First day over with, & what a first day! =D

The weather could have been kinder; it's been grey & wet & miserable all day, but at 9.30am those of us living in the accommodation in Creswell piled onto the School minibus & headed off.

The day started off serenely enough, with hot drinks in the common room & a talk from Joe, the Director of the School, welcoming us all to the start of the third Diploma course.  Things have changed from when I first applied; Butchery & Dairy are no longer available as major studies, but rather as minor studies.  Bakery now takes centre stage, presumably due to the overwhelming popularity of the Bakery option in previous years.

This works out fine for me as Bakery was always my first love, & it means that I can pick something different as my minor study.  Initially I had thought to do Patisserie as my minor, but that's now been incorporated into the Bakery major.  I think I'm leaning towards Dairy; I have always had a love of cheese, which has grown in recent years so that might be quite interesting =) (Plus, it's a great excuse to keep goats in the future!)

Next were a couple of hours of icebreakers & games, designed to get everyone laughing & relaxed & making friends with our fellow students.  They certainly did that!  All my fellow students seem really lovely, & I think I will make some good friends here =)

Lunch was amazing!  I had some of the wonderful Leek & Stichelton quiche, homemade of course, with buttered potatoes, salad, coleslaw, a very tasty apple bread, lovely cheese & some Spiced Apple & Sultana chutney.  Needless to say, I've signed up for School lunches!

After lunch we had the opportunity to try on sample sizes of the uniform, so we could place our orders.  I don't think white's my colour & I really don't think the trousers are going to be very flattering, but we're all in the same boat! =D

Next was a tour of the School & a presentation explaining more about the content of the course.  The next 10 months look pretty full on, with more hours of practical work than ever before, a trip to France in November, plus 10 weeks of work placement.  I think I'm going to be kept rather busy!

There's also the opportunity to go & work in the Welbeck Bakehouse for an evening, to get a feel for the hours & effort involved in running a still relatively small artisan bakery, which I think could be fascinating.  It's certainly something I'll have to do before my time here is out =)

The staff here are just as excited about the start of this Diploma course as we students are, & it's been lovely to spend a bit more time with them all. 

Finally, the bicycles... o.0

We were all given the opportunity to pick out our bikes; I've been brave & gone for number 13.
She's quite a sturdy beast, & once I'd adjusted the seat we seemed to get along fine.  After being provided with a map & explanation of the route home, we donned our wet weather gear, & headed off into the great unknown!

Four of us from Creswell cycled home today (the others will pick their bikes up on a less damp day) & together we found our way.  The route is really lovely actually, it avoids most of the roads & instead takes us through the scenic Creswell Crags, so it was a bit muddy today, but you know what? I actually had fun =D  I've gotten home wet, muddy, with soggy feet & helmet hair, but I wouldn't change a thing =D

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off for a nice hot shower =)

Catch you later!