Lecture Nerves

Today was a return to academic work, with this time a definite end in mind. At the end of November I am due to give my first academic paper in public at Reading University. Now I have given all types of presentations before and never really felt nervous, however for this the butterflies have already started. Perhaps because it is a step into the unknown, perhaps because the audience will comprise people with far more experience and knowledge in the field of Transport History than I have. One of my academic heroes will be there, Mark Casson who wrote a book hypothesising the alternative development of the Victorian Railway network. I suppose that this is the significant difference, in the past I have felt in command of the subject, which I will have as much if not more knowledge than the audience, this time I am concerned that my research might be wanting.

Those who know me will not be surprised that it is quite a niche subject, specifically how if at all the surplus of lorries after World War One contributed to kick starting road freight transport in this country. It is interesting because the 1920’s marked the start of the freight moving in significant quantities by road, one of the contributors to that is always cited as the availability of cheap war-surplus lorries. The truth is as you might expect far more nuanced than that. Now the beauty of academic argument is that this is only an opinion, albeit backed-up by research. Others can and will diverge from this. So I am marshalling my facts in preparation for I hope a lively discussion. It will also be great to test my academic credentials for the first time. I will report back as to how it goes.