In the last week alone I managed to break the screen of my mobile phone, the zip of my rucksack, temporarily freeze my laptop just before of a work trip abroad, remembering too late a dinner invitation for which shaving and a lounge suit were required. Today I packed my old trolley for a three day trip to Birmingham for IRiS Superdiversity conference (#SD2016). I took an early train to Coventry to give a breakfast talk on the EU referendum and migration. I haven’t spoken in public about the referendum – because I feel too personally involved, I guess.  A friend asked me to talk about the diary long ago, I accepted and didn’t think about what to say until the last minute.The referendum campaign has been an emotional roller-coaster. Somehow I managed to put together a few slides on the train. After the talk (I’ll write a separate entry for it), had to rush to Birmingham for a series of meetings. I arrived in time, but not my trolley that instead was left on a Virgin train to Glasgow. Moments of panic followed. I realised at the door of my office that i didn’t have my keys, cameras, jacket, shirts, shaving cream, socks, toothbrush etc etc. Gladly a colleague encouraged me to cancel a meeting and go shopping and my partner helped me with endless phone calls at left luggage offices. The luggage has not being found yet – at least this is as far as we know as the office in  Glasgow hardly answers the phone. But a trip to Primark saved my day (sorry, I know it is very bad but had less then a hour to buy a whole wardrobe for 3 days). Back on campus and after the last meeting of the day, i was heading to the hotel when I overheard some clapping and shouting. The Remain campaign was having its (semi-secret for us) closing initiative on campus. The colorful Remain bus was parked in front of the university main building and Gordon Brown, Caroline Lucas, Tim Farron and David Cameron were there giving passionate speeches to a small crowd of cameramen, journalists, senior academics and random passerby. Not a great fan of some of them, but I needed a small injection of passion to survive another day of this extenuating referendum campaign.