On the basis that it might be an interesting experience, on Monday I attended an open day at one of many absurdly named city law firms, Denton Wilde Sapte. Such things are rather illogically organised - unlike any other open day, which welcomes large numbers of people, these ones actually demand that you apply for them. It doesn't make you cheerful ( Read more... )

Peter Brunt has died.

This is upsetting. As people may know, my personal area of classical preference has always been Roman history - late Republic and early Empire. Brunt's name thus cropped up on virtually all Nicholas' reading lists, and I must have read his books more than almost anyone else's in pursuit of essay material. Italian Manpower may ( Read more... )

I popped up to Oxford for various reasons over the weekend, foremost among these being the acquisition of a degree. I was in good company, as sea_bright gained her doctorate earlier in the day - congratulations, Dr. Patrick! It was all great fun, particularly the Latin, and the Dean of Degrees' amusing speech at the pre-graduation dinner ("As you will know, ( Read more... )

So on Saturday I get the chance to put BA after my name. Not that I will, but it's nice to be able to. Thinking about it feels a bit weird, but I can't decide if that's because I'm graduating or because I'm returning to Oxford for an academic purpose. Both, probably. One drawback to having it at this time of year is that apparently the ceremony ( Read more... )

I found myself attending a lecture by Richard Dawkins today, having steadfastly missed all opportunities to do so while actually, you know, attending his university. He was very well attended, in defiance of all fire safety regulations (a fact which the Warden of Imperial cheerfully acknowledged), with people in the aisles, up against the walls, ( Read more... )

Is it me or is there something fishy about the minister's statistics in this letter to the Guardian?

Your front-page article reported false claims that city academies are "deserting the poor" and "cherry-picking more able children from middle-class families".

In fact, last September the 14 academies in question recruited 1,100 pupils who were ( Read more... )

An interesting meme - list up to five pieces of music and the memory or feeling that you personally associate with them. Explain why, if you can.

( Some unusual choices, perhaps... )

The first hoop to jump through was presented today; a test on the English Legal System, which must be passed to continue with the course. Since it's multiple choice and the pass mark is 40%, should I fail I'll thoroughly deserve it ( Read more... )

Today's Guardian (or is that Grauniad?) refers to the theft of the car used in a Harry Potter film. They give the film's name as 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Apprentice'. I find it particularly impressive that they managed to make no fewer than three mistakes in giving it that title ( Read more... )

Ed: "So we have to work out whether Gonzo was responsible for Hilda's death or if Alfred's actions break the chain of causation. You'll notice that the criminal gets the silly name ( Read more... )