Classic

I would quite like to see a period drama where the beautifully dressed ladies and gentlemen wander around an arcade looking for jewellery and ribbons. Or whatever they shopped for towards the end of the nineteenth century. These buildings are just made for TV dramas.

The last day of the conference, which I'm willing to say was fantastic. It was my first opportunity to test my work on a broader historian audience, and it was received with great enthusiasm. I met heaps of people, and as exhausting as it was to keep having the same introductory conversations over and over, I really valued the opportunity to put faces to names. I was especially grateful for how welcoming it all was, with people taking care to introduce us newcomers to whoever was around.

As I walked into the welcome reception on the opening night I knew almost no one. I knew it was important to remember the daunting feeling, so that I can be as welcoming to future newbies as possible. But I will also take care to remember the kindness of significant historians towards a trainee historian.

Tomorrow I hop on a plane for England, for my next little part of thus adventure. My alarm is set for silly early, so I must now end this day with some good sleep. I had a good meal with old friends, after a long walk through the rainy streets of Sydney. A good way to end an intensely exhausting week.