought some beer. We
returned to the peace of the campus (not before we’d mistakenly tried to enter
the hospital on our way back!) to realise we didn’t have a bottle opener. After several attempts involved keys, a
lighter and the table, we finally opened a beer and sat on the balcony until it
was time to meet. At 8pm we were met and
taken by one of the Indians in our group just around the corner, to the nearest
place she knew of that served beer (she clearly knew all about the
English). We had a really good meal of
selected curries and dahls, before returning to our room for a much needed
early night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Monday 24 February <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">After a horribly
early start, and not a huge amount of sleep (due to a combination of jet lag,
unfamiliar bird noises and what we thought was a monkey outside our window) we
had a good Indian breakfast (as well as an omelette for Amy) and were driven
across the campus to the meeting room.
This, unfortunately, was on the first floor, but we had lots of helpers
so no problem. The meeting was long, but
fortunately the room was well air conditioned by fans and there was a regular
supply of very sweet coffee and various snacks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Lunch was
remarkably good, outside under a red tent and consisting of a clear soup
followed by various dahls and chapattis.
The meeting continued, and finally ended late at 7 pm. We were given a short while to ourselves back
at the guest house, before being picked up again and driven to another nearby restaurant. This was much smarter than the previous night
and very good, although we possibly ate too much of the starter as things just
kept arriving – chicken, fish, pork, sweetcorn etc. The meal as excellent and the number of
speeches became slightly silly as people drank more and more beer or Indian
wine – or both. Finally, we were driven
back to the campus and fell into bed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Tuesday 25 February<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Uka-r3jnIHSAXbLf-rVL0dHrhH8Z7oKW0gMIK95rkcAxoLw4VhMzycCW3im5jTWmk1voEhmAJe-vQmnl0uKucdpIUXZnOajpNRgA1lemGKkfGZcm7BubpAYHmZCQbQPxPMiYu01UYUrL/s1600/IMG_0982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Uka-r3jnIHSAXbLf-rVL0dHrhH8Z7oKW0gMIK95rkcAxoLw4VhMzycCW3im5jTWmk1voEhmAJe-vQmnl0uKucdpIUXZnOajpNRgA1lemGKkfGZcm7BubpAYHmZCQbQPxPMiYu01UYUrL/s1600/IMG_0982.JPG" height="149" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">After another early
start but another good breakfast, we returned to the meeting and passed another
long day talking about work. Lunch again
was good, and the day finished a little earlier, at 6 pm. After a short rest and another beer on the
balcony, we were again taken by car to another nearby restaurant, this time
open air and on the rooftop of a tall building.
For us British, it was quite incredible to be sat outside during the
evening in February - the temperature was cool, as the heat and humidity of the
day slowly dissipated by a gentle wind - but very comfortable. Apparently Bangalore is known as “the
ventilated city”, because it’s relatively high elevation (roughly 900 m above
sea level) means there is usually a cooling breeze and so it is less stuffy
than other Indian cities. The view was
impressive and the meal very good, and we were slightly wiser this time to save
room for a variety of curries. Again
felt a bit sorry for Andy, who insisted on sticking to a vegetarian diet and
therefore missed out on a lot, in my opinion.
His rationale, probably completely correct, was that this was the only
way to avoid becoming ill - on the other hand, I ate meat on several occasions,
and was perfectly fine. After a good
meal and quite late finish, we were driven home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Wednesday 26
February<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Another early start
and a breakfast of paratha and yoghurt, after which we were once again driven
to the meeting. The day was much sunnier
than the previous. The meeting only
lasted for the morning, so finally at around midday we said our goodbyes and
left the group, who were all returning home the following morning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">We returned to the
guesthouse, and had a slight panic as Tony and Judi’s taxi driver struggled to
find us. They did eventually however,
and once packed we all piled into one car (which was a bit of a squash) and
were driven to the airport.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">We always knew the
domestic flight to Mumbai would be the most challenging, and indeed it
was. After a long argument at check-in,
during which several supervisors had to be summoned, we finally persuaded them
to let us keep the chair all the way to the door. Getting through security was also a picnic, as
they wanted to take away the chair and scan it separately.
Eventually security were satisfied, and we were allowed through with
just enough time to wait in the departure lounge. At the due time, we boarded the plane, which
was smaller than I would’ve liked, and the chair was taken away with the
promise that it would be returned upon arrival.
The flight was mostly uneventful, despite some turbulence in the middle,
and to our surprise we were served some food (chicken tikka). We landed without incident and, surprisingly,
were met by my chair.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Walking out of the domestic
terminal, once we had collected our bags from a carousel heaving with people,
was everything the books had described – hot, humid, loud and crowded. The heat, even at 6 pm, was like a blanket,
and we struggled to get a pre-paid taxi.
In retrospect, this was a mistake.
We were shown to the oldest, smallest and crappiest car I’ve ever seen,
and somehow managed to get everything in, with bags and pieces of chair lashed
to the roof with bits of string. The
driver was helpful but surly, as were several other boys who then demanded,
quite aggressively, a tip. First
schoolboy error of Mumbai. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Once we had
satisfied them, off we drove in a scary and extremely hot and humid hour and a
half ride of heavy traffic. Looking
back, I’m pleased we did it that way as it was quite authentic, but at the time
it was hot, sticky and long. At every
traffic stop, which was virtually all the time, the driver would jump out to re-tie
the roof or boot. The car itself was
knackered, and I am still amazed it made the journey. Despite being dark, the streets either side
were everything I had expected – slums, extreme poverty but at the same time
brightly covered fairy lights and music everywhere. With our windows open (to get at least some
air) and turning away numerous sellers walking down the road, the smells were
intense – traffic, sweat and sewage. From
reading this, it sounds horrendous - but it really, really wasn’t. After a slow journey, we arrived at the hotel
and experienced the full contrast that only India shows – from poverty stricken
streets to an extremely posh hotel – one of the smartest I’ve been in. We instantly felt under-dressed to the
extreme. The cars parking outside the
lobby went limo, limo, our shitty taxi, limo.
Amid smartly dressed men in black tie and women in evening dress, and
immaculate doormen (dressed in full Indian/Raj uniform), we literally fell out
of our taxi, dripping in sweat and looking a complete mess. No-one seemed to mind however and we checked
in with no problem. The rooms were
lovely, not massive but very comfortable and with all the usual luxuries. It was nearing 10 pm by this point, so after a
quick refresh, we popped down to one of the several bars and had a light snack
(albeit extortionately priced by anyone’s, let alone Indian, standards) and
fell into bed, exhausted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh96dqvcSpAOje2sB_2Ug2QLLk7UyO4Bc_wzWcp7v_DN5IQXAXS2FFnpBxCXcuw6xCgI8SUmzSOheG449kyKKpXm8tGf-VKT23kIgxgPlAkwnxSpKCyaZRYPWVjj6wkuhcl2Qw3FwCJY6VW/s1600/IMG_1017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh96dqvcSpAOje2sB_2Ug2QLLk7UyO4Bc_wzWcp7v_DN5IQXAXS2FFnpBxCXcuw6xCgI8SUmzSOheG449kyKKpXm8tGf-VKT23kIgxgPlAkwnxSpKCyaZRYPWVjj6wkuhcl2Qw3FwCJY6VW/s1600/IMG_1017.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Our hotel, the Trident</b></td></tr>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Thursday 27
February <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8mvTUlDr_PhnZ5Ji_OQjoEpYIHP43s0y67wUgJi3BBEq8Xi-TBdGZ4MBMcDnzFfMtLQCNfALG_HRaB8_XhyphenhyphenQ43W20ve46NRXRYgvIcrDh8DDU11Yy_02VBenhXzSy3YmebfPJU-lIugUm/s1600/IMG_0986.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8mvTUlDr_PhnZ5Ji_OQjoEpYIHP43s0y67wUgJi3BBEq8Xi-TBdGZ4MBMcDnzFfMtLQCNfALG_HRaB8_XhyphenhyphenQ43W20ve46NRXRYgvIcrDh8DDU11Yy_02VBenhXzSy3YmebfPJU-lIugUm/s1600/IMG_0986.JPG" height="149" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Although the room
was comfortable and extremely luxurious, by far the best thing about it was the
view that we saw properly first thing in the morning. From out of our 32<sup>nd</sup> floor window,
we looked out over the whole of Back Bay, following the Queen’s Necklace up towards
Malabar Hill, with clear blue sea and tiny fishing boats. Early in the morning it was still hazy but
that burnt off as soon as the sun came up.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Gateway of India</b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">After a good
breakfast of both Indian and continental food – made more exciting by a very
angry man shouting about something when we arrived – we left the hotel and
walked for about half hour towards the Gateway of India. The sun by this time was hot, but there was
plenty of shade from many large trees - meaning one minute we would be in
intense heat and the next pleasantly cool.
The roads and pavements were better than in Bangalore, but the constant
speed of cars and motorbikes made it an exciting walk at times. We found the Gateway, an impressive structure
resembling a little the Arc de Triomphe (only more Indian), and joined the
crowds of tourists in taking photos.
Like everyone else, we were constantly hounded by people selling
pictures or other tat, as well as a group of monks who gave us a blessing – but
then, of course, wanted money for it. After
a quick stroll along the harbour side and past numerous boats, small ships and
expensive yachts, we walked back inland and found Leopald’s, the café and
favourite place mentioned in the book ‘Shantaram’. It was a lively, busy place and perfectly as
described, and we enjoyed a lassi and a beer along with everyone else. The road outside was covered with market
sellers and, after buying some clothing, we had another long and hot walk to
the main train station, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST, formerly
Victoria Terminus (VT)). This was an
impressive Victorian building and a popular site among tourists. We carried on walking in a big loop back to
our hotel, stopping for a quick coconut water before reaching the beach
surrounding the bay. Before reaching the
sea however, we stopped for lunch in a nearby restaurant, enjoying a quick
snack of various vegetarian curries.
After a short walk back to the hotel, along the fairly smelly beach
front in the afternoon heat, we spent a relaxing afternoon sitting by the pool
in the outside area of our hotel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Leopold's</b></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Chhhatrapati Shivaji Terminus</b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">After a good rest,
and a drink in our room watching the sunset, we walked out to find a restaurant
recommended by the hotel as traditionally south Indian. This was amazing – very busy and excellent
food, including Thali and non-stop endless vegetarian curries. Far too much, but all excellent. Stuffed, we returned to the hotel along
fairly busy streets, including a small funfair, and went to bed after a really
good day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Friday 28 February<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Crawford Market</b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">We awoke to another
bright hot day and, after another excellent breakfast, we again walked out,
this time heading north towards the Crawford Market. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">This was quite a long walk, along some rather
scary main roads, and we survived, just, working our way along narrow streets -
all stuffed with tiny shops, stalls and open air stores, selling a variety of
things from electrical appliances to fresh fruit to lingerie - and finally reaching
the large covered market. This wasn’t as
busy or hectic as we had expected, and it was certainly quieter than the
African market we had experienced in Kumasi.
It was still large, however, with a bewildering choice of stalls selling
spices, vegetables and clothing. There
was also a large animal stall, selling everything from chickens (presumably
meant to be eaten) to cats, dogs and birds (presumably meant as pets). We spent an interesting hour or so browsing,
and after buying a load of spices and looking at the various birds in cages, we
left the market and started the long walk home.
We went the same way as the day before, this time stopping at a row of
food stalls and trying some excellent street food - bread, and a tomato and
lentil based bhaji. It was packed with
people, most of whom (perhaps unsurprisingly) had never seen a party such as ours,
least of all braving street food, so we received a fair amount of attention
while we ate, perched on the side of the pavement.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEUC8MZ-36kMCHfOVxGcahbs5wSzeIvoaemgN9ljtorvtCQlmpswpydeIhkLl6dceUliYMo4NWv5CAL4M5OuMEDlZ3pnQrTLRZSqW_ZOPvK9TsfOl6jTpINdsVv7eri8nsYNFdd9kYp-rv/s1600/IMG_1005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEUC8MZ-36kMCHfOVxGcahbs5wSzeIvoaemgN9ljtorvtCQlmpswpydeIhkLl6dceUliYMo4NWv5CAL4M5OuMEDlZ3pnQrTLRZSqW_ZOPvK9TsfOl6jTpINdsVv7eri8nsYNFdd9kYp-rv/s1600/IMG_1005.JPG" height="149" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">After that brief
intermission, we carried on walking, stopping for a beer almost opposite where
had had lunch the day before. The bar,
named Gaylord, also looked like a nice restaurant, so we booked a table for
later. We spent another pleasant
afternoon back at the hotel, sitting around the pool in a surprisingly strong
wind and deciding not to swim because of the breeze. We also looked around the hotel’s shopping
mall, buying a couple more scarfs and pashminas. The mall was quite different to the ones at
home, being a long narrow corridor with each shop hidden away and a man in the
doorway trying to entice you in. Some
were quite pushy. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvxa-CmJnwJJkpUkHfkKR-K3DEplfXlCFmCNwVE1Pw4-bwQIVQpAo2ghcaNU2rfxnpJWROqVMpn4lNUg5t9TxKqw8xkb_IbXR3Wh3tNNQui9y09Y1M-OPdGWnmu3cSlwlyWJeadVz7iUC6/s1600/IMG_1011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvxa-CmJnwJJkpUkHfkKR-K3DEplfXlCFmCNwVE1Pw4-bwQIVQpAo2ghcaNU2rfxnpJWROqVMpn4lNUg5t9TxKqw8xkb_IbXR3Wh3tNNQui9y09Y1M-OPdGWnmu3cSlwlyWJeadVz7iUC6/s1600/IMG_1011.JPG" height="149" width="200" /></a></div>
After a final drink in
our room watching the sunset, we walked back along the beach to the bar from
before and had an excellent meal inside – various veggie dishes and a superb
Goan fish curry. After a good evening,
where we perhaps didn’t eat quite as much as the one before, we strolled back
along the now very busy promenade that was crowded with other tourists and
people out for the evening.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Saturday 1 March<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy97OMWpzROYlwG385XIpM1UDvzaQ-5vR_HG3HKIle_dR1oT7Jeho-S3IDAINKKS7Ze5bFka364yNHPZPipvxwQPdmQuz1-H_KBm9o5MPbQeePDTcLPFlOfhMRNHjn1qIilDUalardWRIQ/s1600/IMG_1020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy97OMWpzROYlwG385XIpM1UDvzaQ-5vR_HG3HKIle_dR1oT7Jeho-S3IDAINKKS7Ze5bFka364yNHPZPipvxwQPdmQuz1-H_KBm9o5MPbQeePDTcLPFlOfhMRNHjn1qIilDUalardWRIQ/s1600/IMG_1020.JPG" height="200" width="149" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The last day, and
yet another long flight awaited, so spirits (at least mine) were not high. After quite an early start and a quick bit of
packing, we went down for our final Indian breakfast - Indian for me, and more westernised
for the others. Breakfast was lovely,
with me having a Masala Dosa and Judi and Amy having boiled eggs. Have to say, we were all quite impressed when
the waiter produced another boiled egg from under each egg holder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">After breakfast we
did a final bit of packing, before loading up our taxi ready to leave by 10 am. We had asked the hotel to arrange a car this
time, so waiting for us outside was a large, modern, air-conditioned people
carrier – nowhere near as exciting as the journey to the hotel, but much easier
and less scary. Dramatically different
to our taxi to the hotel, we were relieved not to have to tie anything to the
roof, nor worry about the taxi breaking down.
Traffic to the airport was heavy but not as bad as 2 nights ago, and it was
really the first time we had fully seen the slums, having driven into Mumbai in
the darkness. The slums appeared much
more civilised and organised than images we see about Indian slums (mostly at
school). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The drive was
thankfully uneventful and we arrived at the airport in good time, getting to check-in
within the hour. Thankfully the check-in
through security was considerably easier than it had been at Bangalore, and we
were quickly through to departures. We’d
all saved some money to spend getting some last-minute gifts and tat, however
we soon realised there were only about 2 shops that would take our rupees (the
rest trading in dollars). Basing
ourselves in these shops, I bought some bits and bobs and Amy got a few scarves
and a little elephant statue. Shopping
complete, we headed to the street food café for a quick bite to eat. This in itself was a bit of a fight, with the
airport café staff clearly used to stroppy tourists and were therefore stroppy
themselves. After several attempts at
getting food, we finally succeeded. After
a lot of waiting and running out of different meals, I ended up with a mystery
meal and Amy had her final samosa. With
full stomachs, we started the hike to the plane. The queue onto the plane was quite difficult,
due to everyone trying to pile in. However,
we finally got to our seats.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The flight itself
was long but uneventful, and we passed the time reading, eating, dozing or
watching a movie. After a smooth
takeoff, we were offered a drink and then a meal of (what I think was meant to
be) roast chicken, so slowly getting us adapted to Western food again. It was a bit of a let-down, being my first
non-Indian meal in almost 3 weeks, so was remarkably bland and dull. But it was edible, at least. Whilst long and dull, the plane journey was
fairly smooth, and having watched a film and played with the entertainment
system, we were then offered another meal - which, this time, was somewhat hard
to identify, just being described as ‘Chinese chicken’. I think it was chicken in a sort of sweet and
sour sauce. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">After food, and
roughly 9 hours after leaving, we landed at Heathrow at around 6 pm local time,
and were told it was 4°C outside. As
feared, walking out of the plan was very unpleasant - an average of 30<sup>o</sup>C
in India to suddenly close to freezing.
But we survived. Having located
our bags, we then sent Tony off to find the car, whilst we braved sitting
outside departures. To our relief, it
didn’t take too long for Tony to find us, and the drive home was
very simple and stress-free (in comparison to all the driving we’d experienced
in India). Finally home,
after a long day of travelling, began the dull task of unpacking. Obviously we were all tired, but pleased that
it had all gone so well. Farewell Mumbai...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Charlie Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11383371143461342486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013237159229248163.post-28043064857688384022014-01-12T07:01:00.000-08:002014-01-12T07:01:39.818-08:00Out out on New Year's EveHappy New Year to all!<br />
<br />
In the spirit of blogging, I thought I would jot down a few thoughts about a night out on New Year's Eve. I should say at the outset that I am not (or at least wasn't until this year) a fan of New Year's Eve. Quite the opposite in fact. However, much to my continued disbelief, as midnight came and went this year I found myself in the middle of a rather trendy and extremely busy bar/club in the middle of Brighton, a little baffled as to how this had happened.<br />
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I have never been out on New Year's Eve before. When I say out, I mean out out - I have been to lots of house parties, but never out out ie. "on the town". However, when my friend said she would like to spend the evening with me and suggested going out, how could I possibly refuse? My first thought was London, but in the end (for various reasons) decided on Brighton - my stomping ground during 8 years of university.<br />
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The question, then, was what to do and where to go. Being a bit of a newbie when it comes to going out on New Year's Eve, I was mildly surprised by everyone's reaction when I told them I was going out in Brighton that evening: "Really???!!!". I guess, in my naivete, it hadn't occurred to me that the city might be a tad busier than usual. As it turned out, most people's surprise was unfounded - yes, it was busy, but I don't think much busier than a usual night out in Brighton.<br />
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My friend had suggested the theatre, which seemed like a good idea. Looking at the listings of the Theatre Royal, I saw that 'Priscilla: Queen of the Desert' was on that night. I'm not a massive fan of musicals, but she is, so why not? What a good decision that was.<br />
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The show began at 7:45 PM, so we had an early dinner in a nearby Italian restaurant, Pinocchio's. I hadn't been there for years, but it was as good as I remembered. Naturally it was very busy, but we had an excellent meal of a couple of pasta dishes followed by an enormous ice cream. It was clear that lots of other people were also theatregoers, because as the showtime approached a lot of people decided it was time to go. Fortunately the restaurant were clearly used to this, and we made it into the theatre in good time.<br />
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The show was excellent. Essentially it's a story about 3 Australian drag-Queens, who travel from Sydney to Alice Springs on a bus called Priscilla and obviously get into various awkward situations. It was extremely funny, very irreverent towards Australians (despite being originally written by an Aussie) and probably as camp as its possible to get. Virtually every (even slightly) camp and extravagant song you can think of was included - lots of ABBA, Elton John, Kylie and, of course, "It's Raining Men". The audience was well into it, and a good proportion of people were also dressed in drag. We weren't, however I don't think that spoiled the atmosphere and it was a thoroughly good show - and the perfect choice for New Year's Eve. I had rather hoped it would be a good introduction to Brighton (with all its connotations) for my friend, and it certainly surpassed itself and all expectations.</div>
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The show ended around 10:30 PM, and we wandered passed several pubs which were all packed. I had been unsure whether to book tickets into somewhere in advance or just hope to find somewhere, and in the end we did just that - a very modern bar/club, complete with metallic tables, purple fluorescent lighting, pounding music and an impressive cocktail bar. It wasn't that busy when we arrived but it certainly filled up - although, as I said, I don't think it was excessively much busier than normal night out in the city. The rest of the night is a slight blur, no doubt helped by lots of wine and numerous cocktails. I remember midnight which, as usual, was a bit of a nonevent - there was a countdown of course, everyone cheered, and then almost immediately forgot about it and went on with a normal night out. I have a vague memory of someone using the back of my chair as a pole to dance around/against, but she seemed happy so it didn't matter.<br />
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So, my first New Year's Eve out out. Certainly a night to remember…<br />
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<br />Charlie Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11383371143461342486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013237159229248163.post-8818577063928581732013-11-10T07:27:00.000-08:002013-11-10T07:27:04.421-08:00Paris and BolognaHello again.<br />
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Given that it's been a while since I wrote a post here, I thought it was about time to say something - particularly as I've been away for a couple of nice weekends recently, so thought I could talk about them.<br />
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The first mini-holiday, albeit 2 days only, was almost a month ago now, and was in aid of my friend's 25th birthday - so, to celebrate, we went to Paris. We are both huge fans of the city (I would probably put it as my favourite in the world), and are both fairly experienced in it, so it seemed the logical choice.<br />
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We left fairly early on the Saturday morning, to get to St Pancras International in time to catch the 11 AM Eurostar. The weather, being mid October, was grey and cold. We made it to the station in good time, and boarded the train without problems. I always feel rather guilty on the Eurostar, because the wheelchair necessitates me to travel First Class (there is no available space elsewhere) even though we only pay for an Economy ticket. Seems grossly unfair, but in this particular circumstance I usually manage to overcome my moral objections and enjoy the comfy surroundings and slap-up free lunch and bottle of (actually not bad) wine.<br />
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So a pleasant 2 hours passed, and we emerged at the Gare du Nord and easily found our nearby hotel. This was basic, but comfortable - not particularly full of character, but certainly not as soulless as some of the places I've been to. After a quick unpack, we went out. The main planned event of the weekend was an evening in Montmartre - for those unfamiliar with this area, this is a part of northern Paris located on a steep hill overlooking the city, full of old narrow cobbled streets, restaurants, cafes, clubs and many famous landmarks - the Sacre Coeur and the Moulin Rouge being two examples. It was only a 20 minute walk from our hotel, and we caught the Funicular (sort of cable car) all the way to the top, to avoid the 300-odd steps. The weather, by this time, had dramatically improved, and we were able to catch a rather impressive sunset over Paris from the steps outside the Sacre Coeur. For some reason, and looking back I see how silly this was, I was rather surprised how busy it was - street performers, musicians, and crowds and crowds of people, all of whom seemed to have the same idea as me. Who would have thought it?! <br />
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Anyway, it didn't matter, and after watching the sunset we spent an hour or so strolling through the streets, stopping every so often for a Kir. We (purposefully) came across a cafe called Les Deux Moulins, immortalised for being where Amelie worked. Unfortunately, however, I didn't see her... <br />
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Eventually, after a couple of hours of wandering, we had dinner at Le Moulin de la Galette - one of the oldest places in the area and one of the original windmills in Montmatre - and somewhere I had (fortunately) booked well in advance. The meal was excellent (see my food blog, The Peripatetic Foodie - http://theperipateticfoodie.blogspot.co.uk/ - for more details on this), and after a quick look at the Sacre Coeur by night, we eventually returned to the hotel (again via the superb Funicular) after a very pleasant evening.<br />
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The next morning we awoke to a slightly greyer and wetter day, but nevertheless we were determined to make the most of it. Breakfast, unfortunately, was a low point - slightly stale croissants and, worse, surprisingly poor coffee - so we didn't delay and instead caught a bus straight down to the river. After wandering around the Hotel de Ville and Notre Dame (both impressive, as always) we had a coffee overlooking the Seine before wandering the shopping streets south of the river such as St Germaine. <br />
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Being Sunday, most places were obviously shut, so after crossing the river again and wandering around the grounds of Le Louvre (that wasn't really time to go in, and we were both regulars there anyway), we had a quick lunch in a nearby cafe. Finding the relevant bus stop back to the hotel proved to be surprisingly difficult and slightly stressful, but eventually we did made it back to the Eurostar in good time. The journey back was uneventful, again with a nice meal (which we didn't really want or need, but had anyway), and we were welcomed back to London by the pouring rain. Despite that end, however, a great weekend.<br />
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The second mini-holiday, this time 3 days, was last week, and was a belated birthday present to me from my parents, for a weekend with them and my friend in Bologna, Italy. My parents have some long-standing friends who live there, so it was really an excuse to see them.<br />
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The only downside to the whole idea was the necessity to fly. I wouldn't say I was afraid of flying - I would much rather go that way, in a ball of flame, than the way I shall probably go - but I just really don't like it. For me, it is a necessary evil, and something to be got over as soon as possible to allow the holiday or trip to properly begin. Although I fully understand the science of air travel (i.e. why a massive metal object stays in the air), at the time it is always feels downright wrong.<br />
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Anyway, despite my misgivings, we left early on the Friday morning and made it to Heathrow in good time. In fact, way too early. Checking in was uneventful (we are not novices these days!), and we were ushered through security and passport control with embarrassing speed giving us a good hour's wait by the boarding gate. Time passed, and we boarded the (worryingly small in my mind) plane without incident. Once everyone else had boarded, there was then a long delay while they announced the plane steps couldn't be retracted, which did nothing for my nerves. It was eventually sorted, however, and eventually we took off and landed a couple of hours later in Italy without incident. Our Italian friend met us at the airport and, after a quick turnaround in the hotel, we had a wonderful meal at their house - again, see my food blog for more details. Despite not doing a great deal, it had been a long day so, after quite a late dinner we returned to the hotel, tired but nicely full of pasta…<br />
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The hotel, being one of the NH chain, was again very nice but not particularly full of character. It was, however, perfectly comfortable and suited our needs well. We awoke reasonably early to hazy sunshine, and after breakfast (which was impressive, albeit very busy and a bit of a bun-fight to get to any food) we walked into the main square, the Piazza Maggiore, to meet our friends by Neptune's statue. <br />
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The square was amazingly busy, with street performers, dancers, musicians and hundreds of people. There was some sort of parade going on, resembling our Remembrance Day ceremonies, so we watched that briefly before having a guided tour of some of the older buildings. Our Italian friend is a full-time tour guide of Bologna, so we were given the star treatment - she took us into several churches, cathedrals and some of the older University buildings (I gather the University is the oldest in Europe, being founded in 1088, which *I think* predates our Oxford). <br />
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So we had a very interesting (and academic) morning, before being taken to her favourite deli for a "free" lunch. I say "free" - they gave us ample tastings of meats, cheeses and wine which was easily enough for a light lunch, however the deal was clearly that we would buy stuff afterwards. Of course, we did.<br />
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Our Italian friends had to return for the afternoon to look after the dog (a lovely old black labrador called Pixel) and to have their usual siesta, so we spent a pleasant afternoon wandering the city before returning to the hotel to change. The weather by this time had clouded over, but it didn't rain and, actually, it wouldn't have mattered if it had. One of the things Bologna is famous for is miles and miles of long colonnades or porticos - covered walkways (ranging from modern in style to incredibly old and ornate) on usually at least one side of the street, sometimes both, meaning it is possible to walk much of the city undercover. <br />
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We left the hotel in the early evening, returning to the Piazza Maggiore for an evening drink - the place was still bustling, and despite being early November it was still warm enough to sit outside. <br />
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We had a cocktail and shared a plate of cold meats and cheese (tapas style), before meeting our Italian friends and walking a short distance to a nearby restaurant. They had arranged a winetasting for us before our meal, which was superb - we tried a local lightly sparkling white and a full-bodied red, both of which were excellent. We had a superb meal (again, see the food blog for details), and once stuffed we eventually returned to the hotel - or rather, my parents returned to the hotel and my friend and I went for a final alfresco drink. The main square was still busy, with many of the bars playing music and clearly full of students. My sort of city.<br />
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Incidentally, at the restaurant there was another bottle on display that we saw (but didn't taste) - the only notable thing about this was its label. I took a photo of it, but dare not show it here as it's possible children will read this. Suffice it to say it was one of the most pornographic wine labels I've ever seen.<br />
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The next morning, we again awoke fairly early (or at least it felt early after all the wine the night before) and, once we had checked out of the hotel, we had a long walk to the bottom of San Luca (a cathedral at the top of a large hill overlooking the city, accessed by yet another 300-odd steps under a long portico). We didn't climb this. In fact, we didn't actually make it as far as the bottom, walking miles and getting a little lost on the way. But we saw it in the distance. For the rest of the day we parted company - my parents had lunch with our Italian friends, while we continued to wander the city. The weather, by this time, was remarkable - despite being early November, I would estimate at least 20°C in the sun and easily warm enough for regular coffee stops outside in just shirtsleeves. We found a lovely little place for lunch, and spent a very relaxing day.<br />
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Finally, however, the dreaded moment arrived, and it was time to get back on the plane. Our Italian friends took us to the airport, and yet again we arrived way too early and spent a good couple of hours sitting by the boarding gate. The flight back, fortunately, was again uneventful, and yet again we returned to the UK to be greeted by torrential rain. Not quite as bad as the gale the week before, but not far off. Nevertheless, the rain clearly never made it to Italy (that weekend at least), so all in all a complete success.<br />
<br />Charlie Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11383371143461342486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013237159229248163.post-55207810802952558872013-08-10T02:53:00.000-07:002013-08-10T02:53:03.404-07:00Boating on ThamesThought I would just write a few words on a recent trip on the Thames, for a week in July 2013 and which was designed to coincide with my birthday. Perhaps not as glamorous a holiday as some, but I have been boating pretty much since birth in vessels ranging from small sailing dinghies, larger ocean-going yachts and, more recently, river boats.<br />
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Our boat, called 'Wind over Willow' (or WoW for short), is a 32 ft Linsen - a Dutch built river boat that is neither a barge, nor a canal boat, nor a plastic white motorboat. We think she's rather attractive - photo below.<br />
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Having had the boat for 2 years now, we have obviously covered the full stretch of the Thames, going as far upstream as possible (more or less outside Oxford) all the way through London and to the mouth of the River. Although we have already covered the same ground many many times, it never gets boring - the River is always different and constantly moving, with all the wildlife changing as the seasons progress.<br />
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On this trip, it being summer, the River was in full bloom. Ducks, geese and swans of various varieties everywhere, not to mention countless other birds - coots, herons, kites to name but a few. Most ducklings and goslings were, by now, mostly fully grown, although we did see several new hatchlings - very cute as ever.<br />
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We didn't go far on this trip, leaving Reading at the weekend and spending 3 days getting as far as Wallingford, before returning. Life on the River is very slow, but in a good way - to drive the same distance would probably take no more than 40 minutes, however when you consider locks, queues, frequent coffee and lunch stops and the fact that we are limited to more or less walking speed, going any distance each day is virtually impossible (and in fact undesirable). So we spent a very relaxing week - slow breakfast, little potter up the River, stop on the riverbank for lunch, another little motor, then around 4 PM start to look for a suitable riverbank to stop for the night. This was not always as easy as it sounds, as often certain stretches of the River are either private or do not allow overnight mooring for whatever reason. Therefore, the places that are available (and are free) are often taken by someone else, especially later on in the day. However, it was never a problem, and we always found somewhere in the end, with a bit of planning.<br />
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Other than pootling around, we didn't do a great deal. Spent a fair amount of time reading, which made a welcome change. We managed to have a couple of barbecues, but the rest of the time we eat on the boat using our galley area. The weather was mixed. Unfortunately, or possibly fortunately for those who don't like the heat, the heatwave of 2013 had well and truly ended by the time we left. That being said, it was never cold. It was overcast some of the time, but rained only on one or two occasions - the rest of the time was patchy cloud and hot sun. Actually, the worst evening in terms of being uncomfortable was on the 2nd day, when it had been raining constantly all afternoon so we were confined down-below. Clearly we didn't want the rain coming in so had the hatches shut, meaning the temperature and humidity inside was not pleasant. Fortunately, however, it didn't last…<br />
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My birthday itself was, as with the rest of the week, relaxing. We had found a restaurant called The Beetle and Wedge - a 'beetle' being a small hammer often used to knock 'wedges' in - which allowed boats to moor outside, if they were eating there. We had a very good meal, and it was very pleasant.<br />
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So… Not a particularly adventurous or exciting holiday by some people's standards, however it was very relaxing and certainly made a change from the busyness of Reading.<br />
Charlie Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11383371143461342486noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013237159229248163.post-63533860475129178752013-04-17T09:44:00.000-07:002013-04-17T09:44:00.407-07:00Trip to Vienna, Part 2As promised, now for the 2nd part of my recent trip to Vienna. Sitting at my computer on a Wednesday evening and looking at the Tupperware-coloured sky outside, Vienna seems a long way away, even though it was only last week.<br />
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As an aside, one morning in one of the hotels (I forget which) I was watching a snippet of a documentary on travel blogs and bloggers on CNN. I should point out that all opinions here (and in my previous post) are my own, and I have not received any offers or bribes from any hotel or restaurant. On the other hand, on the off chance that any hotel or restaurant would like to offer me a free night or meal in exchange for a favourable review, I'm sure some arrangement could be made. My moral compass is somewhat flexible on this front.<br />
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Anyway…<br />
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The week in Vienna was good, even though the majority of it was spent at the conference. That was, after all, the main reason of going, and so a lot of time was spent in talks, in meetings and presenting my own work. I took one full day off, to go sightseeing and to continue my hunt for good pastries (see separate section, below). We had a number of good meals in the evening, including an excellent night in a large, very busy Austrian restaurant not far from the hotel (called Zur Altern Kaisermuhlen). Superb food, albeit very busy and fairly poor (slow) service.<br />
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We left Vienna on the Friday afternoon, slightly later than in previous years because of work commitments. Because of that, we only drove a couple of hours, stopping in a small village near the Austrian/German border called Enns. Found a lovely little family run hotel just on the edge of the town, and had an excellent meal.<br />
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The next day we awoke to bright sun, which continued all day and was the first day of the trip we were able to picnic outside. It would seem that the bellboy from Vienna had been right, albeit a day late. We had quite a long drive that day, covering a large amount of Germany, however it was very nice to stop for lunch and not be cold. Eventually, we decided to stop in a very small village called Duhren, just outside the larger town of Sinsheim. Again, purely by chance, we came across a small hotel on the outskirts of the village which, although not particularly full of character on the outside, was nevertheless reasonably comfortable inside. Again had a very good meal, although my local (apparently) fish was served with so much butter it was virtually swimming. Not a bad thing from my perspective, but not a dish for those watching their cholesterol.<br />
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The following morning, after an excellent breakfast with numerous choices (both hot and cold, including a vegetable mixture which was unashamedly and blatantly leftovers from the night before), we had another fairly long drive into France. The weather was still much warmer than the trip up, but colder than the previous day. We arrived in Reims at around 4 PM, stopping at a hotel Mercure on the outskirts of town in the middle of an industrial estate that we had booked in advance. I should point out that this was not my choice, and had I known what it was like I might have objected more beforehand. It was, being honest, pretty grim - slightly prison-like on the outside, and lacking any soul on the inside. Comfortable enough rooms, but completely devoid of any character. Plus there were multiple steps to the restaurant, the rooms weren't particularly cheap and, being in the middle of an industrial park, there was nowhere to go for an evening stroll. Nevertheless, even I (eventually) admitted the evening wasn't a complete write-off, and we were able to have a nice evening drink (on the grass outside, in the car park) and then a surprisingly good meal in the restaurant. So not a complete disaster, but I might not go back there again.<br />
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The final day was fairly uneventful, driving through the rest of France and doing some shopping at a local supermarket in Calais before returning via the Tunnel. It all seemed to go very quickly and, as I said, now seems a long way away. Never mind…<br />
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<strong>Sachertorte and apple strudel hunt</strong><br />
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Following my recent exploits into the world of baking, last year I was inspired to go on a Sachertorte hunt. For those not in the know, Sachertorte is a rich chocolate cake normally covered in chocolate ganache and served with whipped cream. The primary place in Vienna is the Hotel Sacher, an extremely expensive hotel and restaurant that also has an excellent cafe. Its main rival, apparently, is the Cafe Demel, and a 3rd option is the Cafe Central. All of these are extremely established and extravagant places, with the latter apparently being the preferred coffee house of academics, poets and musicians of the 19th century.<br />
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So, last year during my day off, I visited each of these coffee houses, comparing their own versions of Sachertorte. It obviously had to be a controlled test, with always the same amount of whipped cream and always accompanied by the house coffee - usually a large black coffee, topped with more whipped cream and some sort of brandy or liqueur. After rigourous scientific testing, I can confirm that the Sachertorte from the Hotel Sacher was clearly the best - more moist, and with an extra layer of apricot jam in the middle which the others lacked. The chocolate ganache was also thicker. So, job done.<br />
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This year, therefore, I needed a new pastry to test. The obvious choice was Vienna's other famous dish, the apple strudel. I have been challenged to make one of these upon my return, and whilst I'm definitely up for it, I do have my doubts. They are not easy. I again visited the same 3 coffee houses, and again carefully tested each strudel. The results, unlike last year, were much closer. After much consideration, I would say the winner was the Cafe Central, with Demel coming 2nd and the Hotel Sacher a very close 3rd. The difference was all in the pastry - the one from the Hotel Sacher was much crispier, which some people might prefer, but which I think made the whole thing drier. In contrast, the one from Central came with whipped cream and (for €2 extra) vanilla cream, which does actually make a big difference.<br />
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Now I just need to decide what the challenge will be next year…<br />
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Charlie Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11383371143461342486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013237159229248163.post-46307749390733373682013-04-07T09:12:00.001-07:002013-04-07T09:14:18.488-07:00Trip to ViennaThought I would write a few words on the recent trip to Vienna, where I now am after arriving earlier this afternoon. It's extremely cold and snowy here but we have been promised by a reliable bell boy that it will warm up later this week. <br />
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We left four days ago and had a good albeit long first day driving. Terrible driving conditions on the way to the tunnel but much nicer once in France and a relatively quick journey down to a little village called Vertus, just south of Reims and in the champagne region. Nice hotel but not quite as good as we had remembered from last year. Still a comfy room but a bit overpriced, and although the meal was nice I was a bit disappointed to see the menu was completely unchanged. Still good to have some local champagne however. <br />
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The next day was again grey and cold but we left soon after breakfast and drove into Germany. Not such a long day and we had again booked our place in advance so a fairly stress free drive to Speyer. Again a comfy hotel and a very nice meal, despite some language issues.<br />
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The following morning, after an excellent breakfast - by which I mean a choice of hams and real cheese as opposed to the plastic sliced stuff - we left the hotel in yet another grey and cold day. The picnics we have had in previous years seem a very long way away. Drove through Germany and started looking for a hotel around 4pm. This proved slightly harder than expected - the plan, as always, was to leave the motorway and drive along smaller country roads in the hope of coming across somewhere in various towns and villages. However many of the places we found were either shut or grim or both, and although we drove around a couple of old looking towns none of the hotels or guest houses seemed very appealing. We drove on to a slightly larger town called Passau, just on the crossing of the Danube, the Inn and another river which I forget. We had stayed here before several years ago, but the problem again with this place was a real lack of parking given the narrow cobbled streets. Eventually we abandoned, crossed the river and climbed a scarily steep mountain road. Quite by chance we came across am amazing hotel that used to be a castle and which sat quite literally on the border between Germany and Austria. Amazing place with high ceilings and comfy albeit cold rooms, and we had an excellent meal in the restaurant.<br />
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The following morning, today, again after a very good breakfast we left the hotel and completed our journey to Vienna. Really very obvious that there was much more snow than any previous year and was much more like driving through the alps than our usual journey. Stopping at our usual picnic site just outside Vienna was quite different from last year, when sunglasses were needed instead if being surrounded by snow. <br />
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Arrived in Vienna as planned and now relaxing in hotel before the conference starts. Will probably post another message upon my return...Charlie Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11383371143461342486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013237159229248163.post-35021290765058036902013-03-23T10:52:00.001-07:002013-03-23T10:52:44.359-07:00Rant on motivation in academic talksRight then…<br />
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Given that people tell me I need to actually write something in order to have a blog, and given that most other blogs I've read appear to contain a rant on something or other, I thought I would have a rant myself.<br />
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It is something I have long since been irritated by, and is namely the lack of motivation or background or introduction (of any sort) endemic in most academic presentations and talks. I'm sure this is a problem elsewhere as well, but academia is my arena. The number of talks I have attended that have jumped straight into their particular subject is depressing - with no mention whatsoever of the purpose of that particular project. When an introduction is included, it still more often than not does not give motivation or purpose. Larger questions like "What is the point of this work?" and "Why should I be interested in what you're about to say?" often remain unasked and unanswered.<br />
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I have long since wondered why this is, and why I always try to buck the trend. I think it might be for one of two reasons (or possibly both): either the speaker assumes everyone else is as intelligent as they are and therefore inherently understands the topic, or the speaker is afraid that giving too much background makes them look simple. Personally, I always try to give some sort of introduction and motivational background - even if it is necessarily brief, if time is short. If that makes me look simple, it's probably because I am - but in my opinion an audience should never be either underestimated or overestimated. I would never want to patronise an audience and be too basic, but nor would I ever assume an audience understand the finer points of my work. Admittedly there is a fine line between the two, but it's a line that needs to be approached.<br />
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I think this is particularly important in the current economic climate, when pretty much every funding body is wanting value for money. The vast majority of us are funded by research councils, and in order to obtain funding a large amount of emphasis is put on Impact - who are the beneficiaries (academic or otherwise) of the research, how will it benefit the scientific community and society in general, what are the larger implications and applicable outcomes? The idea that we are locked away in our white ivory towers, undertaking brilliant science solely for the benefit of science itself, is long dead - although many might wish it wasn't. Personally, I don't fall into this camp - science should always have a purpose other than pure scientific interest.<br />
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Lastly, I should point out that not everyone is like this in their talks. I recently attended a talk of one of my PhD students and, if he's reading this, well done matey. It is very possible to give a good introduction, including motivation for your work, without being patronising and appearing simple. I'm also under no false pretences as to the purpose of my own work, and have recently become somewhat disillusioned as to whether it has a point or not. I appreciate we can't all win the Nobel Peace Prize, although we should all try, however as explained above I'm very aware that there needs to be a point to any research. And that this point should always be at the forefront of any research agenda, and should be reflected in any deliverable - be it a presentation, paper, poster or discussion.<br />
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Rant over.<br />
Charlie Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11383371143461342486noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013237159229248163.post-46286701629812494652013-03-19T09:51:00.000-07:002013-03-19T09:51:10.463-07:00HelloHello, and welcome to my own brand-new blog.<br />
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I'm a little bit dubious as to the purpose of this, and whether or not anyone will ever read anything from here, however we'll see. It's something I've been told I should do, both from a career and a social media perspective. Quite what I will write here remains to be seen…<br />
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It should be noted that this is entirely separate from the other blog listed under my name, which is the official Climate Change Research Group (CCRG, one of the research groups of the Royal Geographical) blog, accessible at <a href="http://ccrg2013.blogspot.co.uk/">http://ccrg2013.blogspot.co.uk/</a>. The CCRG blog is primarily designed for members of the group, to discuss any issues loosely related to climate, geography and academia. My personal blog, however, is just my own and will probably cover any subject matter, both serious and less so.<br />
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I suppose I should also note that, in either of the above blogs, anything I post from now on is entirely based on my own opinion, and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the CCRG, the RGS, my employer (the University of Reading), or indeed anyone else. Just so that's clear.<br />
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That'll do for now...Charlie Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11383371143461342486noreply@blogger.com0