As I write, my legs are a little bit sore. The reason is, to my shame, that I don’t take enough exercise, and the annual Physics Department 5-a-side football tournament, which took place earlier this week, really reminded me of this fact. Sore legs, though, are worth the fun.

The 5-a-side competition is something that has been going on for quite a while – certainly longer than the 10 years I’ve been working here.  It’s always lots of fun, and gives the staff and students an excuse to do something together that’s not just an academic activity.  Every year the lecturers get a team together. As happens more often than not, I was in the lecturer team, which usually has the brilliantly punning name of the Hamiltonian Academics (well, I think it’s pretty good, anyway).  I don’t think the lecturers ever win the tournament.  We are too old, and there are usually some pretty impressive players in the other teams. This year, though, we did at least make the quarter finals, and by the end of the second half of that match, we’d found some kind of system that seemed to work.  Unfortunately we conceded three goals in the first half, and we ended up being knocked out 3-0.  Alas.  Still, all was not lost – the great new sports park at the University has a very nice bar, with an impressive selection of real ales, and I’m afraid we headed straight there, rather than warming down, which is probably why my legs still hurt a bit today.

Anyway, here’s a picture of our team (I’m in the red top right at the back) with a team made of some of our first year students (in pink tops):