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Readers will remember how vice-chancellors abandoned plans to hire a special train carriage for the journey to and from their annual conference in Aberystwyth after a ribbing in The THES .

So, picture the scene as dozens of vice-chancellors squeezed into the two-coach train at Aberystwyth station after the end of the Universities UK conference last Thursday morning.

Only minutes into the journey, the train, heading for Birmingham New Street station, broke down. Fortunately, a replacement was waiting at the next station. Unfortunately, this train made it only as far as Shrewsbury before developing braking problems.

Perhaps the unfortunate bunch should have considered hitchhiking. Portsmouth University vice-chancellor John Craven contacted The Diary to say that he drove himself to the conference in his own Mini. Surely, under the circumstances, room could have been found for a few passengers?