The first one was to research Ethnomusicology at the Aberdeen University, and I was accepted for study. Unfortunately I didn't get the Elphinstone Scholarship I had applied for, so couldn't afford to undertake the actual research.
The second was with my beloved Alma Mater, the University of the Highlands and Islands (which I joined as a fresh-faced undergrad back in 2009 when it was still the UHI Millennium Institute). I got an interview for a PhD looking at Heritage Tourism in Orkney, but my interview was a disaster (not solely my fault, I hasten to add).
On holiday this year in Dublin, I had a flash of inspiration about a PhD that I would love to do, looking at the impact of early twentieth-century (1913-ish to 1949) Irish republicanism on funerary material culture. Funerary archaeology in a historical period was my focus in my Masters, and it's something that continues to hold my interest. The saying goes "the dead do not bury themselves", and there's something very raw (or, you could say, pure) about the way that families, friends and societies choose to commemorate the dead.
Anyway... the reason I've started this blog is pure self-indulgence. I don't even expect anyone to read it apart from me. Many moons ago, I started a course with Future Learn called "Discovering Your PhD Potential", and one of the suggestions is to keep a reflective journal. So here I am, keeping said journal, with an eye to feeling confident at some point in submitting an application to a supervisor who might be interested in the above idea. Oh, and finding some funding from a giant, apparently-nonexistent pot.
