Winter biking gadget

More silly season news! I got me a new gadget. It will make my commutes more comfortable. In summer, I bike to work with glasses on, to keep the insects out of my eyes. In winter I don’t. There are still insects, of course, but not so many I find it worth the discomfort of glasses. So it does happen I am midway and get an insect in my eye anyway. I always try to get it out, but it’s hard if you can’t see what you’re doing. 

After yet another one of those situations I figured there must be mini-mirrors on the market. Keychain mirrors. And there are! So I got me one. And next time I end up with a bug in my eye I can remove it in style. That will feel good! 

Nick’s birthday weekend

We had only been together for a few weeks when Nick would have his birthday. And I would travel to Shropshire for that. We had discussed beforehand how we would mark the occasion; I asked if I could take him and his sons out for dinner in Shrewsbury. I wasn’t sure if that was ok! I am the new kid on the block. Maybe they have family traditions. But it was Nick’s birthday, so I suppose his sons would probably be willing to accommodate his wishes, and he liked the idea. And we agreed on it. But made it lunch later, for logistical reasons. 

I arrived the evening before, braving the unnervingly alcohol-minded tendencies of my fellow train travellers. And the evening was mainly spent ferrying his youngest son to and from training. It overran, and we were in bed late. 

The next morning was the big day. After we woke up, Nick went downstairs to make coffee, and I quickly brought out the birthday cake I had brought. With candles! And over breakfast I gave him his present. But then we were back on dad taxi duties; Nick’s son also trains on Saturday morning. 

When we got back I changed into a dress for our lunch. Nick also brushed up. And the boys got ready. I hadn’t had much interaction with the oldest one yet; he is often away. But now he was joining us. He got quite chatty!

Getting into Shrewsbury and parking up was a bit of a nightmare, but all was good when we got to the restaurant. It was a nice place! And the menu looked good. I think we all had a great celebratory lunch! I felt quite privileged to be accepted into this company. 

In the evening, everyone went off to do their own thing.  The logistical reason we could not go for dinner had vanished. Nick and I just had some bread, cheese and fruit, followed by a celebratory beer, and called it a day. We could go to bed at a reasonable time now! 

The next day we finished it all off with a visit to the Soldiers of Shrewsbury Museum, as that is conveniently located right next to the station. And then I left. It had been a good weekend! And the next one is already in the diary. Roll on. 

 

The museum

On the inside

Still not running

When I tried a Thursday Night Hill session, a month after the Bangor 10k in which I made an ankle niggle worse, I came to regret it. My ankle was not amused the next day. So I rested it again. And most of my exercise had to, again, come from my commute, but I even added some weekend biking to not lose my shape too much.

How long would it take for my ankle to accept running again? I really hoped that it would be short. I was conscientiously doing my exercises. And the first Thursday after the ill-advised running session I was in the Peak District anyway. Could I run the week after?

On the Wednesday morning, before breakfast, I gave it a go. I wanted to do my short loop to see how it would go. But I only was a few hundred metres in when I decided that this wasn't much of a success. I could so feel my angle again! So I kept the loop to only 2 km. And I could still feel my ankle the rest of the day. And the next day.

I don't know how long this will take! But I do think it would be wise to play the long game. No full-scale running until my ankle is okay with it. I'm really not enjoying this! But it probably will be the quickest way out of this…

View on my test run

Again, depressing election news from the US

I had been feeling scared about the American elections for months. I was hoping it would turn out ok! But I feared it wouldn’t.

I remembered the 2016 elections, when I had more hope. I woke up, as usual, with Radio 4, so as soon as I awoke I heard the news. And my heart sank. 

This time I had less hope. So when I again woke up to the news, and heard it looked like Trump was winning, I was still sad but less shocked. 

What will this mean for America? And for Ukraine? And Gaza? And the rest of the world? We will have to see. I fear a lot of people will die directly because of Trump’s decisions. But he was fairly and squarely elected. 

You can tell I’m felling numb and fatalistic. But this too shall pass. We will need to hope for better things happening in four years’ time! 

Welsh class: taught by a language pedant

When I registered for my Welsh class, I was making do with a limited selection of classes that still had spaces. And the amount of information available about these courses is limited. The level is given, and then a one sentence description. I selected those that looked suitable, and then, basically, decided on the basis of how long they were (I went for 2 hours instead of 2.5) and which evening they were on. And then I just kept my fingers crossed!

I accidentally made an excellent choice! This course is right up my street. I am learning exactly the stuff that I had been struggling with so much. In Welsh, clauses can be quite complicated. Something like ‘the boulder that blocks the way’ is quite straightforward, but when it gets to things like ‘the boulder that would block the way’ it gets difficult. And the tutor in this course dives straight in. And she happily explains about noun clauses and adverbial clauses, and direct and indirect objects, and the whole lot. We don’t just do clauses, of course. There is a lot more to it, but this stands out for me. I also enjoy the other topics, even when they are a bit esoteric. She even mentioned consonantal and vocalic use of the letter ‘w’ in Welsh. I had never heard of these terms in any language!

This lady, Gwen, at some point mentioned being a linguist. I think I can tell! And I love it. I hope she does a similar course next year. She is so right up my street! I learn lots, and the course is a veritable challenge, without being disheartening. And I don’t feel out of place as a rare northerner among the southerners, with their conspicuously different vocabulary. And I feel accepted, even though I noticed I use my ‘w’ in a lot more consonantal way than the rest! Maybe not anymore by the end of the course…

 

From the course material

Student saves the R day

I am on a modernising spree! I had worked out how to, in theory, plot up the sort of data we gather during our annual glaciological field trip, in RStudio. The one thing I was struggling with is getting the data into the software. When our students are taught R, they are advised to work online, rather than in the desktop app. And I could make the scripts work, but I didn't know how to get an input file in there. So far I had basically got around that by just copying my data straight into R and saving it as a file. And that is fine for a proof of concept, but if you have a file with the data gathered by 15 groups of students, that becomes impractical. It was time I would learn how to do this the proper way.

RStudio has this button that says "import data", but it then only allows you to import it from a directory of which my computer doesn't know where it is. And if my computer doesn't know, I don't know. I decided I really needed to find out, and I asked the lady who had helped me before if she could help me again. And we had a look together. She had no clue either! And she needed to know this as well.

By chance, she was just about to see her master student. When the student saw me she wanted to go away; clearly my colleague was already engaged in something. But we waved her in. And I just asked her if she knew the answer. She did!

It turns out that there is another button that says "upload", And if you click that, you do actually get access to all your file space. And once you have uploaded your file onto the mystery directory, you can "import" it from there. It was that simple! But as far as I am concerned, not intuitive at all. But that was all I needed to know. I thanked her and went back to my office. And no time later I had all my data imported, and a whole new set of graphs produced. Success!

 

Fast graphs! 

 

Bridge without traffic lights

On my normal morning commute I approached the bridge, and I noticed something unusual. There seemed to be cars going both ways! That is unusual. That normally only happens on Friday afternoon, or when the winds are so heavy there is no maintenance work going on on the bridge. But it was a calm Monday morning! Would this mean the work was finished?

The obvious part of the work was over, so this could be it. But I was sceptical, as I would have expected some media attention if the bridge would be open from now on. And over lunch I heard it also needed to be painted, so it would close one lane at a time soon again. (This has been confirmed.) Bummer. But understandable; the bridge is 200 years old in 2026, and I can imagine it wants to look good for such a special birthday. 

It will be annoying to get the traffic lights back. But once they’re gone after the paint job, they should stay gone. That would be great! 

Look, no traffic lights! 

Retrofit report

It feels like I had my sustainability survey done years ago. It was only in July! But now I have received the report. 

So what does it say? Well! Quite a lot of it is rather evident. They recommend more insulation. Ideally they want it on the outside of the house (which is very expensive), on the ceiling in the bedroom in the extension (which is quite disruptive), underneath the floor on the ground floor, so between the house and bedrock (both disruptive and expensive), and also between storeys. And in the attic. At least that latter suggestion is not disruptive, and not very expensive.

Another suggestion was to improve insulation between the heated and unheated spaces of the house. I have a conservatory next to the master bedroom, and a little extension where the washing machine lives tagged onto the kitchen. And the doors and windows leading to them are old-fashioned and single pane. That can be improved on as well.

So what am I going to do? I should really get my arse in gear and improve the insulation in the attic. And then I might take a little step approach. The first thing my money is going to is sort a battery and infrared panels. Then my bank account will probably have to recover for a bit. And I also want to have the bathroom redone. I have a bath, while I think that is not of this age. If you use them, you use so much water and energy! I want it taken out and replaced with a shower cabin with an electric shower. Then I would be ready to not mind if my gas boiler gives up. I suppose that should come next. And that is another thing my bank account will probably have to recover from.

I also want to renovate the kitchen. It is ugly! But that is just a cosmetic issue, so less important than all the faffing with batteries and infrared panels and electric showers. But on the other hand; the sooner I get that done, the longer I can enjoy a beautiful kitchen.

So did this survey tell me a lot of things I didn't know? Not really to be honest. But maybe it was good to have a specialist look at it, and provide estimates of cost with all the possible interventions. And then I can decide which of these I want to tackle, and in which order, and with how much time in between.

Either way; I suppose one thing that needs to happen is that there will be a post on this blog within the year that says I have added a lot of insulation material to the attic. That is such low hanging fruit I should really put that higher up on my to do list! But, of course, before that happens I need to do a bit of research into both insulation material would be best. I think it might actually be sheep’s wool! I am in Wales, after all…

 

Last lawn mowing of the year

Yes it is silly season! It's time for a non-event on the blog. But quite a satisfying non-event.

In early autumn I had intended to cut the grass one last time, but for a combination of other things to do and the weather it never happened. An although I thought the garden looked annoyingly messy, I was resigned to it staying that way until grass cutting would restart in spring. But the day after I came back from the hike it was dry weather. So I saw a chance!

My garden looks a lot better again! I am quite chuffed this opportunity presented itself. I’m sure that’s it for the rest of the year now! It’s November; growing season is over… 

Before

After

Swamp hike 2024

After teaching, I set off to the Peak District for the annual Swamp hike. There was congestion near Manchester. There was a fuel stop that required a bigger detour than I expected on the basis of what my satnav was telling me. And there were very slow, very big tractors on the small roads near Edale. But I got there. Even though it took me almost 4 hours. 

My friends were already in the pub. And this was a literal stone’s throw from the campsite they had booked. There was absolutely no parking space by the pub, but one of my friends came out and showed me where to park on the campsite itself. And then I could join them. I could do with a pint after a busy teaching day and a gruelling drive!

There were only four of us; some of the regulars couldn't make it. But we had Roelof, Viking and Sleutel. When I realised that, I was wondering if that would cause trouble; they are all a foot taller than me, so it was turning into the tale of the sausage dog and the three Dobermans. Uphill all would be well; but on the flat, and downhill, I might struggle to keep up. But that was a worry for later. Now it was just time for being glad to see each other, have a pint, and have a pub meal.

The pub

Not hiking food

After the meal I pitched my tent, and we all brushed our teeth and went to bed. And from our tents, we could all hear the wind pick up quite considerably.

The next morning that wind was still strong. Not ideal! And given that we were in a village anyway, we thought we might not bother with camping stoves in high winds, but try to find coffee elsewhere. When I was trying to park my car somewhere in the area I noticed that the café of the station was open from 8 am. We went there! And had a great start of the day.

On the campsite 

When that was done I just paid for my car to stay at the campsite for another night. And then we were off! In the sun but also the heavy wind. The path was clear and well-maintained. Initially, we would first head south so we could go over Rushup Edge, but in these winds, none of us wanted to be on top of a ridge. We headed straight for the Pennine Way, which would take us over the Jacob’s Ladder to the edge of Kinder Scout. A beautiful route, going from bucolic to bleak. And surprise surprise, when we got to the top of Jacob's Ladder, it was again so windy it wasn't fun anymore. So instead of turning right onto Kinder Scout proper, we went straight ahead and headed for the reservoir on the other side. That was much better! And we had lunch with a view over the reservoir. 

It started sunny

Sunny but windy! And with clouds approaching 

Jacob’s Ladder

Reaching the ridge, Viking clearly struggling to stay upright 

Proper swampy terrain

View from the lunch spot

By then the wind had abated, so we headed for William’s Clough, which would again get us to the edge of Kinder Scout. By this time that was fine, but daylight would soon fade. We looked at a little saddle underneath the ridge, and decided that might be a good spot. We first stocked up on water and then we headed there. It was fine camping spot! A bit misty, but that was atmospheric.

In the Clough

Hike selfie: Roelof, Sleutel, Viking and me

It was still early, so we first had a beer. The men had carried actual beer all this way! And then Roelof cooked his famed butter chicken (with fake chicken) in the dark. The pan fell over and some of the sauce and ended up in the grass, but it was still a fab meal! Even festooned with some fireworks down in the valley, although these were tiny from that distance. And shortly after that we all went to bed.

Relaxing with beer

Butter (not) chicken! 

My tent was comfortable, but my sleep was disturbed. Some unidentified creature crawled into my ear. I hate that! It's not the first time that happened to me. I think it got out because at some point I couldn't feel it anymore. And from then on I had a nice night.

The next morning the mist was back. I had breakfast with my leftover lunch; my breakfast would last! The lunch needed to be eaten now or never. And we agreed on a route back. Initially, the idea had been to go back to Roelof’s car, but we could just as well go back to mine. It was a lot easier to find a nice route to there. We agreed to go up to Kinder Scout, traverse it, and go down through Grindsbrook Clough. 

Our little tents in the morning when i got up 

Two curious sheep appeared, and made short thrift of the food spillage of last night. They liked butter chicken as well! And then we were off. Soon we were on the edge, where it was very atmospheric, and very quiet.

On our way to the plateau

Brief appearance of the sun

Amazing outcrop

 

We got to Kinder Downfall, and there headed to the interior of the platform. That meant the going suddenly wasn't as comfortable anymore! On the edge, the path is clear and firm and wide. But now we were heading into a peat landscape, transected by endlessly many streams, cut into the slippery subsurface. The path wasn't always obvious. We really relied now on navigation with phones! In no time it gets very difficult to navigate by map when you leave the edge. And we were moving really slowly. All these gullies we had to descend into, and then climb out of, complicated things. And Roelof had a stomach ache and was struggling. 

The landscape on the platform 

We were glad when we got back to the edge, where there again was a clear and solid path! It's also very busy. But that was OK. We followed the path until we got to the ravine that carried Grinds Brook to Edale. And that was basically a scramble! In the beginning, at least. We were moving slowly again. But then the path got smooth again, and we could march back to the pub. 

Descending the misty but busy gulley

Further down it looks more hospitable 

We decided to first have pub lunch there, and only then do the logistics. And that was the right call. Roelof had suggested we take my car to get his, bring it to Edale, and then redistribute. But we checked just how long that would take, and reconsidered. We’d just all pile into my little Corsa, bags and all, and go back to where Roelof had parked up. And that is indeed how the adventure ended! It had been short for me, but worth every second. I wouldn’t mind doing some more Peaks next year!

 

Back where it started! 

Getting ready for the swamp hike

Technically, I was only getting ready for half a swamp hike! Me and my Dutch hiking friends try to have an autumn hike every year, but every year we run into trouble as some of us have less flexible working conditions than others. In autumn, we at Bangor University have a reading week, in which we don't teach, but that is never in the same week as autumn holidays in the Netherlands. One of my Dutch hiking friends also works in education. This year, it had been a bit of compromise; they would arrive in Britain on Wednesday morning, and I would join them on Thursday early evening. I had Thursday teaching I really couldn't move. But I had managed to keep the Friday clear.

I had a fair amount of teaching that week I needed to get through, and I was also behind because I had spent so much time on the dissertation module. I had been working evenings. And when I finally was caught up with the teaching, I needed to pack, of course. 

We also had a little route planning meeting (which I attended online). We had agreed earlier on that we would try the Peak District. None of us had been there before, it was rumoured to be very beautiful, and it was quite conveniently located between the ferry port in Hull, and Bangor. And we knew it could get very busy, but we figured that in November, that wouldn't be a huge issue. So it sounded like a decent choice! But it is a rather large area; the first decision we had to make was whether we would do Dark Peak or White Peak, whatever that meant. But they have separate maps.

Given that we were starting out with two full-size double sided maps, it started a bit awkward. Additionally, I have a cat who thinks maps are cat toys. But in spite of all that we decided fairly soon to stick with Dark Peak. And have Edale as the meeting point.  It is difficult to follow what someone is doing if they are looking at a map you can't see, but I think we made it work. The men would Park up at Snake Road, and spend a day and a half walking to Edale. There I would meet them, and then we would spend another day and a half walking back to Snake Road. Sorted. 

Two evenings in advance I had already gathered a lot of the stuff I wanted to bring. And the day after I bought the last snacks. And having prepared was good, because the evening before I had a splitting headache and I was very tired. I went to bed early. And the next morning I needed to finalise the packing. There are always things you can only pack at the last minute because you still need them before you leave. And I didn't have bucketloads of time to spare, so it didn't go flawlessly, but I arrived for my teaching on time, and with my backpack ready in the boot of the car. With most things in it. 

On the day I had a practical session, and I as soon as that would finish I would just jump into the car in my teaching outfit. I had my hiking clothes ready. And when I would get to Edale, where we would meet, I could just pitch my tent, change my clothes, and blend into this year's Swamp hike edition.

Luckily the forecast was very cloudy but not rainy. I still packed my best waterproofs, but hoped I wouldn't need them. 

Things went as planned. The practical session ended at 3 pm. And six minutes later I texted the men I was on my way. Peak District, here I come!

High speed lecture updates

I had felt my glaciology lecture series needed an update for a while. And there even had been mention of that in the student evaluations. So it was time to get my skates on! The time to do that is in summer. 

Summer came and went and I didn’t get around to it. So then it had to be done during term itself. But term got completely swamped by dissertation topic proposals. It started to get tight! 

It is fun to do. One of the things I do is illustrating concepts with recent literature. And there is so much interesting stuff out there! But I had to hurry up. I spent some evenings in my home office. And I got quite knackered. 

Now it will be Reading Week soon, in which we don’t teach. I will make sure to dedicate a fair amount of time to making some good progress on that!

The Aletsch glacier, which features in the lectures

Resorting to the mountain bike

Two days after seriously displeasing my ankle on the Llanberis hills I didn't want to run yet. Not even a short run. But I also did not want to turn into a complete potato. So it was time to get my old creaky mountain bike out of the garage! I am never quite as keen on that as I am on running. But it's the best I currently have.

I did a variation of my standard loop. It is not very long! And it is only 260 m up. That is a lot less than my commute, which is 420 m up. But then again, my commute is on the road, on a faster bike, and even then it tends to take me 1.5 hours. I did not want to spend that amount of time on it today.

It was beautiful weather and it went well. So it's something! And I am still doing my ankle exercises. I hope I can be back in these hills on my feet soon!