Dr Alan Howard

Group photo taken June 21st, 2010.

We arrived back at the University of Reading at 10.00pm to clear blue skies and an air temperature of 20 degrees, which one in the party described as “freezing”. Even during the journey home the students were remarkable in their enthusiasm and commitment – posting final blog posts from the less than inspiring Gate 8 [...]

As our flight to Gatwick was leaving fairly late in the day at 6.00pm we took the opportunity to make a last minute change to the field class programme and arrange a four hour visit to the old town of Chania. This proved an interesting contrast to unspoilt Sfakia. Indeed one student noted  ‘you took [...]

Minor medical drama this evening as one group member suffering from a recurrence of tonsilitis required prompt medical attention after a worrying rise in body temperature. Access to the local doctor was secured within 5 minutes via the hotel and the patient was rushed to the local GP surgery. Not bad for a Sunday evening [...]

I appear to have missed the big event of 2009 despite the drama unfolding only yards from my hotel room balcony. I can only assume I had punctuated the 8am to midnight working day with a mid-afternoon deep sleep as the nearby delphini restaurant went up in flames causing uproar and commotion across the village. [...]

Busy day for field class staff in Loutro today necessitated our return journey via small motor boat cruiser, the driver (I hesitate to say ‘captain’) of which appeared unwilling to enter the main harbour at Chora Sfakion. Instead the ferry jetty was deemed suitable landing for three ageing university ‘academics’, the youngest of whom narrowly [...]

Our students (and staff) spent the day walking the coastal footpath between Loutro and Chora Sfakion observing and analysing the geomorphology and biogeography to provide additional context for the more deterministic work undertaken in Ilingas gorge the previous day. We arranged to meet as a whole group at 2pm on Sweetwater Beach for debriefing. This [...]

all the students and staff walked from loutro to chora sfakion on the coastal footpath today. with temperatures surpassing 36 degrees most took the opportunity to lounge on sweetwater beach and swim in the sea during their well earned mid afternoon break.

  Measuring the extent of the December 2000 floods in Ilingas Gorge. Sunny day in Crete – 32 degrees.