So we've just had the final crit before the FINAL crit which is just over a week away. The last few days have been non-stop and I've got another week of the same ahead of me if I'm going to be ready!

Generally the feedback from monday for my 1:50 was positive, most of the suggestions were to do with rendering or annotation. There is one area that needed resolving which I have now changed BUT which meant every other drawing had to be changed to so that was fun. Still I think Im on top of things. The main thing I need to work on is to explain my concept so its really clear in every stage of design.

Jamie said my detailing of lamposts and handrails were too fussy and needed to be clean cut and simple. Julia said the rendering was too grey and the water needed some work. Other than that its just a case of bringing all the drawings up to a high level and making sure everythings there for the 7th. I'm hoping that the next lot of drawings I do are quicker as I've just spent two and a half days on my planting plan, but who needs sleep ey?!

1:50 Plan with one third rendered and annotated.

Uganda

First week back from Easter holidays and the workload has increased again! I knew going to Africa over the holidays would cut into the amount of time I had to get the work done but actually it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Workload for the summer was mainly the resolution of our 1:50 areas chosen by Jamie before we broke up. Only having 5 days to complete 3 weeks worth of work meant I focused only on the planting and hard materials of the detailed plan, but didn't have any time to finish my 1:200 work. It was definitely worth it though. 2 weeks away from home in the sun was exactly what I needed.

It wasn't a relaxing holiday in the end, more like an adventure, travelling all over the country and meeting lots of people. Some experience were fun like the safari and white water rafting (although my sister still isn't speaking to me after making us capsize!), while others were heart wrenching and shocking like going to the slums around Kampala. We met the mums who work in the market and saw where they were living, often with 3 or 4 children, which was unbelievable but on the other hand positive that the charity we work with was giving opportunity for these women. Visiting a nursery was another highlight for me, literally as soon as we walked in we were swamped by screaming children shouting 'Mzungu' and carried away by the crowd! However my best moment was on the last day of the trip, teaching a primary school in Gulu English Literature to a class of 75. Scary but amazing.

To make this post slightly relevant there was also lots of interesting plant life in Uganda, as due to the high fall of rain much of the landscape is covered in lush vegetation. Lots of banana trees and palms throughout the country provide opportunity for income as well as food for the family. Thanks to the climate many plants we have that only flower for a few weeks, flower all year in Uganda like the roses which were better than any Ive ever seen. I will definitely be going back before long!