I still like visiting the library, whether the one on campus or ‘the library’ as a more generalised phenomenon. The scholarly work, reading, writing, thinking: these are parts of my job I still enjoy.
Sadly there are other parts of the job I no longer enjoy; which is why it is a good thing that I am now off work for 11 days and need not give the place another thought for that time — after typing this and pressing ‘Publish’, anyway.
Well, I can dig it. I felt much the same way at this point in the week.
It’s graduation season. Bearing in mind that the very minimum one needs to spend to get a degree from my august institution is in five figures, and for a 3-year undergraduate programme it is now approaching £30K (more, if you are an international student) just in fees — you’d think the UoM might just give them their gowns to keep, as with a wedding dress. But no.
Back to work — for a day, anyway. This photo is very low quality thanks to being taken through not one, but two windows, but I couldn’t resist capturing it. In Doctor Who the evil Cybermen, half-organic, half-robot, always had these headphone-like contraptions clamped to their heads. The attendees at whatever conference sub-group was happening in University Place this morning were clearly wanting to try out the look; what’s more, they seem to be offering a rather Irish take on it.
Attending a ‘Names Festival’, along with a grand total of fourteen other people, seemed a hassle-free way of bringing the working week to a close. These are all names, of the four others sat at my table: three in Chinese and one in Bengali. It was suggested I add my own name, but we just have that boring old single script to work with and it was written out on my name badge anyway so I kept myself an invisible presence, at least in terms of this particular, ephemeral document.
Actually, now I make this full-size I see the sticket is very difficult to read, but hey, this one was always more about the art than the aspiration. It says “Challenge Accepted”, by the way. The challenge we have at the moment is persuading the students (who as postgraduates are supposed to still be cranking it out) to stick around on campus, though at least these two have made it.
This collage, featuring the Graphene Institute on the left, indicates quite clearly why I and much of the rest of Manchester city centre got very wet about twenty minutes later. But, yes, I had packed an umbrella, fortunately.
More teaching, though of a different sort. To celebrate the last active (for me, anyway) week of the semester, just for once I thought it would be nice to try to get them to do a bit of talking. You know, to each other. I guess it worked, more or less.
This is definitely liquid nitrogen (or was, until a second or two previously), as it’s going into the Air Liquide tank next to the Engineering building. All sorts of things might be going on in there, with applications for liquid nitrogen ranging from the preservation of human remains through the digging of tunnels to the making of ice cream. As uni doesn’t have a cookery department, though, it’s probably not the last one. I can’t discount the first.
Going on the gig posters that still sit, forlornly, behind a metal screen just to the right of this shot, the Retro Bar, on the corner of Sackville and Charles Streets in Manchester, closed in summer 2025. The reason? Because there are no longer any students up at this end of the campus. Whatever is being planned for the acreage of the old UMIST buildings, it has involved gradually emptying them over the last decade or so, and accumulating what must amount to real estate value of tens, perhaps even hundreds, of millions of pounds. I’m sure my employer is well aware of this.
Meanwhile — it was loud and peaceful, so Mark attests. Note the train heading over the viaduct.
Being 42 