I am going to try to keep this short but I am trying to write something rather than nothing. I did not make writers group almost a fortnight ago but did last week. They are needing to raise a small sum of money to pay for the publication of the latest book and also for the venue for the reading in the Autumn. The suggestions so far tend to be selling things to each other, such as books we have read. Not sure anyone wants second had copies of Jonathan Edwards “The Religious Affections” printed by Banner of Truth. I bought it a while ago but have since upgraded to the proper academic text.
I have moved offices as you will know from my earlier email. It involved a huge amount of chucking out and I know if I had had more time some of the stuff I chucked out could have found another home, but I learnt while at University that while I can be organised and get things packed in advance, mood wise I am lot happier if I do it at the last minute. This confuses people who think I am not ready but after all the moves with the department I know precisely how long it takes me to pack and how long it takes me to unpack. The result was that I filled four cases and two boxes plus had various oddments to move as well. Everything was clearly labelled and everything got across there that I had put to pack. I should have thought I needed a door stop but didn’t, so now I need to get one. The office is south facing, I have had people commenting on the view which rather surprises me as the window Iook out of from my desk looks directly onto a brick wall which is quite badly marked with soot and cabling but otherwise is unremarkable. However from the other window you can look out over the southern part of Sheffield if you stand up. The office has air conditioning I just hope it also provides heat in winter. The major problem with the building is at present there is no real staff space. The common room that was down stairs is going to estates and the only other room that has water in it, apart from the loos, is being used as a temporary class room. I suspect that means I will be at Jessops West even more frequently for coffee than previously.
The weekend I had to get ready the papers for my supervision. The last two weeks have been tough but exhilarating to work at. Writing the description is pretty straightforward and the trick is to put too much detail in, but when it comes to theory I find that I really have to work very hard indeed to write something that is technically good and that it requires a lot of readings as well. Despite the fact that I am have read widely, I find that I am often having to fill in the gaps around where I specifically want to write and find the right theorists for the area. One interesting thing is I have found the work by Richard Jenkins on Social Identity and this pointed me to the work of Fredrik Barth so another theorist around Ethnicity. Anyway my supervisor likes the theory part of this chapter and his view and mine on where the chapter was at were identical. Basically it needs a lot of cutting down, a few extras added and theory worked through. So lots of pretty intense work and I am really glad there is a long weekend next weekend as it will allow me to see the back of it. I have decided that any weather that is not middling for the UK is bad news for the rail network. On the way down my train was ok except it was in front of the train that was supposed to be half an hour early. I could see people getting peeved at this as at Sheffield people were not advised to change trains. However coming back was a totally different story. The train that travels exactly the same route an hour earlier had not left the station. so they were going to join it to the train I was due to get. As the earlier train was a rush hour one this meant both trains were full of tired and grumpy people including me. Fortunately we had a train manager who has a brilliant sense of humour and through it let us know he understood our gruntlement.
Yesterday my parents were over, they came slightly later than usual so we did not go to Waitrose, but instead went straight out to Old Moor. After having a bacon butty and salad at the restaurant we went along the quieter route for a walk. There were not as many people nor as many birds as there were on the other route but it was pleasant and warm day with a slight breeze and we just enjoyed being out in the sunshine. At the bittern hide at the far end of the walk a pair of Reed Bunting flew just in front of us. Dad said “Its just a big sparrow” but they are bigger than an sparrow, the markings are better defined and the head is solidly black with a white collar. So I got out my bird book and checked and it was definitely a Reed Bunting. Mum was then getting cold so we came back and had tea at the cafe, then drove back to Sheffield and parked near St Georges to see if we could see the Peregrins. Dad was deciding that we would not see them but they might be around as a stream of feathers were ascending from the top of the tower. I decided to walk around to see if I could see better and I spotted one of them feeding on a ledge. So I called Dad over and pointed it out. Then Dad spotted a second sitting of top of one of bits of carving which was really easy to see. The result was a very happy father. He is now talking of going to Martin Mere next time I am over. These work well as Mum enjoys being out with people around while my Dad enjoys the bird watching and the paths are level and easy to walk along.
I have moved offices as you will know from my earlier email. It involved a huge amount of chucking out and I know if I had had more time some of the stuff I chucked out could have found another home, but I learnt while at University that while I can be organised and get things packed in advance, mood wise I am lot happier if I do it at the last minute. This confuses people who think I am not ready but after all the moves with the department I know precisely how long it takes me to pack and how long it takes me to unpack. The result was that I filled four cases and two boxes plus had various oddments to move as well. Everything was clearly labelled and everything got across there that I had put to pack. I should have thought I needed a door stop but didn’t, so now I need to get one. The office is south facing, I have had people commenting on the view which rather surprises me as the window Iook out of from my desk looks directly onto a brick wall which is quite badly marked with soot and cabling but otherwise is unremarkable. However from the other window you can look out over the southern part of Sheffield if you stand up. The office has air conditioning I just hope it also provides heat in winter. The major problem with the building is at present there is no real staff space. The common room that was down stairs is going to estates and the only other room that has water in it, apart from the loos, is being used as a temporary class room. I suspect that means I will be at Jessops West even more frequently for coffee than previously.
The weekend I had to get ready the papers for my supervision. The last two weeks have been tough but exhilarating to work at. Writing the description is pretty straightforward and the trick is to put too much detail in, but when it comes to theory I find that I really have to work very hard indeed to write something that is technically good and that it requires a lot of readings as well. Despite the fact that I am have read widely, I find that I am often having to fill in the gaps around where I specifically want to write and find the right theorists for the area. One interesting thing is I have found the work by Richard Jenkins on Social Identity and this pointed me to the work of Fredrik Barth so another theorist around Ethnicity. Anyway my supervisor likes the theory part of this chapter and his view and mine on where the chapter was at were identical. Basically it needs a lot of cutting down, a few extras added and theory worked through. So lots of pretty intense work and I am really glad there is a long weekend next weekend as it will allow me to see the back of it. I have decided that any weather that is not middling for the UK is bad news for the rail network. On the way down my train was ok except it was in front of the train that was supposed to be half an hour early. I could see people getting peeved at this as at Sheffield people were not advised to change trains. However coming back was a totally different story. The train that travels exactly the same route an hour earlier had not left the station. so they were going to join it to the train I was due to get. As the earlier train was a rush hour one this meant both trains were full of tired and grumpy people including me. Fortunately we had a train manager who has a brilliant sense of humour and through it let us know he understood our gruntlement.
Yesterday my parents were over, they came slightly later than usual so we did not go to Waitrose, but instead went straight out to Old Moor. After having a bacon butty and salad at the restaurant we went along the quieter route for a walk. There were not as many people nor as many birds as there were on the other route but it was pleasant and warm day with a slight breeze and we just enjoyed being out in the sunshine. At the bittern hide at the far end of the walk a pair of Reed Bunting flew just in front of us. Dad said “Its just a big sparrow” but they are bigger than an sparrow, the markings are better defined and the head is solidly black with a white collar. So I got out my bird book and checked and it was definitely a Reed Bunting. Mum was then getting cold so we came back and had tea at the cafe, then drove back to Sheffield and parked near St Georges to see if we could see the Peregrins. Dad was deciding that we would not see them but they might be around as a stream of feathers were ascending from the top of the tower. I decided to walk around to see if I could see better and I spotted one of them feeding on a ledge. So I called Dad over and pointed it out. Then Dad spotted a second sitting of top of one of bits of carving which was really easy to see. The result was a very happy father. He is now talking of going to Martin Mere next time I am over. These work well as Mum enjoys being out with people around while my Dad enjoys the bird watching and the paths are level and easy to walk along.
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