Category: AWAY FROM THE DESK
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Getting it in before I’m gone from UoB: Edgbaston Reservoir
The countdown is well underway and I’m getting through my University of Birmingham bucket list of things to do. Today’s agenda was Edgbaston reservoir, which I’ve thought about walking around many times but I’ve never quite got around to it. It was a little cold and cloudy, although this didn’t diminish the experience. I’ll hold…
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London Town & City, University of London
It’s pretty rare for me to visit London spontaneously but this was only planned at 18:30 the night before. I had to get some important administration taken care of. It was a case of sooner-the-better, so I jumped in the car and got it done. Of course, it’s a long way to go for a…
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Escaping the depressing de-developing dystopia that is the UK: Time in the Netherlands & Belgium
Spending time elsewhere in Western Europe (i.e., outside the UK) reminds you of what the terms “developed” or “advanced” nation really mean. The Netherlands and Belgium exude wealth, comfort and confidence in a way that the UK no longer does. There isn’t an endless array of empty stores, there isn’t homelessness at every turn and…
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London Weekend Adventure: Royal Parks, Literary Gems and Natural Encounters
I got lucky on the weather and put in some serious steps: 30+ thousand on the Saturday and 25+ thousand on the Sunday. I got my alternative-tourist money’s worth too, seeing the former houses of John Keats, Sigmund Freud and George Orwell as well as pretty much every Royal park and a fair few non-royal…
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Exploring the Sights, Sounds, and Smells of MOROCCO
It was exactly the orgy of sights, sounds, colours and smells I hoped it would be. The weather was surprisingly unreliable but the city delivered in every other way. In comparison to Egypt (which I also visited recently) Morocco was laid back and more Westernised – which isn’t to say better but it was more…
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Straight Outta Oxford
I got a last minute invite for tea and civility in Oxford so why not? At 43 spontaneity is hardly a priority, so I enjoyed doing something out of nowhere. As ever the tourist crowds were annoying but there was plenty to enjoy. Every time I go to Oxford and Cambridge they seem smaller than…
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Bournemouth & the New Forest
The New Forest has been on the agenda for well over a decade. It didn’t disappoint, it’s the kind of place you could spend all day getting lost – enjoying every second. On this occasion I only walked for a few hours, which was nonetheless rewarding. Bournemouth too was a treat, so much so that…
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Digital Nomading in Glasgow and the Highlands
I’m no stranger to life on the road, having had a part-time driving job (amongst others) during my PhD. At this point in my life and career I am growing accustomed to an alternate digital version of work whilst wondering. Why not get about? For much of my time a laptop, smart phone and WIFI…
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Eygpt: Giza & Cairo
I managed to snatch a few days in this astonishing place – a good while before things flared up again in Israel and Gaza. The pyramids hardly lack for hype but they live up to it, exceed it even. Gaza and Cairo are hot and fast moving places. They are well equipped to exhaust haggle…
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A crazy-busy 3 days rounded off with a show
It’s not a show that anyone under 40 would remember and it’s their loss. Drop the Dead Donkey was a forerunner to the now omnipresent “mock the news” format. Everything that’s come after follows in its footsteps… So this show is a new stage production, 30 years on from the original TV run. It was…
Dr Martin James 