Shay Bottomley Blogs

We knew it was a matter of time before the University of Portsmouth would suspend face-to-face teaching amid the coronavirus pandemic.   In the days leading up to the announcement, I spent a ridiculous amount of time refreshing my emails. My phone buzzed repeatedly on Friday 13 th March, as my friends at other universities told me they would be packing up for the year and heading home. I refreshed the emails - nothing. I checked again – still nothing. Finally, at around 4:30pm, we were told. Throughout the following week, emails came flooding in from my course’s department detailing what would be amended with regards to exams and assessments. Some assignments were scrapped altogether, others adjusted to be completed from home. We knew lockdown was inevitable, but until it really happened, it was hard to believe we would all be forced into our homes. Some, including myself, made the decision to remain in Portsmouth until the situation became clearer – after a...

The A308 on Monday morning. Photo from Karen Gwilliam As I’m sure you’re all aware by now, roadworks at the Frascati Way/Broadway junction have caused disruption in and around the town centre as the council prepares to convert Broadway in to a two-way system. Monday’s disruption brought much of Maidenhead to a halt with delays of up to an hour in and around the town centre, not helped by an accident on the M4. Nevertheless, congestion was so bad that leader of the council, Cllr Simon Dudley, announced that traffic lights will be manually operated during peak times as well as an ‘extended working day’ to ensure that the works are completed on time. The debacle has left many – myself included – wondering: “what’s the point?” The current one-way system has worked relatively well for years; of course, there are some days where the town can become very busy, such as snow days or on big events in Maidenhead, but for the most part the one-way system has worked at getting cars in...

There’s an (in)famous saying: “a drunk mind speaks a sober heart.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, this would soon enough be ratified when me, Anthony and Oliver decided we would like to go on holiday together whilst sipping an eighth pint in Plymouth ( http://shaybottomleyblogs.blogspot.com/2018/05/anthonys-graduation-and-fancy-dress.html ). Sure enough, after I had undressed as Ali G, the three of us Ollie and his dad, John, booked a hotel in Tenerife with three seats on the plane. Handy that! We’d be joined by a fourth warrior in the form of Josh, who makes his Shay Bottomley Blogs debut. Josh had booked much later than us, but since the hotel was already booked we only had to make one phone call to inform the Club La Costa Monterrey staff that there’d be four residents instead of three. He’d be on a different flight, transferring from Wycombe to London Stansted via coach, which in my mind gave him the award for most courageous man of the holiday before we’d even set off! ...

“I’ll pick you up at 6:45am,” was a message A) I had never received from Ethan Taylor before and B) I would never like to receive again. The reason for the early arrival would be the Furze Platt Senior School annual ‘Muck Up Day’ ‘Celebration Day,’ the last day of term which would also the last day of our school careers. Popular in America where departing students would vandalise decorate the school each year, the tradition made its way across the pond to Furze Platt a few years ago, although judging by the state of the Sixth Form block on Thursday evening it may end up being sent back! The Sixth Form study room had seen far better days... The first record of the day would be set with a 5:55am alarm clock, a time alien to myself and many of our accomplices. Despite usually being reserved for Grand Prix only, the early awakening allowed me to catch a lift from Ethan to the school to finish preparations for the day ahead. We would be joined by Henry and Patrick, ...

The Village People famously wrote a song about the Navy, ‘In the Navy’, that was once featured in an episode of the Simpsons from 1998. 20 years later, yours truly and the Baldwin household would be joining approximately 400 people in congratulating the newest set of Royal Navy officers at HMS Raleigh in Plymouth Torpoint, Cornwall. We would be travelling down from the Royal Borough to support a very good friend in the form of Anthony Osborn, who was due to complete 10 weeks of basic training the following day. Four hours down the M4, M5 and A38 would follow, arriving at the Number One B&B for 8:00pm; a nice hotel that would be our home for as little as 12 hours due to previous booking calamities… A few pints were in order after such a journey, accompanying a Nando’s at level of heat that even Ethan from the Prague blog struggled to believe (admittedly, it was only a medium). A few pints in the Brass Monkey and the Slug & Lettuce, the latter of which was reminisc...