Happy New Year! I feel like my feet haven’t touched the ground recently. December was a trip to Venice, Istanbul and then Leeds for Christmas and New Year, before back home to Toledo. No sooner had I landed, I was off again to an audit in the south of UK, before flying out to Norway, and then directly from Norway to Milan, arriving back to Toledo this Sunday. It’s been a lot, even for me, a reasonably seasoned traveller!

I was, however, super excited to go back to Milan. This city is one of my greatest obsessions. A real marmite of a city, you either love it or hate it. Some people find it too industrial, but I find it inspiring. I’ve spent a lot of time there, and for me it’s one of the most beautiful cities in the world, featuring in my top 5 cities (Istanbul being another in that list). That sight when you exit the Duomo metro station and the immense gleaming white marble cathedral towers over you, never fails to take my breath away. When I look back, I can easily say that some of my best memories were made there.

I’ve always been fascinated by words that describe feelings that have no real equivalence in English. One of those words is saudade. Used in Portuguese and Galician (from the North of Spain), it has several definitions, all centred around a longing or yearning for a person or place (that potentially doesn’t even exist) that your soul has called home. Milan is one of those places for me.

It’s been a long time since I last visited, pre Covid, but this weekend I was lucky enough to finally go back, on a trip I organised with my colleagues. 19 of us in total! Even just the planning stages took me back to that feeling of saudade. I wanted to make sure I visited all the places I remembered fondly, but also with a wariness that time and Covid may have changed things. Thankfully, the city lived up to its timelessness and, like the Duomo, having weathered more than 600 years of steadfastness, the city still retained its otherworldly aura for me.

It was also lovely to share this city with my husband and my #WorkBesties, Lu Tilley and Val Atkinson, pictured in the photo with the SRP flag in front of the Duomo. Val had recently heard the news that she has been elected to Council, a role I nominated her for as “we need more gobby northern ladies on Council !!” and I’m certain she’ll be a great asset to Council and the Society.

Speaking of elections, I’m really pleased to say I’ve been re-elected as Director of Engagement for another term - which means another 2 years of me rambling on in my blogs!

In other news, yesterday morning, Sam Watson, SRP member, long standing Outreach volunteer and member of the Magazine editorial team, sent me this article from the Guardian about how pupils from lower socioeconomic backgrounds don’t see STEM careers as for them, which is really sad. It’s also another huge reason why SRP’s commitment to Outreach is so important, and long may it continue. If we can convince just one student that a STEM career is for someone like them, then it’s a job worth doing. We’re really lucky to have a teacher on our Outreach Committee, Anthony Clowser, and also Ralph Whitcher, a former teacher, and our CLEAPSS contact, supporting practical science and technology in schools and colleges, both of whom help us to keep our Outreach endeavours relevant and useful. We’re always looking for volunteers for our Outreach events, so if you’d like to get involved, please get in touch. We’re also planning another Schools Event in Eastbourne this year - on the day preceding the Annual Conference - and are looking for enthusiastic presenters and volunteers to help out with that. If you fancy yourself a budding thespian or just don’t mind bouncing all over a stage in front of a couple of hundred excited school children, then please put yourself forward! I’ve presented 3 of them now, and they are such good fun, but we need some fresh new faces please. Check out the SRP website for some videos of what happened last time we were in Eastbourne for a Schools show back in 2015.

That’s all from me this month. I have a brief respite of at least 1.5 weeks before my next trip, so I’ll be busy with practical things like building IKEA furniture and doing things around the house that I don’t get a chance to do when I’m away all the time.

Get in touch on the usual:

Engagement@srp-uk.com
Instagram: @saragoli
Twitter: @chai_khaneh