It's October and I'm off to the MMus degree show this evening even though I still don't know if I've passed! Hopefully, all of us who took this amazing journey will find out how we did in the next few days. My family in LA has given me marching orders and I'll be over there for a couple of weeks helping my mother get used to the idea of living in sheltered accommodation for seniors (although mentally sharp, her legs have let her down). I'm only just starting to get my head around the possibilities and pitfalls of our final years of life - vulnerability, both physical and mental, looms large. Old age can be a bitch. It would seem no matter how much you plan for eventualities, if you can't take care of yourself, all bets are off. As the saying goes, "Old age is no place for cowards". I don't actually know if that's a 'saying' but if it isn't, it should be. On a more positive note, I'm honing my idea for a PHD research subject - magic, sex, sound and rhythm - are they still used as ritual in contemporary culture and, if so, where, why and by whom? That's more like it! Be in touch again after I return from the States! D