Don’t stress, she is actually hungry for online fame 
(Afterwards, we made up and recorded our own Dale-inspired dance effort, complete with a suit. This won’t be shown 
)
We had our first Themes and Sources class today, mine on Utopian Writing. And do you know, it’s weird to be back sitting in chairs around a room with around 30 people discussing things. I’m suspicious of the way it’s presented as a novelty from lectures: no no, we’ve done this for years in school and to be honest I for one was getting quite fond of the ‘sit silently for an hour’ format of lectures. Nevertheless, it was an interesting class and obviously the balance of power is rather different from the old days of A-Level English classes. (The balance of power now being that everyone pretty much contributes equally, and no-one puts their bare feet on the desks. Holly, I’m talking to you here.)
I had a really odd bout of nostalgia this morning: for TV gameshows. And specifically, the very late 90s \ early 00s combination of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and The Weakest Link. The thing about these shows was the way literally everyone absorbed the catchphrases and so on: I’m hardly an avid fan of the gameshow genre and someone like my dad even less so, and yet still we watched. (Sure, we watched WWTBAM when someone was close to a million, and The Weakest Link because it was just before The Simpsons, but why quibble?) I’m actually slightly looking forward to being older, when everyone of my generation will get the reference to ‘phone a friend’ or whatever and the young people will look puzzled, before shaking their heads and going back to watch Big Brother: Death Row Extravaganza.
(It’s Saoirse’s fault that this happened – though Make It Up was a work of some genius and I hope one day she brings it to a wider audience.)
Grandad
In the early hours of Thursday morning, my grandad died. He was in his 80s, and it wasn’t unexpected, and – thankfully – he was healthier than many others for much of his life. And yet, and yet… still a sad time.
It’s odd, to think about grandparents, given how much they shaped your life long before you were born and yet how removed they are – growing up in another time, another world. It wasn’t until today that I thought that, of course, in my full name I’m actually named after George. And it’s indirect, and fragmentary, but I do feel I can trace parts of me back to him – in who he was, and what he did.
Not in a literal sense, of course: as a working-class builder from Suffolk, he had both the practical skills to do what I still refer to as a ‘proper job’ and the countryside nous to grown his own food in the garden. (Reflect, sadly, that my version of this amounts to cooking my own packets of Dolmio pasta in the microwave.) As a father to my dad, though, he let him make his own decisions – encouraging and supportive – and never became a figure of fear. That’s an ethos that I grew up with, too.
So, goodbye, and thanks 
(The funeral’s on Friday – it’ll be good to see family.)
I love pinboards by doors…
To some people’s evident disappointment, I am not and and have never been a member of the Communist party…
Must be off, since I’m about to be set real work to do!
Just had a lovely evening watching The Shadow In The North from Christmas with Irfan (thank you, BBC iPlayer!) which was well worth seeing. (Message to people at home: watch it!) Yes, I’m back in Cambridge, and people have been drifting back over the weekend: Michael arrived today, in lovingly cynical form as usual. Looking forward to seeing Joe and Sophie tomorrow, too! And then term starts properly on the 15th, so hectic work will of course commence… (It should be noted that I do have some leftover hectic work to do in the meantime )
Although I mentioned the banners Lucy and I created to sponsor SexFest 08 at the time, before I left London I met up with Joshua for a lovely pub lunch, and took the opportunity to capture shots of them for posterity. So here they are!
Beautifully modelled, I’m sure you’ll agree
SexFest 08: It’s ironic
They’re a fitting way to remember everyone back home, too. Until I return! 
Helen on It’s (waiting) time.: “Fabulous news, congratulations to you both! X” Jun 8, 21:51
