Monday 11th January

Back to uni today! I felt astonishingly ready for it, quite desperate to be out and about, and I have to say that Constructing Faith didn't let me down. This course has always been right up there among my number one choices of the year, and it's about the ways and networks that established the Christian faith in, by and large, Western Europe. We get a seminar every week, and it'll be quite tough work because - gulp, there's only three of us. This is way better than it could have been, at one point it was very possibly just going to be me. Although I'm not sure it would have run, if that had been the case. Marks are on an essay, and a seminar presentation. I can tell you already the odds are that my presentation and essay will be, in some way or another, on death. The seminar is topic-ed as "Death: Body, soul and liminality", and one of the big source books is van Gennep's Rites of Passage - one of my all time fave books from Anthropology. But I have to say running this a close second is a seminar on Ritual, featuring Clifford Geertz wonderful Interpretation of Cultures, which again makes my top ten anthropology texts. And again, just how could anyone resist a source list which includes a book by a P Barber, called Vampires, Burial and Death. I have to say that in my experience such thrilling titles don't often lead to what one might call riveting bed time reading, but I'm always ready to be surprised. I should point out that these seminars have a particular set text such as a letter from Ambrose of Milan, or Augustine of Hippo, which one then has to discuss in light of the secondary reading, such as Interpretation of Cultures, or the Rites of Passage. The only occasion I've ever come across a really lurid historical incident in the most theatrical interpretation of the word are the tales of the Vikings as descended to us in the Sagas. But as I said I'm always willing to be surprised.
Anyhow I have to say my participation in the introductory meeting was somewhat muted, owing to being so careless as to not check my email late enough to pick up on an email sent to inform us that the venue had changed. I made it to the initial venue in plenty of time, found it deserted with nobody there, but then thought, well I'm just down the road I'll nip into medieval history and see if there are any notices etc. Dr Roach had kindly left the door open to the Mckechnie room, and hey presto there I was in the right place, if not exactly at the spot on right time.
After all this, I went along to the Classics dept to pick up my Latin marks, but they hadn't been returned to the secretary's office having been taken to the class this morning. I'm not doing Latin this term, so I didn't go to the class, but I dare say they'll make it to me at some point, and even if not, I'll get a mark from the Websurf system. As I've said before, I'm not too frazzled by all this, as if I do by some miracle manage to pass it, it'll be by the barest minimum, and purely down to pity on the part of the examiners.
Having done all this, when I came back through town I started the annual battle of what do I get for Jo's birthday this year? It's unfortunately close to Christmas, and when we were children she used to get so upset about it that these days I always try to get something special. Hopefully she'll be very pleased with this year's effort - I shan't say what I'm getting/have got, because although I think it's unlikely she'll read this, there's always an off chance. Let's just say things are in hand. I did manage to get a particularly attractive little floral style paper bag to put it all in - I thought the colours were particularly spring like, and if you've a birthday in January, then spring is what you want. Especially after all this snow. We've a real thaw going on up here, more or less all that's left is the large patches, and the pack ice. Unfortunately I feel as if most of this is gathered within the first twenty yards of where I live - no direct sunshine, that's what it is! Needs to be broken down by foot traffic, and we don't get much of that. Ah well, perhaps I'll take the stick with me again tomorrow, although I live in fear of forgetting it once I'm past the really dangerous bits. It's supposed to get really cold and icy again tonight. Best boil the kettle for another hot water bottle then...