Just a note here to record the memory that I first set foot in England in the summer of 1972, on my way to study in France for a month with my colleagues from Allderdice High School (led and chaperoned by Mrs Tamara Jackson) under the ægis of AIFS. For our stopover in London, we…
Update
Our college has been operating in person this term, after doing [almost] everything online last term. (Last term we kept the round of daily Masses in person for residents of the college — that is, the staff and one or two students.) My teaching for Oriel has been online this term as well. Still running…
Strange New World
A year ago (plus two days) Margaret and I entered into the strict lockdown that the PM was urging on us. I think it wasn’t yet required; at least it wasn’t the two days before, when Margaret went on an overnight field visit for her research project. 18 March, though, marks the beginning of our…
Well, That’s Something New
Two new things today: the good news is that I received my notification from the NHS that they’re inoculating my age group for COVID, so if I can survive till next Monday, and then a few weeks for the effectiveness to peak, I’ll be protected from the new plague, whew! The less satisfactory new thing…
Tuesday in Blackburn
This afternoon I’m going to Blackburn [digitally, alas] to give a talk on Mark’s Gospel (the gospel for Year B, apart from all the Sundays John elbows in) for a clergy teaching day. That circumstance engenders in me a rueful recollection of taking the bus to the train, the train to Blackburn (change at Birmingham…
Looking Backward
Before so much of the data bearing on site visits, links in and out, analytics, and so on were locked away from curious civilians and reserved to Facebook and various advertising companies, I would peruse my referrer logs from time to time, and learn of new friends taking interest in what I wrote, or discover…
Saturday of Fifth
I’ve been running daily, conducting my classes, tutorials, and meetings (all on Zoom) (not running on Zoom, I mean, but the rest of my work), and it entirely wipes me out. My eye is twitchy, the one that was clubbed when I was fag-bashed in high school, and my right foot has sundry aches and…
Pancake Day of Fifth
The weather has warmed, and I’ve been running my full distance. Teaching has resumed, though this is the last week of teaching for assessed Common Awards classes here at St Stephen’s House; on the other hand, my share in Oriel teaching kicks into gear for the next four weeks. Days are getting noticeably longer. Our…
Another Frosty Day
-4° again this morning, so I took a short run. The muscles over my cheekbones — especially the left side, the side of my face that was smashed when I was beaten up in secondary school — are twitchy, which I ordinarily associate with weariness and stress. This morning, though, begins three days free from…
Half Term
St Stephen’s House observes a long weekend between Fourth and Fifth Weeks, with no college obligations from Thursday to Tuesday. I have a tutorial today, and a rescheduled staff meeting, but as of this afternoon I will be caught up and I will run no risk of falling behind again for a few days. It’s…
Ice Station Xford
Down to -4° this morning, making this (I think) the longest consistently cold stretch I remember in our winters here. Yes, I’ve lived in Maine and Chicago and Connecticut, where 25° is no big deal, but I’ve also lived in Florida where it would have been near to the end of the world. The UK…
Colder Still
-3° and a light breeze, but I went ahead and set out for my run. I cut it short at a mile, though, because I’m not crazy.