With all the mess-making and executive breakfasts going on today, it was often easy to forget that once again I wasn't at Twickenham watching Benji et al (too much dissertation writing) thrash Bath. Two years running, and two years I've spent the time stuck in a workshop. Saying that, I actually enjoyed today. After a painfully early start (for me on a Wednesday while at uni) I made it to towers for some pre-workshop nosh with Currin and then spent the next eight hours playing with silicon gel and wet'n'drying down my rapid prototypes.

The one really big benefit of workshop time is the social aspect, and it was really good to spend some time out of the formal constraints of lectures and (seemingly) without the pressure of an immediate handin. The thing about making stuff is that no matter how much you try to make the work intense, somethings just can't be rushed which brings everything back to a really nice pace. Apart from DDS failing miserably in his attempt to stick his little bits of copper to his RP, and Gemma smashing a breeze block out of the wall with her exploding MDF block, it was mostly a day of light conversation.

There is one other thing of note today and that is that as I cycled past our next door neighbour this morning I realised that he is a spitting image of Fred Dibnah. There's an obscure reference for all you chimney-hating types.