Fiddling.

First lesson on how to finish your DPhil: take up something new. Tonight was my first ever ceilidh experienced from the fiddling side. My amateur fingers didn't quite keep up with most of the music (not that it mattered since you couldn't hear me amongst the jumble of violins - although my loving housemate (who thought they were pronounced "see-lid" - she's from across that pond) said I was "ace") but it was pretty bloomin fun anyway. I've been wanting to play in a ceilidh for many a year....since my Junior Minstead days, where the dancing was balanced with 5 hours of washing up with soggy tea towels for a precious ten pound note. How things change. I hope I won't be washing up for £2 an hour when I become a doctor, but who knows. Thank you to whoever invented ceilidhs.

On a more serious note, regular dancing of any kind is definitely vital at this stage....or infact every stage of life (Cole, 2011).

Mostly for me.

So, I thought starting up a PhD diary of sorts might be a good opportunity for me to reflect a bit on life, ice-cream, the universe, etc. over the next 6-odd months as I try to finish my doctorate. I guess the main aims are: (i) to help me maintain perspective on the universe and remember to count my lucky stars at night, (ii) to have an opportunity to rant into the gaps of cyberspace if I so wish and rest friends' ears, (iii) to document and perhaps impart some lessons learnt on ways of managing, or not, this challenging (as some say!) episode. Any entertainment value is a bonus. If there's a really long gap between posts, maybe someone could check on me or buy me some marshmallows? But for now, I am stealth.