This week I was supposed to be starting my Brussels fieldwork. I left for Brussels on Tuesday morning and returned back to England the following day! Why? I shall explain…

While I was in Lisbon I thought it would be a good idea to sort out my Brussels fieldwork arrangements, book my Eurostar tickets and sort out somewhere to stay. I looked on the classified ads and found somewhere that looked suitable and made enquiries. I arranged it and paid the rent and deposit in advance. I was promised that I would hear something nearer the time and have the keys couriered to me. As I left for Brussels I had fears that I would be heading there to discover that I had been conned. This was the case! I got to Brussels and set about locating my digs. I turned up at the door to discover multiple flat numbers (I wasn’t told which) and none of the names on the doors matched. Also the big banner advertising rooms to let looked very different from the photos I had been given. It was clear that I had been dealing with a bogus landlady and the money I had paid I will probably never see again. Ouch!!!

Now, this is quite a lot to take in! Especially in a city you’ve never been in before and my French is a little bit rusty still. While I tried to make the effort some words came out Portuguese still! Anyway I thought I better drag my stuff around Brussels and find somewhere to stay for the night. Eventually I got somewhere but it was pricey! The room was ok but there was no way I could afford a second night and I had to start to consider the possibility that I would have to turn around and head for home.

Brussels is certainly a nice place and I needed to make the most of it before arranging a Eurostar home. I went to Grand Place and had a nice Belgian meal of moules frites (mussels and fries) and I had a waffle for afters. I also needed to have a nice Belgian beer while I was there – lovely stuff! I took some photos but really couldn’t do anything other than briefly be a tourist before having to return home.

But I will return to Brussels at some point and will do the fieldwork I have been planning. I had made arrangements to meet with people but they have been understanding when I told them I was postponing my fieldwork for the time being. This is very frustrating because if it were not for the mishap with my accommodation I would be there now and probably making good headway in getting my fieldwork done.

Due to this rather sudden change of circumstances I was actually in the country on General Election day. I thought that 2010 would be the second polling day running I would have been out of the country and unable to vote but in the end I went out to exercise my democratic right. The real fun of course comes in staying up all night to watch the election night coverage. I didn’t stay up all night but stayed up until the point where I could be sure we were heading for a hung parliament and that even by the morning there would be no clear winner!

So I am at home in Suffolk and am planning to lie low for a bit and spend as little money as possible. I have things to be getting on with so it’s not so bad. I need to go up to Newcastle at some point but at the moment I don’t know exactly when. I’ve got a bit of explaining to do I guess!

But at least I am back and can draw a line under this episode. Proof that all PhDs have their setbacks, but these things are sent to try us!

I feel I ought to update my blog now and provide an account of how I spent the month of April 2010 after safely returning from Portugal.

It was a month where I made a brief visit to Newcastle but also attended two conferences and had to prepare my documentation for my annual progress review.

Starting at the beginning of April, I landed back at Heathrow and made the journey back to Suffolk to spend the Easter weekend with my parents and girlfriend. Once it was back to work on the Tuesday, I had to set about reorganising my life again and transferring all my books and papers I acquired in Portugal from my luggage into my bedroom. My suitcase actually weighed in ok for the plane back, but good job they didn’t weigh my hand luggage as that was probably heavier!

Coming to terms with being back in the UK meant firstly dealing with the inevitable email backlog, but then organising a visit to Newcastle to see my supervisors and whoever else was hanging round the department at the time. It was nice to return to the office again after four months away and it was good to have a catch up with my supervisors. They seemed to be pleased with my efforts in Portugal and from what I told them they felt it had gone well.

The middle of the month of April was spent preparing for the first of the conferences I was attending and presenting at – ‘The Cold War and European Integration 1945-89’ at the University of Reading. I got my paper ready before I left Portugal but I needed to sort out my powerpoint and spiel for my presentation at the conference. I took the train down to Reading from Newcastle and stayed over with my cousin. This was nice and he showed me some of the local ale pubs!

The conference itself was good, a diverse mix of papers some from historians some from political scientists and it was a relaxed, friendly atmosphere. The conference dinner after the first day was nice too! I was down to present on the second day, which meant I had to stew all through the first! I was down to present alongside a Spanish girl presenting a paper on Spain similar to mine on Portugal. But this conference was at the same time the volcanic ash cloud was wreaking havoc on Britain’s airspace and she was unable to attend. This meant that I was the sole presenter in the panel and this was a good thing as I got the full attention of the audience as well as not having to hurry through my paper or skip bits!

In the two weeks that separated the Reading conference from the Bath conference I had to put together all my documents for my progress review and crucially write my paper for the Bath conference! This is the reason I have been too busy to update my blog recently!!! But I got it all done and took the train down to Bath for the two day conference. I had a look round the city and took some photos – it’s really nice! The conference itself was stimulating and again the conference dinner was a good opportunity to chat to fellow research students. Again, my paper was scheduled for the second day – this time in the last panel in the afternoon! I was presenting in the same panel as a Portuguese student who I had met before who was presenting on a similar topic. This was really useful as there were lots of links between the two papers, and we were able to give each other useful feedback.

Those were my first presentations outside of Newcastle and although I was a little nervous I didn’t feel too panicky. I enjoyed the experience and didn’t feel too daunted. But I’m glad the busy month of April is now over and I can use the feedback I have received to improve my research as well as use the presenting experience to improve my skills for the future.