It's Christmas Eve (actually the early hours of Christmas Day). I'm sure Santa is somwhere around. I'm baking, making soup, wrapping presents and otherwise getting ready for tomorrow (today). But my brain is in many ways still in the UK thinking of the evnts of last week...
So having arrived in Gunnislake, I was afforded very gracious hospitality by my PhD mentor, Jack Harris and his wife, Dawn. After several cups of tea and chatting about old times we headed on out for a pub, "The Volunteer Rifleman" where I was reunited with several old friends. Ann Pulsford and her partner for-as-long-as-I-can-remember, Pete Glynn, were there. Ann is now the editor of the Journal of the Marine Biological Association, having packed up her electron microscopy work some time ago. She was on excellent form and spent most of the evening baiting Jack. Pete is another recent retiree from the University of Plymouth. He looked very well. He is/was and excellent cell biologist and in my graduate student days gave me a lot of advice on techniques and procedures, particularly electrophoresis and gel filtration. Pete has a sense of humour that is dry as a stick and he had me chuckling all evening, particularly with his Greek Chorus style ripostes to Ann and Jack. Also present was Annette Wrathmell (another UoP retiree) and her husband, Tony.
The evening was wonderful and I enjoyed great food food, scintillating conversation, a lot of excellent Rioja and most of all the company of good old friends. Times like this are precious and must be savoured and remembered.
Peace!
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