Loves Restaurant

Relatively new in Birmingham and just a little isolated from Brindley place.

Very good food and service in pleasant surroundings (to be hypercritical: the tables are too small for the cutlery and plates, and there's not a lot of space between them).

Highlight: The coddled egg starter (with braised lamb shoulder, butternut squash and wild mushrooms).

Lowlight: I wasn't that happy with the glass of Tour de Biot 2004 I had (a wine that usually gets good reviews but, after all is only Bordeaux AOC): strident and unripe, I thought. My next choice (a Fitou) was not available.

Better than the current incarnation of Edmund's, though: we'll be going again.

Tony Buckland

My friend Tony died on Tuesday 25th January 2010. He was 80 years old and one of the most decent human beings I have ever met. Tony saw only good in everyone. He was a Quaker.

He worked hard all his life in a variety of jobs ranging from plastering to social care and (latterly) collecting supermarket trolleys (though he stopped that a couple of years ago).

Tony knew some wonderful songs and I had the pleasure of accompanying him on guitar a few times.

I'll miss you Tony, lots of people will.

Tom Paxton

I was really looking forward to the Paxton concert in Birmingham tomorrow -- it's been cancelled because Tom's wife is, apparently, seriously ill.

I'm disappointed with missing the concert, but (of course) that's not really important in the real scheme. Best wishes for a quick recovery, Midge.

'Tis the season for game

I acquired a hare this week. You don't see many these days. Tonight we had the back legs braised in red wine with some ceps and dauphinoise potatoes.

Not bad!

A Note to Elizabeth ...

Who commented on my life at University.

There is no God!

Funny Blogs

I read quite a few blogs - they're often from the US or Canada and they're usually quite cynical. Frequently, they tell stories of their day-to-day life: sometimes this is funny, sometimes sad, sometimes pathetic (or even bathetic).

I was trying to decide whether it was ethical for me to write about the issues my students bring to me ...

(Maybe it is, maybe it isn't)

I think I'm probably quite approachable as academics go -- I LIKE students and I'm (almost always) willing to give them my time [actually, this is selfish -- the best feeling in the world is seeing someone suddenly understand something: watching that metaphorical light-bulb come on over their head].

So, without going into any personal details, these are some of the issues that my students brought to me in 2009:

• I'm pregnant - what should I do?
• I'm going to leave my husband ...
• I'm gay - I haven't told anyone else.
• I've just been diagnosed with breast cancer.
• I can't pay my credit card bill.
• My husband's left me.
• My daughter has anorexia.
• My house has been burgled: I've lost everything.
• I've got cancer.

You know what's missing? Anything happy.
You know how much training I got to deal with this? None.

Happy New Year.

Happy New Year

It really feels like 2010 now, since work has started again!

Over the Xmas break I moved my 'study' from the big spare bedroom to the small one at the front of the house (partly to get away from the noise of my neighbour's lawn-mowing - from March to October he mows every day that he can and NOW he's got a ride-on mower!). During the move I came across these scary pics:


This first one dates from 1989 and is of me singing at a folk concert in Redditch - the same bill as Carthy and Swarbrick, no less!


This (more bizarre, I think) picture is taken on my fortieth birthday on the narrowboat that we then owned (the toque was my present). I remember this day really well. I still worked for the local electricity supply company and we'd just spent the afternoon cruising through a thunderstorm, watching the lightning destroying the power lines - and there were no mobile phones, so they couldn't get in touch with me!

Nice - Christmas Day 2009

Nice(SIc) Weather

The weather in Nice was mixed - to put it mildly! 23rd, some rain, some dry. 24th Rain (about 60mm!) very high winds and lots of surf (pics to follow) - not fit to send a dog out. 25th brilliant sunshine and warm enough for a picnic on the Chateau, 26th grey and cold, no wind, no waves, 27th bright sunshine!

Oh well ...

I haven't been blogging a lot recently. Some of that has been around finishing writing the book and getting a journal article accepted, as well as working with my Chinese colleagues.

Some of it is around work in general, though. Depressing.