Nuclear Physics

Today was an absolutely GORGEOUS day! The weather turned unseasonably warm, so much so that I was able to wear shorts again, which was wonderful!

Even though there was a slight chill in the air first thing in the morning, the walk in was very pleasant, and I took this picture in the lovely morning sunshine.

The fan-shaped building (which I also think looks a bit like a coffee filter) is actually a fascinating piece of Oxford architecture, although not the sort that is usually associated with the city. It is now part of the Denys Wilkinson building, but used to be a very important part of the Nuclear Physics research facility in Oxford. This press release gives a brief outline of the history of the building and the short film shown here shows what life was like in the building when it was first built - and is a delightfully dated bit of footage!

If you're interested in Denys Wilkinson or the history of physics in Oxford then do follow the links! :-)

Once at college I had an hour and half lecture on the English tense system. It really showed me how much I don't know, and I have resolved to do some extra homework to learn some of the stuff that my colleagues who have English degrees and languages degrees know already - this is, of course, how I've learned much of what I now know - catching up on education I didn't manage to receive earlier in life - exactly the same happened when I first got to Oxford and discovered how far behind I was compared to those who'd been to private schools and so on, and again when I started my music degree and was surrounded by people from Cheethams, the Menuhin School, the Purcell School and so on!

After a short break we moved on to lesson planning, which IS something I know about after years in schoolteaching. We were then given two texts about teaching reading and the brief for our first written assignment for the course. Hopefully I shouldn't have too many problems with it! Fingers crossed!

Then it was a warm walk up to Scharwenka's house, where I spent the afternoon. The Wonderspouse met up with me after he finished work and we did our traditional Friday shopping - it was exceedingly bizarre looking at a shelf of wind-up walking Father Christmases while wearing shorts and a t-shirt! I have to say though, this warm weather has really helped me - lots of sunlight, pleasant walks to start my course, and a level of relaxation that I never manage to achieve when it's cold!

Once home it was just a matter of watching the telly, eating supper, bathing and going to bed. I was VERY pleased to have had a successful first week at college - no trace of mental health problems, just ordinary tiredness from being out a lot, learning new stuff , and doing 21 miles of walking!