This is the book my wife has worked on for years, while also lecturing and having our children. It's done. And it's brilliant. I just cried with pride and - honestly - relief. I don't know the right word for that but I bet every author - or author's spouse - knows the feeling.

Matthew Weait Oxford Continuing Education University of Oxford contacting his 1,400 staff to offer them jobs which they already have for even less pay than the £23 an hour they generally earn. Meanwhile, waving the Bible of Diversity and Inclusion ... #ucurising #HigherEducation

Burma just recorded its hottest ever April at 48.2C (118F) 🌡️

1000s of schools across Southeast Asia have closed.

By 2100, 3 to 6 billion could live in unhabitable regions. It's either a revolution against the carbon regime or the slow extinction of our species.

You choose.

Come and join us! a couple of rooms unexpectedly free, and available first come first serve at a big discount!

Yes. One of the difficulties of holding University of Oxford to account (and other organisations I suspect) is that you have wade through endless ‘wellbeing’ type guff which is simply being used as a smokescreen to hide bullying type behaviour.

Huge thanks to Oxford UCU Oxford UCU Anti-Casualisation Network This means so much to Rebecca Abrams and me. I just had no idea how far University of Oxford would go to shut us up. Thanks also to Law for Change Leigh Day #ucurising #ubersisation #HigherEducation #Whistleblower

Did University of Oxford really think it could simply ignore the court ruling on employee status, retaliate against the whistleblowers and pretend the ruling didn't apply to anyone other than the claimants?
Extraordinary behaviour.

This morning we hosted Sally Bayley and Eleonora Maio at Wolfson College, Oxford for a talk about Sally’s third book The Green Lady - an excellent event, the video will be on our website soon.

Good points here. I can't agree though that the books industry's 'door is closed' to working-class people. Instead of demonising 'gatekeepers', look at the path *to* the door. Structural stuff, and above all money. The core problem is how people afford to live while on the path.

Today EGM of Oxford UCU Oxford UCU Anti-Casualisation Network asking for 'Solidarity for the Oxford Whistleblowers.' Since this case, our work has been cut and we have been subject to other intimidating behaviour. If you are able to vote please do! #ucurising Rebecca Abrams

theguardian.com/education/2024…

A first for Arvon! A writing retreat focussing on menopause and midlife. I'll be teaching alongside brilliant Miranda France. Arvon this August
arvon.org/writing-course…

I reviewed Tan Twan Eng's 'The House of Doors' The TLS and have read Joseph O'Connor's 'My Father's House.' Both are brilliant. If I had to choose it would be 'The House of Doors' for its luminous and lyrical prose. #histfic #WalterScottPrize

52C in Bangkok. And it's only April.

So what happens when it hits 62C? It's coming as certainly as 2+2=4. It's what being in 'Uncharted Territory' means.

doi.org/10.1093/biosci…

theguardian.com/world/2024/apr…

Extreme heat wave in Bangladesh has killed several people & is keeping 33 Million children out of school. The implications of ongoing escalating climate change & a warming earth is devastating for the world's poorer communities. This is climate injustice.
bbc.com/news/articles/…

Looking forward to hosting Sally on Tuesday at 11am in Oxford and online!
oxfordwritingmentors.com/book-now/p/sal…

Selling the car as the mobility solution for our cities was probably one of the most impressive policy scams of the 20th century.

(video excerpt from an Uber commercial)

Academics work for decades on contracts & then (if lucky) get a job

#University administrators settle down & move up (admin is expanding). Soon, they are senior managers on 6 figures

Who pays whom? It is research & teaching that bring in money

Who is firing whom?

#academia

I will be speaking about #maryannsate Unbound in #painswick evening of 2nd May. Book was runner up for the £30,000 Rathbones Folio Prize. Hope to see you there!
#stroud #cotswolds #writingcommunity #histfic #litfic

firstthursdaypainswick.co.uk/event-details-…

University of Oxford racing to move hundreds of tutors onto employment contracts but *still* refusing to acknowledge that our victory at the ET affects hundreds of teachers at Oxford beside Alice Jolly and myself. Can’t imagine what’s holding them back 🧐 #oxfordUCU #HigherEducation

Where would our tragic country be without Private Eye Magazine About time someone pointed out that universities are sacking staff while spending eye watering sums on new buildings. What are they going to put in those buildings when they have axed everyone? #ucurising #uberisation