Signing off for the holidays...

(Is it just me, or does anyone else find it hard to type 'signing'? My fingers automatically revert to 'singing' unless I watch them very carefully indeed...)

Well, it seems very lazy of me to stop blogging again a scant 3 weeks since resuming after my autumnal hiatus, especially as I've been told off again this week for stopping while I wrote my other papers. But I do this every year, so you can't be surprised. At least I'm waiting until less than a week before Christmas this year to hang up my pencil, rather than going off gallivanting for an entire month as I did in 2017.

Anyway, I'm sure you've all got plenty else to do right now, what with seasonal musicking and partying and what have you, so you won't miss me too much. And I hope you'll also have some time over the next couple of weeks to recharge your spirits, within whatever framework of values that phrase might be meaningful to you.

There have been a lot of soul-bruising experiences in recent times in our shared public life, and likely more to come in 2020. I find that the thoughts I have been having in choral contexts this autumn about locus of control have also been proving useful for getting through the present and into the future. Taking some time to identify things we can have an impact on, and making concrete plans for the coming year, has provided some emotional insulation through these difficult times.

So this year I should like to wish you all not only the customary peace, comfort and joy, but the chance to reconnect with your sense of purpose and thus to head into the New Year with a degree of optimism. See you in January xx