Thanks Bobby, had a good day: got a tube pass and went a few places (Greenwich, Harrods, Notting Hill market). There's just so many things to do, it would take a week's stay in London just to get round them. I was amused by the museum at the Greenwich observatory - the story of John Flamsteed, the first Astronomer Royal, sounded familiar to me:
a) his funding was crap so he had to spend half his research time teaching;
b) half his instruments didn't work or were badly built;
c) He had Issac Newton on his back demanding results every week, and
d) then Newton went and published the results as his own!

Not much changes in the world of research

Thanks pea, though read the post too late to act on it.

Tricky, I went to the meridian line, the nerd in me was very exited to be there! The observatory is great.
Nice market at Greenwich too.

Yep, I've been there many, many times.

I just had a trim and it was really only an inch taken off, and my hair is past shoulder length anyway, but somehow it looks really different (and not so nice). Hopefully in 2 months it will be back how it was. Your hair souns nice, graduated bobs are usually very flattering. I had one and really liked it, but cos my hair is wavy it was too much maintenance.

Fair enough. I have seen some very short papers myself, where the authors really should have waited for more results, but clearly were trying to squeeze as much a possible out of one or two NMRs (for example).

Thanks for the advice, guys. Nimrod, I've only been to Camden Town if St Pancras station counts.

404: I'll definitely pick up one of those; thanks for the information.

Some of the girls here are really glamorous. Don't know how they do it; as soon as I leave the house my hair kinks, mud flies onto my trousers and my makeup slides off . I'm trying to learn to appreciate the unkempt look.

Oldguy, they can't have been that crap if they got published (which implies that they passed peer review)

Can you stand on the meridian line?

Cabinet rooms sound good: how do you find them? Is it where Big Ben is?

Seems that bitching goes all the way up the ranks in my faculty. Just be glad you're not involved and keep your head down!

I've got a cheap day return to London tommorow: where should I go for some good shopping and general touristing? (already seen the British Museum and Covent Garden).

Anytime you want reassurance you should come on here: we're not "proper" doctors, but I understand that you may often feel frightened and lonely, and we can help with that.

May also be an idea to investigate local support groups in your area: there is bound to be at least one, given how common this condtion is.

That was brilliant!

Not the ampuatuion: just the image of you being pulled across the room via your trousers

You must admit that's quite a comical image though