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.

Swede - mash with potato, butter and pepper and serve with sausages and onion gravy. We call it ponch in my part of Wales. Yum.

Good to hear they're safely home, Eve and Carrieamac.

On closer inspection it might be a turnip, I'm not sure I know the difference. Whatever it is, I'm sure for a first attempt mashed with some of the carrots and spuds will be good. And onion gravy for sure... the box included a pair of enormous onions, over a pound each I reckon.
Not tonight though as we had fish cakes.

DD called, all well - BFs family have set her up a desk in the spare room, and their broadband is even faster than ours.

Oh I adore carrot & swede or carrot & turnip, one of my fave veg dishes. Haven't had it for a while.

Good news indeed Eve and Carriemac. Good advice about getting DD1 to message her DoS about the rubbish internet. Goodbye is yours really worse than ours? I thought this area outside the towns was universally useless.

I have to work tomorrow but there were less than half the expected number of kids in today, so I hope it'll be ok. I have loads of paperwork to complete for the EPQ so I will spend some time on that. I also work in a primary school 2 afternoons per week and was added onto the KS2 google classrooms. I had the shock of my life when I found 169 emails today, which of course sent our rubbish internet into meltdown. I have now discovered how to turn off notifications so I don't need to read 8 years olds messaging each other "Hi, this is soooo exciting" after every lesson was uploaded (but it was quite sweet the first half dozen times!)

DD1 and I did a food shop today. Lidl was better than Tesco. I still haven't managed to find dried yeast but got pretty much everything else. For those who care about such things (i.e. me), Fever Tree tonic was reduced in Tesco, which was a pleasant and much needed boost for me. Take care all.

We were going to empty DD's student house tomorrow (because she was far too busy to do it today - but that's another story), so now all her stuff will just stay in the damp room until we're allowed to collect it. I was already annoyed that DH left her expensive weighted duvet there when he brought her home!

DD was going to go on her own to collect her stuff from her student house, presumably that will be allowed?

It's not on the PMs list of allowable journeys. I'm assuming we can't go.

If only we had gone last night. On the plus side, the flat mate still there has food in the freezer.

My MiL has an appointment for a scan today as part of her cancer treatment. DH has just phoned the hospital and it's still on unless we get a phone call later this morning. The plan then is for her to go to stay in the granny annexe at DH's brother's house until further notice.

Are your lads staying put, Horsemad and Xenia?

I hope all the DC get home safely. Given the Foreign Secretary is urging Britons abroad to get home whilst they are still able, I assume returning home is regarded as essential.

There are a million stories. My concern is that gig economy workers will be hit hardest. We are spending a lot less, so I decided, essentially, to put my builder (of 30 years) on a retainer and got a surprisingly emotional email back. Ditto the woman who cared for my mother for the last 7 years of her life and who has been told by her GP to give up work, and whose partner has lost his job as a kitchen porter at Wetherspoons. Both good people, to whom I owe a lot.

Now the big question...which box sets to catch up on. I fancied watching Fleabag, but DD says though she loves it, it is unreasonable to expect her to watch with parents in the room. DH suggested Deutschland 83. We have compromised on Derry Girls, which brings back funny/awkward memories of my Catholic schooling.

And we have run out of red wine. Majestic was click and collect only on Saturday due to "staff shortages". Is Majestic an essential store?

Don't know. One of my twins is at home. The other is in Bristol. I am not sure what he is doing. If the initial 3 week period is over by end of Easter holidays which it may be I think they may well spend next term in Bristol as rent is paid to 1 July and it is the last term. We will just have to play it by ear.

Presumably the news means the Prime Minister will be forced to have his child out of wedlock - in fact if he is keen to avoid a third expensive divorce in due course then this might be a useful way to avoid his intended marriage - (ban on weddings and baptisms even if only the couple/child and priest are there) Or may be they will lift that ban in 3 weeks and do a series of lock down, not lock down as we try to contain things in busy NHS wards.

Now the big question...which box sets to catch up on.

We seem to have started with episode 1, series 1 of Midsomer Murders.
I'm not sure how far we'll get through that but it's somewhat soporific at least.

After joking about marmite porridge, I came within a twitch of putting smoked paprika instead of cinnamon in my porridge. Better save it for my veg soups.

Malbec I can't say if ours is actually worse, not having experienced yours. I judge the slowness by the level of pained shrieks of my DC which issue sporadically from all corners of the house. In fact I'd have thought you could hear the shrieks on a still day down the coast at your own house :)

Haha yes Xenia I thought this wedding thing might be a convenient ruse! The recent divorce settlement must have hurt him a bit.

DH's cousin was supposed to be getting married in June and one of the TAs I work with in July.
My friend has been laid off from her florist job because of all the cancelled weddings and parties. They managed to keep going until Sunday, but Mother's Day orders were down this year. When people are scared about their finances sending a bouquet of flowers becomes a luxury many can't afford. Her boss had said that if she gets any funeral bookings she'll offer her a few hours.

Yes, my post was not intended to be braggy. DH is able to work from home, and is still receiving his salary. With the children away from home, we had started to spend more on things like theatre, football, meals out etc, none of which we can do now. I have slightly selfish reasons for putting my builder on a retainer, but was actually taken aback by how grateful he seemed to be. (My accountant says he cannot see many of his South London small business clients surviving. Most never caught up after the crash a decade ago, and have been skimping on things like pension contributions.) The economic impact will hit the least well off, especially those who have been told to strictly self isolate and who don't have a cushion of savings. As well as rediscovering home cooking and the joy of swedes, I hope we come out of this with a renewed sense of community. That Doctors, health workers become our children's heros , rather than the Kardashians and H&M, and that we start to appreciate the, previously invisible, supermarket workers, delivery drivers and others. One good thing for us is that DC have taken to calling their grandparents each day, whereas before they were rivalling each other in who had the busier lives. (GPs in their 80s and with a full volunteering schedule, probably won.)

I didn't read it as braggy at all. Anything any of us can do can only be helpful, whether big or small. On my walk this morning to the post box I waved or said hello to the handful of people I saw out and they all responded. A sense of community is going to be very important.

Certainly our family were joking today that my son's branded supermarket delivery driver cap might go for a small fortune on Ebay - not that he is selling it, he is working full time as usual and flat out.

..that is my oldest son who has already graduated....

On a more serious note DS1 (junior doctor at a London hospital) rang yesterday to say the staff have been emailed a warning that some NHS staff in central London have been mugged for their NHS id.

@goodbyestranger eek

Bloody hell.

Actually DS1 rang because it was his birthday so that wasn't his main message, it was in passing. His main message was that he was celebrating by going for a run and then enjoying some good old fashioned social distancing with his flat mate. Meanwhile poor DS3 who shares the same birthday (born just before midnight because DS1 had asked for a 'birthday twin' - quite a push) had the drains collapse underneath his house in Oxford so all day was spent with emergency plumbers etc who say the kitchen will probably give way today. Next year's birthdays should be better....

OMG @goodbyestranger!
Muggings for NHS ID badges 😲 & collapsed kitchens, both worrysome.

@latedecember1963, no word from DS2 yet 🙄 I will call him soon, if he isn't forthcoming about his plans.
My eldest lives elsewhere in the UK but lives alone & wfh too, so I think he's better off staying there tbh.

My DH is still at work for the forseeable.