The only way to invite spring was to order a new umbrella. It’s arrived just in time for the 19°C forecast tomorrow. I have no illusions. I live in South Wales. I’ll be needing it by the weekend.

St David's has become one of my favourite days of the year. I get to mix cultural symbols of Greece and Wales and for me it is the beginning of spring!

You think pancake day is good but what if I told you that in Greece there is A WHOLE WEEK traditionally dedicated to eating cheese and eggs? (It is followed by traditionally giving up eating all animal products for lent though)

I was told you are not supposed to throw out the rubbish on Lunar New Year but it's bin day today. What do I do?

Today's self-care was cutting up a couple of sewing patterns and getting them ready to put them together. Only I decided to do this on the floor and now my back hurts...

But of course I would decide to take up silversmithing classes when the price of silver is breaking records every day!

Just spotted @torstenbell.bsky.social walking down the other side of the road. If I was not late on my way to climbing I would have stopped to ask him what he thinks about the proposed 200+ job cuts at Swansea Uni!

I have been reflecting on learning and assessing the learning as educators lately. I ask my students to make a podcast to help them develop comms skills beyond academic language. What I get is read out academic essays. I think students are taught they should not have fun with their academics.

Over Christmas I had to sit through conversations about how "carnivore is the best diet" and how what I've spent 20 years on is just "my opinion." Now the new US dietary guidelines are out, shaped more by lobbying than evidence, from an administration that doesn't believe in public health anyway.

Hugo refering to the secret traitor as "the middle management" not really thinking HE is the middle management 🤣 #TheTraitors

I am scrolling though the beautiful magical Christmas pictures on social media and ours is so so different, chaotic and loud! Balkan people don't really do tranquil, magical and warm white soft glow.

Greek coaches seem to be running on a vibes based schedule, yet everyone seems to know when to show up. Well, anyone but me that is! I have been living in the UK for far too long for this I think!

I have been sharing with people the results of the programming course I have been doing this past term (I actually did better than I expected) and I often get the question "Why are you doing this if you find it so hard?" Like, I don't know, since when we are not supposed to do hard things?🤯

A lovely reminder today that, while the system is broken, my colleagues and my students are awesome! What a joy it is to attend their graduation (and be called a superstar teacher 🌟)

All the emotions liquefied and escaping out of my eyes.

My colleague's baby's reaction to our results section makes me think they should have a word with reviewer 2. #academicsky

Not quite sure what extra information the interpreter can provide that deaf people cannot already read? What am I missing here?

My ceramic pumpkin is giving more Cinderella than Halloween and I am ok with that.

If you live in Wales consider signing this petition to ask the Welsh Government to continue funding Technocamps I'm a current student in their introduction to Python course this semester and, trust me, they provide a fantastic value for money service for Wales! petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/24...

I will give you a scary costume idea this Halloween! 🎃 An academic in UK higher education in 2025. Pitch dark academia. #academicsky #Halloween

I do hate it when I don't know what is the next right thing to do...

That's probably the best picture of me even taken and it was from this random lady while I was minding my own business looking though the displays in the Archeological Museum in Thessaloniki. What can I say? If the golden wreath fits...

I came back home to a shattered inner pane of my window. The internet says metal enclosure/manufacturing fault and I have already contacted my landlady who is sorting a replacement out but I can still hear more cracking happening and I am kind of terrified it will collapse into a heap 😬

Just published! Supervised my student Chelsea's systematic review on foodborne infections in infant feeding. I hope this helps improve safety protocols for vulnerable infants. Paper is open access if anyone's interested in the full findings. #academicsky pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40970506/?tr...

I have not written for @theconversation.com for a while but I am back taking a closer look at the evidence and explaining why most children already consume enough protein and why focusing on overall diet quality is far more important for their growth and wellbeing theconversation.com/does-your-ch...

I have now watched @hankgreen.bsky.social scishow's video on physics and knitting and I am really curious to know if they had a single knitter or any kind of textile related expert in the writing team. If not I offer my services.

Why am I getting adverts for advent calendars? It's August! 😳

Yesterday was a good day to be a supervisor! On article from my PhD student published and one other from a MSc dissertation accepted! Read Grace's open access here onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #academicsky

Reviewer 2 needs to learn not to waste their time doing the copyeditor's job. #academicsky

This weekend I am sharing stall C23 at the festival for Quilts with @tripsandflips.bsky.social talking about our interactive feminist community quits projects. We have loads of fun talking to people from so many different paths of life who share the enthusiasm for textiles.

The clay gods were smiling at me today!

Sometimes I wonder whether academia is the right career path for me and then I go to a random place with patchy 4G but my phone connects to eduroam and, honestly, this is 90% of what keeps me in. (This post was brought to you by said eduroam connection) #academicsky

It was so nice talking about the quilt, crafting, motherhood, and community building again with a lovely group in Wyeside arts center! They also have a fantastic exhibition of paintings of the beautiful mid Wales countryside on so if you are around you should definitely visit!

I swear Wales is the place where all your cottagecore dreams come true. Just found this hand embroidered tablecloth in a village charity shop for £2.50

The heart of Wales line experience can only be improved by the addition of compartment coaches.

A few days ago I saw one of those skits about online training courses where the speaker makes an attempt to interact with the audience by asking very basic questions and people answer in the chat and says things like "yeah, that's a good one" I am currently living though it.

I am not a big Swifty, but this messy Trump Vs Musk break up feels like an opportunity. Taylor Swift can do the best next move right now 🐍 #ReputationTV #LWYMMD

Banksy and I narrowly missed each other in Marseille. Like ships in the night. You’d think the lighthouse would’ve helped! 😅

Last day in Marseille and I spent £25 on various types of soap. I am now trying to calculate my luggage allowances withe no scales and just vibes. If a bottle of wine is indeed 1.2kg I might need to wear some extra layers 😬

Just arrived in France and discovered that my Airbnb host does not speak a word of English. To my surprise, I can understand about 70% of what she is telling me which, honestly, should make my high school french teacher very proud!

My douze points to #Luxemburg

I do love the slight dig of the greek team this year with the caryad in the background on the greek staging. The song is about displacement and longing. Well played #Eurovision

Keir Starmer does not realize that English might not even be the first language of British people Has he been to part of Wales? It's like when Rishi Shunak said he will still call the Welsh National Park Brecon Beacons. Immigration is not the problem. Colonialism mindset is.

Marking students work and after reading a few AI generated pieces it almost feels refreshing to come across grammar mistakes and typos! #academicsky

What do you all mean by "First American Pope?" The last time I checked Argentina was still in South America! 🤔🌎

Not sure how I can explain living in Wales any better than saying that tonight my mood did a 180° from "I suck at climbing and my glasses frames broke" to pure delight when i was leaving the wall and I was offered to hold a 5 day old lamb. Meet Wendy.

Have you even been on an Easter walk if you have not posted the bluebell carpet?

Spending Easter morning spying on the blue tits in the bird box. The female is sitting on all 10(!) of the eggs while the male keeps bringing her food. This is all so cute!

Most of the trans men I know are so passing that are literally indistinguishable from cis men. It will be interesting to see the reaction when they start walking in women's public toilets. I seem to forget, it's not about making cis women feel safe. It's about making trans women feel unsafe.

As work gave us today off I decided to spend my morning going to @sainsburys.bsky.social to get their coffee and choc chips hot cross buns I heard they make this year only to taste them and realise there is hardly any coffee flavour in them. 😕 I hope at least the lemon ones deliver on their promise