Miffed I am

Having been promised that there would be NO exams held on this course, I am a bit mystified how it is that I will be sitting not one but TWO, tomorrow.
Slide tests are an hour long and challenging, in that they can test one's understanding and retention of facts from the whole course, based on the slides that we have been shown over the course of the last 9-10 weeks.
They can comprise short essays which contrast-and-compare 2 slides, taken from any two points in the term, four times over or they can set a series of questions demanding precise factual information from a particular slide, ten times over.
I have one of each of these types tomorrow, covering two different courses.
Hard to revise for two in one day - see my exam problems last summer.
So------can anyone explain to me, How Does This Differ from EXAMS??

and I have a presentation to do on Thursday.....

Autumn gone pear-shaped

I don't feel too good after learning that my chosen thesis topic has already been covered quite well, thank you very much, by a PhD thesis written in 2005, by someone at the very college I attend, albeit in another school. It was supervised by a person who wrote an excellent book on a closely-related topic, who is not now available.
All in all, although I could try to slip my dates to the following period, it takes the shine off any attempts at originality - and that was already a slightly doubtful aspect of the whole idea.
It is no consolation that I should have checked this before now; time constraints and coursework defeated me. The library is not easily accessible and it wasn't until I opened the 2-volume thesis that I realised how very much dead-in-the-water my ideas were. It would have helped if the courses on research methods were held in this semester, so that I might have been alerted to the importance of researching previous work but they will not start until next year, by which time.....I hope, I will be writing something relevant and original already on my chosen topic.
Original thinking seems to be a real challenge for me; I feel better analysing work that has been done, but a radically different approach seems to elude me but NOW I am in search of a new topic and then I will have to see what I can do about the fresh new approach.
As it has been very difficult to get responses from people at all in this country, I am not feeling optimistic about any topics that include trying to gain access to historic houses and gardens (especially as most are now closed to the public for the next 6 months).
My coursework continues to take up most of my time but the end is in sight, with most of it completed by the end of the month. Over the long (in theory) winter break, I have to get the thing mapped out and ready for presentation in Jan /Feb, so it really is worrying to be back at square one at this point. I'm just hoping to salvage something from the wreckage of the time spent doing background reading.
Gloomy November thoughts...

Survived

Yet another Hallowe'en, even though it lasts a month around here and boasted a pretty fearsome couple of hours 'firefight in Beirut'-style explosions last night. Some of the fireworks are really pretty and feature multi-coloured, timed explosions with a variety of effects; needless to say, my neighbour favours the biggest, crassest bangs with a minimum of the pretty stuff.
The bonfire on the green was commendably restrained, built and consumed within the 12-hour period decreed by the authorities. Now---if they could do the same with fireworks.....

Tonight is quiet, with everyone realising that they have emptied their wallets into the fire and have to start saving hard again for Christmas next month and the next useless round of spending.