I am now neck-deep in the writing-up process for my PhD thesis. I prefer to write in my office on campus, where I can enjoy fewer distractions and the extra snappiness of the G4. Yesterday I discovered the pleasures of BBC’s radio on demand. It now keeps me company while I’m writing texts which contain the word “design” and its derivatives (including “designerly”) at an exceptionally high concentration.

So there I was this morning, demanding to listen to World on Your Street from Radio 3, humming along to the first song in the show, a familiar Greek folk tune, when at the end of the song the presenter announced that I was listening to Athena Andreadis.

I met Athena when she came to study in Bath in 1995, like myself. We were never very close friends, but I remember talking music with her and going to a short recital of her songs that she performed accompanied by piano. We did not keep contact after she graduated, but I recognised her name instantly. Her stuff is highly recommended if you are fond of Greek folk or world music in general.

Another one in the series of my peers who have put together enviable careers while I have been stuck in academia.