The cost of being a student

Today we had an open meeting on marketing at our university. It is slightly disheartening that all our very labour intensive work with schools, teachers, parents and careers advisors may all be rendered entirely pointless in the face of the removal of the cap on tuition fees in 2010. We know already that several universities are discussing raising fees to £15k, minimum. We know that we can't do this (and wouldn't want to price any potential student out of our courses). But it does make me incredibly uneasy. The picture of UK university education in three years' time is going to be unrecognisable to us Brits.

The end of another week: ahhh.

What a funny week, again. I was at the Hereford & Worcester HE Fair this week, which entailed travelling up the night before. As the event clashed with the Cheltenham races, and I was late booking a hotel, I couldn't stay in Worcester itself, but I had booked a B&B inn place in what turned out to be the middle of nowhere in a possibly idyllic (I don't know, I didn't see any of it) village with the unlikely sounding name of Upton Snodsbury. One of the downsides of this kind of thing is that you have to then sit and have dinner on your own in a hotel or restaurant - I don't know which is worse - and that indeed is what I had to do. Hence Tuesday night found me sitting in a massive pub conservatory, alone, on my wicker/chintz cushion chair, gazing out of the window on to the A422, and feeling very lonely. The chair was so high my feet didn't even reach the ground, so I was perched uncomfortably with my chin in the goat's cheese tart. That was all ok, because I was alone. However, shortly after my tart arrived, so did three London lads, "happy" after a day's racing. Cue racist jokes, lairy behaviour and sidelong looks at the bird.

I had a very, very early night on Tuesday.

Sick of the sound of my own voice

This week I've done nine talks, spent two days at an HE fair, travelled from Luton to Crystal Palace to Camden to Dulwich to Hendon, and back and forth to home of course. I've spent a night with a friend in Finchley, and the morning on her floor with her one year old son playing with building blocks, before going to talk to 18 year olds who are, one assumes, beyond that stage of their lives. I have talked to careers advisors, teachers, students, parents and occasionally the odd man on a bus. I am completely tired of hearing my own voice spouting on and on about student life, finances, medicine and personal statements. I hope no-one else is as bored of my talks as I am! Meanwhile, shout out for Luton VI Form, Alleyns School, Brampton College, La Sainte Union and everyone who came to Crystal Palace. Now I must rest in peace.

Revising my neurology

I've got sinusitis. It feels like this. I'm not happy. It's been a week and it's not getting any better. Today I did a talk at Luton VI Form, and tomorrow I have to do 4 talks at South East London HE Fair. The following three days I have to do a talk a day. Sinusitis is not conducive to any of this. Sad. The only benefit is that I get to try to remember which cranial nerve might be affected, but I can't actually remember.