On one level, I was quite busy seeing people, helping my family with various things, and preparing for next year. There was also quite a bit of celebrating because my PhD has been confirmed, and not only that, but quite a few of my friends who thought they wouldn't be able to continue have been granted funding at the last minute. I'm extremely proud of them, and also extremely pleased that we'll all be studying together next year. Needless to say, this predicated a lot of celebration on our part, naturally.
On another level, however, I can hardly remember what I was up to during that time because mentally, I'd given up. In many ways, I'm rather introverted: I'm at my happiest with a book and a cup of tea, knowing that I can interact with others but I don't have to. People with whom I'm comfortable enough to relax are a very precious commodity, but even so, there will be moments when I'm pretty much incapable of socialising because I need to recharge internally before I can expend that energy on others. This year has been a good and worthwhile one, but it has left me mentally and physically exhausted in so many ways, and for me the best cure for that is some time off, away from computers and people, so I can read, relax and recharge. That did, however, mean that I was not in a mood for blogging at all, so I apologise for my absence, but I feel far, far better for my period of reflection and contemplation.
Now that I have returned to reality however, I have many many pleasant things to discuss, from the larger events such as my graduation, to the more basic pleasures such as rereading one of my favourite books and catching up with some of my favourite people. I promise I shall describe these in more detail, but until then, I shall do my usual reflective post over the last few weeks.
The above photo was taken when it felt like the English summer was disappearing in a downpour of muggy, unpleasant rain. Needless to say, I've been playing this song incessantly as a result. I think it's a rather beautiful photo, despite me being rather uncomfortable while taking it!
Despite this, recently the weather has become warm and beautiful and as such had to be taken advantage of. Earlier this week, t'boy, a good friend of ours and I went to the Orchard in Grantchester for lunch and scones. Despite it being far too hot for tea, elderflower presse was more than adaquate, and it was most pleasant to luxuriate in the shade, feeding the birds with bits of scone.
I have sort of adopted a group of ducklings on the river near my student house (there's ten of them! Ten!) after feeding them lots of rather posh scones. Apologies for the quality of the photos, they were both taken in adverse circumstances: the former while I was feeding them the aforementioned scones, but the latter was taken when it was raining cats and dogs, and they moved away from the river to play in the gutters. I found it so charming I had to get a photo.
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The Cambridge Shakespeare Festival has frequently been called one of the best festivals in the world, and it's understandable why: excellent productions of the Shakespeare plays in the beautiful gardens of various colleges, what's not to like? The only drawback is that they continue come rain or shine, so you can end up rather soaked if you're not prepared, but my family and I were very lucky, and managed to avoid being drenched. Julius Caesar was excellent, although Octavian was played by someone about thirty years too old, and The Merry Wives of Windsor was hilarious. I've also been watching The Hollow Crown, and it's very interesting to see plays which are rarely filmed. I'm feeling rather Shakespearian at the moment, and one of my goals for the summer is to read as many plays as I can. I shall undoubtedly discuss it here later.
And, of course, the best thing about coming back home, even though it's a bit of a building site at the moment, is the pleasure of having a cat curl up contentedly on your bed.
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