Non Academic Stuff
2012
This weekend I helped out with the University Images of Research Exhibition in the Octagon (Bath). I am pictured next to my entry! After my stint helping out I ventured to Bea's Vintage Tea Rooms - a gorgeous new place which serves yum tea in proper china cups & saucers and delicious homemade cakes along with 1940s music playing in the background. A real sanctuary.
A lovely (if a little damp) Bank Hol meander. A circular walk from Mells, passing through Nunney (fab castle with England's deepest moat). More mysterious were the place names. We walked through 'Murder Combe' and noticed a 'Dead Woman's Bottom' on the map - wonder if they are linked????
Just back from a magical trip to the Atlas mountains in Morocco (run by the company Explore). Fabulous mountains, lots of snow, rock and sunshine and a fab group of (lovely and ever so slightly bonkers) people.
According to the Hitchhiker's guide, I have reached the age which equates to the meaning of life, the universe and everything. To celebrate, a cake made entirely of cheese....yum.
Another fleeting visit - too short, but absolutely wonderful....
Fleeting trip to visit an enigmatic friend in the snow for New Year.
2011
I have been introduced to a fantastic author: Patrick Ness - he writes for teens, but they are very adult books. A lovely, lovely and very special man bought me the first book in a trilogy last week from the wonderful Mr B's Emporium, and by Monday this week, I "had" to go and buy books 2 & 3. Last night I finished book 3. I haven't been whisked away by books like this since I was in my teens. I thoroughly recommend this 'Chaos Walking' trilogy. Mr Ness has also written a book called 'A Monster Calls' which focuses on a boy whose mother is dying from cancer. This had me sobbing so much that the words in the last chapter kept disappearing through the blur of my tears.....so be warned if you choose to read it!
I have finally achieved the last of the challenges set me by my sister. Photos kindly taken by Katie Jenkins, who recorded the event for me.
A strange new button has appeared in the entrance to our department. No-one has pressed it yet, for we are uncertain and a little nervous about what kind of gent we will be summoning.....
I attended a CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) course in London - I have to successfully complete the assessment to be awarded the certificate. After the course I popped to Amsterdam, where I learned CBT means something very different, and I bought a fab teapot.
Aug/Sep: I was part of a symposium at a conference in Reykjavik. I would love to return and explore Iceland properly, (without any work commitments). The conference was held in the new Harpa building, which the Sunday Observer recently described as disco-esque. It IS a very beautiful building, both inside and out. The walls were made of 3D octagonal glass panels, which seemed to shimmer and shape shift as you moved around the building. Whilst there, I took an afternoon trip to go and see Strokkur (the Churn): one of the geyser's that still regularly erupts.
1) Harpa, 2) Strokkur about to blow, 3) Strokkur blowing
A visit to Mr B's Emporium (my favourite book shop) where I discovered that for just £1 they will wrap your purchases beautifully. I am now faced with a problem - I don't want to spoil the wrapping in order to access my books!
I think my Christmas pressie to myself will be a 'Year of Mr B's reading delights'. After a consultation about my reading likes and dislikes, Mr B's will undertake to send me a beautifully wrapped book each month (except for January) that they have carefully chosen just for me.
Yippee - my niece passed her A'levels and is off to university. She achieved the only A* in her school. Pic shows her being given her results and being given moral support by her Mum (my sister).
In return for dinner, bed & breakfast, Barn (a friendly itinerant spoon maker) made me a spoon. I was lucky enough to also acquire a new spatula and a butter knife, all lovingly made by Barn. Barn keeps a blog: http://barnthespoon.blogspot.com/ . If you would like a spoon, read the blog for how to contact him, and in return for dinner B&B, he will make you one of your own.
A trip to Beer to go mackerel fishing..... one more challenge to go....!
Summer hols spent walking the Cotswold Way and wandering about Anglesey. Heavenly!
This weekend, I hand-milked a cow...and got a certificate to prove it! This task was one of three I have left to complete on a list of challenges presented to me by my youngest sister six or seven years ago. The list was a means of distracting me from the doom & gloom surrounding my divorce, and it worked beautifully! Two more challenges to go....
Another conversation I overheard when I was queueing in the campus shop:
Student 1: "I can't decide whether or not to go out tonight"
Student 2: "Mate, you can resit your exams, but you can't resit a night out..."
Conversation I overheard between two students:
Student 1: "O.M.G. We only have a week to go till our first exam!"
Student 2: "Well, if we don't sleep at all, that gives us two weeks."
Another trip to Derbyshire with 60 scouts and guides for their Introduction to the Hills (ITTH) long weekend. The kids were wonderful - even little G who told me that "Karen, half your hair is grey".... The adults had the kids believing in 'drop bears' and 'bob birds' and on one of our walks, we were lucky enough to find a 'drop bear lair' which the kids all took pictures of! The only downside was that I had thought that I would escape the Royal Wedding, but we discovered that our chef for the weekend had put up copious amounts of bunting and Will & Kate flags......
Lots of excitement in the past two weeks: promotion to Senior Lecturer, election to University of Bath Senate....and a walk to Ozleworth's Bottom, where you can find a Norman church (St Nicholas) which is rare because it has a hexagonal tower in its centre.
A flying visit to Cornwall. Always so beautiful and restorative. The sun shone, the gorse smelled gorgeously coconutty and the ice cream was yum!
2010/11
I spent Xmas and New Year in Venezuela clambering up a tepui called 'Roraima' and canoeing to Angel Falls. Spanish air traffic control messed up the start of the hol - resulting in an unplanned stay in Madrid and missing bags for ten of us when we finally arrived in Caracas. This meant that for the first week or so of the trekking (until our bags caught up with us) we basically had to manage with what we had worn on the flight along with what we had in our hand baggage!!! In spite of this, the holiday was fab!
Top of Roraima (left) and view of Angel Falls (right)
2010
After giving a careers talk to psychology undergraduates at the University of Bristol, I was walking back to catch my train when I noticed the saddest sign in a window......
2010
After giving a keynote talk at a conference in Wrexham, I drove on up to Snowdonia for a couple of days walking. I was lucky enough to encounter my first Brocken Spectre on top of Snowdon. The weather was gorgeous, two sunny days, one snowy day and some fab sunsets.
2010
A day out at Dyrham Park. Lovely autumnal colours.
2010
I was invited to speak at an international self-harm research meeting held in Basel. One evening before dinner, we visited an exhibition of bronze sculptures that had been made by Anna Skrabal, a child & adolescent psychiatrist (www.skrabal.at) who is also a sculptor. There were many sculptures depicting different kinds of conditions that she had worked with.
2010
I walked a little bit of the Cotswold Way - taking a train to Stonehouse and then walking back to Bath over three days through Wotton-Under-Edge and Tormarton. The route is beautiful and the weather was gorgeous. I thoroughly recommend the following B&Bs: Orchard House in Wotton (01453 842613) and the Old Hundred Coach House in Tormarton (01454 218420). I also discovered two very welcoming pubs - something which is invaluable when you are walking alone: the Beaufort Arms in Hawkesbury Upton and the Major's Retreat (formerly the Portcullis) in Tormarton.
2010
My Health Psychology textbook was published on August 20th along with that written by my colleague Dr Ian Walker on research methods. Although I have not yet got my own copy, Dr Nigel Holt (my editor) let me hold his copy for a very brief moment, before we celebrated with a curry in Jamuna.
Link to the press release (which if you read it carefully identifies Ian as a book rather than as an author!): http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/2010/08/23/psychologybooks/
2010
A fab day out in the Brecon Beacons.....
2010
For one day and one day only, my little book was ranked number 1 in terms of popularity on the Guardian Bookshop web page!!!!
2010
I attended a self-harm conference (ISSS: http://www.isssweb.org/) which this year was held in Chicago. I had a couple of hours spare to have a look around and came across this fab sculpture of a bean in Millenium Park. It is called 'Cloud Gate' and is by Anish Kapoor. Given the widely known side effects of too many beans, I wondered if the sculpture was a comment on the fact that Chicago is also known as the windy city.....
2010
A trip to Amsterdam.....
2010
For her 40th, my friend Jude hired Featherstone Castle for a weekend of enchantment. We had bonfires on the banks of the Tyne and a fancy dress party - I have never seen so many fairies and other enchanted beings in one place....all 150 guests made the effort to get dressed up! A fabulous venue and a great way to cope with turning 40.
2010
I was involved in a scout & guide Introduction To The Hills (ITTH) weekend in the Peak District over the Bank Holiday. I was invited to join the team because of my Mountain Leader qualification. My role was to work with the 'walking team' & take small groups of scouts & guides into the hills and teach them a little about navigation and map reading. They were a complete delight - I'd forgotten how much fun 10-13 year olds can be! In addition to the walking, they also got to try climbing, mountain biking and orienteering - a busy, but fun weekend for them, and for the staff. Best of all, I was given a scout neckerchief AND a badge!
strange little fat man on a footpath sign in the Peak District
2010
I took myself on a mini tripette to Istanbul. Fab city. Stayed in a gem of a hotel (Hotel Uyan - www.uyanhotel.com).
2010
I was one of the 'official' photographers at a friend's wedding in Geordieland. So with the responsibility weighing heavy, I took courage from the Angel of the North.
2009/2010
A trip to the east (Hong Kong, East coast of Oz & Bangkok)
2009
A weekend in Snowdonia. On the Glyders at times the snow was above our knees!
2009
On a recent trip to St David's, I discovered that unicorns really do exist.....
2009
I headed back up to Snowdonia for a few days walking before the term started - autumn is a lovely time of year.
2009
In July I had a 'staycation' - I did lots of DIY on my house and sorted the garden, but I also escaped to Snowdonia for a few days. During that time, I managed to go to Bardsey Island for a day trip with my friend Tom. This is something we have been trying to do for 4 years, but have been thwarted by bad weather resulting in the boat being unable to sail. This year on the 9th July we made it! It is a beautiful tranquil little island, with lots of bird life (including puffins) and many many seals. 'Captain' Colin Evans is the man to contact if you wish to visit this magical island.
2009
I spent ten days over Xmas and New Year in Jordan, taking a dip in the Dead Sea, wandering round Petra and camping with Bedouin in the Wadi Rum desert - a beautful country and a fab hol!
2008
December. Lakelet half way up Moel Siabod in Snowdonia - one of my favourite places in the world.
2008
I spent a week on the Nile in September cruising from Luxor to Aswan and back again. The highlight for me was dawn at Abu Simbel - it was awesome.
2008
I spent Christmas and New Year in Ecuador scrambling about on volcanoes. On the night we were heading for the summit of Cayambe (5790m), we had to turn back at 3am'ish because the slopes were avalanching. Mungo's call to retreat "Let's get the Hell off this mountain" will stay with me for a long time! Anyway, Pepe, Steve and I decided to stay high and wait for dawn. This picture shows another volcano (Antisana, 5705m) emerging from the clouds. It was a very magical morning - one I will never forget.
