In your light we see light (Psalm 36.9). The world lurches like a boat upon a stormy sea with no competent captain at the helm. In periods of pessimism, when politics fail, art can provide an anchor of hope (diary, August 28, 2019).

Tuesday, June 8. 8.00 am: A communion:

I’d enjoyed a good night’s sleep, but still felt exhausted in waking. I determined to stay in second-gear for the morning and push-on with my review of this present diary. In the background, Mr Iliff made changes to the ‘Intersections‘ site, of which the diary is a sub-section. diary was begun with a view to mapping the trajectory towards the conclusion of my employment. Once I knew there was an end in sight, things changed. I could, for the first time, observe an arc of completion and a set of resolutions for which there was, now, a definite deadline.

After lunch, I held a MA Dissertation with someone who was new to be a stable element; they’d be with me until September. To begin, I needed to know them as a person before I could address the theme of their research. I was primarily interest in their motivations, and how the proposed study meshed with the larger framework of their life and values. Afterwards, I picked-off a number of emails and dealt with minor admin before returning to the diary revisions. (I was making good headway.) 4.15 pm: Out yonder:

I’d battled with tiredness all day. But the work had been fruitful. By the close, I’d reviewed ten pages of posts to this diary. On reading back those days, and sections of the initial diary, I was struck by the passages devoted to pastoral biblical exegesis. I’d forgotten about them — to the extent that, in re-reading their content, I found myself ministering to myself. They were words in season.

Wednesday, June 9. 7.15 am: A communion. 7.45 am: I put-in an hour or so on the review of this diary’s earlier posts. It made for exhausting reading, both psychologically and emotionally. From the perspective of the present, I could now see patterns where there was only chaos before, the rightness of a decision, the error of my ways, and the inevitability of how events had played out.

I advised a prospective postgraduate applicant:

It has been an appalling year on so many fronts, hasn’t it. I know a number of artists and musicians who’ve found it very difficult to make anything at all during these times. Although, I suspect, they’ll make much of it later. There’s a directness and emotional rawness about your recent work. But let the fire die down before planning the future. What I suggest is that you draw from life, in the meanwhile. Externalise. Look away from yourself.

9.30 am: The first of several tutorials on the PhD Fine Art scheme. My charge are, in various ways, on the last lap. My responsibility over the next year is to get them all passed the finishing line successfully. 1.30 pm: An afternoon of MA and PhD fine art teaching. Two of my PhD engagements were held with the second supervisor in attendance. That creates a different and very fruitful dynamic. We were all: talking through tiredness; drawing on reserves. Trying to focus. This year had taken its toll on us. Mr Blackburn’s PhD Fine Art exhibition was up and running:

7.30 pm: I pressed on with the diary revisions.