Just back from a trip to Mallorca; for business, rather than pleasure, you understand¹. I’m moving to a new position in the Population Ecology Group at IMEDEA, the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies, starting in November.

These, then, are busy times. Having to sell a house in Finland, and figure out what to do with the contents; find a new house in a new country, and figure out how to fill that up; trying to finish up as many projects in Finland as possible, so I can hit the ground running and (crucially) looking forward when I touch down in Mallorca; travelling back, forward, up, down and sideways; the list goes on.

So why, oh why, is my inbox rapidly filling up with requests to review manuscripts? At the last count, I reckon I’ve had eight in the last month. I accepted the first one, not knowing quite what was in store, but simply haven’t had time to accept any others. Apologies to those Eds and authors who’ve had to find alternatives and the delay this causes (in fact, one journal already found an alternative before I’d even managed to respond to their initial request – that’s an excellently run review system).

So what have I done to deserve this attention? How do they know that I’m rushing about like a blue ersed fly at the moment?

Is it because I usually make every effort to return my reviews within the requested time limits? Because I actually attempt to write more than three lines in response to the efforts the authors have made, or read up on concepts I don’t quite understand, rather than dismissing them before writing the review? (Did I pack that old high school maths textbook already?). Is it my sour, churlish particularly honest reviewing style that Editors find so appealing?

Or is it because I’ve been sending out piles of tedious drivel to these same journals over the last few years and the Eds just want to give me a taste of my own medicine? Answers on the back of a self-addressed postcard, please.

Now that’s out of my system, I’d better get back to finishing that first review. I think it was due yesterday.

Then I have to find and pack my new school uniform, specially designed for the Mediterranean climate.

I say, the crabs are bit feisty this morning

¹ Although it certainly was a pleasure doing business over there.