Writings and ramblings

The beginners class went really well tonight - ah, preparation. Tis a wonderful thing. Though I didn't teach one of the formations I wanted to, I think that would have been a bit much for them to handle all in the one go! Next week, second half of that lesson.

It's now not quite the end of my crazy start to the week. I say crazy because my week goes like this:

Monday: not at paid work, but hopefully writing, preparing for Tuesday's night class, and then at the Reel Club at night.
Tuesday: paid work, beginners class (teaching, rather than dancing).
Wednesday: paid work, advanced class.
Thursday: paid work, and usually a night off.

So am currently in the middle of this cycle.

But now to my last weekend. A bit go-go-go, but it all went without a hitch. First on Friday afternoon I caught up with F. in London, who was over from Oz doing interesting things in Venice and in parts of England. It was a good afternoon - hadn't seen her since leaving home so that was really great. Then said farewell to F at Paddington station, then made my way to Notting Hill to catch up with K. and go and see The Woman in Black. For my review on that, see my tumblr blog (or click this link here). K and I wound up staying up chatting until 3.30, so it was not surprising that I slept for ages the morning after!

I woke and got myself to Oxford, where I had hours to spare, and settled down in a cafe and did some dancing work - I was a bit too over-laden-ed with my over night bag to go wandering through the city, which would have been nice, as last I was there was with A when she visited last year, and our trip there was only very brief.

It's interesting to compare Oxford to Cambridge. The former is definitely a proper city (and it was teeming withe people on Saturday afternoon!) rather than a 'town upgraded to city'. I think also Oxford feels grander in more areas of the city - Cambridge is beautiful, but you need to seek out the beauty sometimes to appreciate it.

I toddle off to find the kind people who offered lifts out to the hall the ball was being held at - a little way out of Oxford, and while I only saw it on the way back, the journey includes a bridge with a toll booth that charges (wait for it...) 5p. '_' The ball itself was lovely; fun dances, good atmosphere, and great music for a new band made up of former/current Cambridge and Oxford musicians (hence their name, StrathCam.)

The people at Oxford very kindly offered up floor space and mattress, so I stayed with E in Magdalene College. Her room (OMG, her sitting room was bigger than our living area in my share house!) looks right over the college's deer park. Yes, deer! Cooed over them in the morning after a long sleep. And later caught a lift back with T and L to Cambridge, who put on some very good fiddle music (courtesy of Blazin' Fiddles).

And am now trying to recall what on earth happened on Sunday afternoon...nope. Gone...

On the writing front, I've just resubmitted a microfiction for circlet.com, and still behind but slowly catching up on the dragon words (hit my word count for Jan, so that's good), and have gone back to kicking Between Sanctuary and Blood - got 4000 words done of that on Monday, and am hoping for a similar word count on Friday. It's a very doable one - I just need to learn to wake up early to get it done sooner in the day!

And I think that about wraps it up from me for the moment.