View from my window
A few pseudo-tweets on the past week:
Monday. Start of new semester and intensive teaching. Lunchtime lecture between classes means no opportunity to get something to eat. Lunch at 8.00 p.m.
Tuesday. First class return to London by Hull Trains is £230 (even more on East Coast). I get a first class return for £40. Downside: to get it, I have to admit I am over 55.
Wednesday. Professors Dawn Oliver and Tony Bradley give evidence to the Constitution Committee on fixed-term parliaments. Reinforce the view that the Bill as drafted requires serious scrutiny.
Thursday. Devote much of the day to paperwork. Get so engrossed that, even though my desk is by a large window, it is only when I leave shortly after 7.30 p.m. that I realise it is dark.
Friday. Visit Wilberforce Sixth-Form College in Hull as part of the ‘peers in schools’ programme. Good meeting, well attended with some pertinent questions. Always enjoy these visits.
Saturday. University Open Day. Extol the value of studying at Hull. As usual, aspiring applicants are impressed by the campus.
Weekend. Work on manuscripts of some forthcoming journal articles. Now have three journal articles and three book chapters awaiting publication.
I know what you are thinking, but, no, it is true: I am over 55.
Monday: 146 characters.
Tuesday: 167 characters.
Wednesday: 183 characters
Thursday: 177 characters.
Friday: 176 characters.
Weekend: 119 characters.
Pseudo-tweets over-length out of 6: 5.
Conclusion: Pseudo-twitter is much better than real twitter.
Out of curiosity, what are the journal articles about?
Unfortunately I missed a pseudo-tweet. Clearly I should have had my research peer-reviewed.
Saturday: 119 characters.
Weekend: 136 charcters.
Pseudo-tweets over-length out of 7: 6.
Conclusion: Confirmed by recent data changes.
djb13: This blog clearly atttracts a quality readership. A well-researched and methodologically sound analysis of my post, reaching a clear conclusion. I think it was Chris K who noted that some of my earlier pseudo-tweets exceeded the length of tweets. I much prefer pseudo-tweeting. Apart from the freedom to run over the normal length, I can cover the week in this way.
‘Out of curiosity, what are the journal articles about?’
Since you are kind enough to ask, the least I can do is add another post shortly detailing the articles. I’ll include details of the chapters for good measure: one is on Margaret Thatcher as Leader of the Opposition, on which I did an earlier post.
Am I missing something obvious but why 55 for a discount?
Croft: If there is anything obvious, I’m afraid it has completely passed me by as well! It appear it is a new form of walk-on fare (Club 55) offered by Hull Trains, but why 55 rather than some other age I have no idea.
I should perhaps add that, rather disappointingly, I wasn’t asked for proof of age.
Club55: Make the most of the offer, it ends 30 Nov. Which begs the question, what stats does Hull Trains hold that makes them think the offer worthwhile during that period (again)?
No doubt they’ll be cashing in on all the Christmas shoppers popping down to London on the train during December. They won’t want seats being taken up by too many people not paying the full price.
Do people ‘pop’ down to London from Hull? I would have thought the commute is a bit too long to go for just a day. According to my GCSE in Geography, the maximum journey time for a day-trip is 2 hours each way. I’m not sure how that was discovered or by whom.
Doubt it. The House of Fraser has just had a blinder of a sale – online.
ladytizzy: Thanks for that intelligence. I had better make use of it while it lasts (the special offer, that is).
djb13: Possibly by helicopter! The quickest journey by train is 2 hours 35 minutes. I can remember the days when you could catch a train at midnight from King’s Cross, wait hours at Doncaster, and get into Hull at 7.40 a.m.