Hello! I'm Emma Winston, a PhD student at Goldsmiths, University of London, and this is my first post.

I don't expect this to be an especially active or frequently-updated blog, but I do intend to use it for the more interesting aspects and snippets of news related to my research, and I hope it will both be an interesting read and make me more accountable to my own work. In essence, I am studying ukulele players and groups, with a particular focus on identity and creative expression; it's as interesting as it sounds, and a lot less silly!

My PhD has seen a slow start; I was very unwell for most of 2015, but attempted to plough on as a full-time student come September anyway, which turned out to be a terrible mistake. After a two-month sabbatical, during which I eased myself back into teaching, creative work, and research, I'm now much healthier, properly treated and on good medication, and am excitedly getting on with my literature review.

I'm especially looking forward to beginning my group-based fieldwork, which will, I suspect, form the absolute core of my research. I expect to spend the next few weeks buried in books, but I hope to be talking to, and playing alongside, ukulele players themselves as soon as possible.