Family life was also somewhat difficult this month with a very sad and unexpected family bereavement putting us all in a bit of turmoil.  However, on a more cheery note, family pulled together and we are now all looking forward to the festive break and some time to ‘gather strength’.  December will be a busy time workwise, but with some precious family time built-in.

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…..