Speed not haste?

Pondering another full week from the computer room overlooking the Albert Hall. My laptop has caught some sort of virus - the hard drive is corrupted and crashes at random - and will not back up. Have decided not to turn it on until I have found someone to open the bonnet and take a look.

Monday - early train to see David at the Quest Gallery in Bath who was as encouraging as ever. A philip. To Bristol to buy a UV light to display Heike's magic rare earth glass, and some New Shoes before a lively and potentially very productive conversation with the PhD student Becky Jones at Bristol University and the head of her lab, Professor Paul Scott. As well as the public engagement illustrations that I had discussed with Becky when we last met, Paul seems keen to commission some glass models of the bugs and structures that his lab are investigating. They are both so passionate, creative and articulate about what they do it would be a real pleasure to work with them. We briefly ran through a spreadsheet of costs for Becky's public engagement illustrations. She seemed a bit taken aback and I wished I had waited to find out how much budget they have to work with and not been so specific about hours / rates et al. I would be surprised if it goes any further - we shall see. Following conversations with KT, I have now sent a budget to Paul about his bugs taking a more 'strategic' approach, giving ranges rather than final figures and hope this will work better.

Then home to Frome, meeting with Clive and his daughter, Lucy, to talk about a birthday commission that Sonja and I are making together. I blathered and twittered far too much- wish I had found out more about Lucy - she seems lovely. Pit stop for a cup of tea and final packing at home before heading over to KT's place to load the kind Karen's car with great boxes of glass, odd bits of clothing and my filthy bike. Unloaded in a frozen London dreaming of tea and a shower and a big deep bed to realise that I could not find my keys. Anywhere. The Jermeys were so incredibly kind - already in bed, Michael came to the door in his dressing gown to let me in.

Tuesday sandblasting and laundry. Wednesday glassblowing (magic!) and a tutorial with Simon with his valuable 'product' perspective - how to increase the impact of the work without increasing the size of individual components - perhaps through repetition / multiples?  Definitely Not Glue.

Also prepared metal templates and first plaster cast for a series of prisms - have been pondering the modernist idea of the ideal form and planning ahead for the conversation with the crystallographer in a couple of weeks and experiments with prisms so far have made magical patterns and shadows. KT's kind gift of optical Phillips glass will be perfect.  Tutorial / coffee with Alison, debating the problem of writing about making in a way that is neither purely technical or purely philosophical and the need to Get On with it. Have set a deadline for a chapter two weeks hence. Then dinner with Alison and her lovely gentle pianist friend Andy. Again feel I talked much too much and would like to have found out more about them. HeyHo.

Thursday, glorious sunshine and impossibly slow progress making casting molds, hands swollen and aching with the sense of lots of tiny cuts on every finger. Lots of emails, a fascinating lecture by Charles Jencks and, glory be, a Swim!

Today started with a puncture which scuppered my hopes of going for a swim. But proud to find that I did have all the kit to fix it and it seems to be holding up. To Battersea for a day on the basics of film run by Stuart Croft and Sara Lucas. Both so generous and professional. I came away dreaming of making a 16mm film for the Sardinia exhibition, casting shadows to create space. And a tutorial with Annie at lunchtime. Thoughtful. I must contact Magnus and ask him to make some proper frames for me.

The book on Rosalind Franklin arrived. I think I shall head home to bed for a read!