The Adventure of the Plant Passion

The summer holidays are underway after what felt like a very long academic year. It was hugely challenging in numerous ways from staff changes to the ever pesky pandemic. Despite this I have found this academic year hugely fulfilling, enjoying working in a team that have really gelled together well and seeing the incredible progress our students have made. I feel quite proud to say that other than two days where we all had to isolate, I managed to be at work every single day of the academic year, through two lockdowns. I'd like to think that this is the last academic year of covid-related chaos but with the way things are, it seems likely we will have a third. Even so, after a rest I am looking forward to what the next academic year will bring.

I mentioned a short period of isolation- this happened a couple of weeks back when our class had to close and both staff and students had to isolate whilst we waited for the result of a PCR test. I'd actually been quite up for a period of isolation where I could sit and watch films all day but I hadn't anticipated how tough it would be. By the end of the second day I found myself naming the insects that appeared in my garden and realised I had already become slightly delirious. 

Isolation is hugely tough when you live on your own. I do occasionally have a day where I don't really see anyone but even then I might interact with a shop worker or say hello to some people when I'm out walking. But isolation remove those opportunities and I found myself feeling trapped within four walls. Obviously isolation is not the worst thing that can happen to you but for many people it's still a deeply unpleasant experience. I'm now at a position where I'm more concerned about potentially having to isolate for ten days than I am about catching covid. 

One solace I did find whilst in isolation and indeed during the recent heatwave was sitting out in my little backyard. I took great joy in seeing the various insects enjoying my handful of herbs and flowers. I concluded that I needed more plants, a lot more. The problem is that plants are quite expensive to buy but I had a brainwave and started exploring Facebook Marketplace. It turns out that there is a sizeable group of locals who garden heavily and sell excess plants for bargain prices. 

Over the last weekends I have found myself driving around Bournemouth collecting plants from stunning gardens and getting growing tips from the lovely people who tend to them. In all honesty I have little idea what I'm doing but I've bought a range of plants that are supposedly good for attracting insects and have kept them watered during the hot weather. My modest collection of pots has now expanded from four to over twenty and my yard feels more like a garden than an empty slab of stone. 

In this first weekend of the holidays I have hugely enjoyed watching the Olympics. I love the stories that they produce. In the road cycling, Austrian Anna Kiesenhofer made an early attempt to take the lead and to everyone's surprise managed to keep it right up to the end. Kiesenhofer is a mathematician who isn't even part of a professional cycling team and most of the other competitors didn't even know who she was.

I also find myself watching sports that I would never normally watch. Taekwondo is surprisingly entertaining to watch. It's essentially two people attempting to beat each other up whilst wearing dressing gowns. Any sport where you can legitimately shout "kick him in the head" as a form of encouragement is great for spectators. There's a great juxtaposition between the competitors kicking and punching each other and the extremely polite video review system. The coaches hand the referee a small card to indicate they want to review and they bow at each other. The video referee then takes a look at the footage and if the review is successful indicates with a firm thumbs up. Then it's back to kicking the shit out of each other. 

I don't have a huge number of plans for the holidays as yet but there are a few things on the horizon. As much as I enjoy my job it's good to have a break from it, both physically and mentally. I'll probably have a bit of time to write some blog posts so expect more nonsense soon. Thanks as always for reading and stay safe.

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