Well, that is another birthday down. They seem to come along more often than they did previously. Off to the Peak District for the weekend to celebrate, will be nice, hopefully the weather will favour us. The best gift ever had to be my prize cow picture, that I have been seeking for a while now. P did a good job in finding it, would not have been easy. Here is a photo of the picture I took earlier for you to enjoy. Glorious!!!

Prize Cow

We went to Stoke-on-Trent last week and on the way home came through the Peak District, is really nice driving. After stopping for gas (was quite alarming) we were on the road heading up to Sheffield and the sun was setting making the horizon red. Had to stop and get some pics, here is my favourite (with little EF in foreground).

Peak District Sunset

Was surfing the web and found a paper on the quality of political science research in Australia. It was quite interesting in itself and one way to assess the amount and quality of research that is being put out. Will most likely put the cat among the pigeons so to speak, as similar articles have done in the past.

Having a look at the ranking of journals that was completed in 2007 under the previous system I must say that I am uninspired. The list is rather limited, missing a number of journals that warrant inclusion. It also divides journals into three categories, excellent, good, and remainder. The problem is that in the remainder bucket you get journals that are significantly different in their quality. That is my opinion anyway.

Everything is driven by league tables these days, so that is just the way it has to be. Is a bit depressing sometimes though.

Am currently recovering from a nasty-ish flu at the moment, the worst is well over now. Thinking that probably picked it up in Stoke-on-Trent (not as grim as first appeared, just characterless midlands style) last week. Knocked me out for the weekend and gave me a good high fever. Luckily P was here to look after me. Not sure if the illness was of the porcine variety, but that is what is knocking around at the moment, so is possible.

Reached the end of the conference season in the UK (the major parties anyway, apologies to the SNP) and I have to conclude that British politics is pants. The leaders are very uninspirational and forced, seem to lack personality and come across as wooden. Cameron delivered his speech yesterday and it was full of anger and how wonderful the future will be, but is just so flat and full of cliches (and to my ears insincere). Hard to keep straight face when come across newspaper columns saying how it was revolutionary and inspirational, must have been watching another speech. The problem is that the Labour government has screwed up so badly they will struggle to have a chance and the Conservatives will win by default. Such is politics though.

Off to Irish Political Studies Conference in Liverpool this weekend. Just catching one day so we can explore the city a little. Will be interesting, has been almost two years since last presentation. Not sure how the paper will be received (not in the area of Irish politics), but need the practice.

Had an afternoon in York on Wednesday, have to say it is a really nice town/city, not overrated like other cities (ie Bath, Cambridge). Walked around the city walls while I was there. Will have to go back when P is not in ’school’ and explore properly. Here are a couple of pictures.

Worked hard on a paper to get it ready to resubmit in August and thought it was of a reasonable standard. Just heard that it has been rejected, does not reach the threshold for review required by the journal. Feedback was quite brief and a little disappointing to be honest, as there is not much that I can do to address the points raised. Oh well, will look it over and try another journal that is a little more appropriate. Have another resubmission coming up and hoping that one goes a bit more smoothly. Is quite draining being faced with a rejection, hard to pick yourself up and go at it again, but that is the nature of the game.

Went to Manchester last week for a couple of days. P had a course at the airport there, so I went for a wander around to see what there was to the place. After two days of extensive inner city strolling I have to say the answer is ‘not much.’

The trip over to Manchester was nice, passes through the Peak District national park and some nice scenery. The day we went through the cloud was low and the rain was coming down steady. Days like that you really appreciate train travel. Unfortunately, when we got to the airport it was still raining and a little cool, so had to wait for the hotel shuttle and then make a run for it.

The first full day produced gorgeous weather and I headed off into the city for a look around. Wandered from Piccadilly station into the centre and then around and around, headed down to the University to see what that was like. My impression of Manchester is that it is just a sprawling blandness with no real central focal point. There is a distinct lack of open green spaces through the city and it felt even more closed in with the trams being closed (added barriers throughout the centre). Found a really good restaurant for dinner on the first night. Having spent time in Manchester I feel that I understand Morrissey and the Smiths a little better. Was not upset when it came time to leave…

Have been trying to write this post for a couple of days, but struggled to find the motivation to do so. Motivation levels are flagging at the moment, hard to keep it going with little external stimulus. Hoping to discuss research with thesis examiner once the revised thesis has been submitted and I am able to find out who it is. They had some really interesting points in their final examiners’ report and ways to expand the research that have never entered my mind in a serious manner or been mentioned by anyone commenting on my work or advising me. Thus far I have been able to glean that the person is a geographer, which explains the new perspective. There are overlaps between my work and geography, presenting an opportunity to push the research in a new direction. Having said that, unless I get a job soon the research may be going on hold permanently. Can only continue without support for so long.

The other thing that I have started considering is whether to embark on a project trying to turn PhD research into a longer work for publication (ie book). This was suggested by two people recently and is something I have toyed with previously. It is something that I would like to have a go at (probably), but depends on a lot of factors that are difficult to undertake or impossible for me to influence. The core issue is that to craft a meaningful manuscript I would need to do further research interviews and data collection (hard quantitative data). Would be happy to do more research on the ground, as that is the most interesting part of the whole process, but, again, this relies on me securing work. Am not really willing or able to go on a trip around Europe doing more interviews without some financial support. It was mentioned that the process of writing a book can be cathartic, I am sure it can, but without a job it seems to me a dead end with little reward (other than something to put on the shelf). With all these caveats in mind I have decided to give some thought to putting together a book proposal and trying to see if there is any interest.

In the meantime I will continue with the writing. Things here are a bit frustrating all round, P is not ‘loving’ work and things generally just seem a bit difficult. This phase will pass, just need to ride it out for a while longer.

Here are some pictures of Manchester.

Thesis has been passed (finally). Just half a day’s work to be done clarifying a few minor points. Is strange to think that it is done after all this time. Big relief though. Now I just (REALLY) need some employment.

Hard to believe that it is September, but there you go.

Started serious work on paper to be presented in October, will be tight to get the necessary information in time to organise a rough draft. Good to have a deadline though. At the moment I am waiting on response from someone associated with an organisation in Argentina to fill out a section of the paper. Once that is done the rest of the paper should run through quickly enough.

The responses I have had thus far have been positive and shown genuine interest in participating in the research. The language barrier is an issue, but have two members who are comfortable communicating in English, so that should be enough initially (for the conference paper). I really need to get on with learning Spanish.

Fortunately, I have a good friend in Chile who is able to help out by visiting the organisation and conducting some interviews. Will be good to have a co-author who can contribute some fresh ideas and help overcome the language barrier.

We are off to Manchester this evening. P has a two day course and I am going to explore a bit and see what it looks like.

Has been quiet around here the last week or so. Phone is working again, internet is running at suitable speed, and the rubbish is picked up today. Had a nice walk the weekend before last in the countryside between a couple of villages (Elsecar to Wentworth Historical Walk). Saw a range of follies along the way and enjoyed the nice weather. Also got a can of shandy from a store in Wentworth, brilliant!! Anyway, here are some pictures.

Needle's Eye

Hoober Stand

Wentworth Woodhouse

The Round House

When the mail dropped through the door this morning there was a threatening letter sitting on the mat when I went down to pick it up. It was a standard letter from TV Licensing. They start out in a nice way with:

Our records show that this address does not have a TV Licence. It is an offence to watch or record television programmes as they’re being shown on TV without a licence. We have now passed your details on to our Enforcement Division.

This is followed by choice lines such as: “Please be aware that your home is on our list.” and “If you don’t take action and our Enforcement Officers find that you are watching TV illegally, you risk prosecution and a fine of up to £1000.” So much for their more friendly and approachable style, were alright on the phone the other week, but the letters have the same nice tone. So, now we need to sit and wait patiently for the ‘Enforcement Officer’ to come knocking. Will be a fun encounter, good thing we called up when the first letter came through.

Has been a rather frustrating few days around here. The phone has packed it in the other day and is still not responding, now need to decide whether to call in the phone people (phone provider says there will be a charge if  can’t find anything). On top of that the internet has been on the blink today, might have something to do with the rain. A more likely reason is that the phone lines were installed with the same care that things are constructed in this country these days. Just hoping we can get it sorted soon.

Back to some more writing for me now.

Started another paper today. Need to write something to present at a conference in early October, so time to get to work. The other co-authored paper is with the co-author at the moment waiting for revisions to his sections. Looks like it will be ready for resubmission in a week or so (ahead of schedule). So, have some free time to start a new project, am fortunate to have time to do this, but would prefer to have a proper job. Get a little bored working from home and would be nice to get out into the real world more often.

Anyway, this paper is a challenge. I threw together an abstract for a conference without giving too much thought to the fact that I would have to write it up. Was a paper that I had considered writing for some time, so has jolted me into action and now I just need to hold on and hope it comes together. The paper itself concerns two regional organisations (one of which I am quite familiar with, having written a paper on it). Collecting the necessary research to cover the second organisation is going to be a challenge due to language and geographical barriers, but will get there. Am a little anxious about presenting the paper at the conference, but at the same time the standard of the paper required (not peer-reviewed) is much lower than that for a journal article, so feels a lot less pressured in that way. Also unsure whether there will be much interest at the conference in the subject matter.

Not sure that all this will be of interest to anyone who reads this post. Apologies for that. I think that I am just jotting down some things to clear my head and think about the way forward. Writing something inane allows me to mull over the details of the paper (drafting the introduction at the moment) with the hope of generating a spark of inspiration. Is one of those tricks that I have learned on the long stumble through my higher education ‘career’. To reward your patience and perseverance I have attached a picture of the view that I see if I look to the left (is a little cloudier out there today).

Well, we made it to Rotherham and have been settling in. Found a nice eco-house with views over the valley and Rotherham itself. Has been a busy time trying to get everything sorted (internet just came through yesterday). P has already done a week at work and has encountered numerous annoyances, but is battling on. Yorkshire has been good so far. The people seem a bit friendlier (for the most part) than in London and we are feeling at home here. I am getting down to my own ‘work’ again slowly, papers to be written/revised and other things to plan. Paid employment (other than casual) continues to evade me, and am considering possible work options (not a lot spring to mind immediately).

Was a busy weekend just been. Popped over to Sheffield to use the internet and P found a vehicle for sale and decided to purchase it. Was something that we had discussed that morning, useful for her at work for off-site visits. Given ambivalence about cars and the fact that neither of us had owned one for 4-5 years we decided to go for a classic. To be more accurate, P had something very specific in mind and I was all go with it. So, when we were in Sheffield she found a Mini Pick-up for sale over the internet and made a purchase. I did not know that there was such a thing (although P had mentioned it at some point in the past) and was quite interested when I did see it. Picked it up from Salisbury and made the long drive back on Sunday. Was a long ride, but Mini’s have a surprisingly large amount of leg room.

Now I am going to get down to work on a paper that needs to be sent back by October for (hopefully) final acceptance for publication. Revising papers is a challenge, but does get easier as time goes by. At least it gives me something to do. Also preparing for first conference presentation (also in October) since December 2007. Will be a bit nerve wracking as I have not been in an academic setting for some time and at this stage am not sure that I will have sufficient material. The thesis experience is drawing to a close at the moment as well (I hope), is still under review and have learned in the last few days that my library and e-mail privileges will cease in mid-September. Considering tapping contacts about possible honorary access, am not that interested in being associated with the institution, but the benefits are useful.

Anyway, back to work for now.