A New Year Round Up

Well that’s it, 2016 is behind us and here we are - the beginning of another new year! December passed by so quickly in the end that I never got around to posting a Christmas themed blog – I guess that surprise will just have to wait until next year now.

1 of 2 Trolley's of material I called up
& hoped to get through before Christmas

I spent the majority of December deep in the treasures of the Natural History Museum Archive and while the finds came thick and fast it left little time for anything else – other than a bit of Christmas shopping and a few other festivities of course! It was a great way to round off what has been a rollercoaster of a year and gave me a much needed reminder of just why it is I love being a historian. The thrill of finding a document or that piece of evidence you’ve been looking for is second to none!

The past twelve months have seen so much happen – I began writing, visited Barcelona and then, after months of re-drafting I finally passed my upgrade (the first major PhD hurdle). Three of my fellow PhD students and I then set up the Animal History Group which we have big plans for this year, and is something which is turning out to be a hugely exciting thing to be a part of. And then, on top of all that, I also started teaching and began a new job – so to say it’s been both manic and fun would be somewhat of an understatement!  

As for this year, what do the next few months have in store? Well, more research, some serious chapter writing, conference papers; our first Animal History Group Seminar building towards a 1-day workshop in June and a trip to Berlin! And that’s just what’s currently in the diary. I’m sure many more things will crop up in time and continue to be featured here.

I also have a list of visits to take in, books to read and things to watch ready for new blog inspiration. Talking of which, I will try my best to keep to posting every two weeks and am excited to announce the return of the ‘Guest Blog’ feature with two posts already in the pipeline! So if you fancy putting something together, do please let me know! As ever, it’s a case of watch this space and keeping your I-spied for history!