Well as promised I'm back to write all about my horrendous work load, why are all my modules due in at the same time, there's no justice!
However thing sare looking brighter, after spending the last 2 months in the lab collecting the data, I have finally written my 5000 word report, my poster for parasitism is finished, and even better my Biology and Ethics poster is done. All I have too do now is edit and check them all, now that is going to be hard. My brain works in an odd way, and as a result my brain works even more oddly, so all my writing is very odd! If that makes sense. so as a result there is lots of editing to be done.
Anyway by Wednesday all this will be over, and in the evening I have the fun of the climbing clubchristmas meal to look forward to. I'm actually going to go and get my hair cut and for one I get to dress up, pictures to follow!
In preparation for my PGCE interview next Tuesday I went and spent yesterday in a secondary school, and I actually really enjoyed it. I miss being with that age groups of kids on a regular basis! I was in one lesson which is made up of those with learning disabilities and behavioural problem when someone decided to set off a firework! Well at least it's given me something to talk about in the interview!

I've been ............ bouldering, must wash out mouth!

Well since my last post I've been on yet another weekend away. (I'm really rubbish at writing regulary, I'm very sorry!)
Yet again we were in North Wales, though this time the weather wasn't quite as good. Lots and lots and lots of rain!
Saturday was spent driving to Llandudno. We had planned to spend the morning in teh Salte Museum in Llanberis, but only the Welsh would decide that the one day a tourist attraction closed would be a Saturday!
Anyway we had a go on a toboggan run, and then went bouldering (for those of you that know me you'll know what a sacrifice that was!) However I did actually quite enjoy it.


The Sunday I decided to be nice and go and play with some freshers on some multi pitch on Little Tryfan. We had a very nice day and I actually managed to get more than 1 route done in a whole weekend! All that was left to look forward to was the drive home in a minibus, with only me driving. For all you 3rd years with too much work you missed out. We had a great weekend despite the weather. And anyway I always judge a weekend away by the level of bruising sustained. Our exploits kitchen bouldering on friday night can still be seen on my legs!


The Christmas dinner was also fab, and a welcome start to my estimated 3 christmas dinners this year. Speaking of which, it's now December, I really had better get the last of my shopping sorted, I started off so well, and did loads part way through November, since then it's all gone a bit wrong!
Anyway I'm off to go and cook some tea, my belly's rumbling and then I really need to do some work. A post about my mountains of work may follow in a few days, as the amount I have to do is unbelievable!

All hail Welsh slate

Ok so I'm not in so much of a hating mood as I was when I wrote my last post! Anyway since then I've been away again (last weekend in fact, but hey I'm slow!). Far more successful weekend, only got one route done this time but it was on some lovely slate, however I then fell over in the car park and resprained my ankle (it's along story I'll tell it if I get bored one day.) So that put pay to any climbing for the rest of the weekend. I therefore spent the next day driving about North Wales in a minibus, mostly dropping off bikers, the picture is of my lovely boyfriend on the bike he has spent a small fortune fixing for this weekend!

The slate was surprising good fun, I'd never climbed on it before and I really enjoyed it. My humble acheivemnets wereput in to perspective by watching Aly climb some ridiculous nails looking E4 called Poetry Pink. the guy seriously needs his head examining, I'll add a photo as soon as I get sent any, unfortunately I forgot my camera so I had to borrow one.

If you were followed by a large red minibus then you really need to speed up your driving, as for those I overtook you need to hand in your license! Oh yeah I also passed my minibus test with all of 3 minors, so I'm very pleased with that. And I also quite enjoy driving the, in fact it's my main reason for going on the nest weekend away!

Well that with the fact that we seem to be collecting annoying kids at work, we have the attention seeker who refuses to come down the wall just so she gets all your time, the kids who are obnoxious brats who don't seem to think they have to listen to you, and the kids who spend their whole time fighting. I swear I feel like a boxing referee and UN peace keeper all rolled into one! All made worse by the fact that I can do very little about their dreadful behavior, some kids are however on their last warning before we say we don't want them, as even the liberal Terry has had enough of sorting out the aftermath from their fights!

All hail the grit!

After getting back from the clubs freshers weekend away to the Lakes I have come to the conclusion I don't like multi pitch! Controversial I know, but hey it's my climbing, I'll enjoy what the hell I like! Reasons for not liking multi pitch-
1) The walk in is nearly always up a big hill miles from the car park, if I liked walking I'd go on walks, I don't. nuff said!
2) You have to carry all your kit on said walk in! I only have short legs so trying to keep up with all the lanky men damn near killed me!
3) The route may be 80m long, but actually contains 5 or 6m of real quality climbing. So you can spend 3 hours for 2 minutes good climbing!
4) Other peoples ineptitude, catching someone up part way through a route and then being stuck behind them is just bloody annoying and cold!
5) Mountain routes are nearly always a pile of crumbling stuff, small chunks I can cope with, after all I wear a helmet, but blocks bigger than my head, er no thanks!
6) Absolute arseholes who seem determined to moan about everything. I wasn't there but on Sunday someone actually had the cheek to email the union safety officer about us "chucking rocks down the crag". We only let people go climbing on weekends who can lead and second multi pitch, so in theory could go by themselves. The crag was loose, no one chucked any rocks anywhere, someone dislodged some stuff as they led a route, It's a hazard of multi pitch. If I ever find the person who decided to cause such a huge amount of hassle for our committee then I will take huge pleasure in inserting my largest hex where the sun doesn't shine, after I have shoved a large cam in his mouth to muffle the screaming.

Anyway lesson learnt, I will be avoiding multi pitch stuff unless it's road side! At least it gave me a break from work, only 1 more weekend till I can go away again!
the photo btw is of me at the top, finally at 6.15, it was 7.40 by the time we got back to the minibus, and yes we did have the keys, yes everyone else had been down for ages (sorry guys!), and yes it was very very dark!

Well after a long boring summer university is about to start again... or is it?
For the first 6 weeks I have 1 lecture a week, even after that it rises to a maximum of 7; 7 contact hours a week and that's it. Considering I have just gained another £1200 of debt to pay my tuition fees I am kind of wondering what I'm getting for my money?
So as a result I'm just going to have to work really hard at my project for the first bit of term to prevent insanity. Speaking of projects, I have discovered my project supervisor, I got sent an email on friday, officially I go to a meeting today to find out, but hey at least I now know. Anyway I'm really pleased with who I got, my 2 housemates spent the sumer working in her lab and say she's really nice. I think it's safe to say I will be doing something to do with flies though!

Freshers week is al over, I have handed out hundreds of fliers for the university climbing club, and spent lots of Friday dangling from a harness in front of university house. Freshers climb on sunday was very uneventful, no one needed taking to hospital, no one turned up in wildly unsuitable clothing, so all in all rather boring really. The midge bites I have from the trip to the pub though are driving me crazy.

Mud, mud, glorious mud

I just spent the weekend at Chatsworth Country show helping Buxton Mountain rescue team fundraise. It wasn't the most successful weekend ever! Constant rain on Saturday meant the show was deathly quiet, but at least it stopped for the barbecue in the evening. Sunday was at least nearly dry but by that time the show ground was a giant mud bath. What was most amusing was seeing people turn up on Sunday not realising that it had rained all of the previous day!
I basically spent the weekend trying to persuade people to buy ducks for the duck race we were running. This wasn't as successful as last year, partly due to the weather! However having the race down the actual river on the estate was great fun, even if the ducks did go through the holes in the netting!
I was very good and didn't even spend that much money, though I do now have a very posh looking leather hat, and a bargainous joules jacket!

Bugger

I've spent all day making some delicous looking rosemary foccacia, which I found on my new favourite website, http://www.aspoonfulofsugar.net
Unfortunately I mucked up, my hand slipped while adding the salt, I thought I'd persevere and see if it was edible, but I have to report that it really wasn't! I thought I was going to have a lovely tea with my favourite tomato salad, just tomato slices, salt, pepper, and my secret ingredient sugar! All mixed up and left to stew in the lovely juice.
It looked fab though, I'll definitely try again, maybe tomorrow in fact as I still have a mountain of rosemary left thanks to Just Naturals generously sized packs!
I seem to be in a culinary mood at the momment, I made an apparently delicous plum tart the other day with some over ripe plums, I got 1 slice and Lex promptly demolished the rest despite informing me it looked yuk!
I also seem to be on a banoffe pie streak at the momment! However I never have any digestive biscuits in so mine have a twist, the base is made of lovely coconuty nice biscuits, apparently they add a lovely twist according to my willing tasters!