Where did the long summer holidays go.....

Well, I am afraid that the Presidential Blog has been neglected a bit of late. As you might have guessed, September is a slightly chaotic time in the life of an academic as all those things that you had planned to get done during the "long" summer period suddenly crowd in around you ahead of the return of students. Indeed, the students have started reappearing this week for Freshers and Induction with actual teaching beginning next Tuesday. So, your president has been gainfully employed doing the day job over the last few weeks.

I was supposed to be at CILIP's Big Day in Newcastle last week. This was something I had been looking forward to but, unfortunately, a family issue arose which meant that I couldn't make it and I was bitterly, bitterly disappointed to miss it. Tonight I am off to the opening of the Moray Book Festival in Elgin, an event which I spoke at last year. I've been out doing a number of local history talks over the last while including one on the Earls of Aberdeen to Ellon Historical Society and another on the use of the Census in Local History (as opposed to family history) to Aberdeen and North East Scotland Family History Society. I think I have something like twelve or fourteen such speaking engagements over the next year and have bookings right up to September 2013!

Next Monday, I am attending the official opening of Aberdeen University's wonderful new library. It will be opened by Her Majesty the Queen and there is a lovely programme of events across the day. I will, of course, be wearing the Presidential Chain although I fear it might not compete with those rather sumptuous ones which Her Majesty has as part of the Order of the Garter or Order of the Thistle ;o)

I am in the midst of doing annual staff appraisals at the moment so these two events are very nice diversions. Not, of course, that I don't enjoy doing annual appraisals you will understand. With that, it is time for the next one. Oh my cup runneth over.

A busy week arranging a busy month

It has been a busy week. We had an Assessment Board on Tuesday and Jon Purcell, the University Librarian at Durham and one of our external examiners, was up here for it. It is always good to catch up with Jon. The rest of the week has been devoted to getting some articles amended for publication. One is in the final proofs stage and so it was just minor typographical corrections but the other one needed some more extensive changes and, as ever with amending journal articles, once you start making changes you inevitably make more major ones that you had intended.

This morning I'm working at home as I have to go to a family funeral this afternoon unfortunately. Next week I am taking my final bit of leave for the year (our holiday year follows the academic session so runs from October to September). That said, I will be going into work on Tuesday as we are hosting a CREDO/Edina/Scran training event and it will be lovely to see the ever-wonderful Anne Kail up in Aberdeen for it.

The following week I'm off to Newcastle for CILIP's Big Day and it will be really nice to be able to attend that and, I believe, that I am to present ACLIP certificates to some Scottish candidates which will be excellent. When I get back I'm speaking to Aberdeen and North East Scotland Family History Society about the uses of the census for social and community history (i.e. not for genealogy).

This week I've also been making arrangements for my trip up to Orkney in October. I am thrilled to be going back to a place that I really love and I am so grateful to Gary Amos for inviting me up. I am really excited to be returning to Orkney. Gary has prepared a really great programme for me and my visit will coincide with the Orcrime Festival and I'll manage to attend some of that including, I'm delighted to say, the session with Ann Cleeves. I really like her books and was on Radio Scotland with her earlier this year but we were in separate studios so didn't meet.

I wonder how many of you spotted our own Audrey Walker on the BBC 10 o'clock news last night? It was a report from the Paralympics - where Audrey is volunteering - and there she was, ringing the bell in the velodrome! Well done Madam Treasurer!