Our Dublin Trip

It's about time we got around to sharing photos and news of our recent excursion to Dublin. As you all know we were there primarily on business, but we also managed to fit in a fair bit of pleasure...


This was my first ever Irish Guiness. I don't like Guiness and never have, although I can drink other stouts (I went through a Murphy's phase during my adolescence). I was also sceptical about all the claims that it tastes different in Ireland, but I must eat my hat now, because it's all true! This went down beautifully in the sleepy but authentic O'Donoghues. Just around the corner was a restaurant called 'Ely' where we treated ourselves to a fabulous meal on our first night out. We can heartily recommend the delicious food and dizzying array of excellent wines. We cannot speak so highly of the clientele, who were loud and a little obnoxious (two old (married) blokes hitting on two considerably younger ladies). My suggestion would be to book ahead, as we were seated on stools near the bar, where the wine was flowing more freely than at the quieter (but reserved) tables round the corner.

We saw some stunning paintings at the National Gallery (especially the Vermeer), which was just round the corner from our extraordinary accommodation: the Kildare Street & University Club.

Our very generously proportioned room looked out over St. Stephen's Green (which for those who don't know Dublin, is a lovely park right smack in the middle of the city).

The rather ornate dining room (blurred because I was being extra discrete with my mobile phone!) was where we ate breakfast each morning. Those are real chandeliers, and you can just make out the selection of imposing portraits on the walls, presumably of eminent academics and public figures who are related to the club in some way. The whole place was extremely quiet, all of the time, there was only the sound of old wind-up clocks and the occasional teaspoon hitting China.

We were lucky enough to enjoy some very un-Irish weather (I think it only rained once), which made for scenic walks around the city at sunset, and great light for photographs where O'Connell Street meets the Liffey...

This could almost be Amsterdam don't you think?


O'Connell Street, with the intriguing 'spire' art project in the distance. According to the Lonely Planet guide, the 120m Spire is 'a risqué homage to the fight against one of Dublin's greatest social ills, heroin addiction'. Apparently it's now known among droll locals as the 'Eyeful Tower'.


Sunset on the Liffey... (For a larger versions of some of these pictures, see the flickr page.) Finally, on the way home we stopped into an excellent cheese monger on Duke Street (highly recommended) to buy a wee present for the housemates, in the form of 'Coolea', an intriguing and delicious cheese from West Cork.

Petition Against Funding Cuts for Research

Some of you may already know that the British government has decided to cut funding for scientific and other research in order to plug a black hole in the Department for Trade and Industry's (DTI) annual budget (see this story). The absurd consequences of this decision will be that at a time when we're trying desperately to find ways to slow climate change (I'm no scientist, but I have a feeling that some research might make this easier?) and when the UK education system is failing to recruit new young scientists, we're taking money away from science (especially aspiring young scientists and researchers) in order to prop up the Nuclear industry and the failing car manufacturer Rover. To any of you who are UK citizens and agree with me that this demonstrates some badly skewed priorities on the part of our Government, I recommend you go and sign this petition. A letter to your local MP probably isn't a bad idea either.

Some Old Photos

We're both off to lovely Dublin for a very big and snazzy philosophy conference in honour of the eminent Hilary Putnam's 80th birthday.

So while we are away, and probably unable to post - depending on whether we have any internet access - we thought we'd leave you with some photos we forgot to post of our recent jaunt up to Scotland to celebrate our engagement with my family.


We spent an afternoon in the company of the irrepressible Gregor, who just loves his books (in this picture he was laughing uproariously at my sister counting stars for no obvious reason). He was also just beginning to walk on his own...




Apparently he's now thundering around the place without the need for assistance; we look forward to witnessing this for the first time during the Easter break.


My Mum collects these Angel figurines, which I had fun photographing in the unseasonable sunshine.


On the Sunday we went to visit Deep Sea World, where I discovered that photographing fish swimming around in a tank is extremely difficult, at least with my rather primitive Fuji Finepix. Laura however, is easier to catch standing relatively still...

My Domain

I've just managed to buy http:///www.andrewhowat.co.uk for a measly £6. I had no idea it was so easy, or so cheap! Hooray for technology.

Hints of Spring

Walking around our neighbourhood over the last few days, one could be forgiven for thinking it was mid- to late-March. We've had bright, breezy days, with long spells of sunshine that seems to feel stronger every moment. There are also flowers out in force: huge clutches of snowdrops and little colourful explosions of crocuses, our favourite of which is pictured above (believe it or not, I took that with my mobile phone!). Some other colours we've seen on our walks...



Notice the letters 'VR', standing for 'Victoria Regina', which means this postbox must be over a hundred-years old.



Anyone know what these are? I'm guessing they are inedible, for all their spectacular looks. (This picture has the unique quality of appearing upside down, irrespective of which way you turn it; or at least, it seems that way to me.)

Unfortunately, the temperatures haven't been SO high that we haven't noticed that our boiler is broken (the plumber is downstairs doing his best as I type) or that we have no hot water or central heating.

Good News!

I just received an invitation from Routledge to write an entry for their upcoming Encyclopedia of American Philosophy on realism. It'll be a 1000 word piece and it ought to be quite a challenge, what with 'realism' being probably the most Protean of all philosophical terms! Anyway, good news for someone like myself, increasingly desperately seeking employment, and I thought I would share my joy with you all.

Gathering Moss

I live in a damp, damp place.

The air is damp. The ground is damp. Even the light is damp.

When you walk through our neighborhood, the damp makes the trees a deeper, more pungent black and the contrasting sky more thin and... escaping, somehow. Like oil and water. The damp settles down, nesting over Sheffield, while the sky and air dodge and whistle between clouds and puddles. This damp can make you feel bedraggled, soggy, and woebegone, especially if it comes at you from all angles as some evil precipitate sent by God to punish you for the sins of your fathers. Those days I stay inside, nursing my tea and wondering what will become of us all.

But the damp can also be cozy and generative.

Flowers bloom and throw their fragrance at passing strangers in mid-February. The streets smell of old stone walls and crafty, crafty earth that is scheming away beneath your unknowing feet. And moss covers absolutely everything. There are moss-laden walls, crumbling beneath the weight of time and heavy, water-logged air. Moss creeps up flowerpots and over gates. It covers driveways and sidewalks. It blankets all of the trees.

I have never seen so much moss in all of my life. I think that I could acquire a moss-coat of my own, were I to sit still for long enough. Provided, of course, that I didn't mind the damp seat.

You wouldn't think, with all of this moisture, that Britain could ever suffer from lack of water. But only last summer the balmy South was struggling to hydrate all of its thirsty people, lawns, and toilets. Some people suggest that this shortage was/is due to the Victorian infra-structure of pipes and reservoirs that now leak almost as much as they provide. Even if this is so, what becomes of the leaked water? Surely it is not spirited away to some other country with too many golf courses? Doesn't it just seep back into the water table? Perhaps it is a logistical problem. I don't know. One of life's deep ironies.

As a side note, Andrew has a new web page for you all to admire. It is mostly work-based, (i think) so that potential employers can find out just how fabulous he is simply by means of Google. For any and all who are interested in the fabulousness of my fiancé, the link is now on the sidebar. If any of you have your own web pages and wouldn't mind, could you please post a link to Andrew's work page? It raises the profile of the page and increases the likelihood that the right people will stumble across it. I guess this is the new version of 'who you know'. Thanks.

Engagement Party

On Saturday night we held The (or at least An) Official Engagement Party at Raven Road. It was an intimate gathering of friends, nine of us in all, which meant we could afford to have a proper sit-down meal. Laura was in charge of the fabulous menu, which featured these delicious items...

Home-baked herb & beer bread (which came with green olives marinanded in olive oil, thyme, garlic and coriander).


Unfortunately I was too busy eating to get around to photographing the Tarte Tatin with green salad (2nd course), the Risottos Primavera and Walnut/Porcini with red pepper puree (main course). But after the cheese course, I was full enough to be distracted by the two very beautiful cakes. First, my friend Claire's Banana Caramel cake...

And second, Laura's lemon drizzle cake (from a book I'm afraid, but with coercion you might get her to post it here)...

With mascarpone filling... Yum!

Here are some other photographic vignettes from the evening:

1. Sticking balloons to the ceiling with static. Ken & Fiona win the prize for the most productive balloon placing team I think.



2. Origami - not just party hats made from kitchen roll, but a whole origami zoo, courtesy of this weekend's Guardian.

3. And an amusing conversation about pinching people's bums, with excellent role-play illustrations by Jane & Neil.

4. And of course, cousin Ken being, well, Ken...

It's Snowing in Britain!

So naturally the country has ground to a halt.

Laura and I are staying indoors, away from the hysteria, marking exams and trying to recover from a mild dose of flu. I've had perhaps my unluckiest week in history:

• Monday - my first ever parking ticket, thanks to some very ambiguous signposting.
  
• Tuesday - wake up with a fever and a sore throat, my brain is so addled I turn up at my second lecture at the wrong time, spend rest of day in bed being furious with myself, but trying very hard to laugh about it.
  
• Wednesday - Try to hold extra lecture in what is normally a seminar slot (and seminars don't usually start until week 3). Turns out the department has put a student in my room doing an exam on the assumption I wouldn't be using it. Have to relocate everyone at last minute, and only 5 people show up anyway.
  

So you can see why staying at home, browsing the web for cool photography, is an attractive option right now.

Sunday Morning

Last summer there were a couple of weeks where our schedules were so out of whack that we didn't end up seeing each other very often. This made us both grumpy, so we suggested The Sunday Morning(track 4). This is our weekly date; it is our time together when we don't have to talk about anything specific or do anything specific except have a yummy brunch with papers, etc. and generally hang out together.

After a decent lie-in, and once we have braved letting the daylight into the room - today was a sunny one, our favourite kind - we start with planning breakfast (well, it is the most important meal of the day). Today Laura baked these lovely (and deeply orange) pumpkin muffins (recipe here):



We often accompany our special brunch with some fresh juice, usually apple/carrot/ginger, made with our excellent juicer.

What is Sunday brunch without the right reading material? Our weapon of choice is the LRB.

Birthday Pics (at last!)

This was a post that was meant to appear on my birthday, but was tragically gobbled up by the internet gremlins. They hate me. I hate them. It has taken me a long time to regroup from the loss, but Andrew is heckling me, so here I (resentfully) (stupid gremlins) go:


My new home is at 6a Raven Road in Sheffield.



This is my street. The houses are all joined together. This is a really great idea in principle. Unfortunately there is an unemployed singing teenager living next to my bedroom (I put him in the same box as the gremlins... I hope they enjoy each other).



Lavender grows right outside of my house! A really big bush! With bumblebees. I like it a lot.



There are these little alleys between the joined up houses. If you walk down this one and look left, you will see my front door. If you go through that gate, you'll get to my garden, where we keep the bikes and the herbs that we steal from the neighbors.




C'mon in! (Careful, the stairs are steep!)



Downstairs, we have the kitchen (now thankfully sans Buddhists),



and the lounge, complete with fire place,



comfy chairs, and sheep. If you go upstairs,



and along the hall,



you'll get to my favourite room in the house. I love the bath. It loves me. No gremlins allowed.



I guess that just leaves my bedroom (OUR bedroom, Ed.), where I sleep and work. It looks pretty different now; a lot can happen in six months. We have new furniture, including a desk for me, which means that I can't work in bed any more. I blame the gremlins. Stupid gremlins.

Anyway, this is my house. I like living here. I like my housemates (I like them now, a lot has changed in six months). I like most of my neighbors (except the singing gremlin boy), I like the neighborhood (I can run around and there is a bakery and a green grocer and a scuba diving shop). So all that's missing is you.

Laura's New Haircut & Wedding Rumours

(Here is Laura talking about her new haircut...)

So most of you (who had a chance) didn't even notice. But I DID actually cut seven inches off of my hair. It was really fun. I haven't been to a hair salon in years, because my lovely and talented sister Sarah has been my hairdresser extraordinaire. However, Sarah has been temporarily replaced by Emma, my new friend at the Toni & Guy salon in Sheffield. I was a little uncertain about making my appointment, as Toni&Guy have levels of stylists, and I had no idea which level to choose. (i chose the cheapest one, in the end.) Thank goodness, as Emma was just about as much stylist as I could handle. The higher level ladies and gentlemen would have had no idea what to do with me. And vice versa. Emma had a kind of mod Marie-Antoinette thing going on, with a bouffant hair-do, very pink cheeks, big fake eyelashes and a fake mole. She was cool. I am still not quite cool, but here is what Emma and I came up with:




(this one is my favorite, as it obscures most of ME and just puts Emma's handiwork on display)



Oh well. Maybe if I keep this stylist thing going... I won't always look like a potato.
-------------

Okay, I'm signing on to talk briefly about wedding stuff. Obviously a lot of conversations are taking place at the moment on what may or may not happen wedding-wise, and I'm sure everyone is excited to hear about our plans. Well, here's all we can tell you right now.

One, we don't have any definite plans yet, and we won't have any definite plans (not even a definite time frame) until April at the earliest - that is, once we know where Laura intends to research her PhD. Once we know that we'll be in a better position to discuss where a ceremony and reception might take place (viz. which side of the Atlantic) and when (viz. a time when we are both living on the same side of said ocean). Two, we're happy to hear people's suggestions of what you would like to see/hear/eat/do during our wedding. The Big Day is all about us sharing our happiness with all of you, so naturally we'd like to know how you think we might best do this. Three, the only thing we're pretty sure we don't want is something heavily traditional. It is unlikely to be a ceremony in a church, followed by a reception in a hotel or a castle or anything. We want the focus of attention to be our friends and family getting together to have fun and get to know each other, so we'll be focusing our efforts on creating a happy, fun and relaxed environment in which that can take place.

We look forward to hearing any suggestions that you might have. Nothing is too outlandish! Let your imagination run wild.

The Good News

Something wonderful happened on Saturday, January 13th: Andrew proposed, and I accepted.


(Thanks to Lucy for the photo!)

It was a wonderful, terrifying, completely surprising moment, and I am still recovering. We both walk around with silly grins. I am trying out the word 'fiancé' and calling everyone I know. (not calling them 'fiancé', of course...) Until we know more about where we will be living (due to jobs, PhDs, etc) we are trying our very hardest not to talk too much about plans and dates and practical things like that. But the reality check is made easier by my beautiful new ring...





(Andrew discovered that it's surprisingly difficult to take good pictures of a diamond ring!)

Sparkle, sparkle.

Hooray for the Local Government Association!

I sent them an email to express my support for the 'War on Waste' campaign they have just launched. The campaign involves proposals to tax people who do not recycle their household waste. I received the following interesting email, with more details about the scheme, in reply...

Dear Mr Howat
Thankyou for your comments regarding the launch of the Local Government Association 'War on Waste campaign' that was launched this week.

I will be passing on your comments to Cllr Bettison, and I am sure he will be delighted by your support. I also wanted to let you know a couple of the points of what the campaign is trying to do and say.

In terms of the 'save as you throw' proposals, we are very keen to stress that this would not be an extra tax. The way it would work is that there would be a cut in council tax and then you would pay for the rubbish you throw away. The UK is the only country in Europe (and indeed most of the western world) that doesn't have some sort of scheme like this. One argument that has been put forward to me is that we would not expect to pay, say, £300 for as much petrol as we wanted to drive our cars on the roads for the year - we have to pay for it by the gallon. In that respect why should rubbish be any different?

If I may, I would like to make a couple of other points. We are not calling for every council in the country to use these powers. If the local people and the council felt it was the best way forward to help cut the amount of rubbish thrown away then that would be up to them. As a country, we are facing some tough challenges in the long term. We are running out of landfill space and the UK is set to be hit with landfill fines by the European Union if it doesn't reduce its' reliance on simply throwing away our rubbish - which according to the National Audit Office, will mean that by 2013 councils, and therefore taxpayers, will be subjected to £205million in fines. Not only that, but the cost of throwing our rubbish away is going to almost double to £4.2billion by 2013.

We are anxious that council tax and bills that council taxpayers are kept as low as possible and therefore, by cutting the amount of waste we throw away each year, we can keep bills down.

On a final note, our campaign is not just about local people and throwing rubbish away and hopefully in the coming weeks you will see the LGA turn its attention away from what local people can do to what manufacturers can do. Over the coming weeks we will be targeting the producers of rubbish as well. From supermarkets who wrap their coconuts in clingfilm, to the amount of junk mail, to the amount of space taken up by disposable nappies, we will heap the pressure on those who make the waste in the first place to try and help them to help us keep council tax bills down and preserve the environment for future generations.

I hope this provides some information on what we are hoping to achieve.

Kind regards

Richard Stokoe
Chief Media Officer
Local Government Association

Organ Donation

This is for all the UK citizens (Scots) & subjects (the rest of you) among you,

this petition seems to me to be in favour of a worthy cause, those who agree can sign up by following this link, supplying a valid email address, then following the link they will shortly receive at that address...

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Organ-Donation/

Now all we need is for our attitudes to death and organ donation to shift in the same enlightened way they have in Spain. Luckily our housemate Jane is thinking of pursuing research into exactly this topic, so I'm sure she'll have a cultural sea change under way in no time.

Announcing the iPhone

You all know I'm a big Apple fan, and that I like to keep up to date with latest technology. It shouldn't therefore be that big a surprise to me when I read about next the next leap forward, and yet for some reason I find this thing rather jawdropping. It reminds me of the scene in Casino Royale when Bond is following a map to his Hawiian resort on his carefully product-placed, futuristic Sony Ericsson phone. Only now it turns out it's not only not futuristic, it's positively behind the times! Does anyone else suspect these will become the next must-have, flying-off-the-shelves e-accessory?

How Much Fun is This?

Check this out for hours of hypnotizing fun. My favourite is the one with the crank handle.

Redundant Post

Dear all,

apparently I can't post a picture of myself in my profile until I have posted it on the blog (I don't have anywhere else to host it - apparently my Flickr images are too large). Anyway. I'm posting it here only so I can put it on my profile page, and now you are wishing you hadn't read this!

Me, by Richard Wanderman.

Bond & a bit of Beatboxing

Two little things that lightened up my rather dark recent days... An amusing and I think quite accurate review of Casino Royale, which we saw a few nights ago, and an interesting study in how technology can make people (seem?) more talented (I'll be surprised if this kid doesn't eventually take the world by storm in some way or other).

Two Amusing Animal-Related News Stories

...featuring a pair of drunken elks and an ill-fated rare-Robin siting.