Some progress

I managed to write a few hundred words yesterday - focus on the way Cohen uses pronouns so its not clear who everybody is. Have listened to the new album again - still  love it.

Our Tai Chi class has been closed, which is concerning because its important for our health. And we have friends we only ever see there, so we'll never see them again. It was inevitable this would happen because numbers were dwindling but we never expected at the end of a class to be told there would be no more classes. So do we join another one? Or just give up, as I have not enjoyed the classes for years and found them more and more stressful. But TSH wants to go. And its a health thing.

We'll be glad when we get a new kitchen, as the dishwasher is giving more and more problems.

Baking Christmas cake this weekend.

First Ink

I have started to write the chapter on 'who is everybody?' and have written a few hundred words about the narrator. Whilst I don't think the writing will be too difficult as I have lots of material, the discipline involved (without the deadlines associated with a course) will be tremendous. Even at 1,000 words EVERY week, it will take almost two years to get to book length.

Yesterday I went to a reunion of the women from my year at Bury Convent Grammar School (now Holy Cross College). Everybody is still lively and getting a lot out of life.

Today British Gas are in residence, fitting our new boiler. They are mostly in the kitchen but also need access to all radiators, the tank in the loft and the airing cupboard. They seem very nice, polite and considerate.

Big day today - new Cohen album - listened to it once - a triumph!!

Regrouping

Studentat60  isn't a student anymore, so for the first time since retirement 10 years ago, there is no schedule. Time has been used setting up a new mobile phone contract (it really is that complicated for me. I now have an O2 PAYG bundle, arranged by a charming man in the Retentions department at O2). We are also planning a new kitchen, which is even more complicated. Cupboards, appliances, worktops, tiles, taps, radiators, lights ........... All to be selected.

I still work but now as a writer rather than a student. So this blog will now cover the transition. The first set of analysis on all the Cohen lyrics is complete and the plan is to start putting ink on paper tomorrow. Today I am booked in for a manicure.

The examiner's meeting is on October 17th. So soon  after that I will find out if studentat60 is an MA.

Birthday

Student at 60 is 63. And too busy planning holidays and a new kitchen to be working on the lyrics. And the mobile phone contract is ending and getting a new one is a nightmare. Do I really need a smart phone? Or an old person's large buttons calls only PAYG? Well, maybe we haven't come to that yet.

Some progress

I have started to develop spreadsheets for the lyrics in 'Songs from a Room' - Cohen's second album, from 1969. I suppose that seems like ancient history to some people. I am looking at the pronouns - who is speaking? who is he speaking to? who is he speaking about? Cohen often mixes up these roles - he speaks as if about a third party and then it becomes apparent he means himself.

Yesterday we went to a party at Dinosaur's other grand-parents. He was very well behaved and charmed everybody. And I got sunburnt. On a cool day in Yorkshire. Probably no-one else present had this issue - I really do have very sensitive skin. So today its Aftersun every few hours.

The book

Back from a good holiday in Portugal blogged at http://fromthesilversea.blogspot.co.uk/ . And now its time to get back to work. The dissertation is in but I have no serious intention of just sitting back and retiring, even though it is occasionally tempting. But that would be the beginning of the end!  So I've started to look in detail at Cohen songs other than the ones I analysed for the dissertation. The general idea is that I'll write about the student experience, the overall statistical analysis of the whole set of lyrics and then a set of detailed analyses of the more interesting songs.

I am not a student anymore but this 62-year-old is not retiring!!

Holiday time

We are about to take a river cruise in Portugal - blogged as usual here: http://fromthesilversea.blogspot.co.uk/

I sill have not firmed up the forward plan, but the chances are that I will be expanding my Cohen dissertation into a book. But in the meantime, there's a holiday wardrobe to plan. Toes are already purple with sparkles! And hair is still looking good.