Day 71: Feminist friends black garnet leaves

Me with garnet leaves, Sydney 2am

Feminist sistas, Manchester 2015

Today started very early - at 2am - when I got myself out of bed to take part in the UK conference panel I was slated to appear on. The wonderful people at the Manchester end got the technology set up; I just had to shake myself awake, put on some lipstick, and plug in. Of course, I also had to select appropriate earrings, which in this case was easy: I reached for the stunning black garnet leaves sent to me by some of the members of the international feminist branch of the golden web who are at the conference: Clare Annesley from the University of Sussex;  Karen Beckwith from Case Western Reserve University; Susan Franceschet from University of Calgary, who I understand made the selection; and Laurel Weldon from Purdue. Here's a photo of some of us, including Clare, Karen and Susan but excluding Laurel, taken at a different Manchester workshop in 2015.




And here's Laurel (standing) with dear UNSW colleague Laura Shepherd and me in Canberra last November - if we look dazed we had a good excuse - it was the 9 November, the day after the Trump election!















I was so touched to receive these beauties from Clare, Karen, Susan and Laurel a few weeks ago; they remind me of how fortunate I am to work in an area where colleagues become good friends, where intellectual discussions, debates and differences are encouraged, and where the ups and downs of academic life are supported. In my case, when the going got tough, the tough got me earrings - how perfect!






Tapping in to the conference was great fun, and such a post modern experience - I was hearing myself present a pre-recored presentation while I was watching the audience watching me on a big screenI then was beamed in live to take questions! I got one very good one which at 3.46am I couldn't find the answer to...but I've got a good response now!  I loved hearing the other presentations of other colleague/friends Georgina, Fiona (Day 30), Vivien (Day 39) and Meryl. 

To book end the day, tonight at 6pm I was able to join in the conference again - the start of Day 2 for them, all the while lurking in the background, to listen to Laurel, Sarah Childs and other great colleagues present another fascinating series of papers.

Clare and baby Ewan, Knutsford Moor, 2011

Angus, Knutsford 

In 2011 when I was a visiting fellow at the University of Manchester, Clare generously hosted me. We had a lovely time there, including doing some special walks with her and husband Rorden - our kiddies were so little then.

Clare, Angus and Holly, Knutsford

Otherwise Day 71 included a trip to get my bloods taken to test the white blood cell count. It's very low, which means I need be quiet for the next few days while my bone marrow does it work and I try and avoid a bacterial infection. As everything I eat feels like sand in my mouth, Robbie made me chicken soup- what a love!