tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40624672401952997202024-03-13T13:00:22.611+00:00Molemaisonby Claire WardenClairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.comBlogger311125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-44850887155908633832019-05-20T12:38:00.000+01:002019-05-20T12:38:10.009+01:00Refreshing the blogWelcome back, one and all!<br />
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This is the blog refresh after a good few months of no posting. Life has rather got in the way of things! As I intimated in my last post, I am finding that Twitter, my only social media stream, is fast becoming not fit for purpose really. Bombarded with negativity, I have bid a hasty retreat back to blogging as the best way of sharing what is going on in the world (although I will still be using Twitter, just less often).<br />
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So far in 2019 then... we took a wonderful trip to Yale in the coldest month of the year. Yes, we did wander round New Haven during the Polar Vortex of January! I really enjoyed working in the archive, though. The Ernst Toller papers were really fascinating: there was a lot in there about the Spanish Civil War - I hadn't realised how instrumental Toller was in getting world leaders to understand the plight of ordinary Spanish people. We had a fantastic couple of days in New York on the way home: exploring book shops in Brooklyn and watching the Knicks.<br />
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Since then, I have mostly been building towards new projects and working with my bright, talented third years on their production of Eugene Ionesco's Rhinoceros. They will be performing in Loughborough on the 5,6,7 June. We had a jolly time in Edinburgh over Easter, seeing friends and family. I took a little time out to work in the garden, my happiest place. Our rather late flowering bluebells are now making their entrance. We enjoyed a camping trip with friends in North Wales; it was the first time I have camped with D and the first time we had used our new tent. Apart from having to erect it in the wind (quite a challenge!) we had a brilliant time.<br />
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It's a busy week coming up in preparation for my trip to the States next week. I am giving the keynote at The Space Between conference. <a href="http://scalar.usc.edu/works/the-space-between-literature-and-culture-1914-1945/conference-preview--spring-q--a-with-claire-warden">Here</a> are some things I said in preparation. I am so excited to see a new part of the world and meet new folks. Then it is straight into Rhinoceros production week and, at the end of that, we have our first Wrestling Resurgence Loughborough show, 'Angry Dancing'. It's going to be the biggest show we have put on so far.<br />
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And then it is into a summer of research (hopefully). I have a good number of projects I want to move on with. We have a couple of holiday gaps too when we can enjoy travelling about a bit.<br />
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I will try and write a new post each month here in case you are interested in goings-on chez Warden. In the meantime, 'strength to you' if you are in the midst of marking and 'happy start of summer' everyone else.<br />
CSWClairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-79212168546454339112018-12-18T15:08:00.000+00:002018-12-18T15:08:59.888+00:00End of the YearWell, that was quite a term. The last time I posted was July! That is the longest I have gone without publishing a post. If you are still hanging on in there then 'thank you'. I have been using twitter for day-to-day work updates (that's cs_warden in case you are interested) but have otherwise rather disconnected from social media and things. In the face of ongoing political unrest and fear-mongers, I (like I am sure so many of us) have found that the less time spent online the better. I am rediscovering the joys of reading, watching the occasional film or tv show, and hanging out with friends (we had 20 folks round here on Saturday night for Christmas fun and games!).<br />
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However, lots of noticeable stuff has happened so it is probably worth a blog post.<br />
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In the past few months I have been concentrating on starting well at Loughborough. I am pleased to say that it has been a great move. I am surrounded everyday by excellence: my colleagues are smart yet friendly (a winning combination), the students are brainy yet open (ditto) and the campus is just a wonderful place to be, especially when the sun shines as it did almost all summer. My first few classes at Loughborough have been fun and I have enjoyed teaching the new material. Publications have been...erm...published and, most brilliantly, the <i>Wrestling Resurgence </i>project (for which I am commissioner and co-commentator) continues apace. I don't think any of us can quite believe that we are now a fully fledged arthouse wrestling company that promotes pay-per-view events. Do check us out if you are interested: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/w_resurgence/">instagram</a> or our <a href="https://vimeo.com/ondemand/topofthechops">vimeo </a>pay-per-view account if you want to watch a show (and you really should!).<br />
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In other news...we gained a new nephew (welcome to the world, Harry!). I/we jetted off for conferences in Munster, Germany and Columbus, Ohio. We still love travelling around as much as ever. After our two trips to amazing Japan, I have been learning Japanese at night school. It is hardcore but it is also fun to challenge myself in new ways. It is good for academics to make themselves intellectually vulnerable in this way; I am not a natural linguist but am so enjoying it.<br />
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And now we are nearly at Christmas. This week I am finishing bits off: completing article edits, spending grant money, planning next term's teaching material. I love sitting in front of the Christmas tree with the lights on as I do this, even when it is dark, grey and rainy outside as it is right now. We are looking forward to a little break in the Warden household. We'll have some days in Edinburgh and then we are heading off to Vienna for new year to fulfil a lifelong ambition of dancing the Blue Danube waltz through a Viennese square at midnight on the 31st.<br />
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Wishing you all a peaceful Christmas time and a wonderful start to 2019.<br />
CSWClairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-87349174568249901932018-07-19T18:17:00.000+01:002018-07-19T18:17:25.254+01:00Settling in and back to Japan...The past few months I have been settling in to life here at Loughborough University. So far I love it: it is a great institution full of positive, smart people. And, bonus, I am able to head out to the cricket pitches at lunchtime to catch some overs (just one of the great things about working at the best sports university in the world!). Projects continue apace: we had our second Wrestling Resurgence show which was an amazing night. You can see all the images and film <a href="https://www.instagram.com/w_resurgence/">here</a>. One of my amazing collaborators has just secured £17000 from the Arts Council for the Wrestling Resurgence project: it is incredible to think how far we have come in such a short space of time.<br />
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We headed off to Japan again in June. We were in Tokyo and Kyoto last year so this year we were a little more ambitious and travelled right up into the north, visiting an amazing onsen (natural hot bath). We explored lots of new places: Kanazawa, Matsumoto, travelling over the Alps, Sendai and the surrounding coast, Kamakura and many more. We started the trip in Osaka where we experienced our first significant earthquake. It measured 6.1 and was the strongest quake Osaka has experienced for 60 years. It was very odd to be shaking about on the 13th floor of our hotel! Here is a picture of the amazing place we stayed in Northern Japan: Nyuto Onsen. With the atmospheric mist, it felt like a scene from a Studio Ghibli film!<br />
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Since our return, our house has been full of visitors from Scotland. It has been lovely to see everyone! We have lived in our new house for nearly 6 months now. I still have some little jobs to do (anyone want to come and do some painting?) but we feel very comfortable here. And I am training myself to be a better gardener: our potato haul was particularly impressive and our sun flowers are shining out despite the lack of rain in the East Midlands. We are rather desperate for a downpour!<br />
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And now we have the rest of summer stretching out in front of us, a summer of little trips (to Norfolk, Edinburgh, Germany, Portugal) and work. I am writing new articles and researching for a new book; it is pleasantly unusual to be focusing almost entirely on new projects. It feels right to be starting at Loughborough with new things ahead.<br />
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And a final 'hello' to my dad who always reads this blog and has been a wee bit under the weather recently :-)<br />
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Wishing everyone a restful, productive summer!<br />
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<br />Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-45468476748376324132018-04-09T13:39:00.000+01:002018-04-09T13:39:51.337+01:00New thingsI write this from...my new office at Loughborough University! I am absolutely delighted to have taken up a Senior Lectureship in English and Drama here as part of the institution's Excellence 100 programme. I know I have moved to a really brilliant University and I have already met a terrific bunch of people. Projects continue apace but it feels brilliant to be completing these projects in such a illustrious place of learning. And, of course, we are already well into the sporting culture here - D and I have already cheered Loughborough on in the basketball finals!<br />
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We have spent the last few months getting settled in our new house. We love it there - we have plenty of happy frogs (and now lots of frogspawn!), loads of birds and are gradually getting the garden in order. The house has been so comfortable from the moment we moved in and we've already had lots of folks round.<br />
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Apart from these two rather enormous changes we have just been enjoying pleasant days. We've been to Anglesey to celebrate my aunt and uncle's anniversary, have been to Edinburgh for Mother's Day and have been watching plenty of basketball (Go Riders!) and, of course, wrestling. Last night was Wrestlemania so I was up until well past 5am and then started my new job this morning (don't tell anyone!). Overall, it was a good first two thirds of Wrestlemania - great women's match, brilliant mixed tag, great opening triple threat. It did gradually die away a bit...though this might be because we were rather tired! We have a bunch of new Wrestling Resurgence projects coming up so have been particularly following the exploits of the British wrestlers out in New Orleans.<br />
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The next few weeks are just focused on getting into life at Loughborough really with some happy weekend treats in store - seeing dad in his first musical for a while, dinners out, family visiting. Moving house and jobs give me the opportunity to really think about the way forwards, new challenges and what we should be doing with our time and resources. We are both pretty excited about this new chapter in our lives!<br />
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Wherever you are in the world, hope life is good.<br />
CSWClairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-67427343971316221442018-02-28T17:06:00.001+00:002018-02-28T17:06:56.907+00:002018 has begun!I sit typing looking out at our snowy garden. 'Garden?' I hear you cry, 'but you live in a flat!' Ah, well finally D and I have bought our very own house. After three years of trying and numerous dead ends and false turns, here we are in our own house in the East Midlands. We are delighted with it. It felt like home from almost the moment we stepped in. And gradually we are filling it and enjoying times with our family and friends.<br />
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Moving has taken up much of January and February really. It really is a time-consuming (slightly stressful) thing to do. Apart from that we have been watching a lot of basketball! We recently got into the Leicester Riders basketball team and have been to three games so far. I have always loved basketball and the Riders are one of the best teams in the country. It is great fun. Here's hoping they win the final in Glasgow! I have watched a fair bit of Winter Olympics and we've been exploring our new neighbourhood.<br />
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Work has been busy and full. All the proofs for the various projects I have been part of over the past two years seem to have all come in at exactly the same time! Fortunately that means I'll be able to tick them off my list pretty soon. I'm also in the midst of putting together a large grant application with a couple of friends. We're also planning for the next in our series of live wrestling events as part of Wrestling Resurgence. We have an exciting card lined up for our next event in May. Workwise I have a BIG announcement but will put that off until my next post when I can announce it officially.<br />
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In other news, we have booked our second trip to Japan. We'll be heading out in June for a couple of weeks. If you want to find out what we got up to last year then check out the 'photos' section. This year we'll be taking a different route and experiencing a Japanese onsen and ryokan. All very exciting.<br />
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Well, here's hoping the next time I write that the snow will be behind us and spring will have begun in earnest. Cannot wait to see some flowers and sunshine!<br />
CSWClairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-90639036577222421582017-12-03T21:22:00.001+00:002017-12-03T21:22:29.624+00:00Where we have been in 2017? Japan and elsewhere So, you may well have given up hope of me ever writing another blogpost again. I think time has just rather run away from me...something I am thinking very seriously about at the moment (more below). So, let me fill you in on the past few (ahem) months.<br />
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Well, the big highlight of this period was our incredible trip to Japan. You can find all our photographs in the 'Photos' section of the blog. Suffice to say, I think Japan is my favourite place in the world. We loved the food, the people, the culture, the mix of crazy madness and quiet zen, the incredible public transport, the fact that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Neighbor_Totoro">Totoro</a> is everywhere. We flew into Tokyo (via Doha, one of our favourite places the change planes) and spent a few days exploring this capital's many interesting districts. We took a trip up into the <a href="http://us.jnto.go.jp/adventure/hike_nikko.php?hike=1">Nikko National Park</a> and spent happy hours in smokey old skool arcades playing '<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_Fighter_II:_The_World_Warrior">Street Fighter II</a>'. We then took a bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto, a trip I have wanted to do for years. It was incredible to zoom past the Japanese countryside at a million miles an hour. Kyoto is a very different city, full of little streets and geishas and amazing temples. And more excellent food (D got quite addicted to these wee omelettes with sausage inside wrapped in nori seaweed - better than it sounds!). While staying there we did a day trip (using our wee Japan Rail Passes, which we used until they fell apart) to Hiroshima. I wasn't that keen on visiting this city (seems a rather odd place to go on your holidays) but I am so glad we did. It was the most mournful and yet peaceful place I have ever been. It has the most horrendous history but is now a vibrant city, rebuilt after such horror. It felt strangely uplifting in a way that I am not sure I can explain. We also caught the ferry to <a href="http://visit-miyajima-japan.com/en/">Miyajima</a>, one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. The cable car was a pretty exciting way to journey up the mountain. We travelled back via Amsterdam (a place I had visited earlier in the summer for a conference). There were so many highlights from our trip - do take a look at our pictures and follow our amazing journey.<br />
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Lots of other stuff has been going on - fun weddings, some cricket, visits from our family and friends, trips to Edinburgh and Oxford (partly work, partly fun). University life has been hectic and full - teaching, new articles to write, proofs to complete, and, just a couple of weekends ago, our first proper public engagement wrestling event as part of <a href="https://beinghumanfestival.org/event/live-british-wrestling-history-and-resurgence/">Being Human</a>. It was a terrific night and, in a bucket-list moment, fantastic wrestler Mark Haskins 'cut a promo' on me at the start. Pretty awesome stuff (check out our<a href="https://www.instagram.com/wrestling__uk/"> instagram</a> feed).<br />
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All this has been terrific, but it has also been a time of more yucky illness and a struggle to find real balance in life. I think I have probably always found this quite hard - I have a tendency to really throw myself into work. But I have begun to realise more and more the importance of finding balance, peace and rest, as well as other things to inspire and opportunities to serve. I am spending December (when I am not preparing for Christmas, marking assessments, finishing a journal article and doing a few pleasant travels) really trying to develop this balance. It is an interesting, sometimes challenging project.<br />
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So, from us to you, we wish you a wonderful, peaceful Christmas time wherever you are in the world.<br />
CSWClairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-14251900261523920422017-07-07T18:31:00.000+01:002017-07-07T18:31:34.211+01:00Our America trip and the summer beginsTerm came to an end and I battled through the marking (some good stuff actually - was pretty proud of many of the great students I taught this year). And then, it was off to Western US for a trip we have been looking forward to for some time. A good few years ago, when we started travelling about, D mentioned that he would love to take his mum and dad on a trip to show them some of the special places we love. Well, finally we managed to make this trip. We began in the heat of Las Vegas, journeyed up to Joshua Tree for the saloons and cowboys, spent a week in LA for Hollywood glamour and chilled out beaches, finally saw some whales in the wild (something I have spent a decade trying to do!) in Monterey, and finished in San Francisco. It was quite a trip! Terrific to spend time with two folks we love so much and to share so many special places with them. If you are interested then the photos are in the 'photos' section of the blog. Here is a lovely one of the amazing Valley of Fire National Park to get you started!<br />
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We got back from the trip and I went straight into two mammoth weeks of meetings, writing, trips and conferences. I am pretty chuffed to say that we won two awards for the on going wrestling project: a Being Human Grant so we can host a great event in November and a DMUEngage award to pay for the Spring events. We are so chuffed that organisations see the worth in this project and are willing to support it financially. I then headed straight off to the British Association of Modernist Studies Conference in Birmingham. It was a fun combination of great research, dinners out and chats with friends. </div>
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This week has slowed down a bit and finally I can get to my summer research projects. I am so excited to begin these projects. Have a good lot to do between now and our next summer trip to Tokyo in September! But I am trying to take things slowly and carefully, playing around with new scheduling systems and things. This time of year is just brilliant and really sets me up (in a research sense at least) for the rest of the year. </div>
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Hope, wherever you are, that you are enjoying happy days and focusing on the good.</div>
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Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-67946425216098171612017-05-19T17:40:00.001+01:002017-05-19T17:40:37.091+01:00The question is 'what happened to April?'So, here I am in the middle of May. When I wrote 'write a blog post' on my to-do list this week, I imagined I had written something profound(!) in April. As it turns out I haven't updated since March. I honestly don't know where the time goes.<br />
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To fill you in on goings on since my last post then: it has been an unusually quiet couple of months really. This has been great because work has been extremely busy: end of term, marking, grant applications, furthering some new projects, taking over as the new Secretary of the British Association of Modernist Studies. I also seem to have been involved in a million workshops, training days and committee meetings. So, all in all, outside of work things have been peaceful.<br />
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Easter was a rather lovely three week gap in usual university busyness and provided enough time for me to crack out a couple of grant applications (one already successful, one submitted today), spark off a couple of new potential projects (including one with a new friend in Sweden), and complete the final faffy bits and pieces for our forthcoming journal collection entitled 'Raymond Williams and Performance'. We also managed to get over to sunny Stockport to see the family and enjoy the planes at Manchester Airport with our nephew. Shout out to my dad, long time committed reader of this blog, who has been a touch under the weather recently. We had a jolly bank holiday at Lord Byron's house Newstead Abbey and I've enjoyed a couple of trips down to London for a BAMS (yes that is the acronym we go by) exec meeting and to give an invited lecture to the great students at Drama Studio London. We also enjoyed a wonderful gig from the ever-mighty Steve Hackett last week at the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham.<br />
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Today is a finishing off day though, frankly, so much is dependent on other people fitting in their bits of various jigsaws that is has ended up being quite reactive. But things have been done. Once the marking is out of the way (we are nearly there now) it is time to throw some things in a bag and jet off to lovely California for a few weeks of sunshine, great food and country music on the radio. We are looking forward to taking my great in-laws to America for the first time. This means that we'll be missing the Election fall out which makes me rather happy but is a disappointment for politically-minded D. Then we are on to a summer of great, exciting projects. I have set some strong, challenging objectives for the summer period, and am looking forward to working on two new journal articles and two conference papers. This is book-ended in September by our first trip to Japan. Extremely excited by that prospect!<br />
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So, have a wonderful start to the summer friends wherever you are in the world.<br />
CSWClairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-580756412082735192017-03-31T14:45:00.000+01:002017-03-31T14:45:00.138+01:00What happened in March?So, for those of you who have seen me around during the past month or so you will have noticed that I haven't quite looked myself. Having been ill on and off since November, my poor old body finally succumbed to the flu and then to pleurisy, which I imagined was an illness only Dickensian spinsters contracted! Anyways, I feel as if I am slowly coming out the other end but it has been unpleasant, rather painful and (probably worst of all for me) pretty frustrating! As a goal-setter and forward-thinking sort of person, I really hate it when everything is derailed. The idea of bed rest is rather horrifying; the fear of missing out on a day fills me with frustration. But I have tried to take enough rest in these busy last weeks of term. Sometimes our bodies just tell us where we are at and we have to listen to them.<br />
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So, in the midst of this, what else has happened? Well, D and I have enjoyed some good family time with both sides during March. This included a quick trip to lovely Edinburgh to celebrate Bro-in-law's birthday and to play with my fantastic nieces. I've had some fun work opportunities which I have just about been able to cough through. Our <a href="http://www.dmu.ac.uk/cultural-exchanges-festival/index.aspx">Cultural Exchanges </a>event 'Performance and Professional Wrestling' was a particular highlight. Forty people attended which was exactly forty more than I thought might attend when I first suggested it to the organisers! The speakers were absolutely amazing and we had some terrific feedback. I've also finally managed to schedule some important deep thinking time into my week: Friday afternoons (e.g. straight after writing this post!) are now reserved for new projects, reading and pondering. So far this has been a great addition to my academic schedule and I already feel more focused.<br />
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As far as other stuff, life has been pretty quiet, mostly because of being under the weather, although we did enjoy a magnificent <a href="http://www.arw-tour.com/">Anderson, Wakeman, Rabin</a> concert the other week in Nottingham: three guys really stretching themselves! It was brilliant! And we've also made a few life decisions which include (*whisper it*) potentially buying a house. More of that in the next post as everything is a bit up in the air right now.<br />
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Anyways, one more week of term to go. It has been the longest term ever and I am looking forward to a bit of a rest and a refocus on some projects that have been rather neglected over the past few months. And it's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WrestleMania_33">Wrestlemania</a> Weekend which is a source of great excitement in our house. Finding the card a bit full, busy and confusing, although looking forward to some of the matches: glad to see Naomi back, Miz/Maryse v Cena/Nikki (cringe-worthy but interesting), Owens/Jericho, (I suppose) AJ/Shane O. If you aren't wrestling fans that the previous sentence will mean nothing!<br />
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Wishing you a happy final day of March 2017.<br />
CSWClairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-46416731299209714562017-02-10T21:10:00.001+00:002017-02-10T21:10:46.662+00:00Lots of positivesFunny how weeks can be full of great things and full of sad things!<br />
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The past week and a bit has been rather coloured by the death of my favourite rocker John Wetton. Meeting him back in 2008 and seeing my first Asia show was the start of my rock music odyssey. He has always been my favourite: his music is always so full of intensity, passion, authenticity and sensitivity. Eventually I had the great privilege of working with this wonderful band. I have felt so sad since his death and we have enjoyed listening to a lot of his beautiful music since then.<br />
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The world still seems pretty topsy-turvy, although things feel a lot clearer and less anxious when you stay off Twitter! Focusing on good things like community, learning exciting new stuff (parabolic curves and cures for Alzheimers have been two things I've been thinking about this week!) and doing lots of good work.<br />
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But life is also full of great things, such as a wonderful weekend in Cumbria where I finally fulfilled one of my dreams and rode a horse along the beach. Ended up in proper canter. Here is a picture of me and lovely Jente:<br />
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It was a fabulous weekend. I felt such a sense of freedom as I cantered along. Other high points: this week I took part in De Montfort's great <a href="http://www.dmu.ac.uk/about-dmu/news/2017/february/over-100-to-perform-in-24-hour-vigil-for-tolerance-at-dmu.aspx">LoveInternational</a> 24hr vigil. We came together as a university family and made a public declaration that we will stand up for folks, and share love rather than negativity or hate. It might be easy to be cynical but it was a really wonderful time. Here I am giving a wee talk about friendship and creativity to lots of folks wrapped in blankets!<br />
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We've enjoyed lovely little meals out, hanging out with friends (including two jolly wee boys), and watching Bryan Cranston's new series 'Sneaky Pete'. The next few weeks are quite settled but include weekends with the family, exciting new work projects, dinners with friends, a few new goals/challenges and, on Sunday, a great wrestling show in Milton Keynes.<br />
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So, I've been reminded over the past few weeks about the need to really focus on the positives: the wonderful beauty of the world, great people, significant environmental and economic improvements. I hope you too know real peace despite the ups and downs of the world.<br />
CSWClairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-62142975617811702822017-01-13T16:11:00.000+00:002017-01-13T16:11:08.219+00:00Welcome to 2017!Happy New Year one and all!<br />
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Christmas and New Year were all good fun chez Warden despite there being a lot of yucky illness about. We were up in Edinburgh for the duration so got time to chill out, play with our amazing nieces and eat far too much delicious food. We rang in the new year watching the fireworks and lasers over Edinburgh Castle.<br />
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I had one day back at home before heading off to New York with over 1000 De Montfort University students. This (rather mad!) trip was organised as part of DMUGlobal, an initiative that pledges to send as many students as possible overseas to experience different cultures and see a bit of the world. I co-led the Performance in New York part of the trip. We encouraged our students (from Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, and Arts and Festivals Management) to go to as many performances as possible and see as much of the city as they could. And they really took us at our word! They went all over New York and tired themselves out! They saw experimental avant-garde work, musicals, site-specific shows, even basketball in Brooklyn! And many of them were moved by the 9/11 memorial and impressed by snowy Central Park, the Empire State, Times Square and the Rockefeller Centre. The tour of the Lincoln Center was one of my highlights - what an incredible venue! Suffice to say we had a brilliant time. Everyone (including those faculty who travelled over) were really inspired by our experiences. I came back feeling really energised and creatively excited - MOMA always does that for me!<br />
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Here's a couple of photos from the trip: Central Park in the snow and the picture of all of us taking over Times Square!<br />
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It was an amazing opportunity for the students...and we had a fab time too. Got back on Tuesday and was straight back into term. So I'm spending today catching up with a bunch of jobs I have been putting off. No doubt you will get an email from me today!<br />
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The next few weeks include a couple of wee trips (to London and Cumbria) but in general we are at home getting into good schedules and enjoying a bit of peace after a super busy conclusion to 2016.<br />
Wishing you a very happy 2017 one and all!<br />
CSWClairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-13213365716844090532016-12-12T15:57:00.000+00:002016-12-12T15:57:11.997+00:00Coming towards the end of term......and what a term it has been! November came and went without a blog post. And here we are in December with the weather turning colder, the decorations coming out of dusty boxes, the festive music accompaniment in shops. Here at DMU we seem to finish later than everyone else (I'm sure, in reality, this isn't true!), and faculty and students alike seem to be rather crawling towards the finish line at the end of this week.<br />
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So, what have we been up to since we last checked in? Well, D and I can't remember a busier time really. For both of us work has been full, challenging and (mostly) fun. We've also been doing a lot of travelling. First up: California for the 2016 <a href="https://msa.press.jhu.edu/conferences/msa18/">Modernist Studies Association Conference</a>.<br />
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As the lead up to this conference landed in our reading week, we decided to take a few extra days in one of our favourite parts of the world. We explored a few new places for us, including Palm Springs (where D fell a bit in love with the pancakes at <a href="http://eatatelmers.com/">Elmers</a>) where we spent out time in a wonderful Air BnB with four gorgeous dogs. We then headed off to Joshua Tree and into the Mojave Desert where we spent a couple of nights in a beautiful desert retreat. Sitting in the hot tub watching a timid coyote pad about and hummingbirds zooming over our heads was really pretty special. Then we headed back into the city, to Pasadena, a lovely area on the outskirts of the sprawling Los Angeles. MSA was brilliant this year. I co-organised a great seminar on Modernist Performance and Global Transmission, and spoke on British interpretations of Russian constructivism on a panel on Modernist Borders. Lovely to catch up with old friends and meet new folks. D and I even had time to go to the Rose Bowl for USC v UCLA, enjoy an orchestral concert at CalTech and see the space shuttle Endeavour at the Science Museum. It was a terrific trip and I headed back into term feeling really energised.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Riding a lovely horse through the desert. Really the best way to experience any place is on horseback, I think!</span></div>
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Since then we have enjoyed weekends with both sides of the family in Stockport and Loch Lomond. This meant fun and games with our nieces and nephew. We love them to bits! Other highlights from the past month include: watching the sensational '<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2543164/">Arrival</a>' at the cinema (honestly in my top 5 films ever), reading the amazing '<a href="http://themanbookerprize.com/books/do-not-say-we-have-nothing-by-madeleine-thien">Do Not Say We Have Nothing</a>' (a Man Booker nominee) and the <a href="https://bams.ac.uk/2016/12/08/programme-new-work-in-modernist-studies-10-december-2016/">New Work in Modernist Studies Conference</a> at Queen Mary last Saturday which included a game changing plenary from Sascha Bru.<br />
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In all this, new writing has rather fallen by the wayside. '<a href="http://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9781137385697">Migrating Modernist Performance: British Theatrical Travels through Russia</a>' is now out (available just in time for Christmas, friends!). I'm pleased with its look and with the response from folks so far. I've also been working on a bunch of ongoing publications, including an edited journal collection, and a couple of book chapters. Hoping to spend a bit of time over Christmas reworking a new article out of a paper on Butlins and wrestling that I've already presented at a couple of conferences.<br />
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This week is a collection of Christmas parties, training days, and marking. I've been thinking a good deal about two typical Christmas ideas this week: joy and peace. I think at this time (and with everything going on in the world right now - don't get me started!) we could do worse then trying to share them with those we meet.<br />
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Happy Christmas/Holiday celebrations one and all.<br />
CSWClairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-78656086127496345512016-10-03T16:30:00.001+01:002016-10-03T16:30:14.398+01:00And with that, term begins...It's been a super summer of travel and projects. I (actually mostly 'we' - always lovely to travel with D!) have visited Australia, Qatar, Norway, Rennes, Moscow, St Petersburg, Edinburgh (naturally), Lake Garda, and the Algarve. Phew! Lots of great travel adventures; met some super people and realised, once again, that wherever you go in the world you find nice folks who will go out of their way to help you out. As well as an impressive travel schedule, this summer has been about writing projects...and lots of them. Mostly, deadlines have been met and words have been written.<br />
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So, what is there to look forward to for the rest of 2016 (only three months left, friends...where did this year go?)? Well, term starts this week and I'm looking forward to meeting the new students and reconnecting with our second and third years. I'm also taking on a few new roles at DMU, including PhD supervisor, MA Arts supervisor and heading up our new Drama Research Group. Research-wise, mostly the next few weeks will be focused on getting funding applications in (groan!) and finishing off a few projects, including this large chapter on Russian emigre director Theodore Komisarjevsky. Once all that is done, my thoughts can turn to new projects. I have two new articles I want to write (or finish writing) in the next six months, and a cool new collaborative project on the go which will hopefully lead to a big grant application in the Spring. But I am also working hard at pacing myself and trying not to take on too much. There is just so much fun stuff to do!<br />
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Then comes a (hopefully) joyous trip to California for the Modernist Studies Association conference (and a few days jolly holiday with D in the desert) before a few more weeks of teaching, a load of expected proofs to sort through and then...Christmas! Hoping to also find lots of time to hang out with friends (I realised the importance of this last Wednesday after a slightly frustrating day - man, I am glad for my buddies!) and family, see a bit more of Nottinghamshire and surrounding countryside (we visited Byron's house Newstead Abbey for the first time on Saturday - an Autumn walk makes me very happy), and do a lot more swimming which is my current favourite sporting pastime.<br />
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While the world continues to feel rather upside down (perhaps you are feeling it too?) I am grateful for lots of little joys.<br />
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Happy Autumn one and all - here's to woolly jumpers, soup, bonfires, hot chocolate and frosty walks! It is just my favourite time of the year!<br />
CSWClairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-13010996462329619112016-08-25T10:15:00.001+01:002016-08-25T10:15:24.030+01:00Festivals, mountains and writingSummer continues apace chez Warden. So far it has been largely taken up with a trip north and lots of proofing. We spent a week in Scotland, seeing family, enjoying the mountains of the Cairngorms (mostly in the rain it must be said) and doing a bit of Festivalling. Good time had by all! Saw some funky stuff at the Fringe including the truly hilarious <a href="https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/police-cops">Police Cops</a> by The Pretend Men and a brilliant magical cabaret by <a href="http://www.naomipaxton.co.uk/comedy.html">Ada Campe </a>(aka my friend Naomi Paxton). I felt as if there was a lot more free stuff this year. I remember back a few years when the Festival seemed to have rather outpriced itself. Now you can see a lot of great shows for free, supporting the artists with (hopefully generous!) tipping. Apart from locking our keys in the car in the most remote part of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fersit">Highlands</a> (and relying on a magician mechanic who managed to open our car using cushions and a long piece of wire) the whole trip was rather lovely. We even got to eat at the incredible <a href="http://thekitchin.com/">Kitchin</a>. I've wanted to try the food here for ages and it totally lived up to the hype!<br />
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Apart from that I have been watching a lot of Olympics. I get rather obsessed every four years. I am not a big Team GB fan (apart from in dressage, hockey and women's boxing) but the whole sporting event is just terrific. My highlight, inevitably, was the Women's Hockey Team winning gold. It was an incredible performance. As a former hockey player it totally made my Olympics and, as a former Keeper, I can tell you that <a href="http://greatbritainhockey.co.uk/player.asp?itemid=7378&itemTitle=Maddie+Hinch&section=1091">Maddie Hinch</a> is a genius! When not watching Olympic sport I have been staring at a computer screen reading and annotating proofs. It has been a slightly frustrating summer work-wise so far. I have two brand new projects to start but it feels as if I have spent hours and hours reading and editing old stuff. I'm nearly there now. Started the new book chapter yesterday and felt much better about everything.<br />
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The next few weeks up to the start of term are going to be taken up with two wee European trips (to Italy and Portugal), a couple of cool events (we are launching our new interdisciplinary dance research group and I'm leading a table at <a href="http://www.curveonline.co.uk/whats-on/shows/higher-education-and-professional-theatre-conference/">Curve's</a> theatre and higher education conference). Then it is back into teaching and writing. Looking forward to meeting our new cohort of students!<br />
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And, perhaps the most exciting news of the summer, I became Reader in Drama at DMU! I am pretty chuffed about this promotion, and looking forward to all the new challenges and opportunities that will appear in the new academic year.<br />
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Hope you are doing well wherever you are<br />
CSW<br />
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<br />Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-25032702185579132052016-07-19T16:12:00.000+01:002016-07-19T16:12:29.247+01:00Summer so far......goodness what a summer is has been so far! Like so many of you I imagine, I have found the past few months have rather confusing and upsetting. The world feels a bit topsy-turvy. But here in the Warden household we've tried to crack on, and use each day for adventures and spreading joy.<br />
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Firstly, travel stuff...<br />
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D and I took an amazing trip to Australia in May. Highlights included the Sydney Opera House, beautiful beaches, fantastic food (especially the avocados), swimming in the Great Barrier Reef (astonishing!), exploring the east coast from Bondi Beach, and visiting rainforests. We travelled via Qatar and Oslo (rather weirdly) so we were able to explore two more new places for us, both of which were very interesting in very different ways.<br />
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We arrived back and I headed off to France for the <a href="http://www.sites.univ-rennes2.fr/cellam/eam-2016/">European Avant-Garde and Modernist Studies</a> conference in lovely Rennes. It was a great event, if a bit of a challenge for my dodgy French! I made a number of new connections, and ate the best buffet ever! The medieval streets and beautiful gardens of Rennes are well worth a visit. It is a pretty exciting travel experience too, as you can now fly from the tiny London Southend airport.<br />
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Back to it again, and a few weeks of events (including a fabulous <a href="https://wrestlingsymposium.wordpress.com/">wrestling conference</a> in Aberystwyth), networking and book proofs. I ended up completing the proofs for both '<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Books-Performance-Professional-Wrestling-Broderick-Chow/dp/1138937231">Performance and Professional Wrestling</a>' and '<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Migrating-Modernist-Performance-British-Theatrical/dp/1137385693">Migrating Modernist Performance: British theatrical travels to Russia</a>' in the same week, which was a little bit mad! Trying to complete marking and end-of-term admin at the same time meant that life was extremely busy!<br />
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And then, finally, we travelled to Russia for a research trip that has taken a full year to plan. We returned last weekend. So, Russia... I am still rather digesting all that we saw and did in Moscow and St Petersburg. Suffice to say, the whole trip challenged all my preconceptions. We found a very open, welcoming country. Everyone we met was helpful and kind. They put up with my basic Russian, and were always ready to assist. I didn't once feel unsafe or concerned. The theatre company I worked with, the <a href="http://electrotheatre.com/">Electrotheatre Stanislavsky</a>, was fabulous - super lovely people doing great work! Sixty people attended my talk (sixty!) which was astonishing really. It took a fair amount of planning but, ultimately, proved to be a life-changing, inspiring trip. I will write something more comprehensive about our journey at some point soon.<br />
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And so, now I really feel as though summer has arrived. I'm looking forward to embarking on two new book chapter projects. I haven't really done any brand new research for about a year, and feel very excited to get cracking on these projects. The first is a chapter on Alexander Tairov for a book on Russian Directors, and the second is a collaborative chapter on Theodore Komisarjevsky for Bloomsbury's Great Directors Series. There are plenty of other things going on, but I'm going to try to focus on just a couple of projects for the next month or so.<br />
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As well as work, we have lots of lovely things to look forward to: a beautiful wedding this weekend, the arrival of the Scottish side of the family in Nottingham, a weekend in Verona, a week in Edinburgh (and hopefully further north) for meetings/research/festival-going, and a relaxing week in Portugal where I plan on doing nothing except read, snooze, and swim about.<br />
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I leave you with a picture of me in front of St Basils in Moscow. Have a great summer friends!<br />
CSW<br />
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<br />Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-46077057302825629562016-04-09T14:10:00.001+01:002016-04-09T14:10:49.596+01:00Into SpringFinally, I emerged from illness and found that Spring was upon us! It's been a relatively quiet and peaceful month. I've been working on two specific projects: an article on Raymond Williams and performance, and a chapter on thirties' British drama for a Cambridge Companion book. Normally I have a dozen projects on the go at any one time, so it has been rather nice to focus on just two projects. I've also taken some time out over the past few days to think about future plans - there are so many projects I want to begin. I just have to clear the decks first.<br />
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Speaking of taking time out, the past three weeks we've been on Easter holiday break. It's been rather wonderful to plan my own schedules and fill my days with concentrated writing. We spent the first weekend with my folks celebrating my dad's 65th birthday. We had a proper party and ate a lot of cake. Our wonderful nephew wandered about entertaining everyone! The Easter weekend was spent in Edinburgh with the other side of the family, and we had a great few days celebrating, playing football in the park and laughing with our nieces. I am pleased to report that D won the brother-v-brother FIFA PS4 competition. There was a lot of pride at stake! We travelled up to Edinburgh in the new car - the heated seats are a bonus when you reach Berwick!<br />
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Term starts back up on Monday and we have three and a bit weeks of teaching left before the summer break arrives. It is always an odd term as it is mostly about assessments, performances and essay writing. Hoping to be able to support the students through this rather anxious period. There is lots to look forward to after that, including holiday (Australia-bound - we've booked everything now), Springsteen gig, work trips (to France, Russia and...Aberystwyth), new writing projects and marking...lots and lots of marking.<br />
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Spent lunchtime today outside with Dostoevsky overlooking the Trent and the fields of horse and dogs. The sun was really quite warm. I love this time of year - it feels exciting, new and full of potential.<br />
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Have a great weekend friends!<br />
CSWClairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-68486901195266919802016-02-26T17:16:00.000+00:002016-02-26T17:16:50.130+00:00Getting IllIt is a well-known fact that I am almost never ill. The Wardens tend to sail through winter without so much as a sniffle. But this week has thrown all that. I've spent a not so jolly week fighting a rather yucky virus and am still snuggled under my blanket as I type. It means that everything has been rather knocked off course which is somewhat frustrating for me - I am a schedule/planner type person.<br />
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So, what else have we been up to? Well, D started his new job which involves a lot more commuting too and from London. But so far, so good. I headed up to Edinburgh to give a talk at my alma mater. It was a rather peculiar experience actually (being back at a research series I used to attend), but the talk went well and I had a super chat with a really sparky bunch of PhD students. The whole weekend was rather derailed as the Edinburgh clan was all sick. But it did mean I stayed over with Granny which was just lovely. And I got to potter around the city, eat at Valvona and Crolla, have coffee with one of the world's most wonderful ladies and work along the seafront.<br />
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After a rather chaotic January, the aim has been a quiet February of taking stock and re-energising. As it happens my body appears to have forced me to stop for a while! All the January projects are now signed off (so expect many pages of proofs to arrive in my inbox soon!) and the new Spring projects have begun. Unusually for me I am really just focusing on two main projects until we head off to Australia - an article for a journal that I am editing (don't worry, I promise to get someone to properly peer review it!) and a book chapter on Drama in the 1930s. Both involve me going back to the theatre of the between-wars period, and I'm really enjoying getting reacquainted with Auden/Isherwood and the vibrant energies of the Workers' Theatre Movement. On top of these, I seem to have rather a backlog of administrative bits and pieces - hundreds of forms to fill in etc. It is one of the perils of starting at a new institution - you have to catch up first!<br />
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We are about half way through the Spring term now, but we have a short break next week for Enhancement Week (reading week by any other name), then two more teaching weeks before a three week Easter break. It is rather nice to be entering this fragmented phase.<br />
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Apart from work things (and getting ill) I have largely been spending time watching the Six Nations, reading Dostoevsky (which I am really into now!) and spring cleaning. At this time of year I like to have a proper clear out and I'm about halfway through this task now. I've been reading a lot about the benefits of minimalism (something that is very close to my heart) and systems (something I am just exploring) and have been inspired by both.<br />
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Anyways, Friday evening has arrived and I'm looking forward to a peaceful evening of cheering on Wales and eating hummus. Hoping that the next time I write a post I won't have a cough anymore.<br />
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Wishing you a beautiful, fun-filled weekend<br />
CSWClairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-55275958976075070972016-01-29T17:45:00.003+00:002016-01-29T17:45:46.934+00:00Australia-bound but working firstI was buying my coffee from my friendly local independent cafe yesterday and we both reflected on January as a month that has just flown by! So, what have the Wardens been up to?<br />
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Well, to be honest, from my perspective, it has been a pretty work-oriented month. After submitting the Book on the 5th, I went on to submit the next project on the 18th. This is an co-edited collection entitled <i>Performance and Professional Wrestling. </i>Even though it has only just been submitted, it already has its own <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Books-Performance-Pro-Wrestling-Broderick-Chow/dp/1138937231/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454088922&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=Professional+Wrestling+performance+claire+warden">Amazon page</a>! According to Amazon we are looking at a mid-July release date...Amazon is the fount of all knowledge about this sort of stuff, right? And then just this week I submitted a book chapter for a collection called <i>Literature: an introduction to theory and analysis. </i>The chapter is simply called 'Performance' and tries to explain this very tricky concept in 4500 words. Phew! And today I've been working on my paper for my talk in Edinburgh next week and I've returned to a journal article on Raymond Williams that I need to write by April. So, there is a lot going on. I knew these few months were going to be busy with work and I have June in my head as a month which will be quieter and give me a chance to catch my breath and think about the next steps.<br />
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So, anything else? Well, D has been looking at cars as our lease is up. If you know D then you'll know that he takes things like this <b>very </b>seriously. And (the big news) we booked a wonderful holiday to Australia. Ever since I was a <i>Neighbours</i>-obsessed teenager I've wanted to go to Australia. We have an amazing trip planned involving diving, horses and koalas. Cannot wait! Other than that our January has been pretty quiet with just books, swimming, yoga and the occasional film (including the really super <i>Star Wars</i>) to interrupt. This means I am getting a lot done right now and, when I'm not teaching, days are really pretty focused and full.<br />
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Anyways, a peaceful weekend ahead and then a big trip up north next week. Looking forward to going back to my alma mater - only hope I can be half as entertaining and sparky as most of the visiting speakers I enjoyed during my time in Edinburgh!<br />
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CSWClairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-50676627160148147102016-01-08T19:49:00.000+00:002016-01-08T19:49:34.973+00:00Welcome to 2016The end of 2015 came and went and I can't believe it is actually 2016. So what has happened since my last post?<br />
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Well, I taught my first term at De Montfort and all went well. It's all taken a bit of getting used to but I've enjoyed getting to know the new students and spending time with my new colleagues. The commute to Leicester is easier than the commute to Lincoln! I've found a local indie coffee shop and a terrific veggie Indian restaurant. So all is well.<br />
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I had a great trip to the Modernist Studies Association Conference in Boston. At the last minute D realised he could get the time off to come with me. It was lovely to explore a new city with him, as well as spend time at an amazing conference. We went to see the Bruins play hockey and the Celtics play basketball, walked the Freedom Trail and visited some beautiful Revolutionary battlefields. On our final day we had a rather wonderful experience of listening to the Boston Phil play a concert of Wagner's music at Harvard University. All in all, it was a pretty special time and I managed to eat lobster every day which made this fish fan very happy indeed. If you want to see exactly what we got up to then click on the photos tab above.<br />
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We've enjoyed gigs (Steve Hackett at De Montfort Hall, and Whitesnake/Def Leppard in Nottingham), films and books. The cultural highlight of these months has been 'Breaking Bad'. So, I had decided not to watch join D in watching this series the first time round. I was a little worried about the ethics of a show that, I thought, would celebrate the drug industry. Actually I was entirely wrong about it and, once I'd got past the bath tub scene in series 1 (you know the one!), I really enjoyed it. I have become a bit of a Bryan Cranston fan - he is astonishing in this series! And I have done lots of swimming, HIIT and yoga. I've also been exploring new ways of eating which has been really fun - lots of veggies!<br />
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I didn't finish at university until the 21st which is very late by university standards. Then off we went to Cardiff, Edinburgh and Aberdeen for Christmas and New Year. A good time had by all. We spent some lovely days with the family, including our fab nieces and nephews. On the 5th January, after some final faffing about with citation admin, I finally submitted the new book to Palgrave MacMillan. 'Migrating Modernist Performance: British theatrical travels through Russia' will be out later this year.<br />
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The next few months see a lot of new deadlines coming my way - chapters, articles and projects. Teaching will carry on apace too. I also have talks booked in Nottingham and Edinburgh and, come May, Rennes. We are already starting to think about our summer adventures which, for me, will include a trip to Russia. Life is pretty busy and full until June when things slow down a bit. I have booked a couple of weeks of deep thinking so I can decide on new research directions and potential future projects. I've realise that for the past few years I have just rattled on without really taking any time out to think about things. I'm planning on changing that this summer.<br />
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Anyways, I hope that 2016 treats you all well wherever you are in this beautiful world.<br />
CSWClairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-80899060795516464982015-10-30T15:09:00.000+00:002015-10-30T15:09:22.295+00:00Two months into the new job!Afternoon friends!<br />
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On the 1st September I joined the drama department at De Montfort University as Senior Lecturer (VC2020) and very jolly it is too. My new colleagues are very friendly and welcoming, and I have enjoyed getting to know a bunch of new students. Funnily enough, the transition between institutions has been considerably more anxiety-filled than I could have imagined. I guess you always just want to do well when you go somewhere new!<br />
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I'm enjoying dividing my time between Nottingham and Leicester, and have sourced decent independent coffee and a delicious veggie Indian restaurant. These are clearly the most important things! My train trip is shorter than when I worked at Lincoln - it's just half an hour on the London train. I've been to the Curve Theatre and De Montfort Hall, so I feel as though I am properly getting into Leicester cultural life. I really love the vibrancy of these two Midlands cities. They both have such a beautiful collection of diverse cultures, nationalities, languages and belief systems. It is all rather exciting actually.<br />
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So, what else is happening? Well I am just busy writing. I have a million projects to complete by next April, including, of course, the Book. The latter is progressing well; I just have chapter 4 to complete. Looking forward to getting it all sent off although I'm enjoying the writing process. Outside of work we've been watching some films, enjoying a Steve Hackett gig and finishing the beautiful 'Show Me a Hero' (the HBO series). A few weeks ago I decided that we needed a break away from everything and so we took ourselves up to North Yorkshire and spent the most lovely couple of days at Flamingo Land (with me screaming my head off on the rollercoasters), eating delicious sandwiches at Helmsley, staying in a cosy pub (with a lovely dog called Arthur) and visiting Castle Howard and Riveaulx Abbey. It was a very short trip but I felt enormously refreshed afterwards. It really chilled me out and I returned with renewed vigour. We should do this more often!<br />
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November is approaching - a month of birthdays, chilly weather, preparing for December and, this year, heading off to Boston for the Modernist Studies Association Conference. I really can't wait for the latter. It is going to be so cool - lots of lovely people and great, fascinating work in store.<br />
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Hope everyone is doing great<br />
CSWClairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-22206272351878096392015-08-27T16:05:00.001+01:002015-08-27T16:05:16.377+01:00Summer adventuresAnd with that, summer is nearly over!<br />
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It has been a great couple of months full of adventures. First up was a month of writing - suddenly I feel as if the book is starting to come together. I just have chapter 4 to finish, although chapter 2 continues to drive me a bit crazy! <i>Migrating Modernist Performance: British Theatrical Travels through Russia </i>will be out with Palgrave MacMillan next year. I've also been working on the new <i>Professional Wrestling and Performance </i>edited collection for Routledge which, all being well, will also come out next year. I have a million other projects on the go at the moment and one of tonight's major jobs is to work out how on earth it is all going to get done!<br />
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As usual for the Wardens, the second half of the summer was taken up with an exciting trip. This year we went back to America (2nd of 3 Stateside trips for me this year!), starting in LA, driving up the coast to Santa Barbara, Big Sur, Carmel Valley, San Francisco, Sonora and finally back for a couple of days in New York before flying home. It was an amazing trip, full of new experiences, including bathing at <a href="http://www.esalen.org/">Esalen </a>at 2am, seeing the final ever <a href="http://www.rush.com/">Rush</a> gig, visiting Yosemite, flying under the Golden Gate Bridge in a helicopter (yes, I know, right?), landing on Alcatraz, riding on a stagecoach, watching the Mets, getting tickets for <a href="http://www.onthetownbroadway.com/">On the Town</a> (my first on-Broadway musical) and seeing enormous trees, swimming in incredible oceans, dragging D round loads of art galleries, eating at awesome restaurants, wandering amongst amazing architecture and indulging in way too much ice-cream.<br />
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Here are a couple of my favourite photos (typically, D has hundreds and will probably be a bit grumpy about the ones I've chosen to put up here!)<br />
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Yosemite Valley looking down!</div>
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Me looking rather wistful at the Big Sur</div>
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'Welcome to the Rock' from the helicopter</div>
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'Welcome to the Rock' as we arrived</div>
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The amazing nighttime sky in Sonora. This was the view from our house!</div>
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New York - memorial to 9/11 </div>
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We travelled on four planes (Le Compagnie x2, Delta, JetBlue) and all left on time (just about) and were great. We stayed in seven different places, mostly Air BnB which I recommend to everyone as a brilliant, cost-effective and exciting way of travelling. We walked so far that D has to throw away his £10 walking shoes. I read two books: <i>The Artisan Soul </i>by Erwin McManus (great and pretty inspiring) and <i>H is for Hawk </i>by Helen McDonald (which I loved).</div>
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All in all, a great summer. And now it is back to it. There is a lot going on in the family right now (including the birth of our new wee niece!) but I am also back to writing and sorting before term begins.</div>
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And the big news is...*drum roll*...next Tuesday I will be starting a new job at De Montfort University, Leicester. I'm enjoyed my time in Lincoln but I'm definitely ready for a new start, and am looking forward to meeting the students and hanging our with my new colleagues.</div>
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Hope everyone is doing great!</div>
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Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-64860840787014194952015-06-04T17:38:00.000+01:002015-06-04T17:38:31.324+01:00Settled in NottinghamSo, welcome back to blogging! We have been in Nottingham now for three months and it has gone by in a lovely blur. The apartment we finally found is fantastic - close to the centre of town, overlooking the Trent, with a pool on site. I feel very settled here (even though there are still a few boxes to unpack).<br />
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There have been lots of exciting events, opportunities and trips over the past few months. Here is just a taster of what has been going on in the lives of the Wardens:<br />
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1) I went to New Orleans! I presented a paper on British holiday camp pro-wrestling at the Popular Culture Association Conference. I had the best time. The conference was good if a bit wacky - Martin Sheen gave a talk so it was also pretty showbiz. I met a lot of super nice people, including contributors to the forthcoming edited book, <i>Performance and Pro-Wrestling </i>(Routledge 2016). New Orleans is an amazing place! I ate some incredible food (gumbos, crawfish, jambalayas) and listened to some cool jazz, including at the legendary Preservation Hall. I visited galleries, took a walking tour and wandered my way round the amazing cemeteries. It was a great trip and I felt quite sad to come back to the UK.<br />
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2) I've given papers in Oxford (Avant-Gardes Now! conference) and Manchester (Raymond Williams Now! Conference) - everything is 'now'! - and have played around in some archives.<br />
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3) I've watched some cool indie wrestling in Sheffield (ICW - well worth catching them)<br />
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4) The end of term has come and gone. I saw some great performances - very exciting, vibrant and risky (in the best possible sense of that word). All the marking is now done (phew!) and the admin is signed off. This is always a pretty terrific feeling.<br />
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5) We went to Copenhagen! D and I fancied a proper holiday so we took ourselves off the the Danish capital where I spent five days prancing around castles, wandering through art galleries (sense the theme!?) and pretending to be Birgitte Nyborg. Ever sense I watched <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borgen_(TV_series)">Borgen</a> </i>I've wanted to visit Copenhagen - Birgitte is a bit of a hero. It was as lovely as I had hoped. We stayed in this great little apartment in Vesterbro - Air BnB wins again.<br />
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And, on top of all this, I've been sorting out the house (everyone will be pleased to now we now have sofas), doing lots of writing in an attempt to finish the first draft of the book by September, attending way too many meetings, reading lots of great books (including Jessie Burton's <i>The Miniaturist </i>which you need to read if you haven't) and catching up with new series of <i>Treme </i>and the first series of <i>Daredevil </i>which is a bit scary than I thought it would be given it's from the Marvel franchise.<br />
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There are some exciting things coming up, one of which I'll be able to share in a few weeks (cryptic!). D and I will be off to America at some stage and I am trying to chain myself to the desk for a while to get writing done. Fortunately I absolutely love working at home!<br />
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Hope everyone is doing well.<br />
CSWClairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-22796633852943914742015-03-12T16:25:00.000+00:002015-03-12T16:25:53.711+00:00Quite a month......you know when you carefully plan something and then it all falls apart? Welcome to our failed experience of buying a house. After much wrangling the whole deal fell apart leaving us just a week to find a new place to live. For the first time in my life I think I used the word 'stressed'! Finally we found the perfect flat to rent and here I sit, one week after a rather rapid house move. Thanks to our gracious friends looking after our BBQ and extra large hammock, we managed to downsize from our big, rambling Victorian house to a two bedroom apartment. We absolutely love the new flat! It's pretty near the centre of Nottingham and overlooks the Trent. I don't think I will ever get sick of the sunrise through our 5th floor window or the novelty of having a dishwasher for the first time in three years. We've enjoyed living in Lincolnshire but it was time to move on.<br />
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So, what else happened in February/early March?<br />
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Well we went down to Cardiff to see the family (including our beautiful nephew), we've played an unusual amount of adventure golf and I've finished Alice Munro's short stories (which were amazing!).<br />
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I've travelled to Glasgow to speak at the University of Strathclyde and, as of two days ago, I finally have a copy of the new book in my hands. Yes friends, <i>Modernist and Avant-Garde Performance: an introduction </i>is out and available at all good bookshops! I'm pleased with the way it looks (EUP have done a great job) and hope that it will really help folks approaching this material for the first time.<br />
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And I won a British Academy grant to fund the British/Russian project which is amazingly exciting and means a good number of 2015 foreign trips. While I have won some small external grants before this is my first big one. In modern academia securing such grants is absolutely vital so I am chuffed to bits!<br />
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I've taken up swimming again for the first time in ages (very lovely) and said goodbye to my horse friends in Lincolnshire in the hope of new Nottingham-based horse friends.<br />
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So, currently I sit surrounded by boxes and the bed is still in its plastic wrapping but, I have to say, I feel extremely positive about the future here in our new city and am looking forward to exploring its parks, cinemas and art spaces over the next few months.<br />
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Whatever you are up to, I hope things are good with you.<br />
CSW<br />
<br />Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-32612192169067644952015-01-19T18:18:00.000+00:002015-01-19T18:18:55.745+00:002015 and we're already halfway in... January 2015Ahem...Happy New Year...<br />
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So, this year, to save me from the regular embarrassment of not updating my blog often enough, I'm going to post a single epistle each month detailing the goings on in the world of the Wardens. I might also post occasional musings.<br />
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So what has happened since my last post?<br />
Christmas came and went. It involved us travelling from Lincoln to Nottingham to Stockport to Edinburgh to Aviemore and back again. Despite a bit of illness we had a lot of fun and it was great to see everyone. Dogsledding in Aviemore was a particular highlight but then so was playing Christmas games with our niece.<br />
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Since there, here is the news:<br />
- We are in the process of relocating to Nottingham full time. This has been a long decision but it is definitely the right one. We should be moving in late February and are looking forward to enjoying Nottingham life and being closer to everyone. This also means that the next few weeks will be full of boxes and removal men. Although we'll miss our big old house (and particularly the ducks!), it is definitely the right time. I'll be doing a commute back to Lincoln for the time being and am actually quite looking forward to quiet writing and reading time on the train. I've been listening to the BBC's <i>War and Peace</i> over the past few days and reckon I could get quite into spoken books.<br />
- I've been super busy with research work, including writing two abstracts, an invited lecture and numerous forms. I'm also up to 20,000 words of the book which is a big relief as I was beginning to get a little anxious about lack of progress. It's my own fault - there are just too many exciting things happening! Last Friday I returned to one of my favourite archives at the John Rylands in Manchester. Pretty super that I can combine work things with seeing the family, including my rather beautiful 10-week old nephew.<br />
- We watched <i>The Hobbit</i> at the Kinema in Woodhall Spa. I enjoyed it, although we agreed that there were way too many plot holes (what happened to those worm things? Anybody?)<br />
- I've finished the marking. As usual a good mix of stuff this term. Looking forward to the forthcoming term when I'm back to teaching Modern European Drama and Documentary Theatre, my favourites!<br />
- I've been reading a lot. I have made a whole heap of New Year's Resolutions this term, most of which seem to be going OK. One of them is reading a whole fiction book every month. I realise that this doesn't sound like very much but I spend all my days reading books about modernism and theatre and tend to neglect 'fun' reading. So far I've actually read two books (Murakami's new one [very strange!] and a rather beautiful if perplexing book by Carol Sheilds called <i>Unless</i>). I'm now on to Alice Munro's short stories. I read a couple of these when I taught Canadian Literature at Edinburgh but I haven't returned to them for many years. The first one was a bit disturbing but amazing. Looking forward to a train journey tomorrow so I can read the next.<br />
- One of my other resolutions revolves around fitness challenges which, as you'll know, I really like! January is always an easy fitness month for me. It's about getting things back on track: light cardio and, this year, loads of yoga. While I don't really go in for the spiritual side of yoga, I really like the movements and the focus they force you to maintain. I'm following some pretty tough yoga sessions D bought me (yoga 'til failure!) but am really loving it. Hoping that by February I'll be ready to ramp it up a bit in preparation for a nice summer challenge.<br />
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The next few weeks will be full with term starting, moving house and three new publications all coming out - an article, a book chapter and, on February 15th, <i>Modernist and Avant-Garde Performance: an introduction</i>.<br />
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Hoping you're having a great start to 2015. I have high hopes for this year!<br />
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And today on Martin Luther King Day I leave you with this:<br />
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CSWClairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4062467240195299720.post-36814688534457202682014-11-24T22:20:00.001+00:002014-11-24T22:20:58.382+00:00Blimey O'Reilly, where does the time go?For the past two weeks I have had 'write blog post' on my to do list. And here we are finally! Term kinda took over for a while back there. It has been a super busy time but full of exciting things, little trips, fun days out and big changes. So let's go back a few weeks:<br />
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Since last we 'spoke' I have taught a whole term of classes on academic skills, dissertation and the musical. It has been a pretty good combo and I've been fortunate to enjoy the company of some lovely, hard-working students. I've been a great Asia gig and a fantastic WWE (wrestling) event. I've been down to London (work), across to Manchester (twice) and through to Nottingham (a lot!). We've had a brilliant if windy weekend up in Scotland with the clan in celebration of Uncle Charlie's birthday and a lovely weekend in Cardiff meeting the newest addition to our family: my sister's (Smelly's) gorgeously cute new son. I've ridden a lovely new young horse called Blossom who is a bit of a handful and watched a collection of great films including both first parts of <i>The Hobbit </i>and <i>Dallas Buyer's Club. </i>Oh, and I've finished the proofs for the new book (out in February), actually written some words of the next book project (relief!) and started work on an enormous new project that will run to over 1.5 million words (not all written by me). And in our spare time we have been (hopefully successfully) house hunting.<br />
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So all quiet then! Teaching has now ended and I can launch into some proper writing time...after I've been to meetings in Oxford, completed the marking, taught an MA class and written some new tv programme treatments that is. The weather has cooled down here in rural Lincolnshire and the animals are all preparing to bed down for the winter. The mornings and evenings are darker, and I have to remember my torch for the nighttime walk home. But all is good and jolly. We're beginning to make Christmas plans and are looking forward to a couple of weeks of family, food and general festive jolliness.<br />
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I hope wherever you are that life is treating you well<br />
CSWClairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847832235983498857noreply@blogger.com0