S. Worthen | Weblog

After two nights at the University of Kent Canterbury, it is practically decadent to stay in halls at the Leeds suburban campus where the annual International Medieval Congress is held. It goes beyond the rooms here being renovated within memory. There was no room to move in the shower without accidentally adjusting the water. The walls were no defense against sound. The worst of the logistics were entirely the fault of the University of Kent's hospitality services, which thought it a good idea to interleave historians at an academic conference with English camp teenagers on their last program night, complete with a disco. None of this is the fault of the conference organizing committee, but it did give me the impression that Kent is not as practiced in hosting conferences as Leeds. Of course, relatively recent renovations help as well.

Here in the (relative) lap of luxury, the weather is mild and clear, the computer room has air conditioning again (unlike last year), and thanks to changes in security settings somewhere in the system, I can't access email.

I hadn't meant to watch the World Cup Final, but there were screens in the restaurant, and eventually all remaining tables gave up the pretence of ignoring them to watch the last minutes and then penalties as Italy won.