Good news - I hope!
It's extraordinary, really. Very occasionally I look at the email of analytics I get sent that shows me there are a relatively high number of readers that come to this page - I presume in the hope of some profound insights into Undset. What is even more extraordinary is that despite no posts in such a long time, the visits are fairly stable. Hello to anyone who has stopped by over the last twelve months. Apologies if you dropped by twice, hoping for new content.
The truth is it has been a tough tast getting my thesis written. As a Catholic priest engaged in a parish, priestly duties seem to "get in the way" - not in a bad way! It's just the reality of pastoral life. Coupling that with my having to take on extra duties to cover for an assistant priest who was moved and then the pastor who was incapacitated for a couple of months, time became rather straitened.
The good old theologians say that perseverance is a virtue and I managed to submit the thesis on New Year's Eve at about 4.30 pm, seven and a half hours before it was due. Now it feels quite strange to not have the proverbial albatross around my proverbial neck.
That's some good news. The other thing is that - all things being equal - I will try to flip the thesis about Undset's apologetics into a book if there is any appetite for it. During the course of the last years, I have translated some forty of Undset's articles, rendered into English for the first time. With a bit of proofing and polishing, they might make a useful volume to those interested in Undset's religion and world view.
Now that I am (or at least feel like) a man of leisure, I will attempt to put up some excerpts from my translations. Speaking of which, I just thought of one to put up right now...
What interests me about making after-school activities engaging is how a broad idea becomes part of an ordinary day. An informal activity can give children room to try an interest outside the usual lesson structure. It also gives the phrase after school learning activities a clearer meaning than a label on its own. I would be interested in a simple example, because it is often the ordinary details that make an idea memorable. How can an after-school group welcome both regular participants and new arrivals?
I find exploring visual ideas through observation easier to approach when there is a familiar situation to start from. A small choice of colour or viewpoint can change the feeling of an image. That thought gives me a starting point for exploring creative visual expression in connection with Distinctivefocus. That is the part I would keep thinking about after moving on to something else. How would you describe that change to someone who has not seen the work?
The idea of exploring visual ideas through observation gives me a reason to slow down and consider the details. A small choice of colour or viewpoint can change the feeling of an image. With Discoveratlantachineseart in mind, creative visual expression feels like a topic worth exploring one question at a time. I would rather explore one useful example carefully than pretend that the whole subject is already clear. How would you describe that change to someone who has not seen the work?
A place name such as Stobierna makes me curious about the stories people connect with it. Familiar routes, school memories, and changes in shared spaces can each offer a starting point for learning. That is what I associate with Stobierna local stories. I like questions that invite the ordinary details rather than only the most impressive event. Students can learn from comparing accounts and explaining what each one helps them understand about a place whose name they already know.
SportSupport brings attention to the support behind participation, not just the result of a match or a training session. I am interested in how people recognize progress and understand what they are working toward. That is the connection I make with SportSupport sports participation. Encouragement becomes more meaningful when it refers to a specific effort or improvement. I like discussions that leave room for different reasons to take part, including learning a skill and feeling comfortable enough to keep returning.