A Trip to The Other Side

Quite a lot has happened today, which is refreshing. At one stage in my first seminar, we were talking about the Elizabeth Barrett Browning sonnet 'How shall I love thee...'. It was quite entertaining playing at being the cynical one ('Well its all idealised slush, isn't it, really?') and enjoying the reaction from my predominatly female seminar group.

Then this afternoon we had our Medieval seminar in the Harrison Building, because the usual place where they put us arty students is being refurbished. Harrison is home to engineering, so we were particularly looking forward to seeing if all our preconceptions about what is after all, a subject on a whole different planet to English lit, were correct. And, largely, they do seem to have been correct. There was, believe it or not, an engine (I kid you not) in the foyer. We just have a vending machine in ours. All the rooms were all gloriously logical in their order (room 1 was actually next to room 2...unheard of in Queens). Signs like 'Please do not use laser pointers in this room' were dotted all over the place. As another David in our seminar group said: 'so this its what its like to actually be likely to have a job after your degree.'

It just so happened that at four, when our seminar ended, my friend Jimbo was starting an engineering lecture downstairs. So I joined him. I sat through an hour of lecture about something involving many equations and things I cannot hope to understand. I realised that really I am a very ignorant man. Particular remarks by the lecturer I enjoyed included 'we want more than sinuais in life' (whatever that means), and the very fine 'here's an excercise for you to do. Research and make notes on bode plates, and then design a hifi.'

I walked out into the cold night air with a renewed appreciation for things that aren't to do with cogs.

The picture was taken this evening by the Cathedral where the Christmas lights were being turned on (tragically early). There were some rather nice subtle pyrotechnics though, which created this sort of smokey effect.