Observed again

Observations with a bloke called Tom: part2. I had observed one Tom in October, and now it was time to be observed by the other Tom myself. He had picked my lecture on climate change for the occasion. And it's a challenging lecture! There's alot to the topic. I had 50 minutes.

I would not only have Tom as an extra person in there; I had also just the day before met a new colleague: Stella (not my former office mate). It turned out she was working part-time as an outreach person who would go around visiting schools in the surroudings, encouraging schoolkids to go and pursue their education at Bangor University, in Welsh. Or at least, that's how I understood it. And that's cool; another person to speak Welsh with! And when I mentioned I had once given a lecture about Milankovitch cycles to A-level students she was very interested. When I pointed out I would lecture about that very topic the very next day she decided to join. Nice!

I like the topic. I figured it went OK! I also managed to get the actuality in there: climate involves volcanoes, and just that week a big one was threatening to erupt. That didn't go unmentioned!

After the talk Stella ran off to a meeting, and I had a little chat with Tom. He had liked it! He's a biologist, so he didn't have much background in it, but I had managed to capture his imagination. And he had some good tips on how to further improve.

It turned out he had also got a bit of inspiration from how I did things. I suppose a win for all! I must say I think this observation scheme seems to quite work for me...

 Mount Agung on November 27th 2017. Pic by Michael W. Ishak

Trying the boots

I had bought new boots! Especially for swampy days. And there are plenty of these around here. So after another busy week I decided to go for a walk to give the boots their first proper outing. The forecast was light rain, so that was a nice balance between nice walking weather and making sure it was wet enough to properly try the boots.

The forecast was a bit wrong! It was dry with spells of rather ferocious hail. Oh well! It was still wet enough for the boots. And the hail gave the landscape a good wintery look!

So what is the verdict? They did a good job! It was quite swampy, but at the end of the walk my socks were merely a bit damp. That can have been sweat! And they felt good. I did traversing, and scrambling, and scampering through swamp, and they were comfortable for all of that. And I'm glad they were, as now I've made them so muddy I can't possibly bring them back!

God and the gin shop

I might have been learning Welsh for years now, but it's still difficult. I can read alright, but understanding what people are saying is a different thing. In class it's always something I struggle with. I need practice! And then an email landed in my inbox. A well-known Welsh newsreader (well, he reads the news in English, but he is Welsh) would deliver a public lecture about research he had done on the history of Welsh chapels in London. "Duw a'r ginsiop", by Huw Edwards. That sounded interesting! I have no specific interest in chapels, but I like history, and this would be a good exercise. A lecture by a newsreader; that would be rather clear and well-articulated! So I could focus on the Welsh. And Huw Edwards is from South Wales so speaks South Welsh, but the difference isn't too big. I have read, and am reading, several books in South Welsh so I'm fairly familiar with it.

There seem to be (and have been) lots of Welsh chapels in London! And several kinds as well. Glossy ones for the elite, and shed-like ones for the unskilled workers that would have come walking from Wales to look for work. He had found evidence for preaching in Welsh since 1715, but he was sure it had happened before. William Morgan, the famous translator of the Bible into Welsh (which he completed in 1588), had frequented the capital. Would he really not have preached in his native language?

He also traced what happened with all these chapels. He spoke of evictions and damage in the Blitz and rebuilding and whatnot. I must admit I only got about half of it, but well, that's not bad. I missed several of his jokes but what can one do. I did start to think they're not letting him use his full potential at the News at Ten; here he was walking around animatedly and gesturing freely. Very engaging! Better than sitting behind a desk.

I listened with a woman who is in the same Welsh class; she had brought her father and her husband. The father was actually quite involved in Welsh chapels, and he kept bumping into people he knew. I suppose most people were here because of their religious/cultural interests, and not just to listen to someone talking Welsh! The husband didn't speak Welsh but he would use headphones with simultaneous translation. I also saw my colleague Dei!

At the end of the talk there was an opportunity to ask questions, and then it was time to go home. I was hungry! I had intended to have a sandwich before the talk but bumping into Fiona had distracted me.

Oh and the gin shop? It turned out that one of the earlier organisers of Welsh preaching in London earned his money with, among other things, having a liquor store. A bit unexpected considering the domination of Methodism in Wales, and the general view on alcohol use by Methodists, but well, if it helped people find a religious community far from home, then why not?

 

Huw Edwards 

Tasha as guest speaker

 Only two weeks ago I had a guest speaker over. And now I already had the other one! This time it was Tasha, with whom I had done two research projects, as postdocs. We had been doing fieldwork together since 2009. I have turned towards teaching while she is firmly lodged int he research community. And she does very well! Which comes with a lot to talk about in a seminar.

She would arrive by car, with her husband Jack; he would drop her off, go biking, and then collect her again. She phoned me when she had arrived. I greeted them both and took Tasha to my office, and then to the lecture room.

Her talk was, as expected, very interesting! She is still working on sea level changes on the timescale of hundreds of thousands of years. It's a tricky topic; the only places where sediments from other periods of high sea level are preserved are places where the land subsides. And then the question is: how much has the land subsided? But if anyone can figure that out it's Tasha.

One of her take home messages is that climate models predicting sea level rise tend to give fairly modest results; no more than a meter by 2100 (although that's a heck of a lot for many coastal communities). But during the previous interglacials, sea level was higher by some six meters at lower CO2 levels than we have today, and temperatures only marginally higher. Are the climate models missing something? And when will we find out if they are?

After the talk we went to the pub; Tom and Lynda joined. That was nice! And then she did a bit of work on her laptop in my office. And then it was already time to say goodbye!

It had been great to see her! And I hope to stay in touch. She's still doing very interesting stuff! And it's nice to keep in touch with old friends. Maybe within this year I'll be able to tell her where my future lies...

In the USA, September 2010

Calm evening underground

Last week I had decided to go digging and not go with the Thursdaynighters. But this week I decided I should do the opposite. David had had a hard week which involved his mother and health issues, and Mick had been in hospital for another check. A calm night with some socialising was called for!

Paul picked a small mine quite far south. I'd not been! Few of us had. On the day I drove down on my own. David was coming from his mother's place, and Ed was out of the country. While I was driving I noticed I was behind Paul. That's nice! That meant if I wasn't sure of the way I could follow him, and I wouldn't be the first person there and on my own. But he seemed a bit unnerved about this person tailgating him; in Penmachno he pulled over to let me pass. But I got out to show it was me. Then he was fine with me tailing along! And it is a beautiful route, even in the dark.

When we got to the final junction he indicated left. I was sure we had to go right so that's what I indicated. Again Paul pulled over. We discussed the matter and decided we each go our way; it would become apparent quite soon who was right. I went right and soon found the parking lot. Success! But I was the first.

Minutes later Paul showed up. I was trying to decide whether to wear full caving kit, or just slip on some fieldwork waterproofs. It was quite cold! I wished I had my caving hat, but I hadn't managed ot locate it. I settled for the waterproofs.

Then, pretty much on one go, three more cars appeared. I didn't recognise the first one! But the others were Jason and Miles. And the first turned out to be David in his mother's car. Mick had texted he would be a bit late.

After a while we were all ready to go. It was pitch dark, of course, but we sort of knew what direction to go in, and soon we found spoil heaps. A while later we were in. It was a nice little mine. It had nice precipitates all over the place! We walked in and explored to the end. It was a rather dry chamber. We sat down for soup! And Mick told of his hospital results, and of the latest developments in his extended family.

After soup we had some cake David had brought. And then we went out! It was a lovely night. The wind that had been quite strong when we walked up had died down. It wasn't very late!

Most people went to Mick to have more beverages and cake, but I went home. This was a chance to be in bed at an acceptable time! It had been good to reconnect with the Thursdaynighters again. But next week I hope to be digging again! It's time we make some progress in there...

Nice cave pearls

From rescuer to casualty

Autumn comes with falling leaves and a rescue training. We don't have many, as we're not needed often! The last time had been in spring. And this time I received an email beforehand from Dave, who would organise this session. Would I be willing to be the casualty? I think he especially wanted a woman as it fit his script. He wanted to make the training realistic, with patchy information coming in. The call-out would be because a man who would visit Wrysgan hadn't come home. Only later would it become clear he had not been on his own. If they would find a bloke first they may assume it was the one they were looking for and only deal with him. But finding a woman when you look for a man tells you you need to look for a second person!

In order to prevent me lying in a mine forever and getting cold and bored his plan was: he would tell me where the casualty (represented by a boiler suit and a helmet) would be, and I should make sure I was in the team searching that part of the mine. Once the suit was found I should take its place. Sounded fine!

It was a bit of a faff to elbow my way into the correct search team (Wrysgan has several entrances giving access to several parts of the mine) but I managed. The person at the front got to where the suit was, and noticed it immediately. My cue for sneaking down to it and lying down!

 

Walking up to the entrance of Wrysgan, with the Cwm tips as a backdrop

 

The controller radioing down to the base at the car park

 

Who goes in where? 

Soon a casualty carer got to me and assessed me. I was in a terrible state! Broken neck, broken lower leg, broken clavicle, and ruptured spleen. Oh dear. He picked up on all of that and reassured me. I started muttering about my mate Gary; had they found him? Was he alright? Soon after he was found too, but he remained an empty suit and helmet; this casualty was a fatality. The rescuers were careful not to tell me that...

After a while a spinal board, casualty bag and stretcher were delivered, and I had to be put in. That's quite a faff with a casualty with so many injuries! But they did a good job. Soon I was immobilised, but warm and snug in the stretcher. They then had to hoist me up the slope I had (in the scenario) fallen down, and from there they carried me out. It went rather fast and smooth! There were some issues; I was a bit lop-sided in the stretcher, and my nose and mouth sometimes vanished inside the casualty bag. Not good! Not if you're not fully conscious and you've already vomited (in the scenario, again). But I as myself was quite comfortable.

Being pulled up the slope

Getting me through a tight bit

 I'm out!

They had me out by half past one! That was quick. We had to retrieve some kit and then we could walk down and do a debrief.

While we were debriefing we saw Mick and entourage park up. They were clearly going into Cwm! But we weren't done yet. They waited a while but then they set off. Can't blame them. Would have been nice to say hi though!

As it was so early, several of us went down to the Lakeside cafe for a cup of tea. Paul and Rupert didn't; they decided to scamper after Mick et al and join them! But I knew I still had work to do so I went for the one cup of tea, and from there went to the office. All I could do that day I wouldn't have to do on Sunday!

 

It was a beautiful day!

Hit and run in the dig

I thought last week I'd had a short night in the dig. I had seen nothing yet! This week I managed to get out at the usual Thursdaynighters time. That was good, as I got to see them. They were heading into the same mine! I had wanted to join them again; I mean, it's nice to see them, and I love digging, but sometimes I should just leave the dig be and still connect with the other chaps. This week, though, they seemed to have a rather long trip planned. I don't want to do extra long trips! I feel ill last month, and I don't want to do it again. And I tend to skirt quite closely past potential illness. I can't take such risks!

It didn't help that David had sent another aggressive email when I had voiced my concern about how long the TN trip would take. It was so bad that two of the other men asked me about it. Was all well? Well, no, it wasn't. David had not meant to be hurtful but he never means to, and does it all the time anyway. It feels just the same. They could go without me. But David had hurt his knee and didn't come, so I just got this opportunity to see the others before we would head our separate ways. Miles would have been working on the wiring in the Manager's office all day; he would just see when I would show up and then we would go in.

We had two of the biggest talkers on the parking lot, so it took forever before we started walking up. At the manager's office I peeled off, but some of the men hadn't seen the building from the inside at all, or not for a long time, so they all piled in. I can imagine; it looks spiffing these days! But in spite of wanting to do a long trip the others just stood around talking forever again. When they finally set off we got ready to go in too. We weren't even done with that when there was a knock on the door; one of the men! They had forgot their key. Could they borrow Miles'? Well, yes. They would leave it at the gate for us.

When they were gone I realised we hadn't agreed on anything about what we would do with the key after coming out ourselves. How would they get out without it? I ran after them to say we would leave it for them but they were gone. Oh dear. I hoped they would understand we would anyway.

I collected Miles who was now ready too and we went in. But it had got late! And he had to be out extra early that day. We went into the dig and it was almost time to come out again. We had time to blow up a rock, inspect the results, decide on what to do next time, and tidy a bit but then we had to come out. Oh well!

I was out so early I popped by at Mick's for a cup of tea afterwards. But I didn't want to linger as I had made a conscious effort to arrange my night such that I would be in bed at a civilised time! And that sort of worked. So where will I be next week? Not clear yet!