Category: NEWS
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BUIRA & the return of conference season
For numerous reasons including the most obvious (Covid-19), I have not attended an in-person external work event since 2018. This changed when I had a minor role as part of the delivery team for the British Universities Industrial Relations Association (“BUIRA”) conference at the end of June 2022. I cannot overstate how enjoyable it was…
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41 years old, 2 special gifts
Like most men of a certain age I don’t make a fuss about my birthday. This one is special though for two key reasons: 1. I’ve got a new job! It has real dream job potential, being based at an elite institution that also happens to be my local university (so it’s practical). I will…
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Visiting my new campus
I feel humble and privileged to be joining the University of Birmingham as a lecturer in January 2022. Of all the UK’s universities it is the one I want to work with most. It’s practical – literally two stops by train (with its own station no less!) – but also prestigious and historic with a…
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Last day in Swansea (Friday 10th December 2021)
I’ve been crazy busy of late so it’s taken me a while to update the site. Actually, I add this post on 19th December (9 days after the fact) but it feels like a month ago, such is the amount happening at the moment. On my final trip to Swansea for in-person teaching I made…
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The great wine re-stock
Having been home working and not entirely happy in my job over the last 12 months, I cannot deny that a glass or two at the end of the day has served as a crutch. I’ve been reluctant to replenish as I go, ill-at-ease at the prospect of spending on this category when I could…
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A little treat – well, two little treats
A few years ago footwear emerged as a hobby. I keep telling myself I only need X or Y to complete my collection, but then I stumbled across some new must haves and my definition of completeness is tweaked somewhat. The latest “musts” was a couple of pairs of limited edition Air Force 1s. AF1s…
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A bit late in popping these up – it’s been a crazy, scary 👻 week
This week I’ve had a great job offer, the death of a car battery, a puncture (once I got the car going), and my most stressful work day in recent times (15 hours long door to door to boot). The sick joke in all of this was that I had roadside assistance as part of…
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Something to look forward to
I’m not a gig type, I’d rather read Hayek than go to some local battle of the bands. I did go to a few when I was school aged. No band names mentioned but I was so bored that 10 minutes felt like 2 days. So I’ve not seen lots of acts but I’ve seen…
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Quirky work trip
With it being the first week of teaching for the 2021 HE autumn term I booked accommodation rather than doing the +2 hour commute first thing. Rather than opt for a Premier Inn I stayed in a converted farmhouse about eight miles in-land from my campus, which is coastal. The scenery was stunning and the…
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A little something to celebrate 🍾
I was one of the lucky few who got through the first UK lockdown (relatively) unharmed. I didn’t get Covid, life went on largely unchanged because I was an “essential worker.” Everyone stayed home, which made it easier for me to go about my business in some senses. From October things changed dramatically and I…
Dr Martin James 