Tutor Marked Assignment returned.

My tutor says I’m unique, he says never before has a student asked for more time, because the house has collapsed. All true, but more to the point was my books hadn’t arrived before I had left, and only been able to be collected from the Post Office on my return to Symi.

I had a week to do two months reading. After research on the net, downloaded papers from the OU library, scanning Epidemiology statistic, plus a lot of experience from working in the field. I knew my stuff. The course team would be expecting references from the set reading, hard, as I didn't rate much of it as worthwhile reading. I’m sure my personal research was more interesting, £40 for the book - waste of cash, it will end up being used to light the Bar B-Q.

With some serious cramming, I got the paper on ‘factors influence the way in which death and dying is handled in western societies’ well before the ‘Deadline’ excuse the pad pun.

Working and submiting between power outages as the local electricity board have been working on the towns, supplies. Illustrating my work, not that that was required! just made the reading a bit lighter. I created some Deadcool artwork: most of it unsuitable for here!

Could have gone for a time extension, I just sent the draft, hacked off with the whole thing. Not really enjoying this study, but I won’t be defeated by a deadline.

Now to get stuck into ethics, that should be more interesting.

This student is wearing a big smile with much better grades than I was expecting. Things are looking up and the hard work of cramming and writing long essays is worthwhile.

Sadly I'm cutting this trip short, to attend a friends funeral in the UK (this is not a study!) – and not sure what my plans are for returning to Symi? So for now it's Breakfast tea on the terrace and then a long day ahead.

I never sleep well when I have a boat to catch. Why oh why, do the planes always travel at the such unsociable of hours, and is there always so much hanging about either at airports or in waiting for ferries..

Symi can be a difficult to get away from.