Travels of a Fish Nut

Anyone who's ever managed a project - be it coursework, a wedding or simply arranging a night out with a large group of friends - knows that planning is the key to success. The larger the project the more detailed the plans need to be. That's why I had six months to produce a project plan for my PhD detailing what I'm going to go, why I'm going to do it and - most importantly of all - how I'm going to do it. Such planning is pretty standard and is a vital part of any project. After all, how can you know if your project was successful if you haven't defined success? As in the private sector so too in the public sector. The biggest project the government is currently involved in is Brexit. Despite the government's appearance of headless chicken, I was sure they couldn't be so incompetent as to not actually have a plan, so I went trawling through the dark alleys and recesses of the internet in search of any sign of such a plan. After many dead ends I m...

(I had planned on writing a post on immigration and something more detailed for my last post on the referendum but time has run out). [Previous posts are found here: 1 , 2 and 3 ] The referendum is only a couple of days away. The polls are too close for comfort so there's truly no way of knowing what the future holds. On Friday we could be heaving a starting to steer the country back on course or ploughing into uncharted waters. Only time will tell.

--> The EU referendum is fast approaching yet the debate seems to be as facile as ever. The central arguments for a Brexit, such as they are, appear to centre around immigration and the idea that we are being ruled by those we have had no say in electing. I will try and tackle the immigration issue later but right now I want to focus on the idea that we are being ruled from on high by people we didn’t vote for.  

--> I don’t normally comment on celebrities because, beyond a certain level of rubbernecking that I think is pretty normal, I just don’t care. But the saga of Johnny Depp, Amber Heard and their dogs has been bothering me since it began and the latest comments from Mr Depp have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.  

I was perusing the internet while having dinner tonight and I stumbled on this article . It's titled "why dissecting a frog explains nothing about life" and, for obvious reasons, it caught my eye. I was expecting . . ., what? I'm not sure. What I certainly was not expecting was an offensive piece of anti-intellectualism dressed up as concern for our fellow man.

--> “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” These are the words on the Statue of Liberty, the sight that greeted over 12 million immigrants as they approached Ellis Island to start their new lives in America. Those immigrants, often starting off with nothing more than they could carry, went on to make America an economic powerhouse. They came only with hope and the determination to make a better life for themselves and their children.

[Click here for part 1 and here for part 2 ] Things are hotting up in the run-up to the referendum as the official campaigns have been chosen by the Electoral Commission . Britain Stronger in Europe is organising the ‘Stay’ campaign while Vote Leave have been designated the official ‘Leave’ campaign. Vote Leave has written a ‘Case’ for leaving. It’s a 36-page PDF document that paints a picture of a bright and rosy future if only we’d do the sensible thing and leave the sinking ship that is the EU.

[Part 1 can be found here ] Almost two months ago I left the UK and, via a short (but fantastic) stop in Bangkok, I landed almost half way round the world in Australia to start a PhD. Before I left I went to a couple of foreign exchange places. Both offered an exchange rate that gave me almost exactly $2 to the £ (so ‘almost exactly’ that I got $200 for £100). Less than two months later that same £100 will get me a measly $187. Now, you could argue that the Australian dollar is just doing really well, but given that there's a bit of a slump due to the (temporary) collapse of the mining industry, this seems like wishful thinking. In fact the reason for the change is not an increase in the value of the AUD, but the decrease in value of the GPB. The slump gained significant momentum when Boris Johnson backed Brexit and there is no sign of things improving.

[This has become much longer than I expected so I’ve decided to break this up into two posts. Probably two posts. . . . Hopefully just two posts . . . We’ll see. . . ] The EU referendum election is coming up on 23rd June. I don’t think it comes as any great surprise to hear that I’ll be voting to stay in, but I thought it might be worth taking some time to explain exactly why I not only feel that we should stay in, but why I feel extremely passionately that this is the best thing for the UK.

This time next week I should be boarding my plane at Heathrow. That means that this is my last week in the UK for, well, I don’t know how long. I’m sure I will be back, I just don’t know when, and that means that this week has become ‘a week of lasts’. It’s ridiculous and irrational but I can’t help myself. Tonight was the last time I’ll go to the local historical society talk. On Wednesday I have two lasts – last time I’ll be in Bristol and last trip to the cinema. Thursday is also planned to be another day with two lasts – last roast dinner and last meal with both mum and Jo. Then it’s my last weekend at home. Then it’s my last night in my bed. Then it’s my last day. My last look around the garden, my last filling of the bird feeders, my last cup of tea, my last hug with Huxley. . . 

I have 15 days.  15 days before I head to Heathrow to fly, via a few days in Bangkok, to Perth where I am the starting a PhD. I keep getting asked if I’m excited. The honest answer is not really. With the wind howling and the rain lashing down it’s hard to imagine that there is a place where it’s warm and sunny, let alone that I’m going to be in that place in just over two weeks time! It feels too incredible to be true.