Month: February 2020

This day was made for me, and I for this day. 8.00 am: A communion. 8.30 am: Against the wind, under the rain, onto the streets, towards the School, via…

I always sent Mam a Valentine card. 7.15 am: Over breakfast, I caught up with my Twitter feed. A recent Times Higher Education survey suggests that many students consider the…

7.00 am: For the first ten minutes of the day I tried to sense the level of my health and well-being. In the best of weather, this is a gruelling…

7.00 am: Fixing my feet to the bedroom floor was the first challenge. The nausea and weakness returned. Today was for sitting at my desk in the warm, undisturbed, supping…

The ‘frosty wind made moan’ throughout the night. Casements rattled, doors creaked, and I awoke at 4.30 am – my skull throbbing – and lay there until 7.00 am. I’d…

The storm may roar without me,my heart may low be laid;but God is round about me,and can I be dismayed?(Anna Letitia Waring, ‘In Heavenly Love Abiding’ (1850)) Sunday, February 9:…

A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest – and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man…

8.15 am: A communion. 8.45 am: I almost daren’t look in my inbox these days. Bothersome mail slowed my progress into the day. 9.30 am: Finally! Finally! I resurrected the…

7.45 am: A communion. 8.30 am: We’d had the hardest frost of the winter so far. Roofs, grass, roads, and vehicle windscreens were sugar coated. This is the first day…

7.30 am: Morning-tide: 8.00 am: A communion. 8.30 am: Into the fray, a work-at-home day, admin to slay, opinions to weigh: It’s the facelessness of admin that galls me most:…