8.40 am. Into the squall, desperate to preserve the integrity of my umbrella:

9.00 am. My first MA Fine Art tutorial of the semester. A cancellation, thereafter, opened up time for me to process postgraduate applications and read through PhD Fine Art course-work submissions in readiness for forthcoming tutorials:

Some principles and observations derived from today’s encounters:

• Very often, we’re in one of the following positions: We don’t know what to do. We don’t do what we know. We do what we don’t know.  We do know what we don’t know. We don’t know what we don’t know. We do what we do.
• We need the perspective and insight of others who can see beyond the boundaries of our own perception and comprehension of a matter.
• If you cannot choose between options, then don’t; consolidate them instead.
• You cannot not be influenced anymore that you cannot not eat and expect to grow.
• Sometimes, the only thing we know for sure is that we want things to be different. That’s a good start.
• It’s no bad thing to be blind to one’s own virtues while acutely aware of one’s conspicuous shortcomings.

11.00 am. The remainder of the morning was set apart for a series of discussions with pairs of students from the MA Vocational Practice module. They’re in the midst of developing a small-group workshop for undergraduate students, which they’ll deliver before the Easter vacation, and of preparing to hold two one-to-one tutorials with the undergraduates.

2.00 pm. The first of two MA inquirers discussions.

3.00 pm. Then, the second. The purpose of these meetings is to permit the inquirer and staff member to negotiate each other’s respective expectations. The School has no house style. It insists, rather, upon integrity, quality, ambition, and enthusiasm only. Everything else is up for grabs. Our intent is to enable the student to find their own ‘voice’ (which is not the same as a ‘unique style’ (whatever that means)), and to be able to ‘speak’ with clarity, sense, and persuasion.

4.00 pm. A PhD Fine Art tutorial. It was an invigorating end to the day at the School.

6.15 pm. Practise session 1. 7.15 pm. Following a little lesson preparation in advance of tomorrow, I pressed on with the conspectus, revising what had already been written. Sentences needed to be decluttered and sharpened, and meanings, teased apart. The likes of Thomas Tallis and William Byrd were my accompanists. A little emaillory and diarism to close the working day.