All done!

An important day for lots of people at Ridley today - it was the final essay deadline for everyone, and the Greek exam. For those on my essay-based course this was the last academic hurdle this year. For others on the exam-based course the exams continue for the rest of this week.

So at lunchtime there were lots of relieved faces, a few people comparing notes on exactly how the tricky questions 2 and 6 had been answered (don't you hate it when they do that?), and my friend Jane observing that now she had no deadlines left all that stuff which had previously distracted her from work suddenly didn't seem quite so urgent!

But back to the Greek exam - I've taken a Cambridge University exam! Although I would have appreciated more salubrious surroundings as we sat in the most depressing room in Cambridge, a 1960's monstrosity called the Rank Room. And it most certainly matches its description, but to be honest when you've got your head down writing solidly for three hours you tend not to notice what's around you.

However, Cambridge being Cambridge there were some lovely traditions. The invigilators were fully robed in batman capes. If you've seen the recent video release of 'Joseph' it was a bit like the opening scene where all are lined up in the school hall waiting for the teachers to begin singing*! But that never actually happened. Pity.

The exam was OK - a few tricky bits that I couldn't do but I'm not expecting to get 100% anyway - I'll get the results in about 3 weeks time, along with all the other results for the year.

So now the pace eases off. For those leaving there are a couple of intense weeks of short courses, but I'll write about those next year when it's my turn. For those returning there are slightly less courses - the Bereavement course that I wrote about in January is back for all students, due to popular demand, so having already done it I've actually got the next few days off! Next week there's a couple of half-day courses, and I'm organising a Besom project (a what? - call back next week).

It's really nice with the pressure off. I can go into the library and read the books that I've been looking at longingly for the last 6 months, knowing that I've got time to read them, and that I don't have to take notes or write anything about them. I could sit drinking tea all day, practising my pastoral technique. I could, at a push, afford a lie-in.


*Thanks to Disco Dave for that - kept me amused all the way through the exam, waiting for them to burst into song.