By the Light of the Wolf Moon

The twilight sky was lit up by a huge, brilliant and low full moon as I drove home from work yesterday. I'm told it was a wolf moon although I do not know what that means. My affinity with the full moon has been noted on here many times before. This was as special as any I have seen. The days are getting perceptibly longer although there is a long way to go.

I survived the first week back mainly okay. Was seething with rage on Wednesday having cancelled my therapy for an important meeting called by an academic. All fine except he failed to turn up. I mused for hours on the word sorry which has littered my life. That little word that exonerates everything, why do I find myself apologising when I'm not in the wrong? The angry e mail I wrote in my mind was never sent. I try to be better than that.

The true onslaught will not begin until Monday. Exam week. I do feel for our students having to go straight into exams after the holiday. No doubt we will have scores of requests for letters that are a get out of jail free card. Never feel comfortable doing that.

I took my first look at the new Student Mental Health Charter yesterday. Some good, some bad, and much impossible. The bit that made me laugh out loud was the section on preparing students for life after university. How are we helping with that when we give so many people adjustments that don't exist in real life and as no one is allowed to fail to write letters to excuse people's anxiety or whatever else they come up with?

Being put in a position where a young person's academic career falls into my hands as with the hit of the return button on an e mail I can save or destroy a person's future is un-nerving. I'm not in this business for that.

As for today I woke late, did the washing, went to the butcher, got stuck in traffic and eventually abandoned any plan to do something interesting. Instead I will stay in the warm, listen to the radio and read. A fiery Thai yellow prawn curry awaits tonight. Will make a stock with the shells and hopefully surpass my high expectations of myself.

I Heard a Voice.