A new climbing wall has finally opened that serves the Swansea and Gower area. Reviews are favourable, it looks well designed, and hopefully we’ll get an opportunity to check it out in the coming months.
Dynamic Rock.
Bouncing down
I have evidence here, that spring has arrived. This mini-video (best with sound) shows heavy, heavy rain bouncing off my fishing brolly, and yet I was quite warm. So we must have jumped from cold winter winds to April showers in just the last 7 days. I was happy too, because I had a nice net-full of at least 6 different species of fish 🙂
Kiddy’s parties
That, ladies and gentlemen, is a chocolate fountain, pouring molten chocolate for the purpose of dipping. Jack just asked for a bowl and a spoon pleasethankyouverymuch.
Muddy puddles
Jack jumping in a huge muddy puddle on the weekend. Wellies are little help when Jack wants to splash.
Anatomy break
Our 1st year medical students haven’t broken up for Easter yet, but they did have their last anatomy session today. This means that I get my Sunday evenings back for a few weeks!
Country Weekend
It was my birthday on the weekend, so we went back to Cheltenham to see family and friends for a “country weekend”:
Shooting clays (soaking wet and freezing, but very good, noisy and destructive afternoon – Kim started to get her eye in on some of the later traps).
Angling (a very productive morning on aniseed flavoured hemp of all things, except for the bloody vicious black swan of Burley Lakes, that tormented me all morning stealing my bait from beneath my feet and worse).
Taking the dogs out (Wilbur loves sticks).
2nd Year GEP
The second year students of the Swansea Medicine GEP finished lectures today. Their first two years are almost over, and they will soon progress on to the more clinical part of their MB training, mostly away from Swansea and our medical school.
I really didn’t get to see them much in their second year, because my direct teaching involvement of anatomy and embryology is tied into the first year. My contributions to their last year have been mostly of organisation: bringing in specialists to teach specific lectures, developing exam questions for the big summer paper, looking after coursework, etc. They have had no anatomy or embryology in this year, and actually quite little of the Development, Growth and Reproduction module, of which I am co-ordinator. Nonetheless, it is interesting to see them about to jump forwards.
I say “interesting” because there is a mix of emotions here, and because I’m guessing that a few of those students are likely to read this. I also say “interesting” because this is a term we use a lot when rock climbing, not so much to sand-bag someone about to climb a route, as much as to describe it (to someone in the know) as scary, exciting, something you wish you probably hadn’t started when you are part-way up, but something you are hugely pleased that you did when you have reached the top. You rarely feel quite the same way about that “interesting” route as you did when you first climbed it.
I am sure that almost all of them will do very well this summer, and that all of them will realise their goals eventually. As someone involved in delivering and moderating the course I will be hugely relieved if their results all come in as good, and really hope that they all get what they want. I cannot underestimate the difficulties that they face, however, and their fates are in their hands. We do only as much as we can to help.
It will be odd not to see their faces around campus, and I can only hope that we will see them at their eventual graduation, and later in medical practice. I plan to be in Swansea for a very long time, and I expect at least some of them to return.
Frog update
I don’t think this is going to work. The more we wash this new frog, the fluffier it gets and the colour is not fading either. Kim’s new tactics are to wash it with some denim jeans and rub it down. I think we’re probably just going to end up giving it to him and seeing what happens. I don’t think he’s going to be too impressed.
Pre-order Blu-Ray
Are you ready for hi-def DVD? You can now pre-order your Sony Blu-ray DVD player from Best Buy.
It looks like we’re in for a format war. This is probably good for me, as I’m really not in any hurry to upgrade. I’ll wait until the dust settles.
Little Drummer Boy
I got home last night after a crappy day at work to find Jack all set up with his drum kit. Ace! Click the icon above for the video.