That being said, there was plenty of work to be done in December, including a long list of copy-editor queries to start work on for the book – this will also be a feature of my work in January no doubt!  Towards the end of the month and the term, students have been submitting assessment work, which results in some weeks of marking for me and my colleagues.  I actually enjoy marking as this is an opportunity to give students individual feedback on their progress and successes, however, I always wish I had more time to devote to this important part of the job.

So to finish off this month and year’s journal – a few pictures from Christmas 2010 – firstly my son Rob and his girlfriend, Laura, with their ‘look-alike’ snow people creations , then my two cats watching the baubles on the christmas tree (needless to say, we were continually picking up baubles from the floor over the festive period!), and finally a lovely picture of my Mum and my son exchanging gifts on Christmas day.

At home, any spare time has been geared towards planning for the festive break.  We had a lovely weekend in Manchester, looking around the German Christmas market and enjoying a Tapas meal out.  So the focus has been on shopping for presents, planning meals, thinking about decorations – and wondering how we will manage the challenge of putting up a Christmas Tree with baubles and decorations, with two lively 6-month old kittens charging about….