Saturday was the first Day School for my OU course at Leeds Rose Bowl, but I didn't go. I intended to, but only had a few pounds left and had to decide between bus fares or food... I chose food!
What was really annoying though (and also a lovely surprise), was when, out of habit, I checked the balance of my bank account at the ATM - my grant money had been paid in (although I didn't get the letter until today).
So, with my wallet now full of cash, I headed off to Leeds anyway, although sadly too late for the Day School. Instead, I went straight to Waterstones to purchase the rest of my set books for the course: The Faber Book of Beasts (ed. Muldoon, P.), The Burial at Thebes (by Seamus Heaney) and A World of Difference: An anthology of short stories from five continents (ed. Prescott, L.).
I also decided to buy myself a few writers' magazines and pay a few months broadband in advance, so that after last week's fiasco, at least I know I can stay online.
That wasn't my only surprise on Saturday. When I returned home, I had received a small parcel through the post from Waterstones - a proof copy of a new book which I need to review. The book is called 'Toxic Treacle' by a Yorkshire born author called Echo Freer. It is a young adults' novel, set in a world where there are clear but complicated laws regarding the mixing of males and females; where everyone has specific roles to play; where relationships between male and female are purely for breeding. I'm only on page 70 at the moment, but am enjoying it so far. When I finish, I will post a link to the review.
I didn't read as much as I wanted last night so I've still not moved onto Faraday (I will eventually... Honest). I was thinking about what to do on Saturday after the Induction Event at Leeds University. I've no money left (apart from the £5 I've put on one side for my bus ticket), so I won't be shopping. The event will finish around 12.15pm which leaves the rest of the day clear, and as I will have a 'Day Ticket' for the buses, I might as well get some use out of it.
I decided to start by looking at the Gazetteers on the AA100 website. They list locations around the country to see examples of works I will be studying throughout the course. After a bit of scrolling and clicking I've discovered that there is a great example of Pugin's architecture at St Anne's Catholic Church in Keighley, and examples of Benin art in the Leeds City Museum (there are others at the Leeds Discovery Centre, but this is only for pre-booked tours). I can't decide whether I should visit any of these or leave them until I'm actually studying them (possibly on the same day as a tutorial).
As I was scrolling through the coming weeks I discovered that NONE of the Ancient Sacred Sites, Roman Villa Sites or Eighteenth Century Houses listed on the website are within West Yorkshire. The nearest being in York, which although only another hour by bus would be another £6! I think a bit more research might be required to find something similar locally.
I also spent a little time today working through the online activities for using the Harvard Referencing System, and then followed this up by adding some references to my pre-prepared assignment and advising someone on the AA100 Facebook page. Now back to my reading...
Well today I've managed to do hell of a lot of absolutely nothing. I haven't picked up any of my books, watched any of the films, listened to any of the CDs or wrote anything (except this of course). If it wasn't for the Facebook groups I'd have had no contact with my studies at all.
In my defence I have been busy doing other things. I received a letter this morning confirming a place on a residential weekend course at Northern College near Barnsley. I have been before (several years ago) but needed to try and work out how I will get there before I accept. Obviously if there are no buses to and from the college it would mean a long walk from Barnsley. Fortunately there ARE buses.
The course I signed up for (about a month before I signed up for OU) is 'Introduction to Creative Writing', which considering my chosen study path is ideal. Not only will it give me a good grounding for my second module, but it will also be a weekend of free food and drink and none of my electricity and gas being used. Add to that the beautiful setting of Wentworth Castle and it's a win-win situation.
