… and Emma’s big day has just happened!

Congrats to Emma and John, and welcome to Eve, born a few days ago!

Miranda’s big day is coming up

Miranda’s thesis, not yet bedecked with the traditional gazillion post-its, but all ready for her defence on Friday!

My favourite typo

This lovely typo crops up regularly.

Or perhaps they really do mean “involving very bad curtains”?

UBC visit

I had a great trip to Vancouver (and Vancouver Island) last month. I’d been invited to speak at UBC’s Pre-veterinary and Animal Welfare Club, who were organising a symposium on lab animal welfare.

First, there was a good day with Dan, Nina and the welfare group, including a journal club on a paper I’d long meant to read (“Horses can learn to use symbols to communicate their preferences”: not convinced this is true communication, but still impressive how fast the horses learned the task). Next, the conference itself, which was was excellent. The other speakers were Joanna Makowska, Cathy Shuppli and Elisabeth Ormandy and the tiny bit of pre-planning we did made our talks fit together (almost disproportionately) perfectly.   Below, me looking vaguely Joan of Arc-like, and chatting with step-son Griffin who’d come over from his new home in Sooke.

 

(And I then had a two day “essence of BC” holiday next, seeing seals, bald eagles and an addict shooting up in a doorway, along with getting to fly in a seaplane). 

 

 

 

 

Sooke

Birthday group meeting

Last week for my birthday we went out as is the tradition, this time to Mijiida. The group got me presents, which honestly I don’t really encourage… well… ahem, unless they’re as totally fabulous as these ones were: amazing surprise framed prints they somehow made of Mud (Misha’s favourite of my hens), Luke, Sylvie and Mouse.

Below, left to right are: Basma, Miranda (who’s defending very soon!), Aileen, Emma, Lindsey, Aimee, Michelle, Sam and Misha (Andrea being away visiting family in Guatemala).

World’s deadliest cat…

… and maybe also the cutest.

Monarchist sentiments unusually high in the Mason Lab

Typically I’m about as royalist as I am religious. But with two students winning QEII awards this week (Claire Chan from UTM who plans to join the lab for her PhD, and our very own Lindsey who’s looking to start as a MSc student), it’s hard not to feel a warm glow for the old dear (especially as her last corgi died this week).