Although the days are short, dark, and frequently wet now that we’ve gone off daylight savings time, I’m still savoring memories of a recent week in London. As you likely know, I spent all of 2018 and 2919 on an MSCA fellowship from the European Union, working at University College London and developing fabulous new skills and an invaluable network of colleagues at UCL and around the globe. UCL is truly a magnet for talent and an ongoing source of inspiration.

The time change happened again this year while Aongus and I were in London for the October bank holiday… I often overlap a bank holiday Monday with a working visit to London since my colleagues at UCL have different days than me (at TU Dublin) and I can visit UCL without falling behind at my main job. This was my second Halloween in a row visiting UCL.

I’m fact, this Halloween I spent a full week in London, collaborating with colleagues and attending lectures including Emanuela Tilley’s inaugural professorial lecture (and reception!) and a guest lecture in one of Professor Nick Tyler’s transport engineering classes.

I worked several days at UCL’s Henry Morley building, which houses the Centre for Engineering Education. I enjoyed catching up with colleagues there, especially Drs Vivek Ramachandran, Kate Roach, and Fiona Truscott. I showed Vivek, who is new to UCL, some of my favorite places in and around campus, including the Thursday Farmers’ Market, the Life Goddess restaurant, and the Building Centre. I after work one night, I attended a comedy show at the newly renovated Bloomsbury Theater.

In the daytimes, I kept Dr Inês Direito’s old desk warm as she’s moved to the University of Aveiro in Portugal. Never fear, though, Inês and I are still in close communication, and now, my mentee Dr Diana Martin is joining CEE so I’ll still never be more than a WhatsApp away from the Center!

During the week, I attended strategic planning meetings with my two “bosses” at UCL — the two directors of the curriculum design project I’ve been working on, via a contract between UCL and TU Dublin, since 2020. They are Professors Emanuela Tilley and John Mitchell, two truly fabulous people to work with.

Thanks to the marvel of online communication, I also completed a half day training on finance software at TU Dublin while I was in London. I also attended online meetings with co-editors of the handbook I’m leading as well as co-authors on a chapter I’m contributing to the handbook.

For the extended weekend, Aongus joined me in the city. We attended two musicals (the Tina Turner musical and “Crazy for You”) and an improv comedy show. We took architectural tours of the Royal Albert Hall and the Barbican complex. We visited the Royal Academy of Art , the photography museum off Oxford Street, and the Natural History Museum including its Wildlife Photography of the Year exhibition.

We also visited our favorite haunts around Shoreditch, where we previously lived for 18 months. We got to know the area around Victoria Station better. We even saw Rebecca from “Ted Lasso”, Hannah Waddingham, up close and in person as she’d attended “Crazy for You” and was in the lobby when we exited.

While in London, I also drafted text for my handbook chapter, worked on various projects, attended an improv musical called “Showstopper!”, and did loads of Spanish lessons on Duolingo in the evenings before bed.

It wasn’t supersizing, really, that I picked up a cold somewhere in London. I brought it home along with heaps of inspiration to help carry me through the long working weeks until Christmas.

Now that I’ve recovered from that nasty cold, I can say with conviction that life is good and I am blessed beyond belief.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!