Last month I mentioned that a student had appealed against their grade in three of our assignments. And I said I would keep this blog posted on how that would turn out. And the results are in: the appeal was not upheld. The student has accepted our responses, and that is that. So now nothing happens, which doesn't sound spectacular, but which does mean that nothing bad happens. I think that a storm surge of unpleasantness would have come down on us if these appeals would have been upheld. Because that would mean that there was something fundamentally wrong with either our assignments, or our treatment of this particular student, or both. Imagine! So that has been averted. And we all can go back to normal…
11 February 2025
Dating
When Nick ditched me with a text message, I switched my profile on the dating sites I use back on. And that can lead to absolutely nothing in months, but in this case I ended up chatting with, and then meeting, a bloke again quite soon. We have already seen each other twice. That's not much yet! But it's more than nothing. Both times we went for a lovely walk. That's clearly something we both enjoy. So we'll see what this leads to…
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Scenic view on one of the walks |
10 February 2025
Second Thursday night hill session
It had been a bit touch and go whether my ankle was ready for Thursday Night Hill sessions. I had tried it once since my ankle problem, and on the Friday and Saturday afterwards my ankle was not very happy. But by Sunday it was fine again, and that was the important bit. So I figured I could do it again.
I rocked up again with a bit more confidence. And I felt I needed to warm up a bit. Not so strange; it was a clear night, and while we were waiting to set off we were all cold. But my ankle felt particularly in need of a warmup.
I also felt slow! I was pretty close to bringing up the rear on the first steep bit up. That is a bit unlike me. But well, someone has to be in the rear. Why not me? And by the time I was at the top, my ankle was warm.
I also had a nice chat with some of the other runners. A medical lady who had eaten a bit late and was wondering if her stomach content was going to agree to this exercise. A lady who was new to this and who was normally more into ultra running.
It was going quite well, and I found myself a bit further from the rear as the evening went on. And when we got back to the cars I felt confident! And the Sunday would reveal if my confidence was justified…
09 February 2025
Catching up with Fin
After my MSc, I remained friends with my supervisor. And these things still happen. Finley, my old MSc project student, was around, and we wanted to catch up. And she works weekends so we aimed for an after work pint. I think the last time I saw her was when she came into the field with me!
I work midweek, of course, so I’m a bit restricted. A drink after work quite quickly leads to me being home late and then having dinner late and then in bed late and then knackered the next day. So I suggested we have dinner in the pub too. Fin was up for it! And that meant my circadian rhythm stayed intact.
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The pub in question |
We caught up about what had happened, and what would soon happen, and how we felt about that. And the food and drinks were quite good.
Later things took an unexpected turn. I had a puncture on the way out of Bangor, and Fin offered to get me home in her van. That was kind of her! I have a repair kit with me, of course, but it was nice to do half the fixing in my warm kitchen.
She won’t be in the area much this coming time. But I think we’ll catch up again!
08 February 2025
The laws of Hywel Dda
I don't suppose they're very famous outside Wales! But here, Hywel Dda and his laws a bit of an institution. He was a 10th Century king, and he created a big set of laws, which, in some form or other, were still valid until the late middle ages. They are widely seen as wise and just. And I think that it was mainly the laws that made him go into history as Hywel the Good. I am no specialist, but his general reign seems less remarkable than his law books.
When there was a public lecture announced about these laws I decided to go. I knew very little about them! And it was worth finding out more.
It was not a busy lecture, and the average age in the audience was rather high. But that's OK! The lady who was going to deliver the lecture, Sara Elin Roberts, turned out to be a new professor in the School of Welsh.
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Aled, the Head of School of Welsh, introducing the speaker |
She started with telling us that the earliest version we have of these laws is actually from the second half of the 13th century. The original ones have all been lost. That is a pity! And I'm sure that means that we don't really know how close these versions are to the originals, who were some 300 years older.
She also explained they come in three sets; originally named after geographical locations, but later named after lawmakers mentioned in the introductions.
She also explained that quite a lot of them aren’t laws in the sense we have them now; they are more general rules of how you should behave. She had some examples; for instance, if you walk in front of someone and you cause a branch to whip into the face of the person behind you, that's okay if you have warned them, but not okay if you didn't. And if you walk in front of someone and you find some treasure, you have to share with the person behind you, but if you don't see it and the person walking behind you spots it, they don't have to share with you.
She gave these examples in the original mediaeval Welsh, and also in contemporary Welsh. That helped. But the difference isn't even that big! I can see why people call Welsh the oldest language in Europe. Even though I know very well that is disputed. But I can see where they're coming from.
These laws seem to have been grouped under several themes; agriculture, marriage, children, prices of houses and objects, and something that to the untrained eye looks like "corrupting oats", but what is probably better described as damage to crops. There were a lot of rules on what you have to do if for instance your sheep gets onto someone else's land and eats their crops. It was even taken into account what part of the year it was, or in other words, if you could re-sow the crops and have another harvest.
She came to the end before I knew it! And there was only time for a few questions.
I came away with a similar feeling that I had done with the lecture by Mike Berners-Lee! She also has a book out, and maybe I should read that in order to find out more details. And I missed some details because the lectures in Welsh, but the book is in English. I would think the library would have it. There is no paperback out, and the hardcover is a bit too expensive! But reading a book that takes me quite a long time these days. But who knows! Maybe I'll get around to reading both. Maybe my attention span is just too long for one hour lectures these days…
07 February 2025
Second Thursday night hill session
It had been a bit touch and go whether my ankle was ready for Thursday Night Hill sessions. I had tried it once since my ankle problem, and on the Friday and Saturday afterwards my ankle was not very happy. But by Sunday it was fine again, and that was the important bit. So I figured I could do it again.
I rocked up again with a bit more confidence. And I felt I needed to warm up a bit. Not so strange; it was a clear night, and while we were waiting to set off we were all cold. But my ankle felt particularly in need of a warmup.
I also felt slow! I was pretty close to bringing up the rear on the first steep bit up. That is a bit unlike me. But well, someone has to be in the rear. Why not me? And by the time I was at the top, my ankle was warm.
I also had a nice chat with some of the other runners. A medical lady who had eaten a bit late and was wondering if her stomach content was going to agree to this exercise. A lady who was new to this and who was normally more into ultra running.
It was going quite well, and I found myself a bit further from the rear as the evening went on. And when we got back to the cars I felt confident! And the Sunday would reveal if my confidence was justified…
Murder mystery in the house
I woke up and came down the stairs, and noticed something slightly disconcerting. A little puddle of blood on the stairs! What was that doing there?
When I got downstairs I saw there was more blood on the doorstep. And there was a whole trail going towards the cat flap in the downstairs bedroom.
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Blood on the stairs! |
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Blood trail through the house |
I figured the cat must have caught something big. I was all ready for finding a rat, or something like that, in the kitchen. But when I got there there was nothing. Not even blood.
I was also starting to wonder why I hadn't woken up at night. If she catches something big, she tends to want me to know about it! And even if she catches something small, it is not unusual that she will play with it in the bedroom. You can't really sleep through that.
Then I noticed some dried blood on her paw. Had she has been doing the bleeding herself? And she wouldn't want me to inspect her paw, but I just kept an eye on her. If she would be licking herself and exposing the paw in question I could have a look. And yes, there seemed to be a little wound there! It had been her own blood!
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I took this pic for the blood on her throat, but then I noticed some blood on her rear paw |
I just wanted to check one more thing. If it would be her, then there would be blood on the duvet. She never brings prey onto the bed! But she sure brings herself there. And indeed; there was blood staining where she had been sleeping. It had really been her.
She didn't show any signs of pain or discomfort. It was probably just like what sometimes happens as a human. You cut your finger, it bleeds lots, but it doesn't really hurt, and it will quickly heal. I am just going to let this heal as well. She won't thank me if I dragged her to the vet! So the mystery solved. I think he must've stepped on something sharp! I hope that won't happen again. Even though it doesn't seem to bother her…
06 February 2025
Sbrint ‘Stiniog
In the second week of January, Tom (of Tom, Siobhan and Pwd fame) put a link to a race on WhatsApp, and suggested it might be something for me. It was a race I had never heard of: Sbrint ‘Stiniog, which starts on the outskirts of Tanygrisiau (in Greater Blaenau Ffestiniog) to the Stwlan Dam, and back. That's asphalt all the way. And it's only 5K. So I figured I could do that! My ankle had dealt with worse. So I registered.
I had let Miles know, as he has to be in that area for work very often anyway. Maybe he could be there to cheer me on? And he said there was approximately a 50-50 chance he would make it.
On the day I got ready and set off. I knew I would want to go to the loo before the start of the race. I had a cunning plan; in Dolwyddelan there are public toilets, and that's most of the way there. But when I got there I noticed they had been changed, and now you need to insert coins to use them. I didn't have any coins on me!
I went on. I decided I would have to have a leak somewhere in the bushes. And I decided to park where one parks for going into the mine. Plenty of bushes there! And it wasn't busy at all. So I did what I needed to do, got my bag, and went to registration. And there I got my number.
I also saw a few familiar faces again. One other Eryri Harriers lady (who had also marshalled the day before), and Cybi Strider Richard, and some bloke whose name I had forgot about who had been running on Thursday.
I wanted to know how my ankle would feel, given that the day before it had been quite unhappy, so I decided to go for a little warmup. And to my pleasant surprise, it was fine! Maybe that was just because it wasn't particularly steep yet?
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Warm-up jog up the road |
I went back to the start. And soon the race started. I was at the front, next to a lady in a salmon pink top. And she got ahead of me quite quickly! She looked like a really strong runner.
Soon I heard female-sounding breathing behind me. And indeed, another woman appeared. We ran up together for quite a distance. We didn't speak; we needed our breath! And luckily, my ankle still wasn't complaining.
I was also admiring the scenery. It's a beautiful area! I hadn't been on that road for many years. I could actually imagine going there one day with my bike. Bike to the top, do a nice hike, and then zip back to civilisation. But it would be a tough ride up!
When it got a bit deeper higher up I gained a few meters on the woman next to me, so I came to the top a second woman. I knew it wouldn't last! I was so going to be overtaken on the downhill by the lady right behind me. And that indeed happened. I wished her all the best. But I figured I might be able to keep all other women behind me.
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Almost at the top! |
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And on the way down |
All was going well until I got quite close to the finish. There were steps behind me, and when I looked back I saw they were a woman’s. She was coming down like the clappers! No way I could outsprint her on the final stretch. That's not how I roll. On the flat or uphill I would have given it everything I had! But not here.
I was still processing that when I heard a voice saying "Hi Margot". It was Miles! He had shown up after all! I stopped to give him a hug, which he thought was a stupid idea, but whether I did or did not, I was going to be fourth woman anyway. So then I crossed the line, and got my position number.
I first went to congratulate the woman who came second. I had enjoyed running up with her. And she was so fast on the downhill! And then I saw the woman who had beaten me to third position. She was quite apologetic, saying that had been a dirty trick of hers! I said it wasn't; it was a race, and she was just faster than me. So her third position was well-deserved.
Miles came with me to registration where they combined my race number and my position, and gave me a (wooden) medal. And they reminded me of the fact that running the race entitled you to a cup of tea and a mug of soup in the nearby café. Miles had some time, so he went with me. That was nice! He had to pay for his tea, but it was nice to catch up.
The next days the results came in: I had done it in 25:16. Not bad I think! And 17th person overall, out of 84. The fastest woman came fourth all round, with 21:31. That's so strong! It was a really nice race and if they do it again next year I want to do it again…
05 February 2025
Marshalling the Conwy Fell Race
I saw a call for marshals for the Conwy Fell Race on the internet, and I answered that call. Given that it was a fell race I wouldn't be too eager to run it myself anyway. Especially not with my ankle as it is. And it's not very far away, and it looked like a nice race. And these depend on marshals.
The organiser, Michael, created a WhatsApp group for the race. That was handy. He told me to be at the start, and that he'd walk me to my marshaling position after starting the race.
I drove to Conwy with my bike in the back. I am way too impatient to walk to the start and back! And I got there in good time. I saw some familiar faces; several of the people who had been on the hill that Thursday were there.
Michael appeared, and he started everybody off. He brought a guy called Paul, and Mike who organises several races himself, and me to our positions; we would be pretty close to the finish. So we had time to leisurely walk up, as it would take the runners more than half an hour to do the loop. I also sneaked into the bushes because I knew that soon as the first runner would appear, there would be no chance of going for a leak.
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Gathering at the start (which was also the finish) |
We just did a bit of general race gossip until we saw the first runner appear. He went like the clappers! And from where we were standing, the runners had to thunder down the hill and then clamber back up. That meant that I, who could just take the direct route, had plenty of time to get to my station. And I made sure he knew where to go and cheered him on. He looked tired but determined!
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Mike showing the first runner where he has to start his deep descent, chased by Michael who is filming him |
From then on there was a steady trickle of runners. That thickened. And then, inevitably, it thinned out again. I could tell people that from there on, they would only have to go downhill. Quite many of them were very happy to hear that! Only about 100 meters before where I was standing they had ended the gruelling ascent. And quite many were also bleeding. I suspect that was people who had fallen over. It could also be associated with running through gorse, but I wouldn't expect such levels of blood. But none of them seemed to care!
I tried to take a picture of every one of them. I don't think any of the pictures were particularly good, but it was something. I also had a brief chat with a lady who was lugging a toddler around. She said the child's dad was in the race, and would come back up to carry him down when he was done.
I also was a bit amused by the local ponies. My marshalling post was just next to a bit of a pond, and the horses seemed thirsty.
At some point, one of the faster runners appeared again. Didn't he run enough? But he turned out to be the father of the toddler! I thought he was off the hook as the lady and the toddler had already gone down, but they had clearly not gone to the finish. I really hope he found them fairly soon! I have no idea where they went. The last time I saw them they were on the path that leads to the finish and nowhere else.
In the end, the sweep appeared. We could abandon station! So we did. And I biked back to my car.
I wondered if I should go to race headquarters, but I decided against. It was a gorgeous day, and I thought it would be a bit of a pity not to do a little bit of a run myself. Not too much; I didn't want to overexert my ankle between the Thursday night and the race the next day. But I had seen that you can actually park at the start, so I drove up the hill, and set off back to my station. I was a bit worried to find that my ankle was very unhappy with that! But it doesn't very much mind runs on the flat or downhill, so once I was at my station it wasn't complaining so much anymore. But how would it go with 2.5 km uphill the next day? That was a later worry though; for now I was just enjoying my little run in the sun. And then I went home.
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Run bonus: nice rocks! |
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February sun on the hills |
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Scenic path |
It had been a good day! And I think that held for the runners as well. Comments on Facebook suggested that in general, a good time was had by all. Excellent!
I do not rule out the possibility of running it myself as most of the route is on paths. I wouldn't do very well because of the steep descents, but it is a gorgeous race! And if I'm not running, I might very well marshal again. Runners supporting runners!
04 February 2025
Girls’ night in
I was really looking forward to my quiet Friday night. I needed it! I was tired from the first week of term, and I also had something on every night. On Monday it was only catching up with Monique on video, but on Tuesday it was a cave rescue committee meeting that lasted forever. Past my bedtime! On Wednesday it wasn't so bad with the public lecture. But the running and eating pizza got me home slightly too late again. But while I had been running I saw I had a message from Claire. And when I got home I checked what it was. It was an invitation! For the day after! She wanted to cook curry for a bunch of friends and then do some board games.
I was tired, but I texted back to say yes. It's important to have people around you! I can’t turn up my nose at an opportunity like that. So while I was in Bangor I bought a bottle of non-alcohol booze, and when dinner time approached I drove southwest.
I was quite Dutch! I was quite punctual, but everybody else was at least 45 minutes late. At least that meant I could do some proper catching up with Claire. She had been a lecturer for a year, as a maternity cover, but she had now gone back to being a PhD student.
Then the other women arrived. It was really nice! One of them I had never met before. And we dived into the non-alcoholic drinks. And even some real wine was drunk! Not everybody was driving. And when dinner was ready we tucked in. It was really good!
After dinner we did a game that one of the ladies had brought: cat chaos. There were quite some cat people in there, so the name resonated. And the fact that it indeed turned out to be quite chaotic appealed as well. And it is quite a simple game! But indeed also one with a lot of excitement and confusion and noise. A winner!
One of the ladies had also said that this was a night when you could see the planetary alignment. So when we had done a few rounds of cat chaos, I suggested we go outside and look at that. And we did. And given that Claire lives outside a tiny village, it was quite dark outside, and we could see the stars really well. And when we let our eyes accustom to the dark for a bit, we saw the Milky Way. And we did see Mars and Jupiter and probably a few more, but these were the two that were easily pointed out to everyone. We were all quite mesmerised!
When we went back in I said I was going to leave. I still had half an hour to drive, and I was knackered. So I gave everyone a hug and left. But it had been really good! We should do more gatherings like that. And my place can be one of the venues…
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Walking back to my car at the end of the evening |
03 February 2025
Back on the hills - again
After my successful runs, such as the one on the Great Orme, I dared to join the Thursday Night Hill training again. And it would be a week with pizza!
I rocked up on the cold and bright night, slightly nervous. I hadn’t done 12k yet for months! And I seized the opportunity for something else as well. Someone had recommended to me to get a proper running coach. Maybe if I ran in a different way I wouldn't get all these injuries? That was absolutely worth a try! So I asked Dyfed, who organises this gig and probably knows everything there is to know about the local running community, if he knew of anyone who does running training. Then he thought a bit and then said "this bloke here". I didn't expect an answer like that! But I talked a bit with the bloke question, and he said he was happy to go running with me at some point, and see what he could detect. I hope this really happens and it will indeed lead to injury prevention.
When it was time we set off. And I started calm. I made it up to the first turning point without problems. That was great! And I was also glad to see I could still keep up. My fitness hadn’t suffered too much.
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Looking back at Llanberis |
There are four proper turning points, when we run up a hill, wait for each other at the highest point, and then run down again. The second one went well as well! I was feeling confident. I did start to feel it a little bit on the third and fourth uphill, but nothing too worrisome.
It was also just really nice to run with the crew again! I'm starting to know a fair number of names, and everyone is nice and inviting.
On the last downhill I noticed our Dutch twin, with a new dog. At least; new for me. It was a one year old spaniel, and she was trying to teach him how to behave while running with her. It was clear the dog still had a fair amount to learn! It was very sweet to see.
We then got back to the cars, and I drove to the pizza place, put on a dry shirt, and went in. We ended up with a men's table and a women’s table. Not quite sure why, but that's how it worked out. But it was nice to have a chat with the other women. And the pizza was good!
When I got home I went straight to bed. It was a tiring week in which I had had something on every night that week! And I knew that only the next day I would know for sure how my ankle was. I really hoped it would be okay…
02 February 2025
Thriving in the Anthropocene
I spotted a public lecture that sounded interesting, so I registered. As the title of this post suggests, it was about thriving in the Anthropocene, and would be delivered by Mike Berners-Lee (yes, a relation; the brother of the more famous Tim).
When I walked in I noticed it was very well attended. That surely isn't always the case! But this man filled almost all the seats. And I even spotted Tom and Siobhan, and joined them.
He is clearly a very engaging speaker! And he started out with explaining what the problem was. And that made sense, but I know that bit quite well. I wanted to get to the ‘thriving’ bit.
At the end of the ‘what is the problem’ section he asked the audience to raise their hands, if they thought he was either more or less correct in his evaluation of the severity of the situation; whether he was grossly overestimating it, or grossly underestimating it. The vast majority thought he had got it about right, but there were at least 10 people who thought the situation was worse than how he presented it. And there was only one person raising his hand to indicate he thought the man was exaggerating. That was a brave standpoint!
Then he got to the bit where he explains how he thinks we can improve the situation. He said that there is toxic interplay between media, business and politics, and we should not put up with that. He gave the example of BBC presenters who have been found groping people or things of that nature, whose career is then over. And he said that even the people of whom it is clear that they knew about this and stayed silent see their career end. He said that that should happen as well in politics. He said that if politicians are caught lying, they should never be forgiven for that, unless they somehow redeemed themselves. I don't think there will be many left! But I also do know that a mentality change is possible. There was a time when no one wore a seatbelt. Now practically everybody does.
It seemed a bit simple; hold your politicians to account. You only get an election every five years. And what about business and the media? He did tell us to vote with our wallets. Don't support media that encourage us to stay on this collision course with fate. (Go to Bluesky!) And he used the example of the one bloke who raised his hand to say he had been exaggerating. It is difficult to do that if everybody else doesn't agree with you, but it can be done. So we can be the people who raise our hands to say that society needs to fundamentally change. And we can be the change. And other people can see it. And then maybe be inspired. And if we have critical mass, people might start to feel embarrassed if they are not on the woke bandwagon with us.
He only had an hour, and it flew by. I wish he had had more time! I suppose I might have to read his book. He's got a new one out. In there he will have enough space to go into a bit more detail.
There was time for a few questions, which generally focused on politics. And then the lecture was closed, and we all streamed out of the lecture room.
Some discussion afterwards indicated that Tom and Siobhan weren't impressed. Tom summed up his argument as "the world would be fine if everybody stopped lying". And I see his point, but I also think it is a bit fatalistic to dismiss it. We are clutching at straws here! And what this man offers might not be more than a straw, but it's all we have. I say kudos to him. Keep speeching. And I will do my flawed best to make a small difference. Keep going to the Netherlands by train or boat, even though it is a lot more expensive and time-consuming than flying. (but still flying to Finland for my sister's birthday.) And supporting Bluesky (but still being on Facebook because I can't let go of my racing habit). Doing my frequent baking vegan, but still eating cheese. Et cetera!
01 February 2025
Blinds!
I’ve had to do without blinds in my office for almost a year. I suppose that shows you the financial situation of the University. And it was fixed the cheap way; there is a designated contractor for the university, but they charge an arm and a leg. It was sorted by our own workshop technician. He just improvised an inexpensive off-the-shelf roller blind into position.
I had discussed the options with the head technician. And Rob, who would do the work, showed up with his tool box just when I was leaving for main campus. And when I got back the next day it was done! And it works! It might not win beauty prizes but I’m happy! Even though Rob put the chain for raising or lowering it at Rob height rather than Margot height.
The year of improvising with jackets, keffiyehs and blackout material on suction cups is over! I will be able to even see my screen on a bright afternoon…
Term starts
The exam period is over now! Lecturing has started again. The marking is still ongoing, but that’s normal. It started easy for me; the first day I only had to do two introductory lectures, in which I explained how the module in question would run. But it’s all going until late spring now. Wish me luck!