2000-01 Semester 2 Week 7 Wednesday (cont.) Ren asks for some more questions. Not surprisingly, no-one is very keen to ask one. The only person putting his hand up is Alan Pettigrew. Alan is a former civil servant, now … Continue reading →
2000-01 Semester 2 Week 7 Wednesday (cont.) Twenty minutes later Tyson, face down on the floor, starts singing. ‘Hello carpet my old friend,’ he croons to tune of The Sound of Silence. He looks up. ‘You two still here? … Continue reading →
2000-01 Semester 2 Week 7 Wednesday Ren shoots Compton a look to say sorry, I owe you one. Compton looks back, amused. He seems to be saying, don’t worry, this is worth it for the story. They’re at the … Continue reading →
2000-01 Semester 2 Week 5 Thursday ‘Take them all over,’ says Derek. ‘All of them?’ says Simon. ‘The state?’ says Bob. ‘Yes.’ ‘All the public schools?’ says Simon. ‘No more private schools,’ says Derek. Ren, who has just finished … Continue reading →
2000-01 Semester 2 Week 4 Wednesday Ren’s in his office recovering after giving a lecture, which had gone well enough but will require some extra explaining next week, on top of the extra explaining he was already going to … Continue reading →
2000-01 Semester 2 Week 3 Tuesday Ren knocks on Compton’s door. ‘Compton, what’s all this cuggermugger I hear about Verna winning a grant?’ ‘It’s true.’ ‘But how?’ ‘The postmodern sisterhood. They look after their own.’ ‘But even by their … Continue reading →
2000-01 Semester 1 Week 8 Monday ‘Come in,’ says Ren. A sullen-looking student with curly black hair and a black hoodie shuffles into the room, and sits in front of Ren’s desk. ‘What can I do for you… Sebastian, … Continue reading →
2000-01 Semester 1 Week 7 Saturday (cont.) ‘But why do the Universities themselves let the government push them around?’ asks Tanja. ‘The Universities sold their soul to the government,’ says Ren. ‘In return for letting government have some power … Continue reading →
2000-01 Semester 1 Week 7 Saturday (cont.) ‘So is this like the RAE that Miles was telling me about the other day?’ asks Tanja, who is fascinated now, despite herself. ‘Sort of,’ says Miles. ‘The RAE is another government … Continue reading →
2000-01 Semester 1 Week 7 Saturday (cont.) Tanja’s raised voice has attracted the attention of Lily again, and Miles, who is starting to look uneasily at Tanja. While Tanja is busy berating Ren (who is trying to send a … Continue reading →
2000-01 Semester 1 Week 7 Saturday (cont.) ‘Ren? Are you listening?’ says Tanja. Oh yes. Tanja’s question. Ignoring it hasn’t made it go away like he hoped it would. ‘Can you ever know yourself?’ says Ren to remind himself … Continue reading →
2000-01 Semester 1 Week 7 Saturday (cont.) ‘Ren,’ says Tanja, who clearly wants to change the subject to something more deserving of her attention, ‘what do you think of the idea that you can never know yourself?’ Ren sighs. … Continue reading →
2000-01 Semester 1 Week 7 Saturday The Lorenzos, plus Miles’ new girlfriend Tanja, and Jay, a scientist friend of Douglas’s from some other science department which Ren didn’t quite catch, are at The Head of Steam, a railway-themed pub … Continue reading →
2000-01 Semester 1 Week 7 Tuesday ‘It’s like you’re asking for trouble,’ says Lily. ‘Moi?’ says Ren. ‘I’m such a shy and retiring type. Why are you hanging back?’ ‘I’ll think I’ll let you go in first.’ ‘And you’ll … Continue reading →
2000-01 Semester 1 Week 6 Thursday Ren drops by Compton’s office for a chat. ‘I was thinking about our discussion about Robot, and how he misleads us when he says his concern is the department,’ Ren says. ‘We agree … Continue reading →
