…of handing that last coursework in.
I have been working full time all summer in clearing and I took last
week off to complete my final course work – the dreaded 8000 word Professional
Development Project. I was so tired
after those weeks of work and trying to study every weekend that I decided a weekend
in the country was in order before the final onslaught.
My gorgeous daughter and boyfriend spoilt me rotten for two days as we snuggled up under the duvet watching the new Sherlock Holmes film. Dog walking through the magnificent Petworth Park in West Sussex was amazingly restorative despite having to avoid all those testosterone filled stags in the middle of rutting season.
Monday arrived and I buried
myself in my office and, stuck on the computer searching for academic papers, surrounded
by piles of books and old essays, him-at -home fed me cups of tea at regular
intervals and allowed me out for meals if I worked hard enough. I emerged blinking into the daylight and left
the house for the first time on Wednesday afternoon when we took a break to see
the Leonardo da Vinci drawings in the Queen’s Gallery near Buckingham
Palace. It was so mind boggling to see
the actual originals of those stunning works that I had only viewed in books
before.
Leonardo da Vinci’s study of the shoulder muscles
I also managed to attend my first stained glass class that evening
although I was too brain-dead to do more than catch up everyone’s holiday news,
look at their works in progress and leaf through books looking for inspiration
for my next project. The glass of wine
with my sister in law afterwards ensured a good night’s sleep and then it was
back to the coal face on Friday morning. I had been so hoping to complete the work ready to submit it by 4pm on
Friday but it was not to be. However
because I had set that early deadline I was much further on than if I had worked
towards the real one of 4pm Monday.
Saturday morning was more slogging and then we met friends for a trip to
the Victoria and Albert Museum to see the Heatherwick studios exhibition.
This was the studio that created that amazing Olympic cauldron and the
exhibition included a model and videos about its creation. That was so awe inspiring that I was ready on
Sunday morning for the final essay push. I managed the electronic submission by 5.30pm Sunday - a day ahead of
schedule - and was about to sit down with a very welcome glass of bubbly when
the phone rang to say my cousin was in hospital and needed a visit so I was
very sorry to have to put the bubbly on
hold, as I also had to get up early to do my paper submission at 0830 the next
morning. I am working
all month on the Greenwich Maritime site from 9-5pm, and I could only submit 8.30-
4pm on the Avery hill site where my school is based. I had to get up early, rev up Priscilla Piaggio
(my little scooter) rush over, drop it into the school and then get to
Greenwich to start work at 9am.
…aah the relief as I handed it over and then dropped into the library
to return my sixteen books I have had on loan for at least two months.
I have promised him-at –home
that I will not be subjecting him to me and a doctorate. Instead, we will be looking forward to that
lovely bottle of bubbly on Friday evening (actually tonight) with all the
delight that comes from delayed gratification – what bliss!
Picture credits:
Olympic cauldron: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/london-2012/9434325/London-2012-Thomas-Heatherwick-the-designer-behind-the-Olympic-cauldron-that-stunned-view/
Traffic cones: http://inhabitat.com/gorgeous-hanging-sculpture-by-thomas-heatherwick-greets-visitors-to-londons-victoria-albert-museum/
Champagne: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/sep/28/champagne-science-study-france-bubbles
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