University life for freshers (2019/20) - Christmas backpacking (or not) and festive homecomings with all the tinseltastic trimmings!

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Previous thread.

Mine so sorry to hear about your DS, how miserable for him over Christmas. Sending good wishes for a speedy recovery.

My DS is lucky enough to be on a fabulous skiing holiday.

@minesawine, sorry your DS is so I'll. Hopefully he'll soon be recovering like @Benjispruce DD.

Both of mine are well, apart from hangovers. Well I don't think DS gets them as he cooks up a massive amount of freezer food when he gets in in the middle of the night....

So sorry to hear about poorly DC. Better that they are ill at home where they can be cared for, but passing it on is an issue. Mine both seem fine. Hardly seen DS who is currently with gf. DD been on a shopping trip with me today. I could do with a lie down after that but have visitors so am having to cook. Again. DS said he would do some work after Christmas, meaning tomorrow I assume. Hopefully he will actually be here. So many friends, so little time...

Well we enjoyed an ice skating session and ‘ill’ DD outlasted us all. I am now reeking of Deep Heat after I did a triple salco (in my mind) and landed on my backside

DD has now gone down with the lurgy, and is feeling shocking. We spent Christmas with relatives, one of whom was really poorly with it, and has now passed it to DD.

We are with the inlaws who are ill - really hope we don't catch it.

And now DD's friends have bailed on her for NYE. I am sad for her because she spent the last 3 with her BF so I can see that she will be a little teary with no-one to spend it with other than us.

@Ginfordinner, oh no - are they off to do something else without her?

No idea. One of them would have had to travel quite a way to get here, so I wasn't really expecting this to happen anyway. The other one isn't sure if she is working or not.

She doesn't have a large friendship group at home.

DD has quite a wide circle of friends locally, from school and from having been a member of the local Youth Council. Apart from a couple of nights out, though, she's been quite restrained so far this Christmas. Having assignments to complete has slowed her down a bit.

Meanwhile, just before Christmas, in a bar up the road from us, DS1 (2018 graduate) found himself being served by someone he hadn't knowingly seen since primary school. He was slightly thrown by her recognising him.

Thanks for all the kind words. It was strange seeing my big strapping lad revert back 10 years and want to be looked after. I am just glad to be able to look after him as he will always be my baby. Luckily he is starting to feel a little better, which is great as we have already missed a week and he goes back soon

DS is just about starting to rally after being poorly since Monday. He's missed out on going out with his school friends today.

I am on antibiotics and steroids for mild pneumonia . Waiting at hospital last night (GPs closed and annoyingly left the wrong message on so it sounded like they were open til we drove to them), we saw loads of poorly red- faced little ones. So glad we’ve been through that and they can communicate and tell us what’s wrong. We saw a lovely Spanish nurse who said she’d been on shifts working for 7 days. I felt so sad about how she must feel about Brexit and thanked her profusely for all the meds.
Dh middling. Little Dd and Student Dd getting better.

Keep well everyone!

Eldest DS family felled just before xmas. All in bed bar DS until today when he succumbed. Little ones improving now so am cooking tea for them, will leave at door because I have a chest infection.

Sneaking on to this thread to say Merry Christmas. None of us is ill , although I have a dodgy stomach today.

Worried I am going to catch germs from this thread!

Hope everyone feels better soon

Oh dear, so many lurgies around. DD on day 4 of 7 of antibiotics and feeling much better, ears finally starting to unmuffle. She now has to choose her friend trip for a September 2020. 4 to choose from, 2 free, 2 £££. Guess which are her first choice?

*field trip!

Hello Piggy! Knowing you are an English teacher, can you tell me is it worth watching the new BBC A Christmas Carol on iPlayer with littleDd (Year11). It doesn’t look the most cheery thing but I was going to sacrifice cheeriness if it would help her in any way for GCSE.

Weeeellll.... DS2 gave up after episode One.

You might want to read the MN thread on it!

I live Dickens and was very annoyed by the massive MASSIVE changes to plots and the disappearance of nearly all of Dickens' words (and kindness of heart).

It depends on your DD and how 'permissive' telly watching is in your family. On the thread some year 10s and 11s were lapping it up with their trendy parents. Other posters were taken aback by the strong language and (implied) sexual content. Lots of 'social commentary was added which would make your DD remember that Dickens was a social justice warrior. However, I think the context of money lending and child poverty really didn't need altering. It's (sadly) relevant still. And there are no Fezziwigs!

As a revision resource it is useful in the sense that your DD can discuss how much has been changed. If she doesn't know the book well in the first place, it is potentially very confusing...

Some people think Dickens would have loved it. Personally, I thought it would have been OK if they had altered the title but I can definitely still hear Dickens rolling in his grave.

Cheery it is not.

I recommend the Patrick Stewart version. Very faithful and well done.

I love Dickens. Not so obsessed that I live him!

Echo Piggy. Not good for GCSE revision, maybe watch it when the exam is out of the way for a comparison.

Oo thank you. Sorry to derail thread into GCSEs. Hadn’t seen the other thread. We all managed to rally round and watch Gavin and Stacey as the ‘family’ tv thing. Having been a teacher and listening to the average corridor speak, not bothered about swearing and sex 😂 except when it’s incorrect terminology for which I popped my unexpected head round the door to correct them. Sadly the social justice warrior thing only works to a certain extent with littleDd when she berated him for ‘trying to lock up his wife so he could have his way with a young girl’. Seems to have dimmed her view of him somewhat. Older Dd (same school) did different books and poetry to younger Dd. Older one made amazing notes and got a 9 in Eng Lit. Most useless now!
Back to degrees (and GCSEs), there is no work being done in this house. Hoping for it to pick up before a mad rush to get an essay done for the 6th!

We watched University Challenge - the one with the older students, or ex students I should say. Nice famly viewing particularly for those with student children.

Sorry all those illnesses. My 2 students seem pretty well, even the couhg one had seems just about to have gone but they are year 3 not year 1 (I shouldn't really be on this thread I suppose) so not had quite the Autumn term freshers tend to have.

zanda it's very good in the theatre. Not sure if you may have missed the boat on that though for this year.

So, here's a classic DS tale : he went out with some mates down the local pub about an hour ago. Progress towards being a sociable person!

DH and I were a bit concerned he might come back after our bedtime so 11 pm curfew was set. Only very minor sulking from DS.

He reappeared less than an hour later : half of them didn't have ID...