Added on Thursday 15 Oct 2009

Where has the summer gone? I finished the last academic year in late April and I thought I had many months to do lots of things I never get around to during the semester. However, the months seem to have disappeared and I have been back at University for several weeks now. This year I started History of Art at Level One. My intention had always been to study History of Art as an undergraduate and for the last five years I have taken a weekly History of Art class through the University's Department of Adult and Continuing Education known as DACE. These classes have given me a good grounding for the course and have been most enjoyable as visual art is my passion.

There are about 190 students in the class and one of the largest lecture theatres on campus is used. I find the lectures riveting and the 50 minutes pass very quickly. With the advent of new technology, the images are projected onto a very large screen by Powerpoint so fine details can be studied as the lecture progresses. There are usually about 50 images at every lecture and they can be printed out using 'Moodle', the University site for each subject to access for downloads and to interact. These will be useful for reference to study for essays and exams.

The tutorial groups are limited to 12 and my group is held in Hepburn House on University Gardens, a fine former Victorian townhouse on campus with excellent stained glass and wood panelling. It is a lovely place to study in and the tutor brings the art alive in her presentations and discussions. This semester, it is a study of Renaissance Art, a huge subject but fascinating. I have enjoyed analysing sculpture with the links to the Classical World. One thing to be said of this subject is that the books I have purchased will make excellent coffee table books when I have finished my course!

I have also signed up for Easy French Conversation cCasses two lunchtimes per week with no assignments or exams. These classes run until next Spring and are also open to the public. Last year, I enjoyed Theatre Studies Level 2 so much and the Practical Antigone Project that I have also started attending acting classes at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow. These night classes are great fun and it is an opportunity to play like a child and leave the real world behind. At the end of the 9 weeks, everyone in the class will present a monologue.

I am back at the Mature Students' Association and we now have over 100 members with lots of new faces. Our efforts at the Freshers' Fair running the MSA stall certainly paid off in attracting new members. I am now into my fourth year at Glasgow University and I have seen many students come and go. I continue as I am part time and want to stay as long as possible studying my hobbies. Some graduates have now come back to do other subjects as they enjoyed their time as mature students so much. It must be therapy for the elderly.