22.39
Our politicians sometimes lack a sense of metaphor. The French finance minister is saying that decisions should come ‘not from the grey sky of bureaucracy but from the fields, the people on the ground’.

It’s odd that socialists are losing badly, given the economy. Although perhaps people feel that the solution is to become more insular and less affected by external economies where possible?

No BNP wins so far, thank god. Bit disappointing that UKIP is doing so well. Good Labour isn’t though.

23.01
Of course the olympics are on schedule and under budget, tessa jowell.You’ve got another three years and 90% of the arts budget.

23.14

The Eastern elections being called. 3 con, 2 ukip, 1 lib, 1 lab.  No change, apparently, according to Dimbleby. Absolutely no change in Conservative, UKIP and LibDem share, Labour down 6 which goes to Green/BNP.

How does anyone swing from Labour to BNP? What is that about - two totally opposed ends of the political spectrum.I suppose in times of financial stirfe people shut down. That’s how the Nazis won after all.
Apparently there’s some relief the BNP didn’t get a seat because they put a lot of work into the area, only needing 10% of the vote. I think the North West was about 8% so will be watching that.

Andy Burnham’s suggesting that the BNP are a ‘complaint’ vote - not that people who vote for them are racist but that they campaign essentially as an alternative to ‘regular’ political parties and hide their racism. Really? Are people that stupid? But then I suppose UKIP complained that people couldn’t find them towards the bottom of the ballot. That pesky alphabet, where is U in it again?

23.30

Yorkshire and Humber. If they elect a BNP candidate I will be seriously disappointed in them. 120,139. Damn. Only 40,000 less than Libdem. What are they playing at?! 2 con, 1 lab, 1 ukip, 1 lib, 1 BNP. Absoluely shameful.

Andy Burnham’s changed his mind already and suggested there are concerns about immigration which need addressing!
Apparently there’s a big fall in Y&H because the postal ballot was automatic last time, whereas it’s not now. They’re suggesting extreme parties are more likely to leave their home and vote, and Labour supporters can’t be arsed. Interesting hypothesis.
23:48

Why does wales only have 4 when Yorkshire has 6? Maybe I don’t know the population/size figures enough.

The clapping and celebration is all so restrained. You look at America and it’s all ballrooms, ballons and streamers and live music at massive parties, and here it’s twenty people in a town hall with a bit of a clap at the right number.

00:05
So finally the realisation that Labour losses today might affect the general election, whenever that may be. I would have thought it would galvanise the party into doing something.

Aw, the BBC laptops have pretty stickers all over the back of them mimicking the election09 graphics they have circling behind them. Cute

00:50
Dimbleby to the Green leader: “you do your best really”. Then a big pause and he corrects “when the UK is one whole region”. Apparently they’ve increased their vote 50% and are hugely disadvantaged by PR.Wonder who the Lonodn independent is who managed to get 50k.
Wish UKIP wouldn’t stand in the general; likely to split the tory vote

Disappointing that cons not doing as well as they could have, actually. They’ve made some gains but they’re not taking as much of the Labour fallout as they should really, it’s being spread all over the place. Some good gains like Wales but not sure it’ll translate.

1:06 looks depressingly like BNP have won a seat in North West. Awful.

A combination of an ill-timed text and a question about which of my parents I’m most like is a bad one, designed by the fates to send me spinning out of control.

I’m glad to say I have mostly regained it. Which shows how far I’ve come, I suppose.

On the other hand, I joked that I don’t like to think what I’m like. Except that’s true, because I don’t like it most of the time.

I always get restless at this time of year. I work on the academic calendar, have for so long now that New Year sometimes seems an anticlimax because really, my new year starts in September and has done for many years.

May and June are months of transition, finalising work and projects to be handed in, revision and taking exams, and wondering about what comes next. What does come next is, of course, arranged long before - posgraduate courses accept applications a year in advance so it’s been rare in the past few years that I haven’t known a year before where I’d be, all things remaining as they should. Then in September comes the ‘what next?’ - there’s barely time to settle into a new year before the next one needs slotting into place. Sometimes I want to slow everything down a bit, take a breath and gather myself together. Sometimes I’m not sure I’m going the right way because everything moves all the time, never stopping. Even when I was kicking my heels for a year working full time before my MPhil it was because I needed the money for what came next.

My writing’s going well, I think. My supervisor has a chapter for second reading, and will hopefully be in touch soon. I’m planning to submit in July/early August and then - a couple of weeks off. I’m working four days a week at the moment, studying for three and at least two evenings a week. That I came home today to work and ended up falling asleep at my desk for an hour says something about my current energy levels.

I’m looking forward to August. It won’t be the Edinburgh I was contemplating, but I’m planning some time off to do things around the flat that I’ve been putting off because I need to write and not procrastinate, and if the weather holds spending some time just lying in the garden reading teenage and children’s fiction to prepare for my PGCE - although it’ll be wonderful not to read something I have to read for once.

I love the books I’m studying, don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t have managed to do it if I didn’t and I love reading the theory and the other fiction around the same time. But it’ll be nice to read something without thinking I really should be reading something else ….