The hotel I often recommend is the Holiday Inn in Brent Cross. If you book really early, you can get rooms for about £50 (this may have gone up since I last looked). Obviously, you have to travel into London on the Northern Line - but it's not too far for the BL.

The other decent hotel option is Travel Lodge - I think they have one in Southwark that's quite cheap.

Occasionally, the Hoxton Hotel have a promotion offering rooms for £1.

The nearest hotel to the BL is the Novotel next door. Unfortunately, since the St Pancreas re-opened it's really expensive. The cheapest near the BL is probably the Ibis. There is Holiday Inn in King's X up the road that is not too bad...you'll get a mid-week room for around £70. There's lots of B&Bs but I really don't know which is good or not, and many are priced as high as chain hotels.

All the student accommodation around the Bloomsbury areas is very shoddy - so I wouldn't bother even looking. However, KCL and QM have accommodation during the summer that you can rent for about 35-70 a night (these prices may be a bit out of date now) - the best place at KCL is Great Dover St apartments, and for QM their new student village (both offer ensuite rooms in shared apartments) - you'll need to use the Tube in both cases.

Thanks - I've heard of Visio but never used it or seen it. It is fairly simple to use?

Torrent would be great!

I'll also see if MS offers a trial version.

I need to put some diagrams, timelines (which feature quite a lot of text), a few tables in my thesis. I've been using Word & PPT, but I'm just not happy with the quality.

Can anyone suggest a good, but simple, software program that produces professional looking diagrams etc. Or, alternatively would I be wise to pay for someone to do them for me? (I'm not technologically stupid, but I don't have the time to master a new program).


Thanks.

"My supervisor has had parents of 25 year old students march into his office and demand school-style behaviour and grade reports every term. Sad!"

Given the cost of HE these days, it doesn't surprise me at all that some parents will resort to this. Particularly, if their offspring are using their university days as a three year holiday. The students must be horrified!

I remember ripping up my sixth form college grade report when I hit 18, I deemed it none of parents' business anymore.

In my experience there has been always been a very clear line between students and staff, and students and PG research staff. In one case, if we didn't complete work, we had to write formal apology letters to the staff or PG TAs concerned(v. strict! and over the top).

Sleephead, I can, for the most part, understand your university's concerns, and it's probably just a knee-jerk reaction to advice your director has received from the higher powers concerned about litigation (particularly in terms of sexual harassment and favouritism). A close friends of mine didn't have his TA position re-newed because he taught his students in an informal manner (despite still being very professional).

Ironically, in the US they are more strict about student-Professor relationships, but I find there is a much more informal atmosphere when it comes to teaching and socialising.

I find the comment quite unprofessional, and it might almost be read as him giving you the proverbial two fingers (the fact he didn't explain his comment makes me think this). I'd probably write something back on the lines of...'I didn't know you cared so much (or so little)'.

While we are lowly PhD students, it doesn't mean we have to put up with being talked to like shit.

Sorry for digressing here, but while we're on the subject may I ask...when making minor corrections, do we literally just ink in the corrections and then submit the thesis, or is it necessary to have a newly bound copy made?

...and the word 'of', just leads to unfulfilled expectations for the word 'have'.


(Sorry, couldn't help myself )

I see mine about once every 2 months.

I've never sent an interesting publication/article to my supervisor for comments - this is not the done thing as far as I'm aware.

Meetings involve going over the work I have submitted, and then general questions.

I defined my research topic from the beginning, my supervisor has never directed me on what to research. However, my supervisor is very aware of what I'm researching and is always helpful, and gives me suggestions when I ask. However, I am definitely an 'independent' researcher.

How does he sign-off on his messages?

Generally PhD students have a relaxed relationship with academics and everyone is on a first name basis. I sometimes find this informality rather strange for very distinguished professors, but on the one occasion I continued addressing someone as 'Professor' I was informed 'surely we're on first name terms now'.

Hey! Well done Sjo4! You must feel so much relief.

You're the second person (the other being Matt) in as many days to pass their PhD on the forum! It's so encouraging!

That's a really strange first question that you got asked - but one I was asked in a viva preparation course, and I thought to myself, there is no way an examiner would ask that (but obviously they do!).

Good luck with your new job.

Angie, you need to put your own wellbeing at the forefront of your decision, rather than issues such as your CV. But, if you are confident that you can restart research - then I'd say go for it.
It sounds like you have a good supervisor, which will really help. Don't be embarrassed about having to take time off. The reality is that many other faculty members or students will have done the same at some point. You're not the first, and you certainly won't be the last.

My PhD has taken longer than expected too, and my reasons for that are very genuine. Despite that, I feel like a guilty bullshitter when I ask for more time to my complete work. However, as PhD students, I do think we all become a little too introverted and paranoid about how other people view us, particularly if we have not fulfilled the role of the perfect student.

Personally, I find it's the arrogant academics who are quite insecure about their own abilities, and therefore go on 'seek and destroy' mode. Unfortunately, I've been on the end of it too (not by my supervisor, but a junior faculty member), and very nearly quit on a number of occasions. Those are also the same people who tend to be in academia because they are unable to work alongside people in the real world (of course, there are some lovely academics too). With this in mind, I think it's important not to take criticism so personally, but rather to develop a thick skin.

Arrrrhhh me too! I got the MS Office Ultimate Steal offer, but it's just been a pain in the arse. Everything is slower - and it often freezes.

It does look better though!