Last teaching of 2025 done

It’s done for 2025! I’ve had my last in person student interaction for the year. The last thing I did was have a chat about one of my assignments with a student who had had some outside stuff to deal with, and had to do this assignment late. Before that, I had a whole load of student presentations. And that went quite well. 

A mud volcano. There was a student presentation about them. Picture by Nick Taylor.

When it was done I had to make sure all marks and feedback for the presentations were online and available. And then I could spend the last working hours of the year getting to the backlog of other things that needed doing. A lot of that was to do with academic integrity. But also some other things.

By now the University is closed, and it won't open until January 5. Then there will fortunately be a bit of time to prepare for the new semester, because the students first have their exams. Lectures will start after that, in late January. And then it's full on until the end of term in spring! And then we'll have done another academic year!

The infrared story still continues (and how)

Well! The story, that should have ended in August, is still ongoing. The last thing I blogged was that the initial appointment for finishing it, in mid December, had been postponed to January. But then I got another phone call. Could they move it back to December? There had been a cancellation. That was fine with me. And I hoped that would be it then. I made sure the electrician would have full access to the cupboard with my consumer unit in.

He showed up very punctually, and set to work. I was working upstairs. And without further issues, he wired it all in. Success!

The wiring in progress

The next thing on the agenda was installing the thermostats. That’s easy; they link in no time, and then you only have to screw them into the wall. Job done. You would think. 

The first thing that happened was that the electrician realised that several of the panels were a different model to what he expected. The thermostats he had with him were not compatible with them. Oh dear. More bad preparation. But at least he could sort out thermostats for three of the rooms. 

I so far have my thermostats by my light switches, so I suggested we continue that way. The electrician was happy with that. So he drilled a hole for a screw. And then we heard a funny sound. And then water started gushing out of the wall. He had hit a water pipe! 

We stampeded downstairs to close the stopcock. I was so happy now I had spent considerable time back in the days making it more accessible! And oiling it, as it was rather seized up. We could close it. And I was glad I had some water in a flask. I could still have a coffee! The electrician got on the phone to his employer to request a plumber. One was going to get to us in about half an hour. 

We started mopping up the water by the drill hole. And I checked the kitchen. Water was coming through the ceiling. It wasn’t good. 

Dripping kitchen ceiling

While we were waiting for the plumber I continued the mopping, while the electrician did some testing. I also asked him why he wasn’t using a pipe detection device. He wasn’t sure. He started googling how expensive they were. Not very! I said he could make a good case to his employer they should buy him one. 

Soon the plumber arrived, and he set to work. He needed to replace the piece of pipe, and in order to do that, he needed to expose it. Cue a big hole in the wall! But it had to be done. And the electrician finished off his stuff and left us to it. No need for him to hang around. 

The culprit 

The plumber, who turned out to be a former Cybi Strider, put a new piece of pipe in place. Then he had to solder the junctions. Doing so immediately set off the fire alarms. I hate these! I was glad he was tall enough to switch them off standing on the ground. With all windows open he finished the job. And then he left.

I had to do a bit more mopping. It was supposed to be finished now, but instead I still had three rooms without a thermostat, and a big hole in the wall. Oh well! Bring on January. Surely it would get finished then? 

TNH: Christmas version

Dyfed and Rhian, who organise the Thursday Night Hill sessions, had to put some runners’ advent calendar online. Items in it were things like run up a hill, eat a mince pie, and then run back down the hill. Or run in Christmas socks. This is a bit more specific than they normally are; they can be quite cryptic about what they have in mind. Dyfed never wants to disclose where we go if it is summer and there are options.

For this week’s hill training, they had said we should bring a head torch, come in fancy dress, and bring £5. But they weren't going to tell us what we would actually do.

I have some fancy dress items; in the past I have shown up at fancy dress parties as people such as Empress Elizabeth of Habsburg, or a Victorian lady. But these are not outfits that go together well with hill running. I thought maybe I should go and just get myself a Santa hat or something. Just to show my good intentions! I figured a local big supermarket would sell tat like that. 

They didn’t seem to have Santa hats, but they did have Christmas pyjamas, for children. That could work. I bought an elf version for boys up to 163cm tall. Should be ok! And it indeed fit. But it was cotton. I hoped it wouldn’t rain! And to finish it off I put some green tinsel around my ponytail, and red tinsel around my head torch. The green tinsel was shedding quite a lot, so I am finding little bits of shiny green material absolutely everywhere now. That will teach me.

When I drove up it rained. Absolutely torrentially. Luckily it wasn’t so bad anymore once I got to Llanberis, but it still rained. While I got ready I could feel the rain soak into the cotton. Unpleasant! But I figured more of us would have that problem. 

There was a big variety of costumes. From none at all, via the odd Santa hat (or roast turkey hat with cheerfully flapping legs), to full Santa outfits, but also all sorts of stuff that was not related to Christmas, like a Teletubby, a criminal, and something that I figured was probably a blueberry. That was an inflatable costume with a little inbuilt pump! Some people had clearly not given much consideration to how comfortable their costume would be while running. And Dyfed was in a dress while Rhian was in a suit. I think Rhian wore it better. If only because Dyfed was putting well-being over glamour, and put a little running jacket over his outfit.

I was glad we got started. I was cold in the rain and the wind! And we headed for what normally is the end of our run. And soon it became clear we were more or less doing the normal route, but backwards. Luckily, it stopped raining. And that meant I was comfortable, but some of the people in the warmer costumes were getting a bit hot!

On the second-last hill, one of the runners revealed to me why we were bringing a fiver. On the slope of the last (normally first) hill there is a café, and we would go there! That explained things. 

I thought we'd run up the hill first, and go to the café later, but we already went in on the way up. Well that's fine with me. We came in in a very small room with a roaring fire. We barely fit! And then the proprietor said we should also go in a tiny little side room, that looked a bit like a museum exhibit. A Welsh living room from the 19th century! I thought it was absolutely gorgeous. But we were really allowed in, and could sit down, so we did.

When we got in, with the lens still a bit steamy

The gorgeous side room

We got tea and Bara Brith. Very nice! And then it was announced there was going to be a raffle. That was what our fivers were for. And the raffle was basically a way of raising money while getting rid of things such as race prizes that had remained unclaimed. They were also some race registrations on offer! Very exciting.

My number actually came up! By then, there were only three prizes left on the table. A bag, a box of mince pies, and a handmade plate from the Snowdon Marathon, with the route on it. I took the plate! I have not run that race, and don't think I will anytime soon for reasons of my knees, but I like a handmade plate. And we decided the proceeds would go to Llanberis Mountain Rescue. 

Posing with my plate

Soon after that we called it a day and ran back to our cars. It was a bit weird to run with a piece of crockery in my hand. Not as weird as running dressed as a blueberry is, though. And then on the parking lot we all wished each other Merry Christmas and went our way. I think it was a very successful run, in spite of the rather unpromising cold and wet start!

Winter graduation 2025

If there’s a graduation ceremony I tend to go. It’s expected of us, and it is highly unlikely there isn’t a student getting their diploma who means something to you, like a former dissertation student or a personal tutee. So after all the marking I headed for main campus in a dress, and went to get my gown. 

I never know what I am going to get, and this time it was a number in red and white. I thought it looked very Christmassy. Very nice!

Seasonal gown

The ceremony was like most others. Lots of proud students we clapped for. And a musical interval. And there were two people who got a special award. Both of them were a bit emotional about it.

When the ceremony was over we were led into the public courtyard of the university. It was quite windy there! Some pictures were taken, but a lot of people got cold. And a lot of mortarboards flew off. I had a bit of a chat with a few students (including a fresh Doctor!) I knew better than most, but I decided I was not going to go to the reception. I had other stuff to do.

Staff group pic

I handed the gown back and headed to the office. So for me, this wasn't a spectacular occasion, but I really hope that for those who were there to celebrate, it really was!

New Head of School appointed

There had been rumours going around about our current Head of School (HoS), John, retiring. And then the moment came he announced that that was indeed going to happen. But there wasn't much talk about a replacement. Or rather; of course there was talk, but nothing official. John would leave in January, and it was only on November 18 that we got an email informing us that there was a vacancy, and we could apply. The deadline was November 26. But I suppose anyone who was considering taking on this job would have started writing a letter long before. 

It’s not a popular job! It’s hard work. You are the highest authority in the School, but you have all of the management of the university above you. They make the decisions, which may well involve budget cuts for the School, and you have to implement them. An excellent opportunity for becoming unpopular. And you have to sit through buckets of meeting about things such as strategy documents. That sounds so dull! 

A long time ago, when the HoS who was in place when I arrived at Bangor University retired, there were actually several people who were keen to take over. The position went to a bit of an outsider candidate. Chaos ensued. My then line manager James left, and in the wake of that, I got a permanent job.

When the outsider quit, there was no crowd wanting to follow in his footsteps. But John ended up doing it. He has done two stints. 

On Monday the 15th we received an email that a new HoS had been appointed. It was Stuart Jenkins. That won’t mean much to my readers I suppose, but it means something to me. I am cautiously optimistic. 

From Stuart’s public profile on the University website 

John was what you imagine some old-fashioned Oxbridge-educated Englishman to be. Stuart is a Yorkshireman. He is much more loud and direct than John. So much more my style! So I’m sure we’ll disagree on plenty, but at least we will probably be communicating on the same channel.

He will officially take over by February. Time will tell how his tenure develops! 

Weird local tradition?

I was at home, preparing for my sister's visit, when I heard lots of honking. I had no idea what this was about, but it was so I opened the curtains and had a look. And it turned out to debate some sort of a Christmas procession with Luis. They were all decorated with fairy lights, and came through the High Street honking festively. I had never seen anything like that before.

When I drove to the railway station to pick her up I came across them again; now going in the opposite direction. I got cheerfully honked at! At least, I interpreted it as cheerful. 

When we did a nice late afternoon walk, we heard sounds on the way back. Initially, it sounded like a trumpet. But when we got closer we realised it wasn’t. It was another Christmas parade! Of tractors, this time. And people had clearly made an effort on their vehicles. We stood by the road to let them pass. We got quite honked at again. We waved at all of them. 

Not easy taking a good picture

This parade phenomenon is clearly a thing! Strange I can’t recall having ever noticed it before. It would surprise me if this was a new invention for this year. But maybe I’m just not home when it happens. 

I think it’s quite charming. Is that condescending? The former inhabitant of a national capital who observes some rural event and finds it sweet? Maybe. But either way; apparently, Bethesda has Christmas parades with big vehicles! I learned something…

Finishing the birthday

When my sister, Neil and I left Martin, they was still most of my birthday to go. And we headed for Neil’s. First, of course, we greeted the cat. It was nice to introduce my sister to this house I visit quite a lot. Neil gave me his birthday presents, and then we went for a little walk. The weather forecast had been rather atrocious, but it wasn't very bad! It was dry, we even had some sun, and although it was windy, it wasn't anywhere as windy as it had been the day before. And the Orme is reliably beautiful. 

View, with goats. From the landward end of the Orme

Windy Orme selfie

We went over the top, past the church, and past a bay festooned with seals. And then we got peckish and went back via Happy Valley. And after lunch, my sister and I left. Back to Bethesda! For a last evening together. 

Loads of seals! 

We went for another walk there, and then we had dinner. Nothing spectacular, but we had to get up early as my sister had a flight to catch. But it was good to have some time together. Even after all those decades, we still have new things to talk about, and things to find out about each other.

The next morning we had our last breakfast together, and then I drove her to the railway station. The visit was over! Thank you sis! See you again over Christmas…

50!

I am scared of birthdays. And I don't like the date of mine. It's always in such a busy part of the semester that you're just marking and marking and marking and absolutely have no bandwidth left for thinking about your birthday. And the weather is often quite bad. My sisters have their birthdays in June; I think I've been envious of that since my early youth. But what can you do!

Many months ago, Martin, with his big new house, had said he could host my birthday. And I thought that was a splendid idea. So I later asked him if he still stood by that offer. He did!

Given that hardly any of my friends live at either walking or biking distance, if I organise anything in the evening, by nine everyone is looking at their watch, and probably getting ready to leave. It could be still quite a drive, and I think our night-crawling days are behind us. Martin has such a big house that everyone would be able to stay over. And then you can just have a nice beer at 10 pm if you want, and not worry about anything!

It also helps his living room is (much, much) bigger than mine. I have managed to squeeze seven people in in the past, but that is about the limit. And I didn't intend to invite an awful lot more people than that, but it just is a lot more relaxed at his place.

I was also hoping we could do a walk. It is always nice to get a bit of fresh air and exercise in, and lovely landscapes. And the weather didn't seem to be so bad! The forecast for my actual birthday was rubbish, but not for the day before that.

We would gather at Martin's at noon. My sister and I were the 1st to arrive. Martin was waiting for us in the courtyard. He must have seen us come up the drive! It was good to see him.

Soon after, Susan and Dean showed up as well and a bit later Neil. Unfortunately, Kate texted me to say she was having a stinking cold. That made me sad! I had really hoped she would be there. But if she's ill then that's the end of that.

It was fun to introduce my sister and Neil to the other lot, and each other. They hadn't met any of them! And I think both sides have been a bit curious. But because daylight was short, we just filed into two vehicles and headed for Cwm Eigiau. I had hoped to walk to Llyn Mellynllyn. But it was really windy! Soon it was clear it was a struggle, and we wouldn’t get that far. We made it to the mining related ruins, and sat down there for a bit of lunch. And from there we just went back. We didn't reach the lake. But we had had a bracing walk!

Windy walk selfie

Lunch in ruin

We did not go there

When we got back we had a nice cup of tea. Martin and Sarah had to do some things related to the horses. We just sat in the living room. And what a living room it is! And we started on drinks. I had brought a big bag full of fancy beers.

Later we started on the food. Martin had suggested a bbq, potentially in a barn if the weather required it, but it ended up just being Martin grilling some stuff right by the front door, and bringing it in. And Susan had prepared a beautiful birthday cake, complete with pyroclastics. They sang for me! 

Beautiful cake! 

After dinner, Susan and Dean left. Those remaining had some more tea, but we didn’t make it a late night. We made ourselves comfortable in one of the annexes. 

The next morning I was the first person awake in the annex. I got dressed quietly and sneaked into the house. Sarah was up too. I started preparing breakfast; I had brought croissants-in-tin. Slowly everyone else appeared, and I got more congratulations. Now I was really 50! 

Making breakfast 

A beautiful start of the day

After breakfast it was time to leave Martin and Sarah to their busy lives. I had had a lovely extended birthday! Even without Kate. But I could now just cruise into this new decade…

Sister arrives for birthday visit

My sister would come over for my 50th birthday. That was fab! I had planned a small celebration and she would fit right in. 

She would arrive the day before. If all went well, I would pick her up from the station at 17:41, or maybe 18:20. 

She sent me a message just after noon. There was a delay! And it kept getting bigger. Oh no! Finally some progress was made, but she wouldn’t arrive in Bangor until 20:11. 

When I had finished all the work that really needed to be done before the weekend, I decided to go home and get some light dinner ready. And then I went to pick her up. Finally she was there! 

We only had a little bit of evening left to catch up before it was bedtime. Delays are annoying! But also something you just have to put up with. And the next day would not actually be my birthday, but would be the day of the celebration, as that is better done on a Saturday. I was looking forward to it!

Last of the three piles of marking done

My brain was mush but I got it done! On the Friday before my birthday, I sat down in the home office (cat next to me) to mark the last scripts. Then I went into the office for the final touches. The thing was that this was the field trip report; the students were also marked on the data they had gathered. These grades were already in a spreadsheet somewhere. But in order to add them to the scripts, I needed to know which group the students had been in. And I was doing anonymous marking. 

Pic from the field trip

Some students put their name on the script anyway, or only plotted the data of their own group. Then I could just add their mark for the data. Most didn’t. Fortunately, you can de-anonymise the scripts, but you have to do it one by one. 

It was also the day of the Christmas celebration of the School. Don't imagine anything too laborious; just our coffee area filled with food, and lots of people eating. And some mulled wine. I popped in to show my good intentions, but was gone after half an hour. Then I went back to my desk. 

When it was done I sent it off to Jaco. He was the moderator. And I didn’t have to publish it until Wednesday, but he would go off to a conference, so it would have to be sorted before then. 

By then it was only mid afternoon. My brain was fried! But I also knew I would have a whole day of student presentations on Monday, so I had to prepare for that then. And preferably also for the presentations the day after that. So I did. 

Then it was time to go home. A long period of marking had come to an end! I could go and celebrate weekend now. And more than just weekend! 

Slightly confused social dinner

Marjan had contacted me to ask if we could have dinner together before the end of the year. It would have to be in the week before my birthday. That would be tricky; it was very busy with work, and I also had that birthday thing to prepare for. But it was then or not at all. So I said yes. And the previous time they had hosted, so I had to think of something to cook. And I remembered something really nice and quite fast that I had before made for both the usual suspects, and also for Neil. 

It got to 6pm, the agreed time. Quite often they are a bit early! Not this time. And it got to a bit beyond 6.  That’s unusual. And then the phone went. It was Marjan. Hadn’t we agreed on today? At 6? I said yes, but wasn’t it at mine? They thought it was at theirs. Oh dear! Now what? I suggested I just jump in my car, and they agreed. And by half past six I was there. We could have our dinner after all! 

Ready for non-existent guests

We had dinner, and then Jaco improvised a dessert, as neither of us had made one. All was well! And then I went home at a reasonable time as I still had a lot to sort the day after…

Year in sport

I love sport (doing it myself, anyway) and I also love data. So I quite like it that Strava does a ‘year in sport’ overview every December. And it came again. 

So how did I do? Well! It looks like I did more than last year. When it comes to running, that is hardly surprising; I started track running, after all, and I did a lot of races. I seem to have biked less, but I'm not quite sure how that happened. My commute didn’t change. 

So what are the numbers? Well! This year I seem to have logged at least one activity on 290 days, vs 250 last year. In total I logged 465 hours, vs 414 last year. 

In total, I seem to have covered 5638 km, with 109 km ascent, vs 5193 and 98 last year. 

Most of it, obviously, was biking; 4176 km vs 4252 km last year. And I ran 1143 km, vs 763 km last year. 

I think it will have stabilised. I suspect next year I may get similar numbers! With continuing Tuesday and Thursday running, and lots of races. And a commute. Time will tell! 

More panel delay

While storm Bram raged over the country I got another phone call. It was the infrared panel people. This weather had caused a delay, which was understandable. I was booked in for finally having the work, that had started in August, finished on December 18, but they wanted to move that appointment. Well so be it. It’s been pushed to January now. One day! One day it will be done… 

Still not connected 

Public lecture about mining in the valley

I am on the mailing list of the historical society of the valley, and from time to time they have interesting lectures (like this one). And there was one announced about mining in the Ogwen Valley. That sounded good! And on the day it was held, I had just finished a big pile of marking work, so I could afford to go. I got home, I had my shower and my dinner, and then sneaked out of the house. I was just on time!

The man who held the lecture had had a varied career, and now he was retired. And he was still interested in mines.

Spoiler alert: there hasn't been much mining in the valley if you count by how many tonnes of actual metal were retrieved, or how much money it made anyone. This valley belongs to slate. But if you count the sheer number of little scratches in the rock where people have tried, it is quite a lot!

There are traces of iron mining, and lead, and copper, and arsenic, and ochre, and manganese, and molybdenum in the valley. And that has resulted in little trials by the river, gashes in the big hills, barely recognisable remains in copses, hills with a multitude of little holes in them, the occasional passage that even seems to go somewhere, and some innocent looking scree slopes that turn out not to be natural. And more!

I recognise some of the locations, but quite often I barely know anything about them. (Posts about some mentioned locations are here and here and here and here.) I feel like I know a lot more now, even though I must admit I struggled a bit to understand the man’s Welsh. It didn't really help he was speaking into a microphone, but I was close enough to hear him directly as well, so I heard him twice with a tiny delay in between. Well worth it anyway!

Big pile of marking done!

I had worked on my big pile of marking for weeks. And when the deadline came close, I had resorted to working in the weekend as well. That was dull, but the result was that on the Monday I only had a few scripts left. Fortunately! I also had a guest lecture, a drop-in, a student presentation, and a fair number of emails to answer from students about other assignments. And I had to get some stuff ready for one of these assignments. Maybe more about that later. But either way; there wasn't that much time I could dedicate to it on Monday. But I did get it done! And I immediately emailed my moderator to say it was ready for her.

I had emailed her on Friday that that pile was on its way, but she hadn’t responded. That was not a good sign.

When I had finished it I breathed a sigh of relief, and went home. It was nice to have that off my back! Even though the intermediate pile of marking was still there, of course. But that deadline wasn't for a few days. It felt easier than last year, when I had turned into a marking zombie. 

By the evening I had a response from the moderator. She would do it the very next day. And that meant I would probably be able to release it then. And that was within the deadline! Success!

My deadlines were a bit earlier than a few years back. And they came in short succession; too short. But at least this means now that I won't have an enormous pile hanging over me over over the Christmas period. And that is nice!

Marquess of Anglesey

If you are ever on Anglesey, it is difficult to fail to notice that there is a big commemorative column there, with the statue on top. The statue is of the Marquess of Anglesey. It's located near Britannia Bridge, the main access route to the island. And it towers over the landscape. I had been aware of it, obviously, since I moved there. But it was closed. It used to be a tourist attraction, where you could walk an internal staircase to the top, and then stand underneath the actual statue, and have an amazing view. Lack of maintenance had put a stop that, though.

The column from the copse underneath it

Then it was renovated. And last year it opened again! I thought I'd like to go, but it never actually happened. But now that I happened to be on Anglesey with Neil anyway, we could give it a go. He is up for that sort of things as well.

It wasn't perfect weather, but it wasn't the worst either. We decided to go for it. The original column keeper’s cottage has now been turned into an office and a café, and there we bought tickets. A young lad stood by the actual column and wanted to see our tickets. And then we went in.

The new staircase is very respectful of the surroundings. You wouldn't know that it is new! And we were up in no time. We could hear the wind howl from a bit of a distance. It wasn't necessarily very comfortable up there, but we could see Britannia Bridge quite clearly, and Telford Bridge with some difficulty. And we got a good look at the actual marquess. I thought it was worth it! And I spotted some nice fossils in the limestone of the column.

The new staircase

The marquess from as close as you can get

The view

Column selfie

After a few minutes we went down again, and had a little chat with the young lad again. Then we all together went to the café. We probably were the last visitors of the day. Not only were they closing in about an hour, but also, the weather was turning quite bad. Not very many people would want to pay to get to a very exposed location in weather like that.

The café has a bit more information about the marquess, the column, and all of that. We didn't think it said enough about the actual marquess: Henry Paget. We supplemented the information given with some googling.

It turned out that this man had been born in London, and at the age of 22 had for some unexplained reason been parachuted in to stand for election in the constituency of Caernarfon, and had been elected. That was his linked to Anglesey. In the Napoleonic war, he has been second in command to the Duke of Wellington, and had apparently lead a very successful charge on the French troops. That sounded like plenty of reason get him a statue. And be given the title of marquess. 

The statue was decades younger than the column, by the way; the latter had been raised straight after the napoleonic war, but the statue had only been added to it after the Marquess’ death. Which was decades later. This probably meant he had been lucky; during the aforementioned charge, he had been hit by a cannonball, and his leg had to be amputated. That's not a trivial injury. And he was a rather rich amputee, and had been able to commission a rather good prosthetic leg. That seems to then have turned into a bit of a prototype for prosthetics for generations to come.

On the way back I briefly pointed out the blueschists the column stands on. They are special! 

Altogether we had a rather successful addition to our outing to the racetrack. We had had views about as good as you could have had on that day, we had learned some local history (and geology), and we had supported the local economy. Not the worst score if I may say so!

Borders League Trac Môn

This would be the last race of 2025. The Borders League fixture close to home. It would be on the Anglesey race track (which normally accommodates motorised vehicles), near Aberffraw, organised by the Cybi Striders. 

Neil has got the race bug, and was going to come with me. So we drove up together. The track has good facilities: lots of parking, and there is a café. We even saw showers. I went to the loo, and then we went to find the other Eryri Harriers. And I did a little warmup. Soon we were asked to go to the start. Neil was surprised that so, so many people had appeared, often having travelled quite far, to run only 5 miles. 

Kevin starts us

We started. The route was one loop around part of the course, and then around the full course twice. I don't think this is very large racetrack. But I never have been to one before.

The route goes a bit up and down, so you can't run at one consistent speed. But I noticed I wasn't going at my usual borders league speed (if I have such a thing). But that was ok. I was here, and I was avoiding one set of penalty points for the club. And I did not want to run a PB anyway. Doing alright would be enough!

Approaching the finish

I cruised along until I only had half a circuit to go. Then I sped up a bit, and tried to pick off as many women as I could. Quite a few! And when I knew the finish was close I did the final sprint, just to make sure that none of these women could overtake me in the last few meters. Success!

The first thing I saw after the finish was Neil. They congratulated me. The second thing I saw was richie. That must mean he had finished before me! Again! I really need to go and beat him sometime. There will be chances in the new year!

I then went to cheer on the other harriers. And everybody else finishing. But after awhile I figured I needed to hand in my token. Before I got there, though, I was intercepted by the rest of the club for a group picture. And then I could go and find one of the sisters who was registering my position.

Nia, our chair, and Anna, with whom I had done the handover, were there too. Nia wanted to have a little chat about how we as committee members would work together. That was fairly quickly done. Then I went looking for Neil.

He was having a cup of tea in the cafe. I said I would check out the showers. They were open! It was nice to get that sweat off me. Normally I do that at home, but today we wanted to tag on a little tourist trip at the end. That’s nicer in civilian clothes, feeling clean. And when I was done we left. 

The next morning the results were in. I had been slower than ever. Oh well! And Anna, who is four months pregnant (this is not a secret), had come third! What a woman. And that stellar result meant she had clinched the club road championship. Well-deserved. Soon I will be involved in organising the event where she will get that prize. I might have another chance next year! 

Weekend marking

That pile of marking just wasn’t getting smaller quickly enough. And the deadline for the huge pile was coming so close! By the Friday, I knew things looked bad. The website said that the students could expect feedback by Tuesday. And I had several timetabled slots on both the Monday and the Tuesday! And it also needs to be moderated. I mailed my designated moderator to ask if she could moderate at the last minute. And I resigned myself to sacrificing part of my weekend.

In a way it was good that it was a bit of a gloomy, rainy day. I got started after breakfast. And I took breaks for going food shopping, watering the plants, and having lunch, but otherwise I just marked and marked. 

I wasn’t even anywhere near done at the end of it. But I figured I would manage to finish it off by Tuesday. It would have to do!

Eryri Harriers secretary handover

At the Eryri Harriers AGM, I became the new honorary secretary. But that didn't mean I know how to be one. It was necessary for the person currently in the post to show me what to do. That person is Anna, with whom I have both raced and car-shared. And that hand-over has now happened.

On a rainy Friday evening we had a little Zoom call. I logged into the Welsh Athletics website, and she showed me how to organise club business from there. She also explained to me around what time the various important things having to do with the club are happening. It looks like that the next thing that needs to happen is the organisation of the event at which all sorts of club prizes, like for the most improved runner, or the person with the biggest contribution to the club, are awarded. These prizes need to be retrieved, so they can be engraved with the names of the winners of 2025.

It wasn't a long call, but I really feel like I am ready for it now. And I have already engaged in my first official activity: ask chair for our updated constitution. Welsh Athletics requires that we keep that sort of documentation up-to-date on their website. And soon we will have the first committee meeting. I suppose it has started!

The portal on the WA website. Some data removed.

 

Teaching headed for end of term

It’s mostly done! I have delivered all my lectures for this semester. The only things that are left are guest lectures, drop-ins, and student presentations. And that’s all the teaching we still do. There will be presentations in four modules. That is going to be most of it! It’s nice to be able to see the end. But, of course, there is still frantic marking going on…

One of our remaining guest lectures involves offshore wind farms 

AI and assessments

The University dreamed up something new: the AI declaration sheet. It asks the students to declare in what way they have used AI in the assessments they do. The idea is that they attach that sheet to said assessments. 

What is this for? Im not sure! Is it an arse-covering exercise in some way? Is it an attempt to find out what the students use it for? Is it to give them ideas? I have no idea! I think they soon want to make it compulsory. Currently, it is not.

My current batch of marking comes with those sheets. For those students who didn't forget. And I don't really look at what they say; you're not going to mark something in a different way if you know that someone has used AI to help them with coding or something. But I was curious. What do the student say they use it for? So I had a little look at the field trip report the students have to write about the data they collected in October. And I made a little inventory.

There were 30 students who had submitted the form. Eight of these said they hadn't used AI at all. Nine said they had used it for one aspect of the work. Five said they had used it for two of them. Two had used it for three, three for four, one for five, and two for six. So it looks like the majority of the students is using AI.

So what were they using it for? The most common thing was spelling and grammar. Excellent idea! That option was ticked 11 times. The second most common use was for helping with coding. That was ten times. There were eight cases of help with suggesting sources, seven for providing explanations, six for summarising sources, three for analysing data, two for some other assistive role, and one for translating text.

The one option that wasn't ticked was for providing the structure of the text. That is basically because the assignment is rather prescriptive. I tell them what set-up I want. I know from the dissertation module that where it is less prescriptive, that is what quite many do. Not necessarily to good effect! But that is a different matter. 

So things have changed a lot! A few years ago, none of them would've had access to artificial intelligence to help them. Now more than two thirds are already using it. And spelling and grammar checks are older than generative AI, of course, but if that is what they use it for then they are using it well. And I think letting it help you with coding is a good idea as well. As long as it is used for help, and not for doing the work on its own. In the end, we want them to understand what they are doing. Relying too heavily on AI will sooner or later backfire with things like that.

What about the suggesting sources, summarising them, and providing explanations? I think I will have these tools at their disposal forever, so if with that tool they can do a good job that's good. The risk is that if you rely heavily on AI, you can't evaluate if it is doing a good job. And scientists should be very critical. I would hope that the students use it to be better scientists, not worse ones. If they use the AI to be quicker, but still keep their critical head on, that would be ideal. But the reality is probably that it is a bit of a mixed bag! You will always have students who use tools well and those who don't. Plus ça change…

Infrared progress

I had booked in the installers of my infrared panels in summer. That way I would be well ready for winter. However; it didn't quite go according to plan. The installer left with the job half done, and none of the newly installed panels wired in, so none of them were working. And the company said that they could come back the next month to finish it all off, but that was not true. They had come with too few small panels, and apparently, these just weren’t in stock for a while.

In the meantime, my inverter also conked out, and replacing that was just added to the work to be done by the infrared men. 

After some months we agreed on dates in mid December for the job to be finished. Both panels and inverter seem to be available again! But then there was a positive surprise; someone had cancelled something, so the men could come earlier, on the 1st of December. And I asked the lady who told me that what they would do. Finish the infrared panel installation, or change my inverter. She said all of it. I was sceptical, but we kept the later dates in the diary for contingency.

On December 1st they duly showed up. It was supposed to have been the same installer who had started to work, but he had left the company in the meantime. It was two blokes who had been there earlier; one who I think had installed my battery, and the wingman of the guy who had left. So at least the latter knew something about how the work had been started.

Sam, who had the lead but hadn’t been there the previous time, first asked what the situation was. And he decided to start installing the panels in the landing. When that was done, they proceeded to the inverter. I had been happily working away in my home office while they were installing the panels, but to get to the inverter you have to be in the home office. I picked up my laptop and went elsewhere. And they managed to switch the inverter over, but not quite program the new one yet. That would have to wait until next time.

Panels in the landing! 

The mess that caused

I also asked about the panel in my bathroom. That had been installed really high. That way it is only heating my head! Not quite what you want when you are coming out of the shower. But the man said they couldn't; the cable wasn't long enough. The only thing they could do is tilted downwards a bit, so it would still aim add me a bit more. That would have to do. 

That panel also had a faulty thermostat, but it's turned out it is incredibly easy to change these. He did it right there and then. So at least I have a working panel in the bathroom again!

I also asked him to take away the four panels that had been left in my conservatory the previous time. He was happy to do that. So I have my space back.

All the new panels still don't work. Sam did not realise he would have to bring some supplies for linking it all up. He will have to bring that next time. So it will be very close to Christmas by the time I finally have my new heating installed. Not ideal! But better late than never. I can only hope that everything goes well when they come back in a few weeks’ time. It would be annoying if they would run into difficulty again. Through Sam leaving the company, for instance. It seems that that would be a typical thing to happen! But let’s hope not…

Wheel pit and Conglog

If you walk back to civilisation from Rhosydd you come past what looks like a very big wheel pit. If I come past, I tend to have had a long day underground, and I just want to get home. Or maybe I’m in a group and I don’t feel free to go on a recce. But after our Moelwynion adventure, Neil and I walked past, and I thought this might be the moment to change that. Neil was happy with that. 

It is a huge wheel pit! It made us both feel a bit funny to look down into it. Imagine the size of the wheel this was designed for. But Neil had heard that this wheel pit had never been in use. It may never have had a wheel! But still. It's an impressive structure! From whichever angle we looked at it.

Small-looking Neil om big wheel pit

View from the side

I suppose we were on a roll. The next thing you walk past is Conglog mine. I had never had a close look at that either. But he was up for staring into these strange, more or less concentric, holes in the flank of the hill as well.

The first one we looked into was not very spectacular. It looked like it had collapsed, and you couldn't see any passages lead on. But when we moved further towards Rhosydd we saw that some of the others do. Given that the mine doesn't have big spoil heaps, I thought it would be very small, but having started into the abyss I had to change my mind. It was bigger than I thought! And I figured some of it may still be internally connected.

On the Cwmorthin side: big holes

On the Rhosydd side: small ones

When I thought I had come to the end of the mine I kept walking, just in case. And found an entrance. It was dry. I quickly went to get Neil. I was sure he would want to see this! And he did. And we both had brought head torches. 

It was a very tidy passage, and after not much time it opens up into a big chamber. Downwards. My caving headlight would be better able to check just how big it was! My surface head torch barely reached the far end. And Neil's absolutely didn't.

I saw there was an anchor in the wall. People have clearly explored this! Of course they have. But the anchor looks very old. I don't think this is a well-trodden mine. I suppose that means it doesn't really connect internally. If it did, people would be all over it! Or maybe, you can get everywhere without this descent. Still, it would be tempting to descend one day. Too bad I retired my rope and do not intend to buy another one. But who knows! It just might happen. And an explore for a different entrance would totally be on the cards. 

I was really glad to have ticked these two items off the list! At least with regards to a first explore. It had already been a good day, but this was some unexpected bonus on the way back. Always nice!

Finding snow while not looking for it

There was a Sunday with good weather forecast, so Neil and I wanted to go on another adventure. And I figured I hadn’t been to the Moelwynion in a while. He was up for doing something about that. He arrived at my place quite early, and said the mountains were white again. I hadn’t seen that yet! 

In the Blaenau area, it wasn’t quite as white as the Carneddau. But still somewhat white! We parked by the reservoir and took the public footpath. Later we saw it wasn’t the one I had intended. No problem; we could just turn into the right direction later. That was a bit of a faff; someone had plonked a fence in the way. We were not fazed. Soon we found ourselves in the blazing sun on a series of inclines I had never negotiated. What a good early result! And we got to Stwlan Dam (the venue of my first race of the year). There the weather turned a bit. 

Incline in the sun

Stwlan Dam

Looking back to Blaenau, with the road Sbrint Stiniog is on

We wanted to do Moelwyn Bach first, and improvised the route a bit. That involved some negotiating of a grassy slope with melting snow on it - that was slippery. Not my favourite. But what followed was a lovely scramble! Through a dreamy misty landscape. And when we got to the summit plateau we walked to the actual top through horizontal snow. That was a bit cold. A Jack Russell we came across there thought so too. Poor shivery little dog. All humans and dogs quickly started to head down again; we in the direction of Moelwyn Mawr. Neil slipped on the melting snow. That gave me reservations about doing the bigger peak too! But some people who came the other way reassured me. We continued. 

Different weather on the flank of Moelwyn Bach

Moelwyn Mawr was also snowy and windy. We didn’t linger. And were hoping for some shelter for lunch. That wasn’t imminent! The blazing sunshine of the start of our walk seemed a long time ago. But we found some. Lunch was due! And we had a view (if the clouds allowed it) over the area where the Tyllau of Rhosydd are. Very beautiful! 

Lunch view

After lunch we continued. We had a look at the Rhosydd spoils, and a Twll, and the tunnel leading to it. And some buildings. Then we took the incline down to the mill, by the drainage adit (and main entrance). From there we went down the conventional way, past Llyn Cwmorthin. 

Rhosydd buildings

Autumnal selfie

The route we would take back

Along the way we had a look at some industrial remains I had never explored before. They’ll get their own blog post! But then we walked back with a firm pace as it was raining. 

On the way back we went for a hot chocolate at Swallow Falls. I had never been, in all the time I had lived here! And not too long ago it had undergone extensive renovation. I was curious to see how it had turned out. And it was clear that some considerable effort had been made! We both liked the place, and our hot chocolate. And then we went home to have dinner and light the fire. Another excellent adventure! Although the start was not very representative. The forecast had been a bit optimistic! But at least we had seen more snow than the week before, when we had gone explicitly looking for it…