Via Flickr:
Oh, it feels so good to be sitting in my office, all nice and warm with sunlight flooding everything! One has to use the opportunity to its full extent, as it seems that all of this will vanish tomorrow!…
Tag: England
And today we had a fire drill at the University…
My guess is that they hand-picked the day to match the weather conditions – it was so lovely outside that everyone just flocked outside to the grass for a while, it was quite a nice break in an otherwise dull afternoon!… š
Sunny and bright!
Just the way I like it… And it seems that the good weather is here to stay, at least for a few days!… š
And so it begins!…
Spent all afternoon printing a fresh batch of lab reports to mark :P. And now, let the fun begin!… (apparently tomorrow the weather will not be as inviting as today, so I really have no excuses for not starting… š )
Anyway, I shouldn’t complain that much, this morning I had a brilliant outing on a single scull – no wind, no rain, had the river all for myself (and its banks, as I kept hitting them š ). It was quite chilly, though… (couldn’t feel my hands for more than a quarter of the outing) Ah, I’m eagerly waiting for the warmer months…
Today I capsized on a single…
… but I did it deliberately! š Apparently for security & insurance purposes British Rowing has some guidelines on simulated capsizing drills the clubs must do with every new member. Here at the University’s boat club they hosted it on a public pool: we had to do a 15-second underwater breath test, swim two lanes and finally capsize a single (they brought two singles to the pool, it was quite a sight to have two rowing boats right in the middle of the pool! :P).
It was quite interesting, and I managed to learn a few things (even though I’ve already capsized twice in the whole of my rowing life – both them unintentionally and in one of them the water wasn’t as nice as the one in the pool! :P). Apparently one has to double-tap the boat hull (to signal others you’re still down there and trying to set yourself free, I suppose), and when resurfacing it is important to hold one’s arm above the head in order to prevent injuries, should one hit the head on the boat’s rigger (I found this quite important, I had never thought about it!).
Aha!
In my case, it was way more than that – talk about a 50% decrease, more or less! š
Thank you, EU! š
Riding my bike in the snow!
Via Flickr:
Mudguards are not a very good idea when riding in the snow, apparently…
Snow in Canterbury
It is been snowing non-stop since this morning around here – everything is completely covered in white, and the thickness of the coating is now quite sizable (more than 5 cm, definitely!).
This morning I walked (yes, I did not want to risk my chances by cycling, since only the really major roads are gritted) to the University and took some photos of the campus and its amazing Canterbury views completely covered in white. It was quite a sight… and everyone was enjoying themselves, I saw a lot of families with kids playing in the snow and going down the hill on sledges – good thing that is reasonably hilly around here! š
Some photos (you can, of course, check the complete range on Flickr):
Hmm.. I wonder what is this for?
Vodafone UK has some free SMS-based services such as this one, in which you text a given number and it returns you your approximate location (I reckon based on cell tower location services..). This seemed like an interesting service, but I was failing to see the point of it – until I saw the rest of the text. Of course! The Brits and their drinking habits… š
Today I went to buy some cutlery…
… and I was asked to show my ID to do so. Apparently it is illegal for people under 18 to buy knives around here (even though the knife in my cutlery set would probably bend itself if I attempted to stab anyone :P, since I went for the cheapest I could find! ), and since according to many I still look like a teenager I was obviously asked to confirm my age.
Interestingly enough, the last time I bought cutlery around here no-one asked anything. Perhaps because I got an even cheaper-looking set? š
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