Return to UWE

Today, I went back into UWE.  Before I got to any of my meetings, I was reminded of the delights of dealing with the institution...

Phil Phelps had operated the system as per specifications and booked me a car parking space in advance (as required by article 99, subsection 324d(iii), paragraph 2...). I duly pulled up at the UWE Gate House to get my parking ticket and token for the barrier into car park 19. I drove round, put my token in the slot at the barrier, and proceeded to my designated space (#52) to find an orange VW beetle parked.  There were lots of other empty spaces in the car park, but - knowing from long experience how university employees' minds work- I rang the Gate House to ask what I should do.  I was told that the VW must have driven in when the car park barrier was up earlier in the day, and that all the apparently empty parking spaces were allocated for the day. All they could offer me was a space across the road in the student car park (a good 10 minutes walk away from my first meeting).  So I rang up Dan Buzzo, who told me that the car park in front of his building had its barriers up! I drove round there and found a parking space right outside the building (which was a much better outcome all round). Just to be on the safe side, I rang the Gate House and told them this is what I had done. The joy of systems that don't work!

I went in to talk to Dan & Phil about how the speech recognition project they took over from me is getting on (very well, as it happens - which makes me wonder if I should have passed it on long ago!).  After that I had a series of meetings to talk about details and logistics of my teaching in Hong Kong next Spring. I now have firm dates for this teaching (a week at the end of February and another week in the middle of April). I just need to sort out a contract, agreement over pay rates and payment dates, teaching materials,  flight and hotel arrangements...  The most important details still to sort out are what Su will do while I am teaching for 7 hours a day:-)!


It was nice to bump into lots of people on campus.  The face of the day belongs to Frank Maddix, lecturer extraordinaire (!) and bassist in Left At The Lights, in his fetching bicyclist togs ready for his journey home.

Also great to catch up with Stephen, my erstwhile office colleague, over a cup of coffee

Some things never change - a couple of my meetings were in P Block, a building that I was told had exceeded its design life when I first started at UWE nearly 20 years ago...

After texting Su to say "Hong Kong is go!", I drove back home through the fading gloom of  Hallowe'en afternoon. This evening, we have been under siege from hordes of ravening sugar-crazed pre-teens, demanding sweets with menaces:-).