to dislike the word uni ?

[MaryAnnSingleton]

it really irritates me and I'm sure it's unreasonable, but it does.

She has some hilarious stories. One that she recounted the other day was about the reference she got from her (rather naive) professor. It referred to her strenuous efforts to practice her French, 'mingling freely with members of the Free French forces now stationed in this country.' She was mortified, but managed to get another lecturer to write an alternative, less suggestive letter of reference.

Blestocking, I am an official Guttersnipe, who went to a crapola state comp and grew up in the valleys of southwales!

They must have needed chippy little shites the year I applied

martianbishop - the 'Free French forces' were around the docks in Cardiff. That's why it made her sound like a lady of the night. I went to Oxford from S.Wales in 1980, too, BTW.

i had real respect for polytechnics
less so polyversities

fizzbang - graphics at Chelsea

sorry FIZZBUZZ !

fizzbuzz - rhe reason why I was going on about the prestige of art school (and don't want you to feel I was dissing art courses anywhere else) was because when I was at Chelsea (many years ago) it was a fantastic place to be and attracted excellent visiting tutors and lecturers for complementary stuff - I had the best time of my life as an art student ! It was a very small year group too and at a very exciting time (end of 70s beginning of 80s)

your artwork is really great nas. my dp worked in commercial art at the same time, it was a good time for art.

now you have to use a computer..

Mas! sorry

mmm, lots of people use computers, but I'm sticking with my pen and ink !

"Oenophile, is your DD by any chance off to a uniVERSITY where they wear red gowns?"

Black ones and mortarboards (LMH, Ox). It's more of a weskit than a gown though. I was expecting something much more Harry Potter - disappointed

pen and ink is the best mas. i wish my dp would take it up again. he's a good artist but i suppose because he was trained in cut and paste done by hand. then all of a sudden it was computerised,

yeah!, yabu, but hey viva la difference!!!

we used to set metal type ! that shows how long ago it was !

also,we did life drawing,in fact lots of drawing - it was really good training.

art is really last on the list now for schools. though my nephew has just started on a course with the london college of printing and my neice is on her 2nd year in the london college of fashion

they both went to the local school

that's really good to hear (about your niece and nephew southeastastra) - I'm always a bit disappointed by art in schools - I don't think it's really encouraged sadly !

Sorry if already said but I hate CREM instead of CREMATORIUM, so I know where you are coming from MaryAnn

It reminds me of Neighbours: "Mike's Uni Mates". Who we never saw, and were probably a figment of his imagination. After all, he was always buggering off home between lectures to see Plain Jane Superbrain and never seemed to go outon any "uni" drinking shenanigans - didn't they always end up in coffee shops discussing philosophy? - so I'm surprised he wasn't seen as a deeply boring sod by the rest of his year group.

Makes me laugh so many of you are referring to Neighbours. I went to uni, it's a common abbreviation in Australia (from WAY before Neighbours!)

I've been here 9 years and still don't know exactly what you mean by college....

It only seems to have been introduced over here when Neighbours started.

College is either university or a 6th form or what we used to called a technical college.

I suspect universities are called colleges sometimes as the older universities were/are split into colleges and it stuck. They would have been formed in the days before 6th forms etc.

(Desperately want to use the term uni here as it is quicker to type but I am on the side of those who hate it so I won't).

Aha, Oenophile, you fooled me with your mention of "college parents" which is a St Andrews tradition. I didn't know that the Oxford colleges had started doing it! It does sound a bit grim, being patronised by someone who's only two years your senior.

I thoujght it was an antipodean thing

No, I hate it too. IT reminds me of when I was at sixth form, and neighbours was very hip, abd everyone in neighbours called it uni, and so everyone in my 6th form did too. It made my teeth water I cringed so much,