Having now met my fellow students I can confirm that I truly am the oldest student in the world. Everywhere I go I am asked whether I am a member of staff. On my first day, I realised how truly awful it is to be a newbie with nothing known; no grounding. Fortunately, I spend most of my life in a state of terminal confusion so am quite adept at blundering through.
We are eight and a very high achieving bunch they are too...it seems to have been a prerequisite to have a first from a top uni..and I mean top. I don't have a first but I have other things. The initial meeting has been programmed as one in which we will discover more about the course and what is expected. It turns out to be a series of power-point slides depicting a holiday in Ireland and an introduction to other staff, one of whom plays the hurdy-gurdy. It is hoped that we will ask questions. Silence reigns. I ask a question about the forthcoming assignment. Someone else asks what a hurdy-gurdy is. Small pieces of yellow paper are distributed. We can exchange them in the bar for free welcome drinks. No-one has told the bar staff this and allow us only to have a cup of tea.
Today I spend six hours in the Cornish sunshine reading and taking notes. And very enjoyable it is too.
Wednesday 29 September 2010
Sunday 5 September 2010
Home
Having passed Okehampton, my heart drops as I see that Bodmin Moor is, yet again, swathed in fog. In my heart (and meterologically) beloved Dorset lays behind in glorious sunshine. Ahead, miles of endless gloom. Fortuitously, the cloud lifts and I discover that the moor is home to lakes and animals and is actually...dare I say it....quite lovely. But the road is long and I have decisions to make.
I find an elderly gentleman striding down the track. Where has he come from? He looks as startled to see me emerging from a motor vehicle as I was to nearly hit him driving at 15 miles an hour round yet another bend. I explain my presence and predicament and he gives me careful directions. In this part of the world you could be a long way from anywhere but be optimistic in knowing that someone will appear.
I am going to live with Nicola and her family in their converted farmhouse. It is not what I'd anticipated but their home feels lovely. There are children, two big dogs and endless fields. You have to go with your gut instinct. The alternative is to live a life in boredom.
I find an elderly gentleman striding down the track. Where has he come from? He looks as startled to see me emerging from a motor vehicle as I was to nearly hit him driving at 15 miles an hour round yet another bend. I explain my presence and predicament and he gives me careful directions. In this part of the world you could be a long way from anywhere but be optimistic in knowing that someone will appear.
I am going to live with Nicola and her family in their converted farmhouse. It is not what I'd anticipated but their home feels lovely. There are children, two big dogs and endless fields. You have to go with your gut instinct. The alternative is to live a life in boredom.
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