Saved from bike emergency

My bike saddle had been a bit loose for quite a while. I probably should have done something about that! But I never did. It didn't seem to affect anything, really. But it later turned out to be a portent for worse.

I was just biking home and not got very far when I took a low curb. I heard a bit of a sound and I felt something happen, and within a few meters I realised what it was. There was something with the saddle! It was still fixed to my bike, but it could freely rotate, in several directions. And that means you couldn't sit on it. If you put your weight on it, it would just pivot and you would slide off. A bike you can’t sit on is not a very good bike!

I quickly consider my options. Did I have any way of fixing that saddle myself? No. Was there anyone around who could? Yes! There is a Halfords in Bangor, and I'm sure they can fix saddles to bicycles. And they would be open until 8 pm. It wasn't particularly nearby, but I figured I could get there. Most of the way it's quite steep anyway, and then it isn't particularly onerous to have to stand on the pedals. So that's what I did. It was about 3 km.

I took the bike in, waited my turn, and I explained the problem. The man dealing with my query said that the whole bolt had sheared off, and it would either need drilling out, or I needed a new seat post. Well, new seat post, please! 

In Halfords

That was easily sorted. And while we were waiting for the computer to deal with its side of the transaction we made some small talk. Where did I need to go? What route would I take? The man turned out to be quite an avid cyclist, but he was entirely unfamiliar with the route between Halfords and Bethesda. Maybe he'll one day bike it! It's quite pretty.

With a bit of a delay and a bit of a detour I was on my way. It felt good to have a functioning bicycle underneath my bum again! And this has taught me to pay attention to anything being not entirely as it should be with my bike. Things can get uncomfortable quite quickly! And this time I got away with it, but I could imagine situations in which I would have to leave the bike altogether, be it at location or at Halfords, and find myself a bus somewhere!

Visit by an old friend

Somewhere in the mid-nineties I moved to shared student accommodation. One of the people there was Frank, a geology graduate with a passion for palaeontology. We got along well. But student accommodation has high turnover, and we both moved on from there. But we connected on Facebook so we were still in each other’s perimeter. 

This January suddenly I got a message from him. He and his wife would go on holiday to Wales in july! Would I be around? Could we meet up? And I thought it would be a great idea! And he turned out to have rented a cottage in nearby Tregarth. The day after he arrived I biked up.

It was so good to see him! Except for the grey hair he had changed a bit. And he said the same held for me. We estimated we hadn't seen each other for 20 years, but we couldn't really remember at what occasion we had last met. And it was lovely to meet his wife. And we didn't waste much time; soon we were sitting in the garden with beer and wine and snacks. And we talked through what they were going to do the coming days. Their first day had been spent wisely at South Stack.

View from Frank and Ilja’s cottage’s garden 

They had plenty of plans, and the thought was that one day I would team up with them, and that would be a Dinorwic trip. So that was decided! But we had plenty more to discuss. I left when it got dark, as I realised I had left my bicycle light at home. That tends to happen in late summer! I'm not used to needing them.

Our Dinorwic trip would take place on Sunday. Late morning they came to pick me up. So we got in the car, and I suggested we drive the touristic route to Llanberis. I directed them to the side entrance of the quarry, above the bus stop. I knew we didn't really want start exploring the quarry from there, but it is such a beautiful route to get there! And the views are amazing. Frank and Ilja agreed. 

From there we drove to the slate museum. We decided to first to do the quarry and then the museum. So we started walking up the zigzags. Frank really wanted to see the Anglesey Barracks, and that could be arranged.

Triple quarry selfie

From there we took the incline up to the viewpoint, and then we aimed for the hidden waterfall. But it was a day in the weekend in summer and the weather was fine, so plenty of people wanting the same thing. Quite different from the previous time I had been there! Then we had to place to ourselves.

View over the quarry

The famous waterfall

Ilja didn't fancy the route to there, so she waited for us. Frank thought it had been well worth going to have a look with the two of us. And it is really a beautiful place!

When we had done that we headed back to the museum. I directed them to the quarryman’s cottages, and after that we did the workshops. There was even a live blacksmith there! And then it was time to head to my place and drink beer in the garden.

I first showed them my house and my cat, of course. They liked both! And they understood why I'm so happy with my garden. Ilja is really into birds, and she was impressed that as soon as we walked into the garden, the dippers gave acte de présence. And a bit later there was commotion on the river; two female mergansers of some description (either common or red-breasted; I think the red breasts are a male thing) were zipping around. I had only seen them once before, but I had had no clue what they were!

Frank admiring simulated metal casting

When they left we decided we shouldn't leave it decades to see each other again. Frank was really keen on a house swap from time to time. But if I am in the Netherlands, it makes a lot more sense to be based at my mother’s. But I'll keep it in mind! And I can also just visit. And maybe they will come back here as well. They were having a whale of a time in Wales! So hopefully we will sort of pick up from where we had left off, in the 90s…

Supplementary Assessment Week(s)

If students have either not been able to do an assessment during the academic year, or they haven't passed enough modules to proceed to the next year or graduate (but not by too much), they get a chance in July remediate that. Students that have missed an assessment for unavoidable reasons like health issues just get another chance, and get the full mark for their work. Students who have failed a module in such a way they can’t progress get offered an alternative assessment; this replaces all the assessments of the module, but the mark is capped. So in summer we were expected to get all these first sits and supplementary assessments ready on our module websites. There were so many this year!

Really close to the time, the university also decided that this year it shouldn't be a supplementary assessment week, but the period of two weeks. So we changed our assessments accordingly.

That period has now ended. So what is the teaching burden? Well! It is quite a mixed bag. The good and the bad news is that not all students who were eligible to do assessments did it. I had more students who hadn't than students who had. And students not taking this opportunity doesn't have to be a bad thing; some may get the chance to do an assessment in several modules, and might just choose strategically which module they tackle. And that might not be mine. But there are undoubtedly students among them who didn't submit who now won't be able to progress, and that is sad.

There was also a bit more confusion then I had anticipated! I had several assessments by students who weren't eligible to do them in the first place. All these folders on our module websites specifically state that only those who have been personally contacted to say they are eligible to do them should do them. But not everybody paid attention to that, obviously. And there were some assessments to that were in the wrong folder. And there were students who were eligible but whom we hadn't been told about.

One thing that affects me is that there were several students eligible to submit their dissertation as a first sit. And then the idea is that I don't have to mark them; all dissertations have a dedicated first and second marker. The problem is, though, that we only get a week to mark this work, and a lot of people are on holiday in this time of year. So now I have been running around looking for people who might be willing to step in. I myself will do a fair few. But given that they are all double marked, I can't, by definition, do all this work!

On my module website

There is even a sort of supplementary supplementary assessment week, for students who don't come through this. That is in August. And the academic staff is getting cranky, because that sort of implies that we can't go on holiday during SAW and SAW2 (in case there are questions) nor in the weeks afterwards, as that is when we have to mark this work. Clearly, not everyone is sticking to this. But it is a concern. We need to be able to switch off a little bit in summer. And this steadily growing burden of additional assessing is not helping with that!

First club run: around the lake

After Having been accepted in a running club, the Eryri Harriers, it took a few days for that to have a practical implication. The first Thursday training was the very day after I became a member, and not only wasn’t I mentally prepared; it also seemed a bit much between the race on Wednesday and my imminent race on Sunday. That Monday there was a training, but I was at the book launch. So it was the Thursday after that I felt I could make my debut. 

On Thursdays, the Eryri Harriers do hill training. My favourite! Uphill, anyway. So I was keen. Although the Facebook page said, the day beforehand, that this week it would only be a loop around Llyn Padarn (where I had had my post-finish dip the Sunday before). But one of my colleagues, who lives in that neck of the woods, reassured me they would probably not skirt the shoreline, but come up the fairly steep road towards Deiniolen, which I had never run before, but had biked several times (here and here). I know it gives you a workout!

I changed in my office and drove to Llanberis. I parked in the parking lot that had been given in the announcement. There was no one else there! But maybe I was just a bit early. I quickly walked to the other parking lot there, but didn't see anything obvious, so I went back. And then I noticed a man in running gear approaching me. He gestured at me: are you here for running? So I gesture back that I was, and I joined him to go indeed back to the other parking lot. Why don't they just give the name of that parking lot in the announcement? But at least I now was where I should have been. And the man had been the one who had sent out the announcement.

I chatted a bit to the other runners there. And then my colleague Chris appeared. He's the only one that I know! Although I recognised a few faces from races.

Chris confirmed that if they tell you to gather it 18:15, the run probably won't start until 18:30. Good to know! And in the end, we finally set off. We went clockwise around the lake, so first on the path to the parking lot used by lots of swimmers, and then over the bicycle path to the end of the lake, and then up the infamously steep road. Now and then the front runners stopped to wait for the stragglers. And I had a bit of a chat with whoever happened to be nearby.

On the bicycle path

A lot of people were talking about a big race that coming Saturday. Everyone asked if I was registered on it. I wasn't! It was mountain running and that’s not my thing. 

I also noticed some people speaking Dutch. There turned out to be two Dutch sisters in the group. One lived here in Wales, and the other one was visiting. It was nice to meet them!

Until the highest point in this run, we had been on asphalt, but then there was a bit of distance on small paths, pretty much all the way back to the quarry hospital. And from there it was only a small distance back. In total we had done 8.6 km. It has been good!

I joined some runners in their stretches, but lamented the fact that stretching makes you stationary, and that gives biting insects a chance. So I was glad when we were done. And then I got back to the car, got home, and got a shower. My first club outing! I hope many will follow!Having been accepted in a running club, the Having been accepted in a running club, the

Next small step in making the house sustainable

Two years ago, I had solar panels put on the roof, and a few infrared panels put in some rooms. Solar panels were a no-brainer. Infrared panels seemed a good idea too, but I wanted to try it out first before I would deck out the entire house with them. If I would have still have had money left after that exercise, I would have bought myself a battery to go with it. But I didn't.

It is now two years later, and my finances have recovered. I figured it might be time to have the rest of the rooms also festooned with infrared panels. So I phoned the company that had done the previous work. And a man came over to talk about it.

We went from room to room to see what the requirements were, and whether there would be any challenges in installing. In the living room and landing, I am quite specific about the looks of the room. I don't want them to look too modern. In the kitchen it doesn't matter too much that there are big modern panels on the ceiling, and that there is cabling associated with them. But in the living room I want it to be discreet! And one thing I really wanted was panels that fit between the Victorian ceiling beams. Neil, the representative of the company, said that that wouldn't be a problem.

Living room ceiling beams already compromised by modern technology 

We also discussed batteries. He said that the Tesla Powerwall 3 was about to come out. He just said that that was unquestionably the best thing out there. Hopefully, they would become available in autumn. And we discussed where it would go.

Neil said he’d price up the lot for me and send the information through. And he did. And then I realised that altogether, this was a bit more expensive than I could afford in one go. And even though my initial thought was to have the infrared panels installed, and the battery had been an afterthought, it would actually make sense to do the battery first. If you do that, you can use a lot more of the energy you generate for yourself, and that brings down your energy costs. That then makes you recover financially a bit quicker, which means you can get the infrared panels sooner than otherwise. So I phoned him.

Long story short: I have now told Neil to put my name down for a Tesla Powerwall 3. I haven't yet sorted out the paperwork or the deposit, but that should not be that much work, and then I can wait for this next step in trying to make my house more sustainable. And the infrared panels can wait for a bit. My trusted old boiler is still functioning. I know it is burning fossil fuels, but well, one can’t magic money to solve all that sort of problems in one go…

Second book launch

Only two years ago, I attended my first book launch. Peredur, the linguist who I have been practicing Welsh with, has his second book out. Of course I wanted to be there when it was launched!

The timing was a bit unfortunate; that day, it would initially be dry, but in the late afternoon it would start raining. There was an actual weather warning for rain out, so it was probably going to be unpleasant. If it were not for the book launch, I would have gone home fairly early to avoid that.

They came, and I biked to Main Arts in the rain. I quickly went inside. There already were drinks there, and some people. I had a wine and a chat. And when the opportunity arose, I bought the book, and asked Peredur to sign it. 

At some point it started. We were in a huge room! I sat down third row. Nice balance between elbowing myself front row, and showing disinterest by sitting in the rear. 

The interviewer this time was a fellow author: Bethan Gwanas. I must admit I haven't read anything by her yet. And she had a completely different style from Aled Hughes, a radio presenter, who did it last time. To be honest, I preferred Bethan! She was very unfiltered. And she was a bit of a fan girl. That must have been good for Peredur’s ego. 

Bethan Gwanas and Peredur

She asked things such as how he has got the idea for his books. And he told her it had all started with a short story he had written for an online Eisteddfod during lockdown. And then it had snowballed from there.

She also asked about the two books hang together, and it seems that they are related but that you can read them entirely independently. I will find out myself!

He had different chapters with different protagonists in the first book, and now he did again. Some of them even the same ones. And he spoke of difficulties with these different voices. One of them, for instance, is from South Wales, so he had to mimic a South Welsh way of speaking. That sort of thing can go wrong! She also asked him to read a fragment from that, so we could find out how good his South Walian pronunciation really is.

There is also one chapter that is written in the second person, rather than the rest of both books, which is in third person. And they discussed a bit what the significance thereof was. And why the protagonist of this chapter has such a name. Peredur confessed he had just wanted to avoid that anyone with the same name, even if it was entirely by coincidence, would have an issue with that.

This chapter also seems to be in the most formal Welsh. After all the colloquial speech of the other protagonist (he read out another fragment; yes one of them is indeed very colloquial) that stands out. And Peredur confessed to have been a bit self-conscious; he wanted a chapter in which he proved he could really also write "proper " Welsh.

In the end, Peredur thanked everyone in the room, because he said he couldn't have done this without the support from the publisher, his friends, family, and colleagues. So he dedicated the book to us. But he reminded us that we still would have to pay for our own copy.

With that it was coming close to an end. He invited us to stay a bit longer, as we hadn't finished the Prosecco yet. And I walked out of the room, back to the drinks area. And when I saw daylight again, I realised it wasn't raining. And that made me decide to just go. I had already had two glasses of wine before the event; drinking any more would probably be a bad idea anyway. And I had already chatted to the people there. So I skedaddled!

I'll start this book as soon as I have finished my current one. Stay tuned for a review!

The swift saga continues

I left the story with the microphone pack Velcro’d to the swift box precariously leaning over. Did it fall? Was it rescued?

It was rescued! I got an email from one of the swift researcher that she had come and retrieved the box. It had been just in time, she said. And the problem had been that the box was sliding out of its Velcro. The Velcro itself was holding up well! But if it is not glued to whatever it is holding up properly, that's not much solace. So they were going to use some better glue in the future.

Something that was less positive that that same day, I had spotted a chick that had fallen out of the nest. Or being pushed out. No idea! But either way; it had given up the ghost. That was sad.

Rest in peace little swift

A week or two later the researchers were back, again with their long bamboo poles. They said they this time had a smaller battery pack, and better glue. So they had again the difficult task of somehow sticking it to the Velcro on a different nest box. They managed! So the research will now continue.

They also told me that it is not unusual for swift chicks to end up out of the nest. If the parents are a bit optimistic and have three chicks, but there aren't enough bugs around to feed all of them, the runt of the litter just gets sacrificed. This summer hadn't felt particularly low on bugs to me, but it might have been different for the swifts. 

Spot the tiny battery pack

With the new battery pack in position, I am back on monitoring duties. I do think I can keep reporting back that everything is okay a bit longer this time. I'm sure they have good glue this time, and that pack looked very light. Let's hope they get some good research data in!