Its so sunny and lovely. I had hoped to go to Columbia Road where they sell the plants and flowers, and return bearing bags of multi-coloured semperviva to plant in the voids of birch Christmas tree stands, now that the lopped trunks have gone to the municipal refuse tip.
Alas, I have work to catch up on, the nine-tenths of the iceberg left below water after the symposium et al last week.
A pigeon perches on the tree next door hooting mournfully: 'Poor you! Poor you!'. Sarcastic b*gger!
Students from the University of the East have been out on work placements and I have been overseeing their CVs, advising them, visiting them, and managing a certain degree of panic.
Having a work-age daughter who is also setting off on a journey into this horrific unemployment situation gives me a certain empathy- I have to fight against the feeling that I have 42 offspring (or 150 if you count the Theatre and Dance students that I have ultimate responsibility for) to support.
Some of the students have been incredibly resourceful, even at the moment of panic.
My mantra for myself in the same situation in the 1980s (yes, Thatcher!) was to live by my wits.
One of the guest speakers who came to talk to the students cited 'resilience' as his most useful attribute; I couldn't agree with him more.
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