Days pass

The threatening clouds, dark, menacing and filled with rain prompted me to take in the sun bed from the Third Floor last night on my return from getting my glasses in Sitges.  The lowering (really the only word to use) cloud cover over Barcelona was almost biblical in its portentousness and I had visions of a rain soaked, mould covered cushion inviting me into its slimy grasp when I next found time to relax with my favourite star.

This morning, the first day back in school after our ludicrously short break, is of course gloriously sunny – just the sort of underhand, cheap jibe that one would expect from a recently resurrected god bullying hard-pressed professionals!  Our misery is exponentially expanded by the fact that the hot-water machine is not working and I wasted a hand-made teabag in what turned out to be cold, milky water.  Cruelty can go no further.  And we have to teach.  All day!

Our next time off is May Day and then the so-called Second Easter later in the same month.  Hardly enough to compensate for the derisory and fleeting so-called holiday we have just whizzed through.  But the month of May is next to the month of June and that month marks my departure.  In faith and fear!

Having just visited our tutor group forum I sense a little edginess in our tutor’s comments about the non-return of the work that we have done.  According to my calculations she has until the 5^th of April to return the work to keep to the timetable of the OU, so she still has time and is on course.

In fact the work was returned later that day (the rigors of getting back to school took its toll and I could do little more than bask in the wonder of my essay and watch the TV when I got back) and I wrote a lickspittle email to the tutor to thank her!  There are no depths that I have not plumbed.

The continuous assessment part of the course is now over and psychologically I can now prepare myself for the exam – which frankly cannot come too soon.  Toni also had a tutor-assessed piece of work back yesterday as well so we went out to La Fusta and downed a bottle of Cava to celebrate our joint success!

But this morning is a grey reality of a five period morning – though the sky is trying to turn blue and confound the prognostications of rain for today.

As term has started I have resolved to get back to my swimming and yesterday, after debating with myself during the whole of the drive back from The School on the Hill, I found that the car had driven itself to the pool and so I had a fairly leisurely swim in which there was more breast stroke than normal in the lengths.  Today it must be crawl, crawl all the way – and thus normality is re-established.

On Saturday we are going to see Julie’s Sitges flat: bought from a bank and refurbished, a nice little pied a terre, and a foothold in a place where, eventually Julie would like to settle.  It will be very interesting to see what the money can buy and it will give me food for thought.  Though prices will have to fall much further before I can think about buying anywhere halfway reasonable in this country!

Another bloody day!  And this time a meeting.  A meeting!  I went to a meeting!  The whole day destroyed!

And it’s still not the weekend.