8.45 am. Promenade. The temperatures are set to hit 30°c today. The town is at its best on such a day as this. 9.00 am. At the, now, largely deserted Old College, I held a PhD fine art tutorial:

Some principles and observations derived from today’s experiences:

• Life’s journey is not GPS assisted. When you lose the path, don’t expect a disembodied voice to set you right. How you, by yourself, find the way again may be just as important as rediscovering where you’re heading.
• The greater part of your life (experiences, pains, joys, loves, passions, and curiosities) will not be the subject of your work. However, they may inform the motivations and spirit that lie behind the subject and its rendering.
• I have an aversion to the phrase ‘my art’ in artists’ writing. It sounds too precious, protective, and proprietorial.
• In the creative endeavour, we walk into darkness with the light behind us.
• What we most deplore in others often resembles our own inadequacies.
• Nothing is insignificant. But the meaning of some things is not always immediately evident.
• The success of those we’ve taught may be sweeter to the taste than our own.

11.30 am. Back at the mothership, I completed my review of the PhD Fine Art thesis ahead of schedule, dealt with postgraduate admin, and responded to emails.

Afternoon. Homebase. I took up the booklet again until my appointment with the physiotherapist. 4.30 pm. Having been lovingly and intelligently (wo)manhandled for an hour, I returned home through what felt like a fast-assisted oven to pick up where I’d left off. By the end of the afternoon, I’d reached page 41.

Evening. A family, birthday celebration: