Done.

Previously, I remembered 9 July as the day I was hospitalised with internal bleeding.

Henceforth: it is the day I finished my PhD.

I have just emailed it off to the printers and will be submitting it tomorrow.

'More later'.

101,379

I'm definitely entering the endgame now: the introduction, body chapters, conclusion, and bibliography are all written. I am now above the word limit. My examiners have agreed to read my thesis and I'm entered into the exam. My student days are drawing to an end and I have to face the reality of waking up every day without a PhD to think about!

97,000

Soon my enforced sabbatical from reality will be at an end ... I finished the introduction to the thesis today (yes, I left it til the end) and even filled in the PhD exam entrance form. After four years of slog and one year of considerably faster slog, I'm nearly done! I've even got a title for the thing now. Just got the conclusion, formatting, corrections and filling in one or two gaps to go...

Moreover, a £25 voucher for Adnams products arrived in the post today, as I won the Environment Agency's 'Nitrogen Safety' competition at the Suffolk Show. As I said, I'm on a sabbatical from reality...

85,000

85,000 words written, which constitute the body of the thesis. Just the introduction and conclusion to go...

things are getting strange, I'm starting to worry...

Today I met Mulder and Scully, Audrey's parents. They are wonderful: Mulder is smaller than Scully, but very much 'interested' in her and tries all the old tricks to get her interest: nibbling at her arms; scratching her shell... All Scully wanted to do was eat some clover and bask in the sun. Compelling tortoise drama.







And here are some recent-ish pictures of Audrey - who, it now transpires, may actually be a boy tortoise...

75,000

Not miles, but words. I've just passed the 75% mark of my thesis word limit...

faraway, so close...

I estimate roughly 10 weeks until I can submit my thesis. Judging by this week, they're going to go very quickly but involve lots of suffering!