So Long, Farewell…

Weather:  somewhat overcast with sunny bits

Clothing:  down to my last pair of trousers

Headlines:  JOBS, JOBS, JOBS

Today is my last day at the Mass Observation Archive at the University of Sussex.  I’ve finished up with the Topic Collection on ‘art’ and am now busily reading the details of my (now favourite) mass observers — how they came to be a part of Mass Observation, their personal politics, for how long they worked, etc.  I’ve looked through the files of Julian Trevelyan, William Coldstream and Humphrey Pease, and will this afternoon further explore the (very thick, heavy) file belonging to Humphrey Spender.

The thing about leaving is that, as I’m tying up loose ends, I’m constantly opening new doors.  I began the process of looking through the Observers’ files yesterday and have realised that there is so much more to find out… so much more to know about who these people were, why they did what they did, and how they did it.  The enormity of the project, however, is comforting:  it demonstrates that Mass Observation most definitely has a life unto itself and highlights how privileged I have been to peek inside.

Tomorrow…I’m leaving Brighton for Bolton, aka ‘Worktown’!  Much more to see and do…stay tuned.

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