Laurie Taylor Column

"A quarter of university staff plan to leave their current employer in the next year" - survey by The Times Higher, September 5.

Finished with The Higher?

Won't be a sec. Just checking the details of this Senior at Bournemouth.

Promising?

Could be. Although there's the usual line about being able to contribute to income generation.

What about your last application? Was it Portsmouth?

No, I was never actually in for Portsmouth. That was Gordon. I was trying for Plymouth or Exeter.

Any luck?

An acknowledgement from Plymouth last week, but not a dicky bird from Exeter.

You fancy the West Country?

Not really. It's just a case of where the money's right. Frankly, I wouldn't go anywhere for under 38.

You'd be silly to take less. That's what I was telling Derek only today.

He's in for Napier?

No, he got a blank there. But he's still in with Coventry and Teesside.

I thought about Coventry. But Ted said that they had a good internal.

Ted's looking around as well?

Has been for the past two years. Got shortlisted at Lincoln and Greenwich.

But flunked the interviews. He's got nothing in the pipeline now except for an acknowledgement from Hertfordshire.

It's a trying business.

You're right there. How about you? Got your eyes on anything?

Not really. Thought I ought to stick around for a bit.

How's that?

Well, I only officially started here at Poppleton last Tuesday.

There is that.