Day 15: back into the box

That's the third round of strikes over. Nothing has been resolved, although it seems that university workers are well pissed off. A recent study published by the UCU found that 2/3 of staff are considering to leave. Higher Education is in crisis like many other sectors in the UK. In this case, the senior management could be more helpful. Although, I suspect that at the core of this crisis is the marketisation driven by Tory policies. I got a reply from two of my MSPs I had written. One was really helpful. So we shall see where that is going. The next step is get as many people to vote so that we can renew our mandate for industrial action. One of the recent union-busting bits of legislation is that the mandate is only valid for 6 months. 

I am quite sad I missed the last day on the picket line, the climate march and the funeral for higher education. I figured that it is better to stay at home even though I tested negative.

Quick walk in the cemetery with the macro gear. Got a bunch of new beasties for the web site and my first butterfly picture of the year, a speckled wood (see extra).

My new records arrived today, Twisted Nerve, an Edinburgh goth band from the 80ies that resurfaced in the last decade. Somehow I had totally missed them until I saw them supporting New Model Army. Really excellent stuff and in coloured vinyl (see other extra).