This is going to be a quick update to what's happening and what I've been up to.
Degree
Still working on my dissertation. Feel like I'm getting somewhere with this, which is great, and even though I've only really got two months left, I think I can do this from start to finish if all I do is eat, sleep and breathe dissertation work. To that end I've gone to some talks, contacted a few information professionals, chatted to a few music academics, and feel like I've got a really solid information base to work with. Hurrah!
Real Life
The reason I need to hurry up and finish is because my wedding is happening THREE DAYS LATER!! Eek. Aside from this I'm getting a lot more involved in the music scene in Cambridge. I've just agreed to fill in as a soprano in a chamber choir (quite why they haven't kicked me out upon hearing my top A flat I don't know), and with two bands and two orchestras I have a few concerts of my own coming up. Next I need to find a swing band that will accept a beginner trombone, and I may join a new orchestra or two, but not yet! (And maybe I'll also go back to doing archery...?)
Brown Bag Lunch (CPD)
I went to my very first of these, feeling obliged since I had entered the UpGoer 5 competition being run (see my previous entry). I came second in the competition and won a cake, which isn't bad going for my first BBL. Also I got to chat with a few librarians, we discussed things like linguistics, etymology and English as a foreign language. The BBLs seem to be a lot more based around discussing topics with an article or two as a springboard; but having gone to one I think I might have a go at going to a proper one next time - assuming my timetable allows for it!
Friends of CUL/IAML(Uk): Thurston Dart Archive
This was a talk given by Christopher Hogwood and Greg Holt, both students of Dart, interspersed with some lovely music performed on spinet, violin and bass viol. Given my dissertation is looking at the music archives of the University, this seemed entirely appropriate! Although the notes I made on it are less relevant than I hoped they would be, it has provided me with a new angle for research, which is quite exciting.
Visit to SPRI (more CPD)
Last week was rounded off with a very interesting visit to the Scott Polar Research Institute. Martin very kindly took me for a tour round the library, showing me some wonderful treasures and talking about how the library integrated with the rest of the museum (much better than I do here!). We finished off at The Snug for lunch, where it transpired that Uni staff get a discount on food there! Whoop whoop!
So that's basically it for the moment. I think in about 3 months' time I will actually be at a point where I can start thinking about CPD in earnest, instead of squeezing it in around everything else, and this blog will begin to function once again - can't wait (though maybe I'll try and have a honeymoon first)!
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