Class of 18. No need for new school shoes

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Old thread:www.mumsnet.com/Talk/further_education/3478916-Class-of-18-now-in-2019-blimey

A thread for those of us whose kids left school/sixth form/college a year ago. Friendly chat :)

DD and I plan to watch the Frankenstein but we have to watch on the ipad as we don't have a clever telly.

I am doing absolutely nothing character building or life enhancing during lockdown which just goes to show what a lazy arse I actually am.

I am having to shut rescue dog in the futility room all evening which really upsets me but we can't cope with the aggression. He turns into a snarling bitey bastard in the evenings and in fact bit me when I was trying to remove him from the lounge the other evening. I had to have a tetanus jab in the car park at the doctors.

Gosh that is difficult Ursula. Have you contacted behaviourist? Mine can on occasion get v territorial.about his percieved spot on sofa. Im not being humorous, just remembering there can in fact be tipping points when their behaviour is very aggressive/reactive and it can be anxiety control etc setting in. Mine still has crazy zoomy stuff going on when overtired/rattled and it is not pleasant. Mostly in mine it is toileting ocd (wont use garden in evening, needs another stroll, but is also really tired by all the noisy people here) dh is really annoyed with me cos the dog unsupervised just helped himself to a lot of butter. But that is just mischief, it is snarling that is upsetting, even few times mine has done it (tho im now working out prevention methods)
Things continue rather drearily (with family life)but my dog walks are highlight.

Im reading a good book about humboldt by Andrea Wulf. Oh and lots of reviews of things I will never read....sigh. personal improvement apart from possibly an improved patience quotient is not.happening.

Tbh, laziness is a positive virtue in lockdown. I like just staring at things. Went for a walk down street and found myself just.noticing things, prches, archtraves, brambles, gates, nettles.it is zen really. I worry about the runners, no time to see the minutiae all around (too lazy to run, although it seems to be a handy way to get dog recall if I say "chase me" and sprint away from something forbidden like a chicken bone.

I've spoken to one sort of behaviourist who says one of her rescues kicks off every evening but now takes himself off to another room. I wouldn't mind if he chose to go but he always looks so sad. And I'm a pushover for sad animal eyes. He is fiercely protective of me, to the point where he starts barking and snarling if anyone stands up or comes into the room. He really is ruling the house. I am hoping that when DD goes back to University DH and I can try and train him in out of him. Unfortunately he doesn't bark when people come to the house so he is useless as a guard dog!

DD and I watched Pain, Pus and Poison, a documentary about the search for drugs for modern medicine. It was made in 2013, and the section on viruses where Dr Michael Moseley said that he thought there would be another flu like pandemic is so scarily true.

Anyone’s DC started to think about accommodation for year 3 yet? Mine has just agreed to share with one of his current flat mates and look for accommodation from September (in London). Another friend is deferring for a year because of the potential online lectures.

We own the flat DD lives in so no stress there, but we were/are worried for her that her flat mate who is an international student may not return. She says she intends to so far, but obviously September is still a while away and anything could happen.

I know her friends all have places lined up and intend to return, apart from one who has just heard that his year abroad is cancelled. I’m sad for him. He wants a career in politics and it would have taken him to Washington.

DS signed up months ago, well before this all kicked off. His accommodation is sorted but he's no idea what will be happening in terms of tuition. I can't begin to guess what things will look like in September, it's going to be hard because presumably there will be different levels of risk between a choir, a string quartet and a brass band and someone somewhere has got to work out what can run and what can't. I'm glad that it's not my job.

DS is planning to stay in the same place, and has paid a deposit. 51 week contract, so I guess we'll have to collect the rest of his stuff, keep it in the back of the car for a week then put it back in again.

The good news is that he passed second year; one mark off a 2:1. He is really pleased. He had to work particularly hard this semester to overcome missed teaching (strikes then pandemic).

I read the government guidance to HE providers that was issued yesterday and I'm still no closer to guessing what next year will look like.

I think DD1 has been told to expect lectures online but small group work face to face. They haven’t finalised labs, but are working on it.

DD2 is hoping to go to Southampton in Sept. They did a webinar last night for prospective freshers and had lots of planning to share. Easier for first years than third years though, because they were talking about most of the lab work teaching and follow ups being online and teaching/accommodation bubbles across her broad subject. As withDD1, lectures online tutorials face to face. It all seems quite sensible and feasible.

My garage is full of student flat contents. I don't remember it being so big a heap last summer.

I hope we're all well and getting through the summer. I dream of a holiday with sun, sea and someone else's cooking but that's not happening for us this year.

We moved most of DD's stuff into her year 2 house a couple of weeks ago, so it will just be mostly clothes when she moves in properly, plus some kitchen stuff that she got for her birthday.

I can't believe how nice her year 2 house is. Apparently the LL used to live in it, so it is a higher spec than most student houses. They even have a range cooker in the kitchen!

DD and some of her housemates enjoy cooking together, and the kitchen was one of the deciding factors for taking the house.

We have a double heap from DD's house because we have her flatmates too. Flatmate is from another country! DS1 is still in his student house, his lease runs until the middle of August. He and his girlfriend are househunting so I'm really hoping they find something in time so we don't need to add his to the pile!

They are looking for a 'proper' house to rent, DS1 has just graduated, virtually, and starts a PhD in the autumn.

DD's new flat rental starts August 1st, but she is away until the end of August. I've just realised I don't know when Flatmate friend will want her stuff. She will need to quarantine from her country.

Much easier to think about these logistics than try and imagine what next term will look like!

Morning all. My thoughts are with those of you who are going through results day again today.

DS has a time slot for moving into his accommodation, seeing as it's two weeks before in person tuition starts and on the day of my mother's medical appointment (they are coming to her) that won't be happening. 50% of his contact hours are going to be in person for the first term so his dreams of living at Hotel Mum are shot. I'd also prefer for someone to be doing my shopping and cooking my meals but life's not like that.

We are now living back in the UK. We were due to relocate anyway, but with the Chinese border still closed if we had stayed ds would not have been able to come home. Latest news from Warwick is that lectures will be online, but seminars going ahead as normal.

Welcome home ShanghaiDiva

You've had a tough old time of it ShangaiDiva I'm glad you are sorted. DD is still lectures online but tutorials and labs face to face. Her flat mate has been given the option of all online (she is USA based) so we will have to wait and see what happens there. She won't be on her own though, another friend who expected to be abroad can't be, so he will move in. Some of her home friends are moving back to their student towns regardless of online or not. I know some of them find it hard to study much at home.

We are gearing up for DD2 heading off too. It has been a very odd time, not least due to the A Level madness. We will miss her though - she is the only reliably cheery one!

Are people's DC generally heading back to their uni towns?

DS starts face to face tuition about a month from now. I will miss him but not his great heap of stuff in the garage (airing cupboard, top of my wardrobe).

How can this have fallen off TIO? back in the morning.

Are people's DC generally heading back to their uni towns?

Yes. DD has already moved into her second year house. Four of them have moved in, and the other four will move there in September, although they had a week together in July when they moved their stuff in as the lease started in July.

Waves to Kitten
I have added this to Threads I'm Watching so I don't lose it.

Good idea!

dds college accomodation isn't available until Oct. I think it's a bit of a downside of her college - there's no opportunity to live out. So she's stuck with us for a while longer. I think she lives in fear that there might be a lockdown before then! That'd be awful!

Dh is taking ds back to coventry bank holiday weekend to move from year 2 house to year 3 house. They have to clean the year 2 house so that will be fun as his housemates have already left. Ds is due to finish his internship next week and dd starts at her new school in September.

DD is heading off this weekend, her lease started at the beginning of August. All her lectures and tutorials will be online for now.

DS1 had to move back last weekend as his student lease finished. He and his girlfriend now hopefully have a house, do should move back out again in a couple of weeks. His PhD is remote for the foreseeable future too.