9.00 am. Fine-art painting assessments commence. The readied room:

All in all, an encouraging morning. One must never give up on students; some have the capacity to produce the ripe fruit, but only at the end of the season. Patience, expectation, and nail biting are called for. Some principles and observations:

• What makes a painter is often the subject.
• No amount of talent can make up for a lack of hard work and commitment.
• Work within your limitations while, at the same time, extending beyond them.
• Small paintings may make a large impact. Conversely, large paintings may make a small impact. It’s not the size but, rather, the intensity of the work that counts.
• For the exhibition: do the same, only better; don’t veer either to the left or to the right of the path that you’ve laid for yourself; and refine each of the elements that comprise your work in turn.
• Let others praise you. That’s to say, allow others to acknowledge the worth of your work, and don’t blow your own trumpet.
• The best is yet to come … always.

At the end of the morning at the School, I walked to the Old College to conduct one further tutorial with student, in situ.

1.30 pm. Lunch on the move. 2.00 pm. I’d arranged a pastoral tutorial, but there was a ‘no show’. 2.30 pm. Back at home base, I wrote up the feedback sheets, filled in my appointments diary further, and caught up on incoming mail:

6.30 pm Practise session 1. 7.30 pm. Further dairy reconciliations, insertions, excisions, and shunting were undertaken and several academic references composed and posted. There’s an art to creating, maintaining, and balancing periods for teaching, research, and admin. One day, I’ll master it. 9.30 pm. Practise session 2: