The ABC of university life (2019/20 cohort) - settling in we hope

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Previous thread - sorry about the lame thread title but done in a hurry!

It was pointed out that the contract is strictly between student and they won't speak to us at all!
Guess they've had issues with parents in the past then.

I think I need to disturb dd and dh. They need to be leaving in less than a couple of hours and there's still a little packing to do.

No Tilly she hasn’t said anything like that and it’s not on the schedule for Sunday. DD woke at 10! She’s just out of the shower. We’re going up late afternoon. Are you going straight to Durham Tilly or stopping overnight elsewhere?

I would hate a parents lunch. DD is 19!!

I can sort of see the point in parents' lunch at Durham, where a lot of people will have come a distance.
Encouraging the parents to go quickly afterwards and hopefully the freshers have then met some people in the dining hall-assuming the parents and freshers eat separately.

Oh I’m all for lunch, just elsewhere

Was hoping to show DH a bit of Durham (he didn’t come to the open day last year) after we leave DD but the weather forecast sounds awful so might be straight home.

@Benjispruce me too on Freshers parents lunch !
We are staying at the Traveldodgy just north of Durham, but are going to spend the afternoon in Durham itself. In the rain - it's currently torrential as we pass Donny!

I don't think Stephenson College Durham is doing anything for parents tomorrow. DS assures me there's nothing mentioned in the drop off info. I quite like the idea of drinks and nibbles.

One of DS's teachers, who has had several DCs go through university, advised her pupils to ignore the "You make all your friends in freshers' week" comments. She advised against getting too " cliquey" too soon , otherwise you spend the rest of the year trying to shake off people who aren't really your type, but who latched on in the first week. I think there is a similar comment in Brideshead Revisited!

Hope you get some dry weather Tilly . I have a lovely warm, sunny memory from June last year so will be different this time. We had lunch in the botanical garden cafe near Collingwood when we went. Don’t think that will be happening! I keep having waves of tears . Nobody has noticed yet but I’m worried I’ll lose it tomorrow.

It’s a weird mix of pride and admiration and something coming to an end .

So he came home yesterday and was a walking zombie. He is shattered. I think it has been full on with lectures and evenings gadding about! He has work to do before Tuesday and is obviously a bit stressed about it. I doubt he will go to training today but pottered off to work this morning. One flatmate lovely, another one is very quiet, doesn't speak but smiles, and there may or may not be another bloke who ignored him completely when friendly overtures were made in the kitchen. Seems ok with course people who seem mostly to be female. He hasn't been eating properly so hopefully next week will actually go shopping and cook some food. Washing is now on the line.

Dh now has said he's said nothing of the sort and wants to leave 11am at the latest.

They're meant to be leaving as close to 12:30 as possible. I suggested they might like to pack the car before I went to pick dd2 up. She officially finishes at 12:00, but very rarely before 12:10, and often 12:15.Dh says no point because there'll be time as she finishes at 12. I pointed out the above. "Oh no," he says blithely. "She's usually out at 12:00 unless she's chatting..."
I have pointed out he's met her rarely and I know her section is always late. He doesn't believe me... Men....

@Benjispruce DS is all excited about showing us round. He went to Collingwood last year and drank in the bar which is apparently the best
No tears for me, yet!

@Witchend, we left before 8 but maybe you are nearer?!

They're staying with my db part way tonight, so not as far to go. They need to leave at 7am tomorrow though.

OH on his way home. After a desert like lack of messages, texted this morning tonsillitis. Tried to get him into campus surgery no appointments left. Luckily a mate from here had come to visit for the weekend so instead of partying they are heading back. DIL has a full pack of tonsillitis antibiotics going spare so will start him on them then into our surgery on Monday. He had not registered with uni. one yet.

So fridge full again, lucozade, strepsils etc.

sorry not OH but DS on his way home.

Just passed Hild Bede roads pretty busy...

@bigTillyMint are you clocking the other over full cars that was fun.

yay!!!! @bigTillyMint

@bigTillyMint are you staying in the travel lodge next to Hild Bede? I'm there tomorrow night :D

Any other Oxbridge parents on here? I'm wondering how far behind everyone else we are with preparation. Nearly everything bought but still lots of organising to do and DS still has head firmly in the sand / his bed!

justasking oh no! Hope he’s ok and you can ship him off again soon.

@justasking111, yes

@Ingles2, no one just outside of Durham - everywhere in Durham was booked by the time I looked!

@SchrodingersKitty, DS literally packed yesterday afternoon