Must admit I sympathise: I have been left off reports by "mistake" before now. Got me into trouble with my boss once: why had I "let my partner do all the work?" I hadn't, I did most of the darn work, but my partner persisted in "forgetting" to add my name.

Thing is, it's hard to prove malice and you can end up looking like the petty one. So now, whenever I send a work-related email to a colleague, I always cc emails to my supervisor, so there is proof that I was working on a project.

He he...I don't fancy any of my colleagues, sadly.

Part of my contract was that I would develop a test method on a certain piece of equipment. All the literature said that it was impossible on this equipment, but I was asked by industrial partners to make it work. I felt just like you (except that my academic supervisors were more supportive): I tried and tried but it just would not work. In the end I gave up and used a different kit, which works. Sometimes things just don't work through no fault of yours, and any experienced supervisor should bloody well know that.

You haven't done anything wrong, apart from maybe accidentally flashing. If I saw someone doing what you were doing (and I have, in the library) I would laugh and then forget it.

What about email? Friendly emails can build up to something.

My supervisor read your posts (he was being noser at my desk yesterday). From a supervisor's point of view, he said just ask her out: otherwise you will be distracted from your work, and no good supervisor wants that!

Will her position really be a barrier? Is there actually a policy in place regarding these things?

Apologies if you've already explained this, I can't remember.

Or imagine him pulling a great big bogey out.

RE: the computer. Have you tried going straight to a friendly IT person and asking for help? I'm asking cos when a new girl started here on a temporary contract I was asked to let her share my desk/computer. This was OK in the short term but that was now a year ago, and she's still sitting at my desk (bloody Facebook) half the day. So I asked IT very nicely if she could have her own place, and they actually agreed and sorted it.

As for the rest of it: are there many other PhD students around you? Has this happened to anyone else?

I've sometimes wondered how the UK compares with other countries. We have a lot of American students who tell us that in the US, an exam passmark is 70% - and that's considered a poor result. I think at most UK universities the passmark is 40%.

Hence lots of Americans coming here to get "easy" (in their opinion) pass grades.

Totally agree. There's a lot of snapping lately (occasionally from me, I must admit). I might count to 5 before responding in future.

Oooh, this gets exciting now. Shall we all cross our fingers for this Friday?

Rk, I bet that's the same university as mine...it's like a branch of bloody Starbucks in there.

Oops: I should probably spell properly before I make sarcastic remarks

Still, plenty of people learn English alongside a PhD. I don't think he should need to be fluent before he starts; the best way to learn is to move to the UK and immerse himself in the language.

Errr, Jouri he does say that he would learn Engligh:

"Beside,I want to know if I can take this support course,can I work on Ph.D level."

Maybe your English isn't so great?

I think it's called "summer"