Release

I didn't get the long night's sleep that I'd hoped for, but did at least get back to sleep when I woke early - as a result of going to bed early. Hence I was on decent form when I gave my fourth and final lecture on the PhD course. After chatting with a few interested students over coffee, I had three hours before my train back to Edinburgh. 

It was a fair morning so, guided by Turf, I walked back into the town along a quiet footpath, reaching Williamson Park, which is dominated by the Ashton Memorial. This huge folly is familiar to me from driving on the M6, so it was interesting to explore. The views are long, but very flat. After that, I picked up the Lancaster Canal, where I learned from a passing boatman that it was now navigable to Preston. This was pleasing as, when I studied canal maps as a boy, it was cut south of Lancaster due to the construction of the M6. I passed the most impressive collection of cygnets I've ever seen (see extra) and chatted with someone who was also admiring them. I eventually reached the fine stone aqueduct over the River Lune, which must have been even more impressive when it was built in 1797, before following the river back into the city centre.

On the train back I received an email from the Royal Society, asking whether I would take on the task of writing the official memoir of my PhD supervisor, Roger Fletcher, who died in 2016. He was a Fellow, and all their lives are documented in this way. Roger's most esteemed student had said he'd do it but, is so eminent that I guess he's been too busy. On reading the guidance and an example memoir, I can see that it's going to be a lot of work, but I feel that it's important to honour him properly.