8.15 am: A communion. The side effects from the antibiotics were beginning to kick-in; and I’ve a month of this to endure. Today would be my final opportunity to conduct postgraduate and research meetings. No doubt, there’d be closures and openings, as well as matters that couldn’t be resolved until next year. (Life is messy.) The School was, once again, like the Mary Celeste:

Following a postgraduate, pastoral tutorial I headed into the busy town to one of my watering holes for an informal research meeting and a catch-up session with Dr Dafydd Roberts. This would be a two-coffees-long parle. We ruminated over funding possibilities, church-based performances, curating and archiving one’s own work, motivation and discipline, and how to develop an audience and get noticed. This period is my life is about practice-based work, primarily, rather than writing. Ideas are coming to me in terms of sound-based projects. I’ve no control over that. But I’ve every responsibility to respond to it.

12.30 pm: I made a fast circumambulation of the main streets in search of shops that supported the Amex ‘spend £10 and get £5 back’ deal, which none of those that were ear-marked as participants knew about. Then, it was on to the hairdressers for a mop-mow before returning to my desk. I’m hoping to have business completed by lunchtime tomorrow:

5.25 pm: My elder son returned. I, like the prodigal’s father, ran to embrace him. The house is only fully a home when the children are under its roof. 7.30 pm: On with editorialising. I was intent of the getting the lion’s share of the task before I closed shop.

And so the wind-down towards the Christmas vacation began. By tomorrow evening, both my sons will occupy the nest again. Thereafter we can, together, make final preparations; catch up on news; rejoice in, and count, our blessings; talk politics, religion, culture, and food; and close the door on the world for a few days. My social media, diary, email, messaging, and phone will be immobilised in order for me to concentrate on the here and now and those who’ll be physically present. (Life will have a trip-note during this period.) So, until 2020 … A Happy Christmas and New Year to you all.

Today, I made a new friend at the School: