Just in case the National Trust would like to recreate an academic desk at some point in the far off future, here is what is on my desk today.

John Bellany mousepad

1. IMac computer circa 2014
2. HP laser printer circa 2015
3. Mac keyboard on Margaret Preston mousepad
4. Mac mouse on John Bellany mousepad
5. Samson omni microphone with black cover, disconnected from computer
6. External hard-drive, connected to computer
7. Bottle of tap water, half empty
8. Five pack of chewing gum, opened
9. Book stand containing three different post it pads, all with lists of things to do, most with some, but not all, things crossed out. These are covered by two pages of the first draft of a new book proposal
10. Box of tissues
11. Flip video camera with dead battery, on tripod
12. Six coloured plastic envelopes with receipts for not-yet-completed expenses claims
13. Three plastic envelops with details of travel for talks/conferences in Ghent, Barcelona and Naples
14. Four notebooks, one general and three for specific research research projects
15. Small bottle of hand lotion nicked from a hotel
16. Books:
    • Garber, Marjorie, Academic instincts– opened to p 58
    • Childress, Herb The PhDictionary
    • Hyland, Ken Academic discourse
    • Livingstone, Sonia and Sefton Green, Julian, The Class. Living and learning in the digital age
    • Rodale’s Synonym finder
    • Macquarie Dictionary
    • The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
    • The Guardian stylebook
      

      Margaret Preston mousepad

17. One ream of printer paper, unopened
18. Round carved container of coloured paperclips
19. Roll of sticky tape, large
20. Cup containing fourteen miscellaneous biros and pencils
21. Gluestick
22. Envelope containing two theatre tickets for September 12, 2016 to No Man’s Land with Ian Mackellan and Patrick Stewart
23. Small red case with twelve USB drives and another external hard drive
24. Large box containing two digital cameras, audio recorder, two packets of new AAA batteries
25. Two plastic timers used for timed writing – one tomato, one garden gnome
26. Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt’s black box Oblique Strategies, closed
27. Eco screen cleaner and cloth
28. One purple fountain pen in a purple box, a plastic bag of twenty purple ink capsules  and a blotter
29. Round tin of coloured pencils
30. Twelve assorted note pads and three loose postit pads
31. Two bank statements
32. An elderly iPad, uncharged, in tattered red leather case.
33. Spare pair of glasses in grey case
34. Two DVD cases, empty
35. Small pile of business cards (mine, but with superseded research centre name)
36. Box of assorted stationery, mainly notepads with conference and hotel names at the top
37. One five pence coin used for unscrewing the end of Mac keyboard to replace batteries.