Heading towards year 3 exams (uni 2017)

[Xenia]

Continuation of www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/3538808-heading-towards-year-2-exams-uni-2017 as we have reached page 40.

Hard to believe they are all in year 3 now and many will finish university in June 2020.

Sounds like you had a great time, latedecember63 🙂

LateDecember we always have to give them a cheery goodbye. Right from the first time at school, to when they leave home. Glad you had a good visit.

Thank you for the "welcome backs".
He's very happy living in Adelaide. It has an easy going charm and he's been welcome to join local volley ball groups, not just the university ones. Adelaide itself is smaller and quieter than Birmingham but it still has enough going on to be interesting. The Adelaide Fringe is in full swing at the moment and there are regular food/art events throughout the year.
His accomodation is very smart, certainly a far cry from the terraced house I shared back in the day!
He's got on well with his tutors and has met an interesting mix of students.
I asked him if he'll be sad to leave and he said he'll miss the good weather and his friends but they will also be mainly moving on too.

Glad you are back safely latedecember. I'm a Manchester City fan Needmoresleep - some of my students call me a glory supporter but I've supported them since I was a small child & used to play out with their then goalie's DD.

This time next week I should be collecting DD1 for her Easter break. She messaged last night to say her choir tour to Italy has just been cancelled. Although not in the affected area, they have decided it's not worth taking any chances. So no need for her to go back, and luckily she hadn't booked train tickets yet.

Pity about your dd's choir tour Malbec but probably inevitable. I'm guessing they wouldn't have had much of an audience at their concerts.

DS is currently on a medics football tour in Barcelona which apparently doesn't involve any matches (Just getting straight to the bar real point of touring I suppose.)

@latedecember1963, sounds like your DS is having a great time - how lovely to be able to visit him out there

DD has heard that she is accepted for a Masters providing she gets a 2:1 and has signed for a house for next year (has met the landlord who is not using an agency and seems nice) with 3 male friends. And she has done her diss presentation!

@Haffdonga, that sounds like a drinking challenge

DD won her appeal to carry out her dissertation research, so she is over the moon. Luckily the striking lecturers have still shared their lecture slides online, so they have some idea what they should be studying.

Great news SMaCM! Perseverance pays off 🙂

DS2 is busy, so haven't had a lot of communication. He thinks he's staying put for the Easter break as he can study better up there.

@SMaCM well done to your DD!

That's great news about your daughter's dissertation, SMaCM.
I did a questionnaire for a friend's son for his Business Studies dissertation. It was all about what influences me when buying a car. I'm not sure I am his target demographic as my key needs are reliable, good miles to the gallon and a boot big enough to transport DS's cello or my MiL's recently acquired wheelchair.

As of last night the Foreign Office is advising against trrvel to all of Italy so the choir tour if money paid in advance can probably get it back ( the only reason I know is we are going on our family holiday there in June and will go if the Foreign Office allow it but I am not happy to pay the balance of the whole holiday cost on 31 March when the situation in late June is not yet know so that puts me in a bit of a bind..... The other issue is if we are allowed to go but when we come back have to isolate for 14 days that is a lot of lost wages for the family. Also even if the company says they will refund what is paid in March if they go bust that is no comfort. I would be happy to agree with them we will pay on 15 June for example)

@Xenia, we are due to travel to Italy in 4 weeks - is the advice time limited? Hoping to get our flights refunded!

Congratulations to SMaCM's and BTM's DDs.

Not sure I should congratulate Malbec on her choice of football team. Ours is a late-ish adoption as we needed to spend time on the South Coast to visit my mother, so added other things to do. However after hearing DH celebrate as they scored an early goal against Liverpool, I don't think we about about to give up the allegiance. (Liverpool went on to score two, so again no points.)

Coronavirus is presumably likely to affect them all. I have just spent five days indoors after picking up some form of mild winter virus, probably from cycling in the rain in an effort to stay out of the tube, and it has been really boring. I knew, from the timing, that it was unlikely to be anything, but I work from home, and felt it better to cancel stuff in case it was.

It is bound to affect DDs placements. She has already had one clinic where no patients turned up, so the doctor used the time to examine a volunteer (her!). She kindly sent us the video of what the camera scope saw, with a commentary of what to look out for. It apparently all looked very healthy. However if outpatients are cancelled the problem will get worse, plus I assume it will end up with all hands on deck.

I suspect DDs plans to visit a friend at Easter, who is doing a year abroad in Spain, will go by the wayside. Though hope not. Her friend is having a great time and DD was looking forward to it.

Half of DHs office will be asked to work from home, but he does not know whether this will include him. I am finding the prospect of us essentially being trapped indoors for weeks with a supply of pasta and Zoflora, and a Netflix subscription, very strange. I had half been hoping that my virus was the real thing. First because it was very mild, but also because it would have been a good chance to volunteer.

bitTilly, I just came off the phone to the travel company. They have added my daughter's boyfriend on which was the purpose of the call so that's all fine. Currently they think the Italian Foreign Office advice saying on travel is likely to be change by 1 april (but then they would say that wouldn't they as they want full paying on 31 March). However she was very reassuring - if necessary they would find us a different resort for the same dates and if not that a refund. If they went bust as it's a package Abta should pick up the cost and if not that the credit/debit card s75/charge back so I probably will go ahead and pay.

I don't think the new Foreign Office advice is time limited as they wll keep it under review. I suspect Italy as a nation will not be able to afford to be locked down from now for more than a few weeks particularly if lots of countries near it get the virus anyway. So probably best to keep it under review. So I suppose anyone travelling to Italy tomorrow would be likely to get a refund as the Foreign Office advise against travel (if a package holiday). If in the future probably no refund as yet.

The other issue for our family is 7 will need to get back home and work. If they have to self quarantine for 14 days that is very hard and the grandchildren's nursery probably would not take them currently for a few weeks after getting back from Italy. one of my children has already had to fill out a chart at work about all holidays and other trips just had and planned so work can monitor where people have been and might be going to to assess risk. We might have to share the grandchildren out over the weeks of quarantine aftwards so those of the 7 who can work from home can get some peace to do so.

Needmore, it is a very difficult time for health services. I remember a lot of talk of the old plague in this house when the children were little both from school and nursery rhymes - ring a ring etc - I think plague and also I suppose the bible all those verses about plagues, never mind the 1917 flu deaths. It is probably part of the world's shared culture to fear plagues and viruses and the like.

I am the only one of 11 of us going on this holiday who is over 50. Risk rises at over 50 although Italy seems to have a particularly strain of the virus compared to some so might be awful for younger people too. Two of my children live near the Guildhall music school in London actually where the virus was found so they might be more at risk in London than Italy so hope the holiday does go ahead.

I think the uncertainty is what is unsettling.
Several of DH's family work for the NHS so like Needmoresleep's daughter are on standby but aren't sure exactly what they are on standby for.
DS1 and his girlfriend were supposed to be seeing Ludovico Einaudi on Saturday evening but he has postponed until further notice.
Since this last weekend we no longer shake hands when sharing the peace at church and the vicar has a drink of communion wine on behalf of the congregation rather than each communicant taking a sip.
As you say, Xenia, it's not so much the going on holiday, it's the work implications when you get back. Some friends of mine went on a tour of Vietnam and Cambodia at the weekend but they are retired so if they have to self- isolate for 2 weeks when they get back it won't cause them any financial hardship.

I wonder if DD's degree show will go ahead in London now, or will anyone attend if it does?
It's cost her course over £10,000 to hire the gallery and produce it and I assume it won't be insured.

We have flights only, but it seems most are being cancelled atm, so we need to wait till it gets nearer the departure date I think.

@stayathomegardener, what a shame If it had to be cancelled. I presume she’s doing Art?

Great news SMacM and big TM's dds. It must be good for them to have some certainty about what they'll be doing next year in the midst of all the uncertainty swirling around us all at the moment.

My work are supposed to be putting on a big conference in 2 weeks and somehow despite hearing about everything else that's cancelled, it hadn't crossed my mind that our conference would be affected. We find out this week. Apparently it's the venue rather than us who will be deciding - presumably to do with their insurance. It's going to be disastrous for so many businesses. I'd heard the government are hoping they can push the start of the 'delay' phase of action towards the school Easter hols to minimise the disruption but with all these cancellations and self isolation for sniffles, it feels like we're in it already in all but name.

I'm not sure if it will affect ds's hospital placements. He's in psychiatry at the moment and has been taking histories from some very mentally unwell people, some of whom have carried out some very extreme acts (think about as extreme as it can possibly get) as a result of their illness. He said he never imagined in his life having to ask anyone about some of the things. He's in obs and gynae next so that will be a whole different shock to him!

@bigTillyMint it's a photography degree. I know it's irrelevant in the scheme of things but yes such a shame.

Ds1's girlfriend did a photography degree and the preparation that went into her exhibitions was phenomenal but the students all had a real buzz as part of the build up. It must be hard to have the same feeling of anticipation if you don't know if it can all go ahead.

Eeeek @Haffdonga

Fingers crossed that the worst passes before then @stayathomegardener.

I reckon schools will shut in a week/10days / probably unis too?

DS has had no lectures anyway, due to strikes.

DS has just had an email saying Durham lectures cancelled from next week. Not that he has had any in ages because of the strike. So term effectively ended

Coronavirus seems to have hit Bristol including one of the first year halls. No real surprise. It was only a matter of time.