Wouldn't bother. Use your covering letter to sell yourself - practical experience, your strengths, attributes, what you could bring to the lab... that kind of thing. They will take it as given you have at least read some of the papers!

Hear hear, olivia's posts keep me sane.

Methinks, olivia, you have WAY too much time on your hands!

What about which fish makes the best dinner? Personally you can't beat a bit of swordfish. Or cod. Or haddock. Kippers are nice too. Mustn't forget the oily fish. And shellfish..mmm...

Hi Lynn, I had major surgery on my neck a few years back for a suspicious lump. I recommend that you stay busy and focussed, I found the pain became less bothersome when I was really busy. That and cocodamol. Although that me me feel like I was floating...

Hi badhaircut! Are UK PhDs really really that bad? Surely it is a case of where and with whom you do the PhD. No disrespect to any institution but a PhD from, say Imperial, carries a lot more weight than the University of Chester, not least because the former receives an obscene amount of funding. More funding = better paid academics = higher stndards, ergo you get a higher quality of researcher.

Thank you for that constructive yet completely untrue message. I think you'll find crap institutions the world over and not limited to the UK.

Ezra: I found that with a Science BSc (the MSc was work funded) but just have patience. I went to a good science uni but didn't get anything for 6 months because I wanted to stay in science. The best the job centre could offer was street sweeper of cleaner! Keep plugging away, something will come up but don't choose a PhD just as an "easy" option

I live in a pokey town in the South East where death is the only activity to relieve the tedium. If I didn't work in London, I'd go nuts

I'll be round at eight so you can show me my corner ! As to the psychology of spooks, they don't have to wait for the coast to be clear, they're invisible flatmates!

I like the weekly scheduled meeting (ah, the bliss of a new PhD stufdent/toy) that doesn't actually accomplish anything!

This house of yours sounds much more fun than the fasionable number crunching I'm currently doing. Can I come over and sit in the corner with a sheet over my head going: "WWwwWooOOOooOOOOoooOOoo"? Set the ambience?

Lack of London interaction explanation: Too many freaks/weirdos/juvenile delinquents/armed muggers/one-armed former sea captains high on exotic plant life...you get the idea.
I'm in London, walking about with a smile on my face (getting looks that say "what the hell is that disease disfiguring his face") and usually the only people who want to talk to me are beggars.
WELCOME TO LONDON FOLKS!!

A VERY large textbook...

I think my supervisor believes I'm the cleaner...