Welcome to justthoughtsnstuff

I started posting to jtns on 20 February 2010 with just one word, 'Mosaic'. This seemed an appropriate introduction to a blog that would juxtapose fragments of memoir and life-writing. Since 1996, I'd been coming to terms with the consequences of emotional and economic abuse that had begun in childhood, and which, amongst other things, had sought to stifle self-expression. While I'd explored some aspects of my life through fiction and, to a lesser extent, journalism, it was only in 2010 that I felt confident enough to write openly about myself. I believed this was an important part of the healing process. Yet within weeks, the final scenes of my family's fifty-year nightmare started to play themselves out and the purpose of the blog became one of survival through writing. Although some posts are about my family's suffering - most explicitly, Life-Writing Talk, with Reference to Trust: A family story - the majority are about happier subjects (including, Bampton in rural west Oxfordshire, where I live, Oxford, where I work, the seasons and the countryside, walking and cycling) and I hope that these, together with their accompanying photos, are enjoyable and positive. Note: In February 2020, on jtns' tenth birthday, I stopped posting to this blog. It is now a contained work of life-writing about ten years of my life. Frank, 21 February 2020.

New blog: morethoughtsnstuff.com.

Saturday, 15 October 2016

mist, oxford abuzz, finals marking, mellow fruitfulness, log fires



A beautiful walk to work on a misty October morning earlier in the week.

Oxford is suddenly abuzz with the new term and we are back in the frenzy of a fresh academic year. A wonderful energising experience!

Finals marking coming to an end this weekend. It has been fascinating and rewarding.

Took down the runner bean wigwams this morning and grubbed up the courgette plants. Sad to be doing this in one sense but I enjoyed digging this last patch then strimming the paths. The plot is getting tidy and ready for winter. And there are still beetroots, carrots, turnips, spinach and leeks to harvest - not to mention all the spuds in the old piggery at home. Also, the courgettes that were picked up to today will last us for a couple of weeks.

Haven't turned on the central heating yet, but we're into the second week of log fires. Log delivery tomorrow. AUTUMN!
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