A blur of continuous motion

Between Tour de Fleece last week and graduation ceremonies after graduation ceremonies where some 6000 students were pushed across the stage the last week was bit of a blur of continuous motion. I did a lot of ceremonies and my hat goes off (and it was off most of the time any way) to the speaker who read those 6000 names. It was big ask to get every one of those 6000 names correct. She did and did it well. So it was a blurr of what ceremony, seating area, group of students, part of the ceremony and where are we up to in the vice chancellors speech. The VC retires this year, so the speech which has basically been the same for the last 8 years, twice a day for five days once a year has had its last outing.  I can say it word for word...  You know its bad as I have a crap memory.

Look hard you might see a harried academic checking seating cards

I have used my mommy voice, my teacher voice, my large lecture theatre voice and finally to the law students on Thursday my police parade ground voice. Most of the time students were great with having their name cards ready but the Masters of Law students took the cake with their telephone usage and unruliness. No you can not sit with your friends. Get off that telephone and put it on silent. Repeat rinse and reapply.  

The back row of the Post graduates

The other side to Thursday afternoon is that I had some business post graduate students who were nothing like their faculty counter parts (it is Business and Law) whom also graduated through the largest ceremony of the week at 900+ students.  These boys where the back row as in the absolute last of the last on the platform of the super ceremony.  So here they are in the correct seats early, present and accounted for.  Notice the empty seats in front that is the Master of Law.  Sorry MMMC but you mob in the Law Department are absolutely bonkers and some of your counterparts I wanted to slap silly.

We had a great speech from the Chancellor. He always is really cool as he has been both a parent of a student, a long time student and recent graduate not just a legendary rocker. The problem I had in his ceremonies was that I had the earwig of a malapropism of another raveler's (rrevbdd) child of one of his band's classic songs running through my head all the way through the ceremony to the point I was mumbling it out loud. As in to the tune of Bohemian Rhapsody...I'm just a poor boy..., I need no sip of tea. To which one wit in one of my ushering rows suggested that I needed a cuppa with a strong dash of something like rum cause obviously I was having a hard days night - Scousers yah gotta love em and not a bad idea.

Caught giving directions in my normal hat.

Lot of knitting graduation pressies were given out - my shawl cupboard is absolutely bare. I had to do some super fast shawl knits cause I was a little short as in 3 pressies short on the Saturday before the start of graduation. I must get the photos of the projects updated and sorted as I just made it... like last minute steam iron assistance to get the blocking finished. I also managed to do at least a bobbin of the Moorlit fleece spun each day and I am finally over the half way mark. Not very far over it but I have finally made it to the halfway point. Hopefully I will get the rest of the fleece finished by the end of the Tour de Fleece. Then I just have to start knitting it up for the hubby's cardi. I need a drink just thinking about knitting for him again... I think I will head over to the Rav Tav yet again.

120gms of Shetland already in working its way into a shawl

I got a phone call this morning from another institution whom I also work for and have in the past been an active participant in graduation ceremonies with a cheeky request of if it was possible I could help out this week as like this morning since I only live round the corner.  Nope Nada I have done my lot.  You should have asked me months ago as I need to plan and schedule my valuable time xP. I started another Haurni shawl over the weekend to help with my BP issue (missing house guests) in the 120gms of coloured Shetland from WonkyKnitter aka Anne that I spun up on Day 5 of the Tour. So I will keep on knitting like the clappers and try to treddle my way through the rest of the fleece by the end of the Tour. Bye now I have a bobbin to finish tonight.

Tour de Fleece Day 11

Well I now have 3 full bobbins of ply and I think by the end of the night I might have another half plyed up. Fleece wise I have still done less than a third.  I have a long way to go but I dont think I am going to get it finished byt the end of the Tour de fleece but I will have a good try.

I went to my second day of graduation.  The fellow awardee was a little in love with her own voice (hello I am actress) so we got out latter than expected.  Then down side was I was late for knit night but I got to see the start of a new shawl that Caro is working on in Noro.  We will have to watch the colour repeats to make sure it looks good.

It is supposed to be a rest day on the Tour de Fleece

Well there is no rest for the wicked as I had to do a couple of hours work first in the library before rolling down the hill to the Cathedral for the first of five graduation ceremonies I am attending this week. Yes that is one ceremony a day. I get to usher and make sure my students graduate. Today due to the high powered guests I did not get a disabled park but rather was miles away at the bottom of the hill.  Tomorrow I am leaving the car at the library and hailing a cab. So I did not get much of a rest day as per the schedule in the tour de fleece.

My first kinneared photo ever

So I got to herd these students from one side of the city to the other. Put them in their seats and then talk to them about not being so loud when they are chatting while waiting to cross the stage. Getting them in order, dressed and pressed, announced, across the stage and then herded back in their seats. So on their way back to the other cathedral and my way home I finally managed to get a photo.  The photo was my first ever attempt at a Kinneared photo. Not Bad Not Bad and I love the way you can see the reflection of the camera in the mirror. Must do better for the photo shots during the rest of the week. I have a couple of masters and PhD students so I have to get some decent bonnet shots. I have made it home just as the batteries in me decided to die. I am completely knackered.

We wont mention my colleague going absolutely ballistic at one student in a whisper.  Student was chatting on the phone in the middle of the ceremony. Ummm you are in A) Cathedral,  B) a formal ceremony and C) Right in front of the High Alter. [We were in the Chancel] You may be graduating a course but you sure have not graduated as a mannerly or respectful human being. I swear in a twenty row radius the students were all on their best behaviour.  To level up the bad a good part was the ice cream vans.  I managed to get out via the long way round before my students in the academic parade and have an ice cream or in my case an icy pole before they had even left the cathedral. [There are some photos on the net with me and an icy pole in my hand]

O Frabjous Day!

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.

From the Jabberwocky poem by Lewis Carroll 1871.

Two of my doctorate students have been awarded their PhDs we have even been given which graduation ceremony they will be presented with their bonnets. We are still waiting to hear if the viva recommended alterations of another have been accepted and then watch out it will be party time.  Looks like I will have to be going to several awards ceremonies come July again.

I will also have to get knitting for there are a couple of new babies on the horizon and of course the graduation presents for undergraduates and the wives of the PhD students. Damn I am so far behind with the list. Ciao! as I need to get cracking.

Graduation

As some may remember I work in academia at more than one institution so it has been a busy week for me as it is Liverpool John Moores University and Liverpool Hope University's graduation week at the same time.  It is Edge Hill University's graduation week next week.   Normally they manage to stagger the ceremonies to only one institution per week. One of the honourees at Liverpool John Moores ceremonies this week was Kim Cattrall.

In all of this fuss and bother with my monkey suit, the dreaded academic robes, I have had students working on their masters and doctoral dissertations. The submission date for one of the masters' program was last Wednesday. There were a couple students there earlier in the week who were very high maintenance through the last couple of days whom I had to juggle round my participation in at least two ceremonies per day. I have to see them go across to ensure that they are graduating.

In addition to the problem of juggling my time commitments to my current and graduating students I discovered this week that I was short on a couple of graduation presents. I knew it was close but I had miss counted or someone (Ry!) has snorked a shawl from my stash pile in the coal shed. One of the many reasons why I knit and crochet so many shawls is so I can give them away as presents. I like to give useful things.

The coal shed or bunker is my crafting broom cupboard where I have my various crafting stashes stored. I did a quick count last week based on my Ravelry project pages and I thought ok just finish the projects I have on the needles / hooks  and I will right for the graduation pressies this week. But as I was wrapping and writing the cards I made a startling discover Ooh... I am short a shawl. I knew I was short but I did that silly thing and cranked out a project in rappido time so I had enough for the gang on their special day.

Congratulations to all who finished and I am now going off to have a snooze before I go to the next graduation party.