It is now approaching eight years since I received my A-level results and I enrolled as an undergraduate student at Newcastle University. Now, with the passing of another birthday this week, I am feeling rather old! It is amazing that people have a go at me for still being a student. Despite my efforts, they don’t seem to understand that being a PhD research student is very different from being an undergrad ‘dosser’. I mean, we do teach the current crop of politics undergrads! But I guess, as I eluded to in my previous post, I am happy with where I am right now, and while I am looking forward to entering the scary big bad grown up world of a ‘proper’ job, I am not too keen to join the millions of unemployed yet!

I spent my birthday sipping on some excellent Belgian beers while sitting in the garden. Today and yesterday have been very very wet, so I am glad that the weather on Wednesday was nice enough for me to chill in the garden and enjoy the beer and sunshine combination.

Now it is nearly half-way in to August, there is not long until my trip to Belgium to do fieldwork and present at the Bruges conference. I have my accommodation booked and have sorted out my Eurostar, so all is falling into place for that. I will be a visiting researcher at the Egmont Institute while I am in Brussels and am looking forward to meeting some interesting academics in Bruges for the conference also. Before I can leave for Brussels, I need to make a visit to Newcastle to see my supervisors and get some feedback on my conference paper. I also need to discuss the arrangements for my teaching this coming academic year. The Politics Postgraduate Society events are starting to get organised and I shall also meet up with my fellow students to discuss these and do some planning and organisation ahead of my return to the Toon in October.

I haven’t got too much to update you in terms of the work I have done since my last post. I have been busy doing what I can to my chapter draft and getting my Bruges paper ready. I have now washed my hands of both of these and they are now with my supervisor and I am awaiting some feedback. Next week, I will have to start getting my actual presentation sorted for Bruges and will have lots of little things to take care of while I am in Newcastle. Not least, moving quite a bit of stuff up there and sorting out my books in my bedroom and my office and getting ready for the new term there. After such a long while away from Newcastle, it will be nice to get up there for a week, although I know I shall be busy!

If all goes well I shall write my next blog post from Brussels in early September, before I go to Bruges for the conference on the 5th… a bientot!