This year has started quite intensely, with a project at the Grundy Art Gallery in Blackpool, which apart from a day there on Wednesday, is done.
http://www.grundyartgallery.com/programme/forthcom…
I spent last week being snowed in at home for a day, then iced-in in Blackpool. Car abandoned in my makeshift home/hotel car park there as no one could get back up the slope and out – pushed out by three of the staff yesterday. Regardless of the fact that I missed a day because of the weather, the gallery still paid me the full fee, which I was depending on for imminent car repairs and so am very grateful for their good will.
Over Christmas my husband and I also started moving house. We had an overlap of a month with both places so have been doing it in pathetic little car trips. Never move like this! Just get a big van and stuff it all in. If you have some money, pay other people to pack. We still have two weekends worth of moving and furniture dis/reassembling so I feel quite sad (and exhausted) when I think about that!
Back to Yorkshire on Monday (if the schools are open) – don’t want to drive so far again, not after last week. Doesn’t seem worth the risk. They’ve had more snow there so fingers crossed it’s off…
Also must get some things ready for Lancashire zine fair on the 29th/30th Jan. I promised myself I would have a year off book fairs after this one, so let’s see if I can stick to it.
So, mainly feeling very overwhelmed, but just got to get on with it and get some things out of the way… then I can have a treat, first one is doing the book layouts for the YSP project. Love love love doing those, but they can take ages, especially as I have no content yet.
I have also been doing a lot of reading around pay and things over the hols, after the BECTU ruling in Nov and going to a seminar about working for free in Manchester in Dec. I was thrilled when I met a friend who works at the Biennial last night and she said the document I emailed her about internships has been sent round the office. It seems that they are rethinking their intern/volunteer policy accordingly!! Hoorah. I really hope they do. Actually, I am at the Biennial on Tuesday talking about my time in Linz to the staff. It’s nice that they are interested, but I still have talk-fear.
