Palace fit for a King!

Friday turned out to be a great day - I got the flat on the Royal Mile. Anyone arriving in Edinburgh is only a few minutes walk from the train station to my flat, and only a further few minutes from some of Edinburgh greatest attractions, cafes, shops, bars and restaurants. Oh come all yea faithful!

Edinburgh times...

I've been in Edinburgh for a couple of days now, having flown down from Shetland on my GNER compensation flight (cos their late train on the way home in August caused me to miss the ferry and to take the plane instead). The focus of my trip down has been on finding a place to stay for the coming academic year. And let me tell you all, it has been difficult. I say has, because I'm hopeful that my search is over. What I've found is that almost all rooms to let are within about 50 quid either way of £300 a month, but that there is a massive difference between places that are palaces and flats that are more like slums. Luck of the draw is what its all about.

If all goes well tomorrow then I'll be moving into a flat on the Royal Mile. For those of you who know Edinburgh, that is a very central location - right on the approach to the castle. The flat is on the north side of the street and has views over Princes St gardens and beyond. With any luck I will also be able to see the sea, something I missed sorely in Cambridge.



On a very different note, I was in Blackwells yesterday, a big bookshop, looking at the architecture section, when an oldish man came along and started perusing books next to me. While flicking through the pages of a book on the history of London's architecture he started to mutter and mumble to himself. Distracting though it was, it did raise a question in my mind - do deaf people speak to themselves in sign language? Or is it only those of us who are blessed with hearing who do it?

Reykjavik Online

Hello listeners! Service has been resumed following a long period of e-drought during my rural isolation in iceland. I'm back in the land of the city-slick and am relishing everything that urban icelandic life has to offer, including exceptionally convenient free wireless internet access all across this fine town. I love it, and I feel very connected again.

Iceland life has been trating me well. Apart from a couple of things. I have a large gash in my leg following a lava incident on the 1980 flow on Mt Hekla. It is healing nicely now and I think I will have a handsome scar to proudly show off to demonstrate my manly explorer-like lifestyle. I have also had a few too many hangovers following generous drinking sessions with new freinds in Hella. I can't remember most of your names, ladies, but I will never forget your faces! So, fieldwork in the name of Geoscience really has proved to be the rather extreme experience I had always imagined it would be.

Highlights from the last few weeks include trips to see the iceberg-filled lagoon Jokulsarlon, visiting the puffins and cliffs of volcanic Heimaey (Westman Islands), taking a trip to the hot-springs of the interior of Iceland at a place called Hveravellir, and getting my hair cut this morning. Photos of these will probably follow (not the haircut, maybe).

So, I have a few day left in Reykjavik before returning back to the UK. I'm having so much fun and enjoying catching up with all the friends I have made here, and I do not relish the thought of a return to terror-struck Britain. I hope the travel crisis wil have abated a little, and I hope that the clear plastic bags for minimal carry-on luggage mean more generous check-in allowances. I have soooo much crap to ferry home to lovely Shetland.

So, this Friday sees the start of Reykjavik Gay Pride - an extremely popular weekend of events to show support for and celebrate gay, lesbian and transgender people, and their struggles, achievements, lives. I'm heading off to the opening ceremony in a few hours, which, if it is anything like last year, will be a lot of fun. Norway's Vigdis and Ruth wowed us all with such a hilarious blend of drag, song, and humour, and now they are back to host the entire evening. It promises to be a great weekend, even if the weather man doesn't agree!

Fond farewells?

My final days in Cambridge are ebbing away - less than 5 to go. Some of you will no doubt be of the opinion that I'm making mountains out of mole hills, what with all the fuss I'm making. I suppose I've never felt so settled before, and never have I worked in the same place or with the same people for so long before. Moving is a big deal. So, I've started to say goodbye to colleagues who may or may not be around over my last few days in Cambridge. I've started to see more of my dear friends T, L and A so that we get the best of each other before I leave on Sunday. I had my final boogie down at Life with some of my other dear friends tonight - a place which holds many memories indeed. Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye. I wonder how many of those promises to "keep in touch" will be borne out? Some more than others, I hope. Who knows!?

No more trips to london

Today I took my last trip to London - to visit my sponsors for a project meeting and a farewell lunch. Its the end of yet another era - one which I have enjoyed tremendously. They have been excellent funders, and I shall miss there support and the very personal relationship we have enjoyed over the last 4 years of collaboration.

What I won't miss about my work life in Cambridge is the trips up and down to London on the train in a suit, and stuffy and threatening underground trains. Public transport in the south east is so unpleasant and unnerving! Today I encountered numerous transport police on my short journey between Bank and Kings Cross. Should I feel reassured or scared? "During this time of heightened security..." the repetitive announcement warned - a stark indicator that London lives under the threat of attack. I love London - its a vibrant, exciting and diverse city - definately one of the world's best, but frankly, I'm glad I'm out of it for now.

Before I go

As I close the door on my old life here in Cambridge, and turn the handle to the door of my new life in Edinburgh, it seems like a good time to start this blog. A place to where the life and times of little old me can be shared with friends old, new, near, far, and the like. A place where I can wax on about the new stuff I do and the new adventures I hope to have.

Cambridge, you have been good to me, and I will miss you and all those of you who have been important to me during 5 unforgetable (if hazy) years of fun. You know who you all are. Farewell.