This blog (and this post) has been a long time in coming. Not sure why it has taken me quite so long but I've finally taken the leap and pressed 'publish'.
Maybe now is just the right time. Last year we relocated from our beloved Wales to Edinburgh. Relocation is naturally a cause for reflection: reflection about the people, the memories you are leaving behind but also the new relationships, the opportunities and adventures that lie ahead.
Maybe it's because the University of Edinburgh makes blogging so easy. One of the bloggers I've followed and respected for a long time, Lorna Campbell, has recently led the launch of the University's Academic Blogging Service. Not only does the service offer some great resources to get you going, I was lucky to get an hour of invaluable CPD from Lorna to walk me through the steps from having no blog at all to the birth of follow the dot.
Fantastic session on how to get going with academic blogging led by @LornaMCampbell earlier. Would highly recommend to all @EdinburghUni colleagues!
And, yes, I now have a blog of my own so watch this space... pic.twitter.com/BUtaSahYPw
— Simon Horrocks (@horrocks_simon) February 21, 2019
Maybe it's because I've rediscovered my love of writing. I’ve recently written more than at any time since I was a student. I’ve just filed my first book review for the Times Higher and I’ve also written a fairly substantial report for my review of online provision in Edinburgh’s College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. Some of you may have noticed that I've also been tweeting more than ever (don't worry, that's what the mute button is for).
I'm guessing people who know me, and maybe especially those that just follow me on Twitter, would say that I’ve never been short of an opinion. Partly this comes with the territory when you are born in the Year of the Rooster! But unlike many of the bloggers I admire, I don’t really have a thing, a focus, a particular cause or mission to hang my hat on. I’m interested in too many aspects of higher education and find myself ‘following the dot’ down any number of random wormholes. Incidentally, this is also why writing about music has always seemed quite challenging; I like so many genres, so many artists, so many eras, it’s hard to know where to begin.
But I have begun now and, a bit like running, perhaps the hardest part is getting out the door. Let's see. I'm actually slightly worried that I might get a wee bit addicted to this so who knows where it will end. I do have an unfinished novel and two partially written film scripts that will probably never see the light of day but, now I’m on a roll, anything is possible.
For now, though, it's one step, one post at a time. One of my favourite things since relocating to Edinburgh has been the weekly movie and pizza night we have with the kids. Last week we (re)watched Monsters University and, like Mike and Sully, I realise that you have to start somewhere. They started in the mail room and worked their way up to the scare floor. I don’t expect ever to be in the A Team of Bloggers Inc. but, thanks to Bryan Mathers, at least I have the badge.
https://twitter.com/BryanMMathers/status/1101529730367569920
