Sunday August 27

            Well, I had hopes higher than Everest (well Snowdon, aka yr wyddfa) of getting started in the lab. Happily on Monday afternoon, after checking in at HR in the School of Mathematics and the IT crew in the main library, I met Florian Busch. He had agreed to provide me with bench space. He met me in the Undercroft, a glassed-in passageway linking the BioSciences building to Earth Sciences, and took me upstairs to show me around. Bustling labs, intriguing posters in the corridors; familiar environment, at least in general. 

            But then, ah, the bench space in question turned out to be in a lab that he shares with another scientist. As an aside, he and this other scientist happen to be married. The issue is that Florian does not do much (any) wet bench work. That is, his research involves instrumentation, building sensitive mass spectrographs for quantifying stable isotopes. Lasers and pumps. And naturally, Florian’s partner in lab space was away for the week, along with everyone in their lab who would be able to show me things like glassware, chemicals, and the autoclave. Florian was apologetic. I suppose I could have fossicked around on my own. However, the prospect of a week’s holiday proved irresistible. It has been a long and busy summer. 

            To be sure, this impromptu holiday involved visiting neither beach nor resort. But Laura and I did visit the city center and some neighborhoods round about. We got some needed bits and pieces for the flat. We saw the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, which seem lovely, and full of kids. Good to have a rest. The fun begins Tuesday (Nope, not Monday, Monday is a Bank Holiday). Stay tuned…