Oxbridge Freshers 2018

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

old thread

A chat/support thread for parents of undergrads who have entered the quite frankly slightly odd world of Oxbridge.

Apparently we are parents to undergrads now

OhTheRoses there are a lot of homeless people in Oxford too. Your DD could join one of the organisations which co-ordinate student help, where students go out regularly with hot food etc. It's a very big problem in both places.

She may well do Goodbye. I cook and serve every six weeks throughout the winter for a church charity where various churches provide food and shelter over weekends when hostels are more stretched. About 70 hot evening meals. Others do breakfast and lunch.

She's helped chop and understands the drill but has never before seen that level of rough sleeping on the streets.

It is bad in both cities, but it does feel more concentrated in Cambridge, I think simply because of the layout of the streets. But I was also shocked in London this weekend and I do go there frequently. There's been a real step change in the number of people actively begging on the streets.

It's so sad. DD feels that in Cambridge it feels quite extreme as the most priveledged young in the land live so closely by the sorely under priveldged. It feels stark. London is a bit more mixed. All in all, Any homeless at all in a rich country feels so wrong.

On another note dd has ordered herself a printer and seems OK just over a week in. Hope all your dc are ok or at least coping xx

Yep. DD seems okay. Just a lot to do. Glad Your DD is doing well.

Glad everyone's DC are readjusting to term time.
DD was glad to get Collections out of the way early on. She was up at 4.30am yesterday to join in the May Day celebrations. I think a few were absent from the 9am lecture!

So what do they do so early in the morning?

An Oxford tradition going back over 5 centuries - Listen to a hymn sung from the top of Magdalen, watch Morris dances, but no longer allowed to jump off Magdalen bridge into the Isis, I believe.

Cambridge's May pre-exam fun is a massive 'Caesarian Sunday' picnic on Jesus Green, but I think that will be this weekend though probably a bit chilly for it this year. (Last year DD's rucksack appeared in the Daily Mail's piece on this event.)

Sounds fun. DD Has told me she has a Sunday event. Hope rain holds off!!

dd has been telling me about the picnic. All I can say is I thought it would be a genteel affair with wicker baskets.

We had a little drama (!) DS’s birthday night resulting in a trip to A and E for him and a phone call in the early hours to tell me he’d had an accident. He handled it really well and is ok but was a bit shaken and his night ended very prematurely. His college friends were absolutely brilliant, sending someone to hospital with him and then checking on him through the night and in the morning. A really kind and thoughtful bunch of young people, their Mums’ should be proud 😊

oh goodness Bake, how are you?

Sorry to hear that bake. Hope he is on the mend and you feel reassured.
Worrying about DC is horrible.

A sleepless night for sure kitten but his friends were absolutely brilliant and it is reassuring to know how well they look out for each other. He was really mature about it all and we are all feeling much better now!

That's good :) I bet it was horrid at the time, but hopefully all's well that ends well.

Slight drama. The wheel came off of DD's fairly new bike!!! She's safe and found a bike shop not too far away who sorted it. Proud of herself for staying calm! They are growing up.

Yikes! I'm glad she sorted it and wasn't injured. I always get a bit worried about that when I'm sorting out punctures!

Glad she’s ok sunndowne it shows how grown up they all are and in the space of a few months! DS has managed to sort out having staples removed from his wound this week and it’s been great seeing how well he has coped with the last week.

That sounds unpleasant Bake. Well done to your ds.

dd sounds decidedly chirpier now. Moral of the story - if you are worried about something, talk to people, it may not be as it seems.

Sounds good bake and kitten. They. Seem to have to found ways of resolving their own problems with a bit of back up from back home. My DD Has days where she's sailing by and others where she doesn't feel good enough. Which is hard to feel. She really will be okay but the way there is tough - has to keep work - life balance going with high standards expected from herself and college. Hmmm. It'll be okay.

It will be ok, but as you say, it's not always an easy journey.

sunndowne sounds familiar, we have had our ups and downs and will continue to do so I am sure. I’ve got DS to make a note to himself when he’s feeling good so that he can read it back when he’s feeling not so good. That’s really helped remind him that he will feel betterwhen things have been a bit tough. They’ve nearly done their first year and what an achievement for all of them.

Yep. congrats to all our DC. And mums in background

How can they nearly have done their first year?
I think it's about 5/6 weeks to go. I'm holding on to that. It will be lovely to have DD home though.