Class of 18. No need for new school shoes

Southampton has a lovely campus. And they allow you to apply for accommodation even if it's your insurance choice, which most places don't.

Southampton is my alma mater - great place.

Yes, raspberry, my DD was initially going to miles and miles from home. More tricky to transport stuff. Soton is really good though! And has good transport links

Sunndowne Southampton uni is currently top of DS2's list. He is only Y12 so time for it to change. It is many, many hours drive away from us though so am kind of hoping he will think again!

Marmite hope your recovery continue well!

Marmite hope you get out and about soon. I've been tramping around my DD's uni town and it's a good autumn out there.
Hardwicke, I think we do worry about our DC. It's not always easy being young. On a different note, I thoroughly recommend Southampton uni:Nice campus, town fine, well organised uni. We have some nice graduation photos on the green bits! Very picturesque.

Nettle given that DH and I were students in Edinburgh (just over) 30 years ago, I had to have a look at that book, and have just ordered it from Amazon. It should arrive with DD around the same time as us. I can't wait. DH and his flat mates used to cook a concoction including spam and tomatoes every Sunday night. His flat mates mum used to send care parcels that always included spam and tinned tomatoes, and they made up ever more bizarre ways to use it. The only constant was those two ingredients and I am sure I remember a time when a banana was added too.

Nettles I am ok thanks. Still have the drain in which is quite sore. Bit bored. DH has gone back to London today so I am at the mercy of DD2 who is far from being a domestic goddess. Hopefully the drain will be out in a couple of days and I can get out in the real world again.

Dog is settling in fine. He has got a bit barky in the evenings, we keep taking him out on the lead into the garden but then he likes to stand and gaze at the sky, which would be fine on a nice summer's evening but when it is cold and wet and he decided to drag me across the wet grass in my birkenstocks it's not so much fun. The bonus of this is that I try not to move much in the evening so as not to disturb him which cuts down on random snacking.

DD came home for the day yesterday. Popped to a horse show I was helping at, visited her old Saturday job, took the dog out and collected some conkers to ward off spiders in her shared house. When I say some, she collected 212 conkers. That should keep the spiders of Liverpool at bay!

Tbh I was very cross with Ds2. I tried to bribe him to read the Glass Menagerie as he is studying Drama, (not that particular book though or playwright) and he refused pointblank. There is something about the PS that makes one feel very over invested/critical. As it can be snapshot of what they are interested in, not in a good way, sometimes.

Hardwick inviting people for a meal sounds a very good idea, as people are so delighted to get a meal cooked for them as students, and to be organised into a social situation by someone else! And there is always the opportunity of asking people to bring some of the ingredients. There is a lovely book called Goodbye Cockroach Pie written by a friend of mine about student meals in Edinburgh 30 years ago!
Marmite how are you feeling this morning?
Ursula how is the dog behaving now?

Very wet here but amazing Virginia Creeper. I spent most of last week trying to persuade ds2 (who is dyslexic and ASD, but quite academic) to read a real book..as a result of piling interesting books up on him on architecture politics and Russia I felt a bit guilty and tried to read some myself. A rusty brain alas (mine) but with a real fire in the grate quite autumnal pleasures. I love half term. the dog and I woke at 9am this morning. Unfortunately he is now determined to go on a very long walk and undo the bath I gave him yesterday.

Glad all went well with your operation marmite.

To be honest I worry that I am projecting a fair bit with DD1. She has had a tough couple of years, but I suspect I worry more than I need. We will visit her in a week, and get a better feel.

We took DD2 to Southampton for a look at the actual town rather than just the uni. We ran out of time on the open day. I think it may become her first choice. She likes that it feels manageable, the campus is very green, and it is a relatively quick journey home. She has a very close friendship group and I think none of them want to be more than a couple of hours from home. It is a very different process from DD1, who was very course/institution focussed.

Glad your hospital experience is good marmite.
Interesting about your dad. A neighbour said we are 'the sandwich generation ' looking after children well into early adulthood and having to extensively support ageing, ailing parents. At times, it's quite demanding.
That's hard on your DD Hardwick. Sounds like you are encouraging her. They get there in the end. My DS is socially shy to start with.
And I'm a mum who worries about cycling in the dark lobster. First few weeks of uni when she was getting lost, I was very nervous.

Marmite I am delighted you are home and comfortable.

DD is finding her flatmate is either out with her BF, asleep in bed or in with her BF and very 'couple-y'. It is making her feel quite lonely I think, and she is asking to FaceTime two or three times a week for (very) extended periods. She was on with DH and her sisters for almost two hours on Monday evening. Her course friends from last year are doing a different elective this year, and are in different lab groups, so she isn't seeing them much, and hasn't plucked up the courage to speak to her new lab group much. We have tried persuading her to join something (anything!) but she starts to plan doing it, then just can't seem to follow though. eg she took her instrument with her, but hasn't joined that society. She climbs, and has her kit with her, but wants to go and watch them before she joins in, and hasn't plucked up the courage to even go and watch. She has gone for a swim (though only once, not the three times a week she did at home) which is something.

She hates to eat alone, but feels she has too. We are trying to encourage her to invite people she knows over for a meal, even once a week. She is a good cook, and fairly adventurous, which is not helping with her flatmate, who seems to live off chicken nuggets and bread.

I'm hoping that when we see her at half term, and meet her flat mate properly, and hopefully a couple of other friends, that we will worry less.

Great news Marmite that all went well!

Marmite lovely to hear from you, thank you for taking the time to let us know how it went. Best wishes for a relaxing recovery.

I did a chemistry degree, lots of time in lectures and the lab and no free time worth speaking of. DS is monumentally bored because he has a couple of busy days (one with an eight am start, one with a 6.30pm lecture) and then a couple of days of practically nothing. I've suggested joining a gym, volunteering, mentoring (which is a paid gig) or looking for a part time job but he'd rather do nothing and complain about it. Hiis life, his choice but I'm rapidly reaching the stage of my choice being not wanting to hear about it any more.

Very glad to hear all went well marmite, hope you're resting lots and being looked after at home.
DD has had her first late night dance class of the new term this evening, the first since moving out of the city centre, so her first experience of cycling the 4 miles there and back alone in the dark.
She was absolutely fine of course, it's me that's anxious about it (and will be at this time every week until I know she's back safely!)

Sundowne I must say I have had excellent care both from my surgeon/breast care nurse and oncology department.

Unfortunately I can't always say the same for my Dad who had a lot of hospital stays before his death in December. I found that truly frustrating but he had a lot of complicated medical conditions I suppose.

So glad hospital were efficient marmite. A relief for you! My dad has had an operation put off 5 times recently, all for good reason in a way but so frustrating. It seems depts are too busy to talk to eachother in stretched NHS. Hope you don't find that marmite

Really pleased to hear that Gin! What a relief for you and her. Glad she took the first step. That will improve her confidence when making new friends!

Lovely to hear your update Marmite
I hope everything is clear.

It turned out that everyone DD had contacted was also feeling sad, lonely and bored. They got together yesterday and decided that next time they felt like this they would be sad and lonely together. DD went out with a group for lunch today.

She has joined one society and is going to join another. She has also booked a ticket for the winter ball.

Hi All. Thanks for the good wishes. Luckily I was first on the list so I am all symmetrical and home resting. Just got to wait to get biopsy results on the 28th but as mammogram was clear I am really hoping for good news!! The hospital was in code black lock down yesterday so I am really grateful that was lifted today. As an elective surgery I probably would have been cancelled.

I am sorry to hear about the loneliness. My DD's flatmates were rubbish last year. She hardly saw them. Luckily because she is musical she joined lots of choirs etc so they were her social life. I would really encourage doing appropriate societies as a way of making friends.

Nettleskeins and bronzegate,
Have been there hoping a DS copes with course demands. Is nice though, when you see them culturally and socially improving. My DS is navigating the workplace now - another new challenge!

Hope you are okay marmite.