May and June have been odd.
I’ve been marking papers for two separate series - one’s coursework and another’s a traditional paper that’s marked online - on the traditional one, I’ve been working in a supervisory capacity with all the cajoling and nudging that it entails. My marking allocation was 116 scripts - I’ve done over 1000 and done a couple of hundred supervisory checks.
In-between all that:
I’ve been to see Taylor Swift in Edinburgh. I drove my nieces to Abington services the day before the gig, which was to be our base. Accommodation in Edinburgh was silly prices, so we got a family room an hour’s drive away. It worked out well, as it turned out. Edinburgh was full-on overrun with Swift-mania. It’s touristy enough at the best of times, but this was over-driven. The gig itself was spectacular. Glad I’m going again in July to see her in Germany.
I attended other gigs - the Western AF tour in Chester was a good, chilled evening in a lovely venue (St Mary’s Creative Space) but Kristina Murray selling out of t-shirts before this gig was a downer. I’ve nagged her on Instagram about it and she promises to get some more printed. Following that I attended and photographed Richard Hawley at the Manchester Apollo - fortunately it was a standing gig, with a proper photo pit so I was able to get plenty of different angles. I briefly caught up with Clive Mellor, a Hawley collaborator, before the gig, outside the Apsley Cottage pub - the second time in just over a week that we’d bumped into each other - the previous time was at Yellow Arch in Sheffield, at the Lauren Housley gig. On both occasions Clive was guesting on harmonica - amazingly - as is his usual level. In the gig itself, I bumped into a former bandmate and his wife in the audience (I’d been best man at their wedding!) but since he’d quit the band we hadn’t kept in touch so much. Randomly, one or more of my photos from this gig are likely to be used in a Sunday paper review - of the Portsmouth gig…told you this month was odd.
Black Deer Festival - I photographed and reviewed the festival. The weather was fortunate - some really heavy rain - but only before the gates opened and after they closed. Numbers at the festival were significantly down on the last two years - for me, the bill wasn’t as consistent in quality. As a friend said, the acts were either “stellar or unadulterated sh*te - very little inbetween…”
Back at home I got a couple of lads to rescue my overgrown garden - and a fantastic job they did too. Boyfriend of my next door neighbour’s daughter and his mate (it’s who you know). I’d been avoiding going anywhere near cutting grass due to sinus issues/laziness/hayfever. I’ve since bought a cordless lawnmower. We’ll see…
Ongoing sinus issues - I’m now 14 months down the line since I was referred for sinus surgery - potentially I have another 4 months to go to get near my place in the queue. Since the referral, the issue has modified - it’s now much more of a Eustachian tube problem, as spraying diluted TCP up the affected nostril has had a positive effect. As a result, the nature of the surgery required has changed slightly - from rinsing out my sinuses, I now need my Eustachian tubes unblocked. Hopefully I’ll get scanned again… who knows….
The spillage from life - poorly friends, friends with relationship issues, friends with financial and/or mental health issues have all found their way into this month’s fabric of variety and uncertainty and there’s been a butterfly effect on everything else. Ain’t that always the way?
I’ve finally got around to replacing my dishwasher.
Here’s one of my favourite photos from Black Deer, of Joe Bonamassa:
July promises to be even more busy - albeit with less exam marking.