Permanent Residence
Thank you, Home Office! My application was successful and I have Permanent Residence status. For now. Of course, I have this right while the UK is member of the EU. Therefore, the Home Office news […]
my BREXIT uncertainty
I arrived in the UK in 1993 from continental Europe. I have learned here and invested a lot of my life in this country. I love living here, especially because I thought to be among […]
Learning and tests
I’ve been learning all my life (sounds obvious) and teaching for much of my professional life and I am increasingly frustrated with education institution’s obsession with assessments. In most countries, the obligation to spend a […]
‘Toxic’ Places
Following on from writing about mining waste as a challenging habitat for plants (see ‘First Arrivals‘), I want to provide you with the means to make sense of the contamination present in the historic metal mining […]
First Arrivals
If epiphytes were people, we would call them clever strategists. I guess this holds true for any organism that manages to occupy a hostile corner, but I am fascinated by life forms that grow on toxic […]
Challenging Soils
What makes plants thrive? The obvious answer is light, water and ‘good soil’. Light is not likely to be a limiting factor on most mine sites, as there is little growing that could provide too […]
Achilles – take 5
Boat design is brilliant. I’m not talking about beautiful, sleek and fast hulls, efficient rigging, righting properties…as great as this might be when you’re up for a sail. I’m thinking about the interior. Galley, heads, […]
Achilles – take 4
A well known restaurant in Plymouth’s Barbican housed in a building associated with an even better known alcoholic drink that bears the city’s name and goes well with tonic water and lime offers disabled patrons […]
23 June 2016: A profoundly disturbing day
I am European and in the UK.
Achilles – take 3
The ‘door-kick and stop’. When occasionally carrying something bulky in the past, I thought it annoying that those posh stainless steel buttons with a wheelchair printed on it only feature on the ‘outside’ doors of […]
