Back at school and work

Am I the only one who feels a massive hurrah! and then the inevitable guilt at the hurrah? Scottish schools are back, weeks before their Sassenach cousins. Appropriately, the weather has turned into autumn, with storms of Lear-ian dimensions, trees down, wellies flooded (it's AUGUST for heaven's sake). Summer holidays have been the usual whirlwind of holiday clubs, trips, mother-staying-to-babysit, holidays, den-and-racecar building, visits to aunties, rained-off barbecues...frankly, it's all a bit exhausting and there is some relief in getting back to the usual routine of frantically-yelling-at-everyone in the morning and still managing to be late for school and work.

Coming to the end of a sabbatical at work during which I somehow managing to take on MORE admin and non-research work than I had BEFORE the sabbatical, I am now panicking massively at having not actually achieved much research, with the autumn arrival of students and teaching looming, and not a lot to show for my semester. Where does time GO?

Time spent on beach achieving the miracle of sunburn in Northumberland only a dim and distant memory, sadly....