Small Thoughts on the Naming of Streets.

On my way to the bus each morning I walk along Gainsborough Place. It is an ordinary street of terraced houses in the residential area in which I am staying. There are really no outstanding features about it...other than its name. I have no idea why it was given that name. Perhaps it is named after the famous English painter or even a celebrated local person. It really doesn't matter. What interested me about the name was its length. If you call a street 'Gainsborough Place' and put the name on signs to be placed on the houses at each end of the street wouldn't it be better if the signs didnt meet in the middle of the row of terraced houses? Just a thought.

The Dance of the Archive Ferret. (Photography Waltz)

I am settling into my routine now. After ordering up a batch of files I begin by going through a box to check what is in it. Depending on the contents I will then Itemise them, noting date and type of document (letter, report, minutes of meetings, accounts etc.) I can do all this in the reading room which is a great place to work. Then comes the difficult part.
Usually I have to move out of the reading room to the group study area next door to take photographs of the documents. The two rooms are separated by a glass wall so it doesn’t really feel like a different room but it means my moving around does not disturb other archive users. I also get to eavesdrop on groups of undergrads or members of the public doing group projects. This week alone I have shared the group space with students looking at the history of the student newspaper (I think they were looking for something to do with Jack Straw – Did he go to Leeds Uni?), two members of the public looking at books relating to graveyard plots, family historians, someone from the British library researching Yorkshire dialects and an art historian looking at some fantastic pictures of Hungarian folk dances!
Once I have arranged myself with the documents, a document rest, my camera etc., the dance of the archive ferret begins. First is a small step to the right to pick up the first document, then a small step to the left to place the document on the rest. A dip to the right to pick up the camera, straighten up to take the shot, then replace the camera on the right of the table. Pick up the document and take a small step to the left where I put said document down. Then a large step to the right to pick up the next document and we begin all over again. Easy.
Well, up until today this dance has lasted a maximum of two hours...today it was FOUR AND A HALF HOURS! My back, right shoulder and right knee are decidedly unimpressed with my workout and are growling in dissatisfaction! Oh well! Only 9 more weeks to go!!

I Blame the Swiss!

Was there some kind of paper crisis in Switzerland in 1921?
Today I started on the League of Nations documents...or rather the reports by the Zemgor representative in Geneva. At first they were typed on good quality paper but as time went on the quality deteriorated and by the time I got to the end of the file they were on terrible transparent paper which had a blue tinge and the ink was also blue. It was so difficult to get decent photographs! Even trying to read them was difficult. Urghh!
Although progress has been slow this week I have managed to get through the files and tomorrow will move onto the next series. The worst part has been photographing the documents. It is such a repetitive set of motions that my back and shoulder have really been complaining today. Each set of documents have taken 2 hours to photograph and by the time I finished tonight I was in agony. I thought I would have to sleep on the floor tonight to straighten my back out! However a quick curry and a beer has helped enormously!

Leeds leads!

It has been a great start to my new temporary life in Leeds. Yesterday was my first full day in the archive but even before I got there things were looking good. I caught the bus just after 8.00 a.m. and it was standing room only but I wasn't too bothered as it is only a 10-15 minute drive to the centre. I was standing beside a spotty, hoodie wearing young man - the kind the Daily Mail gets all worked up about. Anyway, he tapped me on the elbow and tried to give me his seat. I thanked him but said I was ok. He was quite insistant! I have never had said spotty, hoodie types offer me a seat in Aberdeen, so Leeds 1-Aberdeen 0!
When I got off the bus I did manage to slip on the one small piece of ice on the Headrow but I succeeded in returning to a vertical position without too much difficulty and no damage done.
I am still working through the financial documents that I started in January and it is proving very time consuming. Yesterday I only managed to get through 2 files and today was even slower. Still, I hope to finish them tomorrow or Friday at the latest and move on to something more exciting. I think The League of Nations papers might be fun!
The excitement yesterday was a fire alarm just as I wanted to leave the library to go for lunch. I don't know where the supposed fire was but they closed the library doors and wouldn't let us leave! In fact they asked us to move back as we were blocking the fire doors!!!! Some people found an alternative exit but the staff didn't seem bothered that many of us were still there and there was no attempt to clear the library!
There was to be a strike tomorrow to protest staff cuts. I told Richard (archivist) that I wouldn't cross the picket line but it turns out that they called it off this afternoon. There are two more planned for next week so I will have to wait and see if they go ahead. I have plenty of translations to work through if I can't go in but it will eat into my time here.
I just missed a bus this evening and had to wait 40 minutes for the next one. Now that I know when they leave I can be more prepared to leave the archive on time.

One more inhabitant in Leeds

Well, I've done it! I have upped sticks and moved to Leeds to finish my research. After three months of travelling down for a week in the archives I decided I didn't want to spend the next 10months doing that so I have rented a room for the next 3 months and will hopefully get it all done in that time and be able to move back home once and for all!
When I was here in January I answered an ad on Gumtree for renting a room in a house. I had contemplated sharing with some undergrads near the University but when I thought about it seriously, I really wasn't sure I could share with 5-6 other students with only one bathroom! I therefore went for a room further out of the centre of the city.
The house is owned by James and Matt in New Farnley. It is a bus ride from the centre and I will be able to walk up to Uni from there. I arrived on the train last night after a delay in Edinburgh (the police were called to remove a passenger!) and another in York (waiting for a crew change). James and Matt picked me up and took me to the house then cooked me dinner while I settled in. We spent the evening chatting and getting to know each other. I think we will get on just fine.
Today I had a slow start. I went to the local Co-op to stock up on some food before heading into town to figure out the busses and go to Argos for a pillow and duvet. I didn't want to pack them from home as I would have had to take another suitcase and I was already laden down!
There had been a lot of snow yesterday but it was a nice day today and it is starting to thaw. People are very friendly and many said hello or even stopped to speak. I missed the first bus because an old guy had stopped to say how icy the pavements were.
Tomorrow I will head in to the archives and start work properly. I am here for three weeks in the first instance so that should give me time to figure out a work schedule which will get me through the work before the beginning of May.