Michelle Lee, a 23-year old student of Egyptian Archaeology at UCL, not considered particularly physically attractive among her few non-Egyptological friends, 'felt like the most beautiful woman on earth' during two days spent at an Egyptological symposium held at Liverpool University last week. That Ms. Lee is certainly not the most beautiful woman on earth was immediately apparent to her once she left the conference. In fact, the first female she encountered, a 53-year old employed by Virgin Trains to man an information desk at Liverpool railway station, was, even by Lee's own appraisal, 'much more attractive', despite apparently having both a paralysed eye and a low-level motor-neurone disorder.

Recalling the symposium from her room in UCL student accommodation, Lee told our reporter: 'everywhere I went there were these middle-aged men who were just desperate to talk to me. I mean really desperate. I've never had my chest stared at so much. On the second day I wore a much less revealing top, but to be honest, it didn't seem to make much difference.'

'It was honestly like these men had never seen a young woman before, or at least not for a few weeks.'

Lee reported that the symposium had been a great success, and that she was 'like, totally planning to go again next year'. She was also pleased to report that she had been offered places on two excavations, one post-doctoral research grant (despite not yet having even a masters degree) and four offers to 'come and see me if you're ever in Cairo'. She did not give a paper at the conference, and had reportedly struggled to understand any of those she attended.

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