My Life of Grime!

Stuff mountain :

This Tuesday will go down in the annals of Jerushah history as the day when our lovely new house changed from a clutter free, oasis of calm to something resembling the house of Mr Trebus from ‘Life of Grime.’ In fact, after showing my friends the before and after photo’s, they have now started to call me ‘Mrs Trebus!’

The cause of all this upheaval is that on Tuesday I had all my non essential possessions (not stuff or junk), from the old house delivered from storage. Bearing in mind that the old house had three bedrooms an enormous garden and a garage, and this house just has one bedroom and a miniscule patio, I expect you can see the root of the problem ?

My facebook status earlier this week read ‘Huge junk pile just delivered, feels like I’m chipping away at Mount Everest with a teaspoon!’ Things are slightly better now (after ten black bags went out with the rubbish and four carloads went to the tip), but I think I may have my work cut out over the Easter break !

A mental break :
In addition to the junk pile (oops ! Non essential possession pile) being delivered, there will be a bit more excitement this week as I will be off on a field trip to Almeria in Spain with the School of Science. It is actually very close to where I completed part of my undergraduate degree in the mid 1990’s, so in addition to all the interesting geography and geology we are going to be looking at, I am also looking forward to visiting some of my old haunts – Can’t wait ! I hope to have loads of tales to tell on my next blog !

Naughty, naughty Jerushah ! I have a confession to make ! Last week I bought the Bruno Mars album ‘Doo-wops & Hooligans’, for my daughter as a birthday present, but from the minute I discovered this track the CD was not allowed to leave my car for several days !

‘Our first time’ is just the most ideal fusion of reggae and R&B that I have ever heard...I just keep choosing track 3, then listening to it again, and again, and yet again. Perhaps I am just a little bit obsessed ? I made sure that ‘S’ took the CD with her when she went to stay at her dad’s place this week, as it probably needs a rest ! Jerushah X

Naughtiness in the lab

Or:



Beware of bored friends !

Well, well, well... I have had a very interesting time in the lab this week, ‘Have you discovered some hitherto, as yet, unidentified diatom?’ I hear you ask. The answer to that is ‘No.’ In fact, it was interesting for all the wrong reasons ! Here is a photo of me using the ‘Malvern Mastersizer,’ which is a piece of equipment used for grain size analysis (I was analysing my samples from the infamous Hornchurch core if you are interested).

I was concentrating on my work, being a model of virtue and industriousness. There was just one little problem, however. Friend ‘K’ was bored. Having been much more efficient than me earlier on in the day she had finished all her samples (eight compared to my fifty-two) nice and early.

While my back was turned, she had secretly taken my phone and was typing the rudest message imaginable to my research supervisor - Lucky I turned around before she hit ‘send’ or I would have been in big trouble!

J's record of the week:

'I'm coming out'

by

Diana Ross


This song was written and produced by the legendary Nile Rodgers (of Chic). It was released in 1980 on the ‘Diana’ album. I do remember it at the time, although I was only six !

My main reason for choosing this song is that one of my work colleagues was singing it for the WHOLE of last Monday... As you’ll know if you’ve heard it, the song is so catchy, I just couldn’t help myself but make it my record of the week, for this week ! Thank you ‘S H!’

Jerushah X

International Women’s Day :

Bright and early on Saturday morning, I arrived to work at International Women’s Day as part of the Student Ambassador team with fellow bloggers Edgar and Tiffany. In addition to handing out the Greenwich and Kent Uni prospectus, we also ran a charity tombola in aid of the CROP organisation which supports families whose children have been victims of sexual exploitation.The good news is that over £100 was raised the charity!  Check http://www.cropuk.org.uk/ for more information. Poor Edgar ! As the only man at International Women’s Day he was subject to quite a lot of attention, from older ladies saying ‘Ooh ! What a lovely young man!’ to the dancer from Sierra Leone who was convinced he needed to join in with her special ‘confidence dance.’

As for Tiffany and me, we spoke to some really interesting people including some people selling (extreme pleasure inducing) homemade marmalade, an Indian head masseuse, a health visitor who supports teenage mothers returning to education, a henna artist, an Avon lady and the Medway Soroptimists. If I’m asked to attend next year’s International Women’s Day event, I wouldn’t hesitate at all, it was a great day and lots of fun!

The Cantium Singers :

This week I was feeling a bit low, and missing my daughter while she was staying with her dad. So rather than continue to mope about I decided to do something that I’d been thinking about for ages – I joined a choir...The name of the choir is ‘The Cantium Singers,’ who are a non denominational choir based in Medway. I went along for my first rehearsal with a bit of trepidation as the only singing I’d done previously was with friends, in school, with my daughter...  or in the shower! I needn’t have worried though, everyone was so welcoming. I learnt a lot in one evening... We were rehearsing Fauré’s requiem, so I now know how to sing in Latin (just!). Also, I found out that I am an Alto.

I was ten in 1984 when this song came out (vague memories of dancing round my mum’s kitchen singing along into a wooden spoon (no hair brushes for me!).  Jocelyn Brown is a female vocal LEGEND, who is now based in the UK (occasionally she pops up at the Jazz Cafe in Camden). Having joined my choir I am now in the mood for a bit of a ‘diva’ sing along once again ! Jerushah X 

Our house in the middle of our street :
Blog readers ! I owe you a big apology... If my blogging has been a little erratic (to say the least) over the past couple of weeks, it is because we’ve finally moved into our new house ! After two temporary homes and a four day stay at a hotel when we were really stuck , we are finally here.

I have to say ‘S’ and I couldn’t have survived it all without the help and support of our wonderful friends:
- ‘F’ who hid all my worldly possessions in a cupboard at the School of Science for four days.
-  ‘K’ who helped us big time on moving day, in spite of her fragile shoulder.
- ‘L’ who drove me to Ikea in her lovely big van so that we didn’t have to sit on the floor.
- ‘M’ who was brave enough to look after ‘S’ and his own two girls to enable said trip to Ikea.
- ‘L’ and ‘E’ our lovely new neighbours who helped us when the front door key wouldn’t work on the first. night.
- ‘S’ my best girl, who has put up with an awful lot of instability during the last three months, without a grumble !

We also had some beautiful and practical moving in presents, including : A rain gauge; a Christmas cactus; a cake stand; a bottle of wine; a cat cup, a fruit bowl, a really individual piece of artwork that brought a tear to my eye, plus an unexpected hamper from my mortgage company... Thanks guys it was all fabulous and helped make our house into a home...

 

Thought you’d like to see a picture of our garden (taken in early January, before we moved in, when it was still frosty)... At the moment it’s a bit of a concrete jungle, but we’ve got big plans ! I’m not sure that the swimming pool  and trampoline that ‘S’ has asked for will fit, but hopefully we can make it a little oasis of ‘chill’ in one way or another ! I know one thing though, some strange force seems to be compelling me to get a banana tree – not sure why, but it seems like the right thing to do !

I should really put a parental advisory for the lyrics on this song, which was originally released in October 2009. It reminds me of friend K’s favourite saying ‘Geologists know what makes the bedrock.’ I’ve chosen it as my record (or should that be MP3, as I’m sure vinyl copies are few and far between) of the week as it will forever remind me of moving day. ‘K’ and I played it over and over, singing along to all the (somewhat questionable) lyrics as we ferried my stuff between F’s secret cupboard at the School of Science and the new house. Enjoy, but I won’t force you to sing along if you don’t want to ! Jerushah X

A challenging week :

 

It was an amazing week, this week – The week I (yes me !) was picked for the University of Greenwich, University Challenge team ! It has been an endless source of amusement not only for myself but also my friends and family... I’ve never really considered myself to be the ‘sharpest tool in the box’ so this has all come as a bit of a surprise – especially when I tell you why I entered it in the first place.

Many moons ago (1983 to be exact), one of our course coordinators appeared on (and won!) University Challenge. I won’t tell you who, as he is a modest sort of chap, but suffice to say he is never allowed to forget this particular achievement due to a group of appreciative students who set up a facebook group in his honour.

When the University Challenge online quiz invitation came a few weeks ago, friend ‘K’ and I speculated about how good it would be in twenty years time if our students were still talking about our outing on University Challenge. There and then we made a pact that we would both go home that night and do the online quiz. Dutifully I completed mine, only to find that friend ‘K’ had abandoned her attempt... However, I received the biggest shock of all when after a second assessment the Students Union invited me to join the team !

Well, Monday rolled around and the four of us (Poor ‘K O’ our current reserve member wasn’t well), assembled outside the ITV studios. We had a agonising wait to be called to meet the producers, only to find that we were to be interviewed together with the Cranfield University team (who were all gorgeous, thin, clever, witty good looking twenty-something postgrads). When asked for our unique selling point we said ‘diversity’ having a good range of subjects between us and a combined age of well over one hundred ! ‘H’ also suggested that the fact that our Greenwich Maritime campus was the only 17th Century building ever to contain an atomic weapon might have some bearing on our selection, but the rest of us were not sure about that ! The interview was followed by a forty question test which was not for the faint hearted.

Yesterday ‘K O’ who could not be present at the studios, had her Skype interview with Irene Daniels, and apparently they will let us know if we have been chosen for the next round by Friday 11th February... Wish us luck !

J’s record of the week :

'Valentine love’
 

by
 

Norman Connors              

             

It used to be that I couldn’t listen to this song without a tear in my eye; it’s so heartrending (all be it in a cheesy 1970’s kind of way).  It was released in 1975 and has guest vocals from the beautiful and talented Jean Carne (look out for a record of the week from her any time soon) !
I wonder why I’ve chosen this song? Has it escaped the notice of the blog readers that it is nearly Valentine’s Day?  All the shops have Valentine’s cards on the stands and the flower racks in the supermarkets are full of red roses. I’ve never seen the film ‘Valentine’s Day’ but I like the idea of an ‘Anti Valentine’s party’ it’s got so commercial these days!  Happy Valentine’s day everyone!  Jerushah X





 

And all because the ladies love : MUD !

Tankerton sampling :

Last Sunday, my lovely mini field assistant ‘S’ and I got up at 5.15am all in the name of science...
And the reason for our early rising ? The time and tide were just right to catch some exposures of 5000 year – 8000 year old soils, peats muds being exposed. We were accompanied by trusty friend ‘K’ and Drs ‘A’ and ‘C’ my research supervisor and programme leader respectively. Plus the very cute daughter of Dr ‘C.’ A budding quaternary scientist if ever I saw one !
We took some cores, but unfortunately the peat was a little bit old for our purposes... There was a fantastic up side though, the extreme low tide has exposed some really cool marine life; bright orange living sponges the size of my hand and the biggest sea anemones I’ve even seen (see photo). Best of all though, Dr ‘C’ noticed a large section of mammoth’s tusk sticking out of the mud

Muddy Medway sampling :

What a week, not one field trip but two ! Wednesday on the River Medway was cold, wet, muddy, potentially dangerous and incredibly good fun !
With Dr ‘A’ and ‘R’ standing on the shoreline, us three ladies ‘L’ ‘K’ and me bravely waded out into the mud to take nine samples and a core along a transect. We did get our samples, but it was rather unpleasant wading up to our thighs in anoxic (stinky and sulphurous) mud. A few times we did get quite stuck, and had to pull each other out, which was a good illustration of why you should never work alone in estuarine conditions!

After we had washed off the mud, changed our clothes and got back to the uni, we were soothed by nice hot drinks, flapjacks and comfy chairs in the Pilkington.
While we were there , ‘K’ noticed that her shoulder was hurting... Later that evening she sent me a text to say that she had dislocated her shoulder as we pulled her out of the mud. I must say, ‘L’ and I felt horrendously guilty, but she was very brave about the whole thing ! Her sling comes off tomorrow...
And all because the ladies love : MUD !

J’s record of the week :

‘Mind blowing
decisions’

by  Heatwave

I was trawling through my collection the other day for something I hadn’t listened to for a while and I remembered this ! Nice sing along lyrics, but its beauty is in the musical arrangement.  In my (humble) opinion it is a genius song of amazing rhythmical complexity ! What do you think is the most amazing thing about it though ?
Listening to it you can visualise some sort of late 70’s disco in Chicago... Tall, suave guys sporting afros and big medallions, and then -   Scratch the record, everyone will gasp when I tell you it was written by a man from Hull ! Yes ! Hull ! Rod Temperton was his name, and as well as playing the keyboards, he was a crucial songwriter in the band. Last year BBC Radio 2 listed this song as part of the ‘Great British’ song book, an acclaim it thoroughly deserves ! Hope you like it as much as I do ! Jerushah x

If you go down to the woods today !

If you go down to (crash through)the
woods today :

Last Saturday four of us went for a walk in the woods...
It wasn’t a normal walk though ! We chose to do a bit of exploring off the beaten track.  First of all (it was lucky we all had our lovely wellies !), we decided to walk up a stream, scrambling over slimy rocks and ducking under low lying branches. Two out of four of us got ‘booties’ as the water overflowed our boots, so then it was squelch, squelch as we walked. After that there was a period of crashing through the bushes, followed by sliding down a muddy bank,  then a high speed run (with maximum splashes!) through a series of big, muddy puddles. Boy was it fun !! I love being a Mum as it gives me the excuse to do all sorts of things that most grown ups wouldn’t get a chance to do ! Not sure how many people of my age would genuinely enjoy getting COVERED in mud though?!!

Twilight update :

Here’s a picture of Twilight, looking so cool, calm and collected. Now she is six months old and officially a ‘teenager kitten’ you think she would be calming down.
‘Butter wouldn’t melt ?’ I hear you ask. Yeah right !

So far this week she has :
- Pulled the curtains down while climbing on them.
- Drunk water from the toilet.
- Climbed the laundry rack.
- Scratched ‘S’ as she got carried away playing.
- Put her paw in a cold cup of tea.

More life in the lab :

This week was a great week in 2011, because I got back in the lab, and apart from fieldwork (that comes next week hopefully) it is the thing I love most about my course.

I finally got my hands on the infamous ‘Hornchurch Core’ that I had been waiting on for quite a while. With the help of my (not at all accident prone) lab buddy ‘K.’ We did some sterling work and put over forty soil samples through the first stage of processing, which involved carefully removing them from each little glass phial and leaving them to soak in glass beakers containing Hydrogen Peroxide.

If you work for the Pilkington Cafe, please don’t read this next bit...
In the course of our scientific research we realised that the wooden coffee stirrers were a perfect fit for this purpose, so if the supplies are running a bit low this week... Only joking - it was nothing to do with us ! Honest guv !

For those of you interested in the ‘science bit,’ the purpose of the Hydrogen Peroxide is to disintegrate any residual organic material, leaving behind only the lovely diatoms ! I will have to leave them in that state until I can get to the lab again on Tuesday, but in the meantime, I might just go and check on them over the weekend to make sure they are ok...

J’s record of the week :      
                                              

‘Annie’s  Song’

by

John Denver

I have an impressive reason for choosing this song as my record of the week. It was chosen because my daughter played her flute in a concert this week (in front of about 200 plus people) and decided  to play Annie’s Song. She had been rehearsing and rehearsing for weeks and all her hard work paid off as it sounded beautiful and went without a hitch ! It was definitely a proud mum moment.
Anyway, just a little bit about the song... At thirty-seven years old, it is a bit older than me and was written as a love song by John Denver for his wife Annie Martell.   Jerushah X