For the sharp-edged air, milky sunlight, frosted soil beneath my feet, bracken’s crackle, and felled trees (for one day I shall lay down too) — thanksgiving. WFH: DAY 48/LENT 17. 7.30 am: I returned to Parc Natur Penglais (as I had, yesterday) to exercise and commune. I swear — each time I return home, the world has changed just a…

WFH: DAY 47/LENT 16. 6.15 am: Ablutions and breakfast. 7.15 am: ‘Go to Parc Natur Penglais, John!’ I heeded the inner voice. (Communion in motion.) The air was icy; and that felt as it should be, on this occasion. There were few vehicles passing along Penglais Road, below. In the far distance, the 7.30 pm train to Birmingham International drawled…

WFH: DAY 46/LENT 15. In my dream, I was playing guitar (while wearing a wide-brimmed hat) in a band, at an open-air rock concert held at an academic conference. (Oh, that there really were such things.) Hundreds of delegates sat, eating dessert, in deckchairs before the stage, which was flooded by a great deal of dry ice. 6.15 am: I…

WFH: DAY 45/LENT 14. 7.00 am: 7.45 am: A communion. 8.15 am: A review of the day. It’s now an established tradition that, from Wednesday night until the time of their tutorial today, some of my third-year painters post to the Teams page images of work that they’d undertaken since the last we time we engaged. I prepared for the week…

WFH: DAY 44/LENT 13. In the early hours of the morning, I dreamt of being on a (mercifully) slow train to London sat next to Miles Davis — who was uncharacteristically chatty on this occasion. When I awoke, Radio 3 were playing Rodrigo’s Adagio from Concierto de Aranjuez (1939), which Davis had covered on his Sketches of Spain (1960) album. Thus…

WFH: DAY 43/LENT 12. I had a poor night’s sleep. Nevertheless, the bright and consoling morning light put me in an upbeat mood for the day ahead. 8.00 am: A communion. I’m grateful for the years I’ve received, and those that remain. A number of friends with whom I’d shared my schooldays are gone. Some had died while at school,…

Three friends are made, three lives are laughs and tears,Through years of school and play they share.As time stands still the days change into years,And future comes without a care.But fate and skill and chances play their part,The wind of change leaves no good-bye.Three boys are men their ways have drawn apart,They tell their tales to justify. (Gentle Giant, ‘Prologue’,…

WFH: DAY 41/LENT 10. 6.30 am: Proof of presence: 7.30 am: Studiology. To begin, each of the tracks comprising ‘Throw Stones Out of the Water’ was adjusted for tonality, compression, volume, and stereo-field position. The more I learn about mixing, the slower the process appears to get, the longer I take to resolve the outcome. ‘Optimisation’ is today’s key word.…

WFH: DAY 40/LENT 9. 8.00 am: To my desk and a clutch of emails that had dribbled in after work yesterday. Thereafter, I set up my stall for the morning’s Art/Sound sessions, and established my itinerary for today’s and tomorrow’s adventures in mixing. 9.45 am: I prepared the ‘room’ and my equipment, just as I would in a real-world lecture…

WFH: DAY 39/LENT 8. 7.00 am: 7.45 am: A communion. 8.15 am: Preparations for the day ahead, which would comprise third-year painting tutorials (chiefly), a lunchtime staff meeting, and further preparations for the week ahead. Making and consuming lunch would pose the biggest challenge of the next six hours. 9.00 am: Tutee #1: This week, my general aim has been…