Camera, Marking, Holidays

Debbie and I finally got around to buying a video camera. We did not follow in the footsteps of our more committed friend Norman and get a camera which required an extension to our mortgage :) A nice simple handicam is quite sufficient for our humble needs. I have recieved another subtantial pile of essays to mark - probably fewer than 100 this time, but still enough to keep me busy for the next couple of days. Having done marking at the end of last year, I find that I'm not really any faster, but perhaps I do have a bit more stamina - getting over 100 essays marked in one day of solid work is a feat that I managed last year, and hope to recreate. In fact at a rate of about 25 essays per hour, I should in theory be able to get through more than 100 essays, except that I'm still teaching at the same time, and there's a definite hair-pulling-out level of boredom and monotony that sets in after the first half hour or so. I am very much looking forward to the end of this week. As Debbie and I discussed this weekend, this term has been pretty full-on: - exams - Major production at Debbie's school - Major production at my school - loads of deadlines and marking and stress - a suicide - film club film making at Debbie's school - lots of other stuff that I can't remember as I supervised 2 and a half hours of exams this morning and my brain has not yet recovered We could both use a bit of a rest :)