Inhale…and relax

Further to “Advice squad”, the feature about PhD supervision ( March). In 1988, when I still smoked, I had my PhD viva in the department of government at the University of Manchester. My supervisor, the late Peter Mair, was sitting in as an observer. Seeing how nervous I was, he asked the chair if smoking was allowed. The chair decided that it was, and I gratefully lit up. A nice gesture from an excellent supervisor and a fine scholar. RIP.

Michael Cunningham
Senior lecturer in politics
University of Wolverhampton