This week I have been back in Avignon in an effort to tie up the final archival loose ends that will allow me to finish the book. It’s a little more than fourteen years since I came here for the first time to scope out Macintosh’s archive. If I had known then that it would take me quite so long to make sense of it all, I may well have thrown in the towel there and then! I’m glad I didn’t know that, I’m glad that I’ve persevered, and that I’m now able to glimpse the finishing line on the horizon.

Although this was a return to a familiar collection, it was, for me, in an entirely new context, since this has been my first visit to the archive’s new home, Memento—a purpose-built facility that opened earlier this year. Although much less romantic than the archive’s old home in the Papal Palace, Memento is a much more practical venue and I certainly found it quicker and easier to order material than in the past. The only slight downside is that Memento is located on the outskirts of town, necessitating a 45-minute bus ride each way if you happen (like me) to be staying in the city centre.

Whether or not it was as a result of the move from the old to the new venue—a massive logistical operation that took the team of archivists many months to plan for and complete—the folders that comprise Macintosh’s archive have been given new and easier-to-cite archival references, meaning it will be more straightforward in the future for those who wish to consult them. For the benefit of anyone who might be interested, the updates references are as follows:

2 E 17  Fonds MAKINSTOSH [sic]

Old cote	New cote
2 E titres de famille 83	2 E 17/1
2 E Titres de famille 84	2 E 17/2
2 E Titres de famille 85	2 E 17/3
2 E Titres de famille 86	2 E 17/4
2 E Titres de famille 91/1	2 E 17/5
2 E Titres de famille 91/2	2 E 17/6

With the possible exception of one or two quick visits to the British Library and the National Archives, this will be my last phase of primary research on this project. I have only 55 working days in which to finish the book: writing, revising, and getting it into shape for submission. This is less time than I would like, and may even be less time than I need, but even the slowest of slow scholarship needs to speed up once in a while.