Sesame April/May 2002 - The Open University

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Walk inu n s p o i l tC o rf uf rom £329Explore unspoilt Corfu withescorted walks andincluded excursions. Theresort has always welcomed itsBritish visitors and is famed forfriendliness, scenery andclimate. This holiday is offeredexclusively to readers of S e s a m efor May to October 2002.The road to Arillas on the northwestcoast wanders through peacefulhillside villages far from thetourist mainstream before descendinginto olive groves and pine treesdown to the clear blue sea.September and October are idealfor warm seas, ripe fruit and balmyevenings; April and May for the wildflowers, twinkling fireflies andamorous bullfrogs.It’s a chance to step off the beatentrack into unspoilt villages, pickyour own oranges and figs off thetrees and drink crystal clear coldspring water. Our holiday includestwo escorted walks (approx. fourhours each), exploring villages,monasteries, a working bakery andthe fantastic views of offshoreislands and the forbidding coastlineof Albania across the Ionian Sea.You will walk along ancient donkeytracks through olive groves fromArillas through San Stephanos,Magoulades and Kavadades.Also included is a full day coachexcursion visiting many of thefamous resorts including Koulouraand Kalami where the Durrellfamily lived and Gerald was inspiredto write My family and other animals.No holiday to Corfu is completewithout visiting Paleokastritsaand the whitewashed monasteryperched on the cliff, overlooking thetiny bays of clear blue sea.A Corfu shopping trip is alsoincluded in the price, giving you achance to buy your souvenirsamongst the maze of tiny shops sellinglocal art, leather, pottery, touristgifts, honey and local sweets, copiesof icons, carved olive wood, handmadelace, silver and 14 carat goldjewellery. The unique beauty of C o r f utown owes much to the mixture ofarchitectural styles left behind by theByzantines, Venetians, Russians,French, Italian and British.Your accommodation in Arillasis in privately owned apartmentsof the highest quality, located inquieter areas not more than ten minutes’walk from the beach.For a free colour brochure of theapartments and the resort, or tobook, just telephone TravelsmithLTD (ABTA V1290/ATOL 1917) on01621 784666 or 0870 748 1000quoting C100.Issue 208 April/May 2002 Sesame 10HolidaysE u ropean CityB re a kss ave up to 25 per centEurope has never been so accessible or so affordable – and withour special offer, you can choose from a selection of two-nightcity breaks, flying on scheduled British Airways services andsaving up to 25 per cent off brochure prices.So whether you want to cruise the canals of romantic Venice or fairytaleCopenhagen, explore historic Lisbon, take in the sights and sounds ofnewly-vibrant Berlin or stroll the beautiful boulevards of Paris – there is aholiday to suit you.Prices start from £155 and include flights from Heathrow or Gatwick, bedand breakfast hotel accommodation for two nights and all taxes, includingthe new passenger security surcharge.These European City Breaks, organised by Travelsmith UK Ltd (ABTA G5222/ATOL 1917) can be taken up to October 29 2002, subject toavailability.Prices per person are: Venice viaGatwick, two nights at the 3-star Alsolih o t e l , from £259; Copenhagen viaHeathrow, two nights at the 3-starCopenhagen Mercure hotel, from£205; Lisbon via Heathrow, twonights at the 3-star Executivehotel, from £219; Berlin via Heathrow,two nights mid-week at the 4-star Park Plaza hotel, from £199;Paris via Gatwick, two nights at the3-star Rivoli hotel, from £155.Extra nights can be added andother hotels may be available onrequest.For further details or to book yourEuropean City Break just telephonethe Travelsmith reservations line on0870 748 1000 or 01621 784666and quote reference C167OU toqualify for the special rates.D e p a rting We d n e s d ay 28 Au g u st7 nights half boardFrom only £44 9This holiday is a magical cocktail ofstunning mountain scenery in threecountries, fascinating visits to theCava wine district and Barcelona and anever-to-be-forgotten ride on Le Petit TrainJaune – the Little Yellow Train throughthe French Pyrenees.The adventure begins with a flight to Reusin Spanish Catalonia. Two nights are spenthere with time to visit the Cava wine districtand the magnificent monastery at Montserrat.Then it’s on to Andorra for four nights in thepicturesque principality surrounded by thehigh peaks of the Pyrenees. Andorra has a splitp e r s o n a l i t y . While it has enjoyed separatestatus since the middle ages it has alwaysowed allegiance to the Catalan Bishop in SeoD’Urgell and the French Government. Todayboth French and Spanish are spoken althoughCatalan is the national language. Anincluded excursion aboard Le Petit Train Jauneprovides a unique way to view Andorra’swonderful mountain scenery. There is also anoptional trip available to Andorra La Vella,capital of the principality.A lengthy stop in the vibrant city of Barcelonaon the last day, with time to visit the amblasand the city’s many other attractions, concludesthis amazing holiday.Accommodation based on shared occupancyof twin-bedded rooms is on a half board basis,with two nights in Spain and four nights inAndorra. Flights from local airports to Reus. Afew single rooms are available at a supplementof £75 per holiday.Full details of this holiday and the optionalexcursions available from: Preferred TravelServices, 56 High St., Kibworth, Leicester, LE8OHQ. Tel: 0116 279 3929, fax 0116 2793214. Email: mail@preferredts.com quotetour number 1464. (ABTA W3692 & G9806)Preferred Travel Services is a trading name of High Concepts Limited Reg. in England No. 4000185. Reg. Office: Christopher House, 94B London Road, Leicester LE2 0QS. ABTA NO. W3692. ATOL NO. 5537
11 Sesame April/May 2002 Issue 208On courseS h a ke s p e a reon the wingDid you know Shakespeare invented the word‘bedroom’? Or that he coined ‘courtship’, ‘glow’,‘manager’, ‘leapfrog’ and even ‘alligator’?Even apart from the Bard’s unparalleled contribution tothe English language, his life, times and works provide afascinating source of study – and not just for students.The OU Shakespeare Society welcomes anyone with an interestin history’s most celebrated writer to explore the Bard phenomenonwith fellow fans.“Shakespeare was the best writer we have ever had,” saysmembership secretary Brian Foster. “His work has not datedat all, which is an extraordinary achievement. It is as relevanttoday as it was when he wrote it.”Members get the chance to share their thoughts andexperiences of Shakespeare’s work in two-day seminars atStratford-Upon-Avon, often featuring actors, and in thesociety’s regular magazine, A Groat’s Worth Of Wit, whichincludes essays, interviews, book and film reviews and aUK-wide listing of theatre performances.“The society is particularly helpful for students on AA306Shakespeare: text and performance and A210 A p p r o a c h i n gl i t e r a t u r e, but we welcome anyone at all who shares ourinterest and wants to learn more,” adds Mr Foster.The society, which has a website at: h t t p : / / h o m e t o w n .a o l . c o m / g r o a t s w o r t h / i n d e x . h t m l, costs £12 to join for ayear. Cheques should be made payable to OUSS and sent toMr Foster at 3 Sedgley Close, Middleton Junction, ManchesterM24 2SP.Shakespeare always makes for fascinating study and thissociety helps to make learning fun, which is ever a good thing.For, as the society’s members are already aware, knowledgeis the wing wherewith we fly to heaven.H ow I surv i ve dscience fri c t i o nSo how was it for you? Your first OU course isbound to feel like a leap in the dark, but youcould end up seeing the light... as C a t h e r i n eWa d d i n g t o n, who lives in Bradford, discovere dwhen she signed up for S103.Discovering Science (S103) was the course title,a prerequisite for an OU named degree in NaturalScience (with Physics), and was part of my gameplan.I have been interested in general science and, particularly,astronomy, for most of my life and would have placed myunderstanding towards the upper end of ‘lay scientist’.Whilst not arrogant enough to expect a particularlyeasy time, I didn’t expect that study at foundation levelwould change my outlook a great deal. I was in for a realshock!S103 and The Open University gave me the ride of my life,an incredible gallop through some of the most exciting sciencetopics I have ever encountered. Block one was a gentle startbut far from dull. Across the country hundreds of potatoes weresacrificed as struggling scientists performed their first realexperiment, to discover the water content of an average spud.The stench hung around my flat for days but it was a badge ofhonour to me. (My dried potato looked like an ancient tombrelic, so I know I did the job well!)knowledgeableThe pace quickened as we backed up in time; accompanyingearly scientists in their endeavours to make sense of chemistryand physics. We went in deep and fast on occasions butthe course materials were excellent, and for me theexperience was one of being accompanied by a very sure andknowledgeable friend.I believe I discovered OU ‘boot camp’, a rather humblingexperience, but no doubt necessary. It didn’t matter how hardI tried, or how perfectly I thought I’d answered a TMA question,these were always posted back adorned with oodles of‘tutor ink’ dispensing what often seemed like capricious advice.Gradually I learned that tutor ink made sense and was bestread with humility.I learned amazing things from S103. Some of these wereobvious, I suppose, but I hadn’t really thought about thembefore. For instance, I’d always assumed that trees were hardand solid because they’d taken up solids from the earth throughtheir roots.Organic chemistry taught me that nature builds treestuff mainly with atoms taken from water and carbon dioxideextracted from the atmosphere. I learned that a lot of thingsare made of hydrocarbons as they’re called; trees, insects,humans, plastics, Big Mac burgers; in fact leaving out themetals and rocks and a few gases in the atmosphere, it’s allhydrocarbons folks. God has the ultimate ‘Meccano set’ andthe whole planet is alive.I enrolled for the geology field trip to the east coast of Yorkshireand spent a perfect sunny day wandering the coast with otherS103 students looking at fossils and studying rocks. We wereasked to collect a few pebbles from the beach and identify them,describing their geological history. Our tutor asked me aboutone of my samples and I enthused liberally about the Jurassic,describing how my little rock had formed all those years ago.(In mind’s eye I could see dinosaurs roaming the area).She gave me a sad knowing smile and said: “It’s concrete!but you’re not the first or last geology student to make thatmistake!”panicAnother aspect of OU study that became familiar to me wasthe rising panic and occasional very late night as I struggledto meet a TMA deadline. Was I the only student drivingclandestinely through the night to post a completed TMAthrough my tutor’s door, and hoping he wouldn’t wake andclock the time? I posted my ultimate S103 TMA at four minutesafter midnight on the day of a non-extendable deadline andcrept away like a thief, shaking with fatigue, to catch up onmuch needed sleep.It’s easy to spot an S103 student in the final weeks beforethe exam. They can be found wandering in a dream mutteringnonsense like “Susie pulls dandelions firmly” (the electronsubshell filling order in an atom) or “Please carry off fullygrown slugs” (Phylum, class, order, family, genus, species).This behaviour becomes more extreme as the exam dateapproaches, but, thankfully, the post-exam recovery period israpid.avalancheI did rather resent the avalanche of OU mail that droppedthrough my door after registering for my next course. For a fewweeks I had my life back again, so I put all the OU mail into aconscience-pricking nasty little pile until the new year.This year I’m doing ‘Anathematics’ – MST121 U s i n gm a t h e m a t i c sand MS221 Exploring mathematics. I’m alreadybehind with some course work, but the old behaviour patternshave re-established themselves again. I’m hauling out of bedat silly hours to complete something vital before I drive off tomy work.Am I enjoying it? Oh yes!● Tell S e s a m e readers about your courses. Write to: S e s a m e,The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA.Scene from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s DreamIf you would like your society to befeatured in a future Spotlight pleasesend details to Sesame@open.ac.ukTel: 01908 652451.Catherine Waddington – study with the OU changed her outlook on science
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