It’s been a couple of weeks since I left, but in August and September, I was living and working in Durham. On the first weekend I arrived, the weather was, shall we say, typical British weather – quite wet. In fact, for the first few days the weather wasn’t great. But things gradually improved, as…
Teaching
‘We’re in the endgame now’
That has both literal and metaphorical meaning. Avengers: Endgame was released in China last week, before the UK or US. I will not say how many times I have seen the film, only that it is more than once. I do not actually mind spoilers, but I know a lot of people do, and I…
Channelling Die Hard 2
There is a scene in Die Hard 2, when Detective John McClane finds himself once again forced to save the day, and at Christmas no less. Although the scene involves swearing and talks about a basement and elevator, it nevertheless reflects the situation that is happening now. McClane looks around and says, “Oh man, I…
Miscommunication
This past week has seen a lot of depressing stories in the news. Brexit seems to be heading for catastrophe and the cliff edge, there is a new conservative supreme court judge in the US, and to cap it off, the earth is burning, and if we do not do something urgently, then we are…
This is a learning curve
“I think at last, we understand one another, Frodo Baggins”. Faramir said that towards the end of the second Lord of the Rings film. And so it is here too. My culture course has not gone quite as I imagined it would. My first class, the introduction, was fine, but that was really just who…
Find Somebody Who…
I have only taught my freshers once, and this was part of their first class. One class has three male students (out of a class of about 20 or 21), and the other has two male students (out of a similar sized class). They are all 'finding someone who', a classic English as a second…
