Yep... come along, oral historians are very friendly.

...and sorry about all the 'facts'

I'm writing a conference paper and it's the most difficult thing I've ever had to do. It's driving me mad. I can't do anything else until this is done. I feel like breaking things.

I think I am overwhelmed by the fact that, despite the fact that I'm in my third year, it feels like my first properly international conference because I'm going to Mexico to give the paper. Also, my funding has only just been confirmed meaning that I have less than 5 minutes to write it.

I did do a paper on this topic two years ago but I've done most of my interviews since then so I have to include them and my writing style has changed completely, although it's getting to the point where I'm just going to have to fluff it up and send it off.

Thanks for reading my rant...

Do you go to many events/conferences/study days in your field? I've been going to these primarily because I thought the content would be useful but chatting to other attendees while I've been there has led to connections with other researchers/institutions - I'm not massively out-going but it just seems to happen. Maybe just try to get out and meet a few more people.

Chill out Hypothesis!!! You protest too much. Did you spend last week removing all the Wikipedia references from your thesis or something?

Following your advice SillyBilly I performed "an easy and traditional home diagnosis" using the wet footprint test as described here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_feet

I can announce to the forum that I am not flat-footed. However, at the time of my symptoms I did diagnose myself with plantar faciitis as mentioned by Olivia. I think this is more accurate to the symptoms I had, description here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantar_Faciitis

Olivia. Do you wear very flat shoes, such as ballet pumps? I used to get the symptoms you describe with hobbling in the morning and i think walking long distances round London wearing ballet shoes might have been part of the cause. It went away on its own when I started wearing less-flat shoes more often.

I've had hayfever since I started my PhD 3 years ago, could be coincidence, could be inevitable or could be moving to polluted London (though I always lived in cities before). I have been *enjoying* my newly-found allergy again these last few weeks. I also have at least half a dozen grey hairs at the front of my hair. Now, I'm sure those are definitiely caused by thesis-writing.

I will, however, be using this period of thesis-writing confinement to have some dentistry work done on my front teeth which might take some getting used to and could mean I talk a bit funny to begin with (...like Billie Piper in the last Saturday's episode of Dr who, apparently). I'm having the dental work done as a 30th birthday prsent from my parents - it's a family tradition - my grandmother had all of her teeth removed and replaced with dentures as a 21st birthday present!

There are loads of PhD writing guides out there but the one I've found the most helpful is 'Authoring a PhD' by Patrick Dunleavy (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003). It really helped me to get a grip on what a thesis actually and then has tons of advice for planning and structuring. I still use it all the time when I get stuck on something in particular (this week: conclusions!)

However, theses vary a great deal according to different subjects. I'm in Art & Design where the most variation is permitted, in Sciences I think it's much more rigid. It might be a good idea to get hold of some theses in your subject area.

I've got a September deadline too. I've been completely addicted to BB in past years - I'm ashamed to admit - and completely forlorn when it's been over. For the last few years I've stayed away. Partly to reclaim my life and partly because my background is in theatre so I ought to be showing solidarity for decent drama / trained actors / production values.

I've just handed in a 13,000 word chapter today so no time for BB last night. I'm soooo tempted and with the excuse of the September club...

What do we do if they evict multiple housemates in the same week? Stock up on Proplus and write / edit 12,000 or 18,000 words?

I think in humanities PhD students are a bit older. I was 27 and that's about the youngest research students seem to be at my college. I turn 30 in November and I'm aiming too submit my thesis by the end of September so I probably won't viva before I hit the next decade.

First of all - I think this is really a question you need to ask your supervisors. It depends who'll be reading / marking the thesis and whether they will expect to see English translations.

I'm using interviews in my thesis, they've all been done in English though. In terms of transcribing them, I'm only doing the bits I need as my interviews are 10 - 12 hours long and there was no funding for transcription as part of the project. I'm not using them in an appendix though, they appear as extracts within the main body of the text and if you are including them in their entirety then i suppose you'll have to transcribe / translate everything.

Also, instead of going to the theatre/cinema/comedy go and see BBC radio & TV programmes being recorded. Lots of them are in London so local to you and its free. You can see the list here but I think others you need to sign up to receive an e-mail:

http://shows.external.bbc.co.uk/

I haven't been to any myself yet but I'm keeping an eye on what's available.

Have a look at www.moneysavingexpert.com

You can sign up for an e-mail which has weekly moneysaving hints & tips and on the site there's a huge forum with all kinds of message boards so that if you are thinking of making a purchase you can check it out on there first / ask a question. The bargain-hunters are sure to know where to get it cheapest.

There's also a board for money saving old style which has some useful (and some slightly bizarre!) ways of economising.

How do other people refer to your supervisor? I've always called mine by their first names, as does everybody else they work with. In a formal piece of writing I would use Doctor / Professor but not in an e-mail. It might seems strange if you suddenly start using his first name and it's not so apparent if you're mostly communicating by e-mail. Maybe next time you meet you should address him by his title and see if he invites you to use his first name.