Spring may have sprung

Another few weeks with nothing much to post! Quiet times still. We have had quite a bit of nice sunny weather down here in Cornwall. We're not counting our chickens for a sunny Easter though, the weather's changeable here t the best of times! We've been enjoying it while we have it though. A couple of days ago I went to Fowey with my cousins. The breeze was cool, but apart from that it was like summer!  I overdid it a bit & was exhausted & aching afterwards, but on the plus side, it shows that the thyroxine increase is working. There was no way I could have done it a couple of months ago!

We started off at Readymoney Cove (great name!), passed the huge house that supposedly belongs to Dawn French, walked into the town centre, &  had a past on the harbour, all the time being watched over by a seagull. He was wasting his time though, we did not share! They are very arrogant looking birds, aren't they?

 

Yesterday I met an old school friend in town. It was strange at first, we hadn't seen each other for over 20 years, although we keep in touch over Facebook. Despite feeling a bit nervous at first, it was a good laugh. It was good to catch up, & have a girl day out. It was a surprise though to discover she had just become a grandmother despite being m age! I still feel as though I'm still in my 20s, not late 30s!

Hopefully things may be progressing in my student accommodation quest. The university has means to help people with deposits for those in difficult situations, as long as we are applying for university run accommodation. I saw the on-campus accommodation when I had my tour, and although it's not as nice as my first choice, it looks pretty good. Certainly better than most universities, & all the rooms have en-suite bathrooms. It's set up in flats of around 6 rooms as opposed to halls, so we don't have to share kitchens with too many people. I also had the option to request a flat with other mature students & people who would prefer a quieter flat. I have been accepted for a flat, I just need to wait for confirmation from the other office before I finalise it. All in all, the accommodation office has been very helpful.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a nice Easter. It's going to be very weird not to be in Greece for Easter. It's the main festival of the year, like Christmas is in UK. It's going to be strange not doing anything. I hope my friends in Greece put up lots of photos on Facebook for me. Καλο Πασχα Ολους! Χρονια Πολλα!

Accommodation Angst

I haven't done a blog post for nearly a month. All has been so quiet, nothing has been happening. I've had nothing to write about, apart from making progress on getting my health issues sorted, & that doesn't really have much to do with university or theatre. Except that hopefully I will be a lot better by then!

Things might start to get stressful now though. Two days ago, applications for student accommodation opened. When I started my application to uni, the accommodation office said I wouldn't need to pay a deposit until I received my student finance. Unfortunately I was given the wrong information. Deposits need to be paid as soon as you are offered accommodation. I am rather annoyed. They need to get their information correct as the mistakes cause problems. How they expect people with no income & no rich family to manage, I don't know. I am currently in negotiations with them.

I have also started looking at private sector accommodation. Yes they also want deposits, but not usually as much as the university. Uni accommodation would be a lot more convenient in many ways, but it may turn out not to be an option. It is rather frustrating though, many of the 1 bedroom flats I've clicked on turn out to be 1 bedroom in 6 bedroom house or something similar. Their adverts seem to be made to purposely mislead. Grrr! I am particularly looking for a self-contained place as I have Asperger syndrome & am not good at sharing. Also, most of these houses that are supposed to be for 6 people seem to be a case of 6 people as long as you're the size of a 5 year old. Seriously, the accommodation process is more stressful than the finance process. It doesn't help that I can't get down there to view anything.

On a non-uni note, we had some sad news this week. A friend of ours passed away. Glyn Jones was well known in the theatre world, & for his books & screenplays, amongst other things. H first met him, Chris, & Douglas in Greece back in 1998 when I was a cheeky young 21 year old. He certainly had a unique senso of humour, but wouldn't suffer fools gladly & could put me in my place merely with a raise of an eyebrow! My thoughts go to Chris & Douglas. I'm glad I went to see them before I came back to UK. We all certainly had a laugh that day! As I am not that great with words, I add the tribute written by Greek director Theo Papadoulakis:

Yesterday our beloved Glyn Jones passed away. He was the protagonist of one of our most successful spots, «All the World on One Island - Crete», which I directed as part of the Cretan tourist campaign last year.
Glyn Jones was a resident of Vamos for the last 20 years and roommate of our wonderful associates -Chris Beeching and Douglas Foote. 
Glyn had many talents. Not least as an author of numerous books, films , theater and television scripts. Screenplays for shows such as «Doctor Who» and «The Double Deckers», one of the most successful American television children's series (20th Century Fox), were undoubtedly loved by worldwide audiences.
The last time I saw him, four months ago, he was engrossed in his computer, putting the finishing touches on his latest novel. 
I feel very lucky to have met Glyn.
He was a magnificent man and will be sorely missed. Goodbye Glyn …
http://vimeo.com/70407010