Autumn at the aboretum in Lincoln
‘Autumn, the year’s last, loveliest smile’ (attributed to William Cullen Bryant)
It really has been a beautiful autumn, but as I write this, the evenings are getting darker, it is getting colder and the clocks are about to be set back for winter! Still October has been a good month for me, it feels as though the new academic year has now fully got underway with the usual round of meetings and strategic planning. More excitingly I have been working with many new students having the early ‘taste’ of learning in higher education. This month I have also been able to find some space to make some serious ‘in-roads’ into the sole-authored book I am writing for Sage publications, on interprofessional collaborative practice in Social Work, there is alot more to do, but I feel that this is now moving on well. I am also working on developing some of my doctoral thesis for submission as journal articles, but this is a surprisingly time-consuming process.
During October, we went to see Bob Golding in the fantastic, new one-man play which celebrates the life and career of the legendary comedian Eric Morecambe – it was a great night out.
So, my plans for November? Well, more writing, perhaps some updating to this website, there will be marking and more teaching and, of course, planning for the festive season!
This is the first blog that I have written for this website. Previously I have been blogging on my doctoral research web pages as a means of keeping participant case study institutions, individuals and interested parties up-to-date with progress on the research process. I now intend to use this blog page to provide regular comments and up-dates on my professional work, perhaps monthly, or as often as I can or deem appropriate.
So, the key thing for October has been publishing this website, with the help of colleagues at the University of Lincoln and my husband, Dai – there is lots more to do, but this will always be ‘work in progress’. I have also been spending as much time as possible writing on my doctoral thesis, with a particular focus on chapters 1, 2 and 3. My teaching focus this month has been on supporting part-time students with the final dissertations and progress towards practice learning experiences as part of their undergraduate studies. I had an excellent day at the NVivo Masterclass in London in the middle of the month and now feel confident to improve and progress my analysis of the doctoral project on the qualitative data analysis software. Also, on 7th October at Derby University, I facilitated, with colleagues from the REACH network, a one-day workshop event, in partnership with the Centre for Recording Achievement titled ‘Implementing Professional Development in Complex Roles within Higher Education; using research findings’. This went very well, with over 20 participants, although we are yet to properly reflect on all of the outcomes and the evaluations from the day.
At home, my son had his 21st birthday (where do the years go?); my daughter and son-in-law came over to spend a weekend with us; I had a weekend away at a spa-retreat with some ‘old’ girlfriends from school; and the kittens have been growing at great speed! 
The diary is full for November, so we shall see what progress can be made…..
