Study in the time of COVID-19 (2019/20 intake): lockdown restrictions, relaxation of rules and repeat... And will the Grinch government cancel Christmas?

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Carrying on from our previous thread.

I believe these threads have probably been running since the summer/autumn of when our DC were about to start/in Year 13 (so 2018)?

Dd cut my hair last time. She was quite good. I did Dh’s hair. I was not. But it gave me and Dds a laugh!

I'm feeling rather disconnected here in Canada, spent last night watching USA election, then started to feel depressed.
We woke up to snow, far to early for me, I can't get my head around trying to find shoe/boots for the dog!

Hoping to catch up with the DC today to see how they feel about lockdown in UK.

Don't think I'll look up the WIWIKAU FB page, I know I'm a bit of a backpacker at times, but I do believe in letting go and leaving them to make some mistakes.

Hope you all manage to fit in some nice things before lockdown, I really need a haircut, as I'm looking a bit scraggly, but don't know where to go, it's hard when you are somewhere new finding those sort of places, thankfully I'm always reasonably easy going at the hairdressers, it's hair it grows back 😊

Thankfully my hair is long enough to pile up to hide a bad hair/ frizz day . Will miss my regular blow dries but did manage earlier in the year and I have to say DP did a rather good job of my roots before .

Happy birthday chicken!! Lovely sunny day for it 🥂

@Itscoldouthere how exciting to snow but appreciate that you and your dog may not yet be prepared! Hope both your DS are okay?

@Xenia I don't think there is legislation (yet) to say that our student DC can't come home but there is a definitely a government-issued letter written to students to appeal to their better nature to stay put (and it looks as if there are going to be guidelines issued about their return home for Christmas too).

New I agree and it is not in today's new regulations. I asked my son if he had had the Government letter but he did not reply.

@Ginfordinner happy belated birthday.

@AChickenCalledDaal happy birthday.

I normally cut dh's hair. It's wavy which means it's hard to make major errors. I do like to keep him on his toes by making helpful comments like "you did want to be bald just here, didn't you?" but he's not very stuck on appearance so his reaction tends to be "you're the one who looks at it."

DD wanted 18" of hair off before she went back in October, but she wants to donate it again to the Princess Trust and it couldn't find anyone to do that, so she was hoping to find someone at Christmas. Oh well!

I haven't had my hair cut since at least February. I look like an old and slightly deranged Rapunzel.

I have short , layrered wavy hair that looks absolutely tragic when it starts to gorw out. I also have it coloured, and it needs the skill of a qualified hairdresser to make me look half decent.

My hair this summer was awful, and I was overjoyed to have the strawlike, scruffy mess cut back into shape when lockdown eased.

I do DH's hair with hair clippers, and have been doing so for years. Like your DH Witchend he isn't overly invested in his appearance. And thank you for the birthday wishes.

Thanks for birthday greetings everyone . Had a nice long chat with DD, who seems to have suddenly started forming actual friendships as opposed to endless snatched conversations in the dinner queue. Delighted to hear her drop the names of people she's been to coffee with, bearing in mind a few weeks ago she was showing signs of being too scared to go out in case of accidentally breaking covid rules.

(Not a name changer @bigTillyMint - or at least not recently - I may have just wandered off the thread for a while!)

@NewModelArmyMayhem18 yes I've got to work out the dog shoe situation, I tell you it's worse than having toddlers 🤣 my dogs a small Bedlington X Whippet and has skinny legs and quite long claws he hates his feet being touched. We've been given some balloon shoes (yes like tiny balloons you put on their feet) but I think his claws will pop them. I've seen videos of whippets in boots being very weird, I suppose, I need to get to a pet store and sort it out. It's because they put down antifreeze etc on the pavements in the city (apparently).

DS1 in Bournemouth is looking at alternative housing for next year as he's realised that they aren't currently in the best location. He's reasonably happy with everything else, although I know they are struggling to do their work from home (arts university) but he will be happy staying there in lockdown.

DS2 at UEA is being uncommicative, which is never good but hopefully he's ok.

I was on a zoom with my 'mums' group earlier and everyone remarked on my long hair 😂

@Itscoldouthere, those balloon shoes do not last long on a dog that runs around. We went through 5 of them when ours had a nail problem a little while ago.

@simbobs that's interesting to know, well it sounds like 'balloon shoes' are not going to get me through 4/5 month of possible snowy winter then.

We've discovered a bit of a night time let them off the lead in the dark culture near where we live, which is great for us.

Our dog had a good run around with a ball tonight and think he needed it, we are finding the on lead all the time very restrictive, we keep meeting the most lovely pups and can't imagine how they properly socially interact when always on a lead, still, it's the rules here, so we have to respect them.

Still watching the USA election results, it's like torture......

I would have thought there'd be a market for 'indoor' outdoors for dogs to run free in Canada-side and in the colder States in the US. Doggy playbarns! It's not as if there's not the space!

I hope you find a good solution to the dog shoe issue @Itscoldouthere.

Just had a call from DS complaining that he has food poisoning and is really unwell, with a really important presentation to deliver tomorrow and some work yet to be done. He is pretty good in the kitchen and swears that the chicken which was the most likely culprit was both cooked and in date. I wonder about a combination of the fridge being opened frequently by multiple users, thus elevating the temperature, and some degree of smell missing following covid. Anyway, this is one case where online work goes in his favour.

@Itscoldouthere, is dogs on leads always the case or just in the winter for safety reasons?

Oh dear @simbobs - I remember friends with really disgusting student fridges

Oh no, sorry to hear that @simbobs. Food poisoning is hideous. Hope he struggles through his presentation okay, although couldn't he postpone if he's ill?

It could be that he bought chicken in the supermarket that someone had left behind at checkout (and was then put back in the fridge by staff)? I once had a 6 pinter of milk that inexplicably went off within 24 hours (and it wasn't summer, it hadn't been left out at home and wasn't near its use by date) and assumed that's what had happened.

He's just texted to say that he feels worse than ever and wants to come home! Talk about timing. It is a group presentation which they have all worked on, but are presenting a section each. They are supposed to be rehearsing today and presenting to the course leader tomorrow. It is an important one, so he will feel gutted to let them down. I hope he manages it.

Welcome back @Gifgif (whoever you were originally!).

Thank you!

Re the WIWIKAU mums - my children really kick back if I get even a little bit needy, I'm surprised others don't.

@simbobs sorry to hear about your DS being ill, it's so hard when they get sick away from home, I can understand him wanted to come home and be looked after.
One of my DS has been having MH issues, I really feel for him especially as I'm now so far away in Canada, but as said by PP if I try to get over involved he pulls away, so the distance isn't really the main problem, it just makes me feel it more.
Dogs on leads all the time here except for in a dog park which are usually scabby small bits of fenced off areas often stuck down a side street, a big dog and small dog section. We've tried a few but my dog wasn't impressed, the big dogs are too big for him and small dog area is usually tiny!
Think we will continue with the nighttime off lead games, although we do risk a $200 fine.

@simbobs Sorry to hear about your ds being ill. Hope he's drinking lots and lots of water. It helps get it all out of his system.

DS messaged to say that he is feeling a bit better, but he is really fed up with some of his flatmates. They just don't clean up after themselves and are potentially the source of the food poisoning by not keeping things clean in the kitchen. He just needs a break from them. I am trying to persuade him and one of the other lads to try and move to another flat within the same complex, but the management are not much in evidence at the moment.

@simbobs, are none of the other boys getting sick? I guess he will have to tough it out unless he wants to come home for the rest of lockdown?

@Itscoldouthere, that must be really hard - your DS having MH issues snd being so far away

Did anyone hear about the fencing put up round some MU halls, now ripped down

@bigTillyMint the rest of them are fine. I suspect it was something he ate but the way a couple of them behave in the kitchen I wouldn't be surprised if there were toxic work surfaces. DS complains that only two of them do proper cleaning. It is bad at the moment and he really doesn't want to do it again. I think he is regretting his choice of living with so many of them. I will speak to him tomorrow and find out what he wants to do.

My DS is thinking about living with boys only next year. No idea what any of them are like about cleanliness....