I haven’t been online much lately as I’ve been busy sorting out my modules for the next semester. This time last year I’d finished my first week at university as a mature student, and couldn’t wait to start the next one! All the worries I had about going back into education after so many years working alone evaporated during my first lecture. I’ve had so much fun over the past twelve months, I’d recommend university to everyone!

When I decided to study for Gloucestershire University’s MA in Creative and Critical Writing, I decided to put my writing career on hold. I’m only a part-time student, but that takes up an amazing amount of my time. Beyond blogging, the only writing I do these days is for assignments and assessments. I’m so glad I’m not trying to write for publication at the same time!
There’s a lot of background reading to be done for each module. I’m a slow reader. That doesn’t help—neither does the fact I need some time to call my own. There’s my family to enjoy, pets to look after, wild birds to feed and a garden to wrangle.
This week I’ve also been getting ready to speak at the Bristol and Avon Family History Society’s annual fair about my latest release, Struggle and Suffrage in Bristol. Their fair is being held at the British Aerospace Welfare Association in Filton. That’s not far from Rolls-Royce Aero, where I worked for a while. It’ll be great to go back after so long away, but I’ve heard that the buildings where I was based have been knocked down, and the site redeveloped.
That’s a shame, but maybe some of the people I used to work with at Development Accounts (Dev Accs) or the Technical Publications (Tech Pubs) library (or even Sun Life Assurance?) are still around? If so, why not drop in to BAWA this Saturday, 28th September. The Family History Society are really friendly and helpful. If you’ve ever thought about trying to trace your family tree, The Bristol and Avon Family History Fair would be a good place to start. It runs from 10am to 4pm, and I’m on at 10:30am.
See you there?