Islay is off to spend 8 days with her grandparents from Thursday.

Very anxious about this, aside from the huge uplift in covid cases here (which is very unsettling), she hasn’t been away from us before for so long and I’m not sure she’ll cope well as the realisation that we aren’t there settles in.

Also, handing a mini-vegan to non-vegans for any length of time is a concern because nutritional balance is super important.

She’ll probably have a blast and it’ll just be me wracked with worry.

My first course relating to the microbiology and biochemistry of brewing starts “gently” next week!

I already know what my two assignments will be and am excited to get started.. tomorrow!

A bit less of a focus on study than I’d hoped for today, more on induction to the new programme, watching lots of intro videos, signing up to the various websites and installed MS Teams on my linux desktop (ugh) .. also prepped Sakino’s boox for my purposes and became a member of the Institute of Brewing & Distilling.

A little saddened to see facebook and google groups promoted (definitely won’t be joining those) but have had to hold my nose and request access to a couple of linkedin groups.. As a contractor I can’t really risk deleting that account unfortunately.

Productive day though and I did fit in a chapter of the audiobook for ‘Beer’ by Charles Bamforth so there was almost a study element in there too..

Only a few weeks until my first PgDip course begins. From Monday, I’ll be getting back into the swing of studying by reading and understanding the pre-reading book suggested by the university to prepare me for my first microbiology course!

I’ve not studied science since higher Physics which was in 5th year of high school some 28 years ago.. and I’m playing a little bit loose with the definition of study here..

Challenging but fascinating times await!

Day 1 of my anxiety riddled few days at the caravan park near Kirriemuir with my parents, their motorhome, my wife, daughter and 3 dogs.

Put the foot down before arrival that we would not be visiting the onsite restaurant and bar under any conditions.. otherwise been keeping to ourselves and I almost felt sort of relaxed a few times..

.. I’m to sleep in the awning.. with midges so I’m sure tomorrow won’t be unnecessarily awkward.

We had a visit from two of my closest friends today and it was so great to see them!

It was also the first time that I’ve struggled with the physical distancing restrictions.

As we heard stories of loss I really wanted to be able to hug my friends and also to be able to share a beer, that I made an am proud of with them but neither of these things were possible.

There were moments of awkward silence that wouldn’t have existed but for our disparate proximities.. and to top it all off, Islay got tired just before they left so my hope that our hugs could be transferred to them via her were not realised.

We’re doing the right thing but today was particularly difficult.

Been playing Oxygen Not Included recently, having previously avoided it as I not a big fan of Klei’s art style (really didn’t like Don’t Starve) but finding it a lot of fun.

There is a surprising amount of depth to the game and a lot to learn.

I doubt that it’ll present a challenge to the best base-builder game of all time (Rimworld) but it is keeping me entertained for now.

OK, had a decent night’s sleep, the gout is only a minor niggle today and have a 13,192 word masters degree dissertation on “Chinese and Japanese language teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion in a Scottish university” to proofread for my Sakino!

Large coffee consumed, glass of water at hand and a full keg of delicious stout on tap waiting for me at the end. Let’s do this!

The Sunday afternoon popcorn and movie ritual that Islay and I share is definitely the highlight of my week.

Not only is home-popped corn awesome, pretty healthy and a great vehicle for nutritious yeast, but Sakino isn’t a fan so it’s an activity for just the two of us.. even if Sakino did like popcorn, Islay wouldn’t let her near the bowl anyway.

Tasty, not too unhealthy snack with the added fun of trying to identify popcorn art!

On the other hand, trying to make it to the end of a movie with a 2 year old is still somewhat of a pipe dream!

I have my first engagement with Heriot Watt with regards to my PGDip programme in the form of a distance learning info webinar on 25th of August!

It seems ages ago that I applied and excited to get started.

I need to make start on studying the suggested book (‘BREWING’ second edition - Lewis & Young) soon, hopefully once Sakino submits her dissertation in a few weeks I’ll be able to find some me time.