How to Holiday. Part 4 (Chaos)

Posted on by Dr Karen E McAulay

It is the week of the bathroom renovation. There’s a team doing it, and all I have to do is basically keep out of the way. (Said she, glumly contemplating the inconveniences of having no – erm – plumbing for hours at a time.) It’s going to be fabulous, but the upheaval is quite something else. This morning, we have a singing electrician and two joiners. I am much distracted by the banging and crashing upstairs and down, and a table has appeared in the garden!

An ‘Auld Hoose’

The electrician has just inspected the fusebox, and warned me that there might be some inappropriate language if certain switches and boxes don’t do what he needs them to do. Silence. He stops singing …

This ‘Hame o’ Mine’

I look for ways to divert myself. Yesterday, I did some ironing (that’s always a sign of stress. I ironed before I got married; I ironed when I was in labour; and I iron when someone has rattled me!) I also wrote a report, which felt strangely grounding – and reached out to another professional with whom I have a point of common interest. Maybe not exactly holiday activities, but definitely worthwhile.

Strangely enough, tidying seems quite therapeutic. If much of the house is in chaos inside and out, then imposing order on a tiny corner – David versus Goliath – feels like taking back just a bit of control. Last week I put unwanted books on eBay and visited the charity shop, but I can always find more. I could do some gardening, but everything’s very wet out there after overnight rain, Maybe later!

I could sort paperwork and filing, but creating more mess and covering more surfaces may not be a good idea. I may be reduced to commencing a [small] sewing project, or perhaps starting knitting! Or …

An Album of WELL-LOVED SONGS From the Repertoire of Robert Wilson, ‘THE VOICE OF SCOTLAND’

Scotland Sings - a book of songs as sung by Scottish singer Robert Wilson

My eye falls on the Robert Wilson song-book that has lain on the piano for a couple of weeks. That needs putting away – but not before I reflect that the publication has its own points of interest. I like the fact that this book, published by Ascherberg, Hopwood & Crew, predates when Wilson and his cronies bought James S Kerr’s publishing concern and began publishing jaunty, variety-influenced (‘tartan-tinted’) light song repertoire that not only suited his own voice, but met with affectionate approval with his many, many followers. The English firm’s publication contains an older selection of Scottish songs, which clearly marks an earlier stage in Wilson’s career:- ‘My ain Wee House’ (Hoose, surely?! But it’s an English publisher); ‘Hame o’ mine’; ‘Bonnie wee thing’; ‘The auld House’ (ahem. Hoose, please); ‘O sing to me the auld Scotch sangs’; ‘Yon wee bit heather’; ‘The Scottish Emigrant’s Farewell’, and more. It couldn’t be more different from his later repertoire.

Ah, I’ve just heard a triumphant ‘YES!’ from the bathroom. And no swearing. I’ll take that as a sign that the fusebox and switches did what they were meant to do. (Thank God!)

No ‘Auld Scotch Sangs’, but any ‘Sangs’ will do!

The electrician has started singing again, so all must be well! A quick burst of the burglar alarm – that’ll annoy the neighbours! – then fuses are put back, the alarm is reset and peace descends … for now.

How to Holiday. Part 3

Posted on by Dr Karen E McAulay
Yellow rubber duck - the bathroom company's calling card!

Halfway through the second week of holiday, I’m getting into my stride.

Home Improvements

Business duck!
  • We sorely, desperately needed a new bathroom. We’ve had a consultation, and it all happens next week. (Crikey! It’s going to be an exciting week.)
  • The garden is now tidier. We also needed two garden walls painted. Done today – not by us, though. (And NOW I can put a few more plants in the border!)

Health, Hair, Hard Work and Handiwork

So bright & white!
  • Doctor, optician, hairdresser appointments made. I haven’t booked the dental checkup yet, but give me time.
  • Five bags of books weeded out of ONE room (the one where I work!), to be distributed to the charity shop, a secondhand bookshop, and a few to give away. I also spent several hours on eBay. The shelves are still full, but tidier, and there’s also no longer a heap in the corner of the lounge. I am gradually tidying odd corners that have been annoying me for ages; have found books that I’d forgotten I even had; and have conceded to myself that I never will read some of the books – that Norwegian darning book is way, way above my capabilities!
  • Last week I made ‘Himself’ a waistcoat. Yesterday I made myself a shirt – it had been cut out, but hadn’t been started in 1-2 years, so it’s nice that it’s now hanging up awaiting buttons and buttonholes. I do have other sewing projects lined up, but I thought I ought to get into the habit of finishing one thing before starting another. It’s an astonishingly quick pattern, which probably explains why I have a number of shirts in the same design!
Quick make!

Hardly Holiday?

You might ask where the rest and relaxation has gone. I can’t really answer that. However, I can assure you that I haven’t done any research this week!

  • But I have bought us tickets for a Tchaikovsky concert tomorrow evening. That counts as an outing purely for pleasure, and best of all, it’s not far from home.

There’s much to be said for getting on top of tasks that were long overdue. When I go to town tomorrow afternoon, I’ll hopefully be able to drop off the ‘gift’ books before I go to the hairdresser, and if I’m lucky, reward myself with a coffee afterwards. (If not – well, it’ll be a treat for Friday.)

How to Holiday. Part 2

Posted on by Dr Karen E McAulay
Cream meringue (cake), topped with strawberries

I haven’t had a foreign holiday in years, but I haven’t really been very good at taking a decent break at home,  either.  As long as I was sharing myself between librarianship and research, my annual leave tended just to support my research habit.  But this year, I’ve done substantially more research.

I decided that this year, I would have to do better when it came to taking a deliberate break.

I’ve continued to pursue domestic projects, stayed abreast of family preoccupations, done some more weeding (so much weeding!), and read a great book, Being Mortal, by Atul Gawande.  This was lent to me a couple of weeks ago,  and it proved well worth devoting the time to.   But by Thursday, I was itching to go on another outing.  A holiday surely has to involve going places, if only locally.

Tea House on the Loch

I fancied tea beside a river.  ALL I typed into Google was, ‘tea’, and it came up with the ideal cafe.  Does it read minds? We didn’t even know there WAS a small loch at Gartcosh, so this was a pleasant surprise.  It turns out there’s also a garden centre, which might be useful to know in future.

I’ve also visited a friend, and when I got home, I found that the book I ordered the other day had arrived.

Well, this was fatal. It’s a song book.  I looked right through it, looked up the two lady composers and their illustrator, played the songs over, then decided I’d better write down what I had discovered.  An enjoyable use of an evening, but this hardly counts as taking a deliberate holiday from research! Indeed, it merely piques my interest as to how the ladies ended up writing their book. Did the friends reach out to the publisher? Or vice versa? Or did someone put them in touch?

The Thomas Nelson ‘child singing’ motif

Meanwhile, my crowded bookshelves have an extra book, and I need to remember that I’m taking a holiday!

How to Holiday (Unaccustomed as I am)

Posted on by Dr Karen E McAulay

As I mentioned, I feel I can’t actually go away on holiday in case I’m called to go down south. So, peacefully minding my own business in Scotland, I thought I’d just aim to do something enjoyable, useful or both, every day of my break.  (My other intention is to sort out my sleeping patterns.)

Monday, we had to wake early, but otherwise I made a good start – we had afternoon tea out.

Tuesday, I aspired to a day beside the sea, but I was thwarted – just one of those things.  But I started sewing a waistcoat, and compiled a list of tradesmen for a much-needed project. Enjoyment and productivity, as you see.

And today? I woke at 5.30 am and couldn’t get back to sleep.

Still, I’ve finished the waistcoat – it didn’t take long.  Pursued the home project a bit further, and rewarded myself by ordering a book.  And then I made a start on the garden.  But it doesn’t exactly feel as though I got the enjoyment-productivity ratio quite right.  I’ll have to do better.

I’ll check tomorrow’s weather forecast first.

The Calm in the Middle of the Storm?

Posted on by Dr Karen E McAulay

As I’ve indicated, I’m blogging less at the moment,  due to preoccupations unrelated to research.

Don’t they say that there’s calm at the very centre of the storm? So, theoretically, if there’s chaos all around, but I sit quietly in the middle of it, it should be peaceful and still?

Rubbish! Either that, or I haven’t precisely located the epicentre of the storm in order to sit in it.  I know that many would say, ‘when there’s nothing you can do, you just have to put it to the back of your mind.’ Easier said than done.

My research, of course, is a dependable solace. So I put my phone on ‘do not disturb’ whilst I visited two libraries yesterday, and settled into what should have been a lovely, calming day, as indeed it was  – until I encountered my nemesis …

A microfilm reader.

As anyone knows, the  linear nature of microfilm storage goes with the territory, as it does with film or audio tape.  Whether you’re looking for a page in a weekly journal from the furthest end of the date range, or looking at every single ‘books reviewed/received’ section, it’s going to take time.

Scroll, Scroll, Scroll …

Even with varying speed scroll facility  – I was still trying to locate a three-word book title. The journal has no index. I haven’t finished looking yet. I did find two entries, which makes me all the more determined to try to find another two – which may or may not be there.

But the other, additional problem is a visual one. I wear varifocals. Only the bottom of my lenses are the right focal length for reading.  But the top of the microfilm reader is at least as tall as me. Moreover, it’s very bright, and the effort of focusing combined with the brightness resulted in a searing pain that meant I had to reach for sunglasses as soon as I stepped outdoors.

Too much light!

I’ve used eye-drops.  But it still hurt this morning and turned, predictably,  into a migraine.  And if I want to complete my search, I have to put myself through it all again on Tuesday.  (It’s my research.  I may have some light sensitivity after last year’s macular surgery, but I am not visually impaired, so it’s up to me to just get on with it, if I want to trace what I’m looking for.)

Meanwhile, the chaos whirls around me, but perhaps I should find something more easy on the eyes, to take my mind off it!

Brief Intermission

Posted on by Dr Karen E McAulay
White curtains. virtually closed, with plant on the window sill.

There are times when scholarship doesn’t so much take a back seat, as slide over into the passenger seat. I’m still working on my research, but I may not blog as frequently for a short while.

Close to home: Norfolk, near where I grew up

Research: Distracting Oneself from Distractions

Posted on by Dr Karen E McAulay

My oldies are giving cause for serious concern, and I’m distracted.  These situations happen to most of us – I won’t elaborate. Suffice to say that research itself can be a distraction from the awfulness, but not entirely!

Young Disrupter

Take yesterday. I thought I’d find solace in our big city public library.  First, I headed for the library café, but although the coffee was good, someone else’s screaming, beaker-flinging toddler didn’t make for a calming experience. I don’t blame the parent – it was just unfortunate.

Horrible old Technology!

Then the microfiche reader screen was too high for my varifocals, so I had to stand to consult it;  there was only just room and nowhere to plug in the laptop; and not  enough room for my notebook unless I sat back down and balanced it on the edge of the table. I have never liked microfiches anyway! I disliked them in 1988 – nothing has changed.

Although I would like to have stayed longer – I didn’t complete my mission – I wasn’t entirely sorry to have to leave in order not to disappoint expectations that I’d be home to fix lunch.

Back at my own desk, I fiddled with my notes, checked out some details, and quickly checked in with relatives. No news.

Finally, giving in to temptation, I headed back to my happy place.  Fabric.  In this case, examining Flora Woodman’s concert wardrobe through her performance log! I’ve mentioned before that she logged every outfit worn. It’s a shame that the only outfits we can see, are those in publicity photos. Still, the log gives a good impression of the range of outfits, and some of her accessories.  Let me share the concert attire worn by the emerging young star in her first couple of years.  Obviously, there’s no indication of style or design, so you’ll need to visit a few historical costume websites for 1913-1915 and form your own imagined impressions.

(I’ve indicated the source of this blog picture below – it has nothing to do with Flora.)  There’s also a Facebook page called Attire’s Mind, which gives plenty more food for thought.

1913-1914

Cream Lace
Navy Blue
White and Pink
White Coat & skirt
White Silk

1915

Black & White
Blue (Spanish)
Cream Lace
Fur Coat & Pink Hat
Navy Coat & Skirt & White Hat
Pale Green & White
Pink (blue sash)
Pink Rose
Silver, Pink & Mauve
White Silk
White (with Black Tulle, Ermine or Swansdown on different occasions)

I found the most beautiful dress on The Romantiquary; in my imagination, this might have been one of Flora’s fabulous frocks. Meanwhile, I need to get a grip on myself and get back to the research proper. I’m not a historical costume expert!

PS. I could be persuaded to list more of Flora’s wardrobe later … ?!