It's astonishing to think that it's almost a year since I started my studies at Reaseheath, and that the exams on Monday will be the end of the course. The last lecture sessions on Wednesday involved much contemplation of past papers and discussion of "exam technique", most of the class being mature students who probably hadn't been in an exam hall for thirty years or so. A couple of us who started the course at the half-way stage know only too well what to expect. The papers are quite tough and time is short, but despite this, I did well in the summer and managed to pass all of the four papers, three "with commendation". Having a very long-standing reputation as a smart-arse to maintain, I would like to manage a similar performance again.
The ice problem here made national news yesterday; standing at the back door there was an eerie and disturbing cracking sound coming from the big trees at the end of the garden, which were smothered with a rind of shiny ice. The cold also drove a fieldfare into the garden to raid some of the remaining crab apples.
Today the sun has been out but the trees were still covered in ice for much of the morning and it was bitterly cold when I ventured over to the bird feeders, to find them also festooned with icicles. The snowdrops, despite being in quite a sheltered spot haven't enjoyed the last few days at all, but inside the greenhouse it was warm, and I was pleased to see that some of the ladybirds I found sheltering in the olive tree foliage earlier in the week were alive and well, and happily snuggled up on some young mint plants.
Hopefully they'll stay at that end of the greenhouse and away from the Sarracenias, or that'll be a pretty disasterous "friendly fire" episode on my part.
