Weekend sunshine

This morning I cleaned my little kitchen from top to bottom. What a great feeling! We celebrated by buying a picnic from Waitrose and heading out to Hartsholme park for a walk round the lake. I had such a holiday feeling that I even bought some olives! D wore his pink shorts - actually, they are cooler than they sound.

Well, as the week progressed I finally stopped dreaming about work. I finished teaching on Friday and that's it for official classes until September - unbelievable! Fortunately on my research day I had two plays to read which meant I could take a hour or so outside on my balcony. I have a great job! The first play was David Hare's take on the lead up to the Iraq war, Stuff Happens and the second was Alan Bennett's The Habit of Art, a play based on the rather colourful lives of W.H. Auden and Benjamin Britten. Both relatively interesting. I've been exploring a little more contemporary theatre recently as I have felt a little stuck in the early twentieth century. I'm still a confirmed modernist at heart, though.

This week I also started to finalise my summer plans. This is always an exciting time of year. It's a month of planning and organising, of diary-keeping and new stationary...and, of course, a chance to find a good local cafe for those hours when you need to get out of your home office. I'm in a bit of a quandary with this one as our favourite cafe is just about to close (boo hiss!) so I'm on the lookout for somewhere else. All in all, plans are coming along well. I've still got to sort out my reading list though. I like creating summer reading lists and generally work my way through a broad range of texts over the sunny months. I'll keep posting on what I'm reading. It'll probably be a mixture of C17,18,19 plays (in preparation for our Restoration to Melodrama course) and modern British plays (in my attempt to stay 'down with the kids'!).

If you are anywhere near Lincoln this week then come and enjoy our Caryl Churchill festival. Now, I have to admit that Churchill is not my favourite writer. I have tried to like her work but I find it all a little dull and old-fashioned. That said, this week you can enjoy a range of her plays for free at the LPAC. That has to be worth a look.

Anyways, I'm off to think about dinner. Enjoy the weekend.
CSW