At the beginning of this week discovered that there is a conference/symposium/workshop taking place this Friday in London on a subject v pertinent to my research interests about which I had heard nothing.
Contact the contact email on the website.
Silence.
Email two academic acquaintances who are contributors saying what gives, is it an open or a ( Read more... )

Okay, the very large international conference massively disrupted by the volcanic eruption and its effects will live in memory, but this much smaller and more intime affair was characterised by tense anticipation yesterday and gloom today.
Even so, good papers were heard and good discussions had and good conversations outside sessions and ( Read more... )

Academic workshop being good - if sometimes inaudible, even if it is a small room the acoustics are not all that and some speakers do not have great projection. There is a mike but it is not particularly well-placed.
Good conversations over coffee, lunch etc even if there is a recurring theme which is naught to do with the workshop topic...
An ( Read more... )

In a fortnight or so's time I am going to be in Cambridge (UK, I add for the benefit of my transatlantic readers) attending a conference at which I am not actually presenting but to which I have been invited as, I suppose, A Grand Old Person In The Field who may usefully contribute to the general discussions. (Or at least An Old Person In The Field ( Read more... )

Came back from hols last week and had the usual massive amount of washing etc to catch up with, plus final opportunity to meet up with old acquaintance from the antypods temporarily in UK promoting a book, and the symposium of Learned Soc heretofore referred to.
And then finally got on to various outstanding things that had been hanging over my ( Read more... )

(Wednesday has once again been deferred.)
Today to the annual symposium of A Learned Body with which I am associated on New Light on Ancient Britons, deploying a variety of disciplinary/interdisciplinary approaches including DNA analysis.
But in the very first paper there was a thing about which I was going Wow! Amazing! That is So Cool! ( Read more... )

That was a really good workship.
And just about everybody, who was working on topics which align pretty much with the area Current Project deals with, are finding the exact same problems of they keep dashing off in all directions and are not simple and contained even if they look like that to begin with. (The various topics, that is.)
And there ( Read more... )

(Not precisely Sid related, but not precisely not, either)
I think I managed to be an intelligent discussant at the workshop today asking questions of pertinence and relevance. I hope.
Catering had provided a rather boring special lunch for me, when I think I could have adequately picked my way through what was generally provided, but hey, at least ( Read more... )

Actually, Durham. I am being Reputed Authority in Field at a workshop tomorrow at the university.
I am madly impressed that I got all the papers with several days in hand to read and think about: this is not always the case.
Also I am madly reassured to discover that college accommodation is spacious and ensuite, even if - and I have found this ( Read more... )

YESSSS!!!! I have actually made a start on The Thing with tight deadline about which there has been faff. I do not think I can just repurpose a thing I did for a niche purpose, but looking at it and cutting and pasting the relevant bits means I do not have a blank page before me, and the ideas, if not the expression, I think can be reused.
I think ( Read more... )