Category: archives
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Summer goals: the final score
The results of my summer goals: • Definition of ‘ballad’ for introduction. I’m part way through this, although it needs a LOT more work. I’m discussing it with friends that I met at the Psalm Culture conference in London in July and I’ve given it a lot of thought, but so far, there’s only a…
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Transcribing and Broadcasting
I went back to work on Wednesday, when my children went back to school. Most of my work this week has been on transcriptions of manscripts from the British Library but I’ve also read some secondary material. I’ve carried on working today, because despite my intentions to spend three whole days immersed in my primary…
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Oxford Archives
On Monday I did a day’s work on manuscripts held in the Bodleian Library. Particularly, of course, Ashmole 48 – Richard Sheale’s ballad collection. There is some dispute over the purpose of the collection. Sheale is known to have been a minstrel attached to the Stanley family, but interpretations over the years have described Ashmole…
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Summer goals update
I thought I’d give you a quick update on my progress towards my summer goals: • Definition of ‘ballad’ for introduction. I’m part way through this, although it needs a LOT more work. I’m discussing it with friends that I met at the Psalm Culture conference in London in July and I’ve given it a…
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Cambridge Archives
I spent this week in Cambridge. I’ve not been back to Cambridge since I went to the folk festival in 1994, where I got showered in (someone else’s) beer when the Saw Doctors came on stage and everyone cheered. That was before I got my A-level results. At eighteen, I was offered a place at…
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Juggling
Juggling, I have discovered this week, isn’t easy. I can only assume that this time last year I was so taken up with the prospect of moving house that the PhD took a back seat to packing boxes and playing with my children. I didn’t have my summer panel meeting until the middle of August…
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Psalm Culture and the Politics of Translation
This week I finally have something a bit different to say. I am aware, you see, that writing a blog about writing a PhD is a bit repetitive: “read some ballads, thought about the music, wrote about some ballads, went to a supervision meeting, did some more research, wrote a bit more, read some secondary…
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There it was, gone
A funny sort o f week. Today I sent off all my work for my panel meeting, which is scheduled for next week. My supervisors certainly have plenty to keep them busy – my research plan, training log and chapter plan don’t take up too much space, but the draft chapter on combining music and…
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Summer Goals (Round 2)
My summer goals • Definition of ‘ballad’ for introduction • Transcription of digital copies of ballads from MSS in the British Library, consulted last autumn. • Archive visits during summer 2013: Stonyhurst College, Lancashire County Record Office, National Archives etc • Completion of article on ballad epitaph • Revise ballad flyting chapter. These goals are…
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Spring has sprung at last
Weather-wise, it’s been a much better week. Yesterday the weather was beautiful, but unfortunately I wasn’t in a fit state to enjoy it. My eldest kindly brought a bug home from school earlier in the week and having had a sleepless night on Tuesday, I wasn’t in a fit state to kick it out of…
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