We've survived the first half term - go us! (starting uni 2017)

[flyingpigsinclover]

New thread....we've got to the first half term!

I will pm you Juggling

Thanks rogue

Funding is the same. But applications go through CUKAS instead of UCAS. Except for the Guildhall which has its own application procedure. They're earlier than Ucas. Applications need to be in by october. Auditions in november and december. Approximately £100 per audition.

Well we finally(ok I ) managed to work out how to get into dds student loan portal thingy to see if she is getting any extra and how much
Her security question was “oldest siblings middle name”. Erm she has no siblings so we took weeks to get in 🙄
Anyway. She’ll be gettin just over £6000 for the year which is GREAT as halls is £5800
She is transferring us the extra £300 we had to put toward the shortfall this term. Felt a bit mean but basically she has £750 coming 31/10 and we are paying for all her food anyway

On a side note, anyone else’s children have to do place,ents? Dd can claim back mileage apparently?

Good grief! What a carry on. Thank goodness you habe finally manafed to get this sorted.

DD does placements. I think she gets refunded her bus fare, but others have taxis provided. I think that if someone opts to drive they have to give lifts to anyone else going to the same place.

They seem to have sent the most urban girl to the most rural setting, though oddly as she is very used to public transport, the long bus journey is not bothering her.

No placements for mine. They sound very useful. Mine says about 100 pupils who had been bunking up in his catered halls due to a fire last year where they had originally intended to go, have just moved to where they should originally have been in so some of his friends are now at halls further away but everyone seems still very happy and one person chose to stay on and pay the difference in cost for the catered hall. A lot of people who had to share rooms to start with now have their own too.

DD has been given travel expenses to her placement ( train from London to Stratford) plus she could have applied to some fund or other for accommodation help ( but didn't ). In any event it looks like she's going to get free digs at Birmingham uni!!!

Needmoresleep thanks for the advice on the previous page.

Drum and Bass boy was quiet last night, which was an improvement on last Monday when he had people in his room until 6am.
He slept through his 8 am alarm which went off twice ( clearly audible in DDs room). He has not yet made a 9am lecture.

Poorly DS but had a text exchange with him tonight in an attempt to pep him up. Not sure if this will help any of you but he is appreciating ideas for weekly menus to help with shopping and not having always to think of what to cook. Am sorely tempted to batch cook and deliver meals for the freezer but it’s a 6 hour round trip so.....

Good idea about the menu suggestions.

DD and her housemates kept quiet about Halloween until another house announced a party. It means their own house stays clean . She's learning.

Hope your DS feels better very soon.

Mine does spag bol or chilli that lasts three days.
Also beany curry does twice. Tinned beans, tinned toms, chunk of coconut cream to thicken and any old veg.

I might try that beany curry recipe myself rogue!

As my DD has now gone vegan I need her to send me recipe ideas for when she is home at xmas!

DD called last night.
She very much enjoyed her first day at the RSC and said the other students on placement were lovely.

The accommodation at Birmingham is 'well lush' - big room and massive kitchen with 2 fridges and a freezer!!!

She also ate for free as apparently the students have a pre loaded weekly money card for food, so the girl who has gone home for reading week left hers behind.

This morning she is getting a lift to Stratford ( she will chip on for petrol).

DS sent a photo of a pile of text books saying 'see, I'm working' .

How can I get DS to eat more fruit & veg? He told me he eats an apple each day and that's it.

And has nearly finished the multivitamins I sent him with.

Mine eats no fruit or vegetable and is an extremely picky eater. I bought him 6mths worth of vitamins, can't do much else I suppose.

I have to say, he is hardly ever ill - plays a lot of footy so maybe that helps?

Grumpy would your DD make soup if you showed him how easy it is to make with a stick blender? Veg need hardly any chopping. Lentil soup maybe? Very easy, quite quick. Cheap. Will do several portions. He wouldn't really notice he was eating veg.

One pan fry up? Tomato, mushroom, egg, sausage with toast and beans. Quick cheap tasty and filling.

Frozen peas and sweetcorn to add convenient bulk to a meal maybe?

DD knows a sudent who ate no fruit or veg and lived on junk food needing urgery on his bowel
at the end of his first year. She didn't know any more details of the surgery, possibly thamkfully, so maybe it would have happened anyway, but perhaps it would serve as a cautionary tale?

I wish rogue ! DS is also super fussy - doesn't like soup in any form, and tomatoes, mushrooms, peas & sweetcorn are all on his list of hated veg.

He does like broccoli, carrots, cauliflower & avocado, so I think I will make sure he understands the consequences of not eating veg.

He is coeliac too just to make it even harder.

We did quite a lot of cooking together before he left but he's not interested in putting any of it into practice now....

Not meaning to be unsympathetic but eating veg isn't really an optional thing is it? I once worked with a girl with a similar no veg diet.
It's a bit worrying isn't it?
Not nearly so bad if it's just certain veg they don't like. And fruit is always an option too?
I love fruit especially, and veg is pretty tasty too!

Juggling he eats plenty if veg at home when I'm in charge of catering.

And there are some veg he likes. It just seems to be too much effort for him as he is self-catering. Beyond raw carrots and apples.

Yes, it's very worrying. But he's an adult, and there's only so much I can do.

It's not ideal, but there are thousands of families that rarely eat veg. He'll survive.

All I'll say is there's a big difference between only some and none at all.
But I worry too much about everyone!

Obviously it's something we all have to get used to that we are bound to have less influence when DC are living on the other side of the country, and apparently adults now! ☺

Agree about lack of veg and fruit - DS currently having very limited consumption of either as far as I can tell. Bought him some frozen peas when we dropped him back last weekend, and he does make a tomato pasta sauce a lot so hopefully he won’t get scurvy . . . .

Still struggling with empty nest here. Ds2 has been super independent for years, so I haven't felt I've been a very hands-on parent for ages. So
I am astonished at how bereft I feel. I acknowledge a desire to live vicariously and know everything that is going on in his busy schedule, which obviously is not healthy. But no chance of that anyway, as he is pretty uncommunicative. I get a couple of texts a week plus we chat on the phone about once a week.

Hope it will get better soon. Cold, dark days are not helping my mood either.