Oxford and Cambridge current students discussion thread

[sandybayley]

Starting a new one as we filled it up!

Can't believe DS1 will be home in 2 weeks. Must remember to adjust the Ocado shop for when he's back. I suspect we may end up with a few days of his favourite meals 😊

Oh thank you Ironoaks. I'm fine pretty much always but it's very rough for all these young people - mine included obviously - in flats in London who've been banged up all year pretty much and now not allowed to meet even one other household inside on Christmas Day. It's a concern for sure.

@sandybayley

I've bought DS1 a chemistry modelling kit. A bit like grown mecano /stikelbricks

How delightfully retro.

My DD is usually as unhelpful re clues as your DS, SnapSnapDragon. She's still got a rain check (or should it be a snow-cheque?) on last years Xmas present which was to pay for to go on the ski trip this year ... well, maybe a non-uni trip next year ...

She did ask for Bluetooth headphones for her first Xmas after starting uni, they're probably quite useful if they've not already got some.

DS1 has also got a monitor to go with his laptop. The laptop was bought for his 18th to be light and portable (the week before lockdown) and not designed to be used for hours on end. A monitor will help.

Sorry to hear your DC are stuck in London @goodbyestranger . We're in London and my Mum phoned me yesterday, she was very worried about the situation. I had to inform her that our Sunday was not much changed - a run, dog walks and take away coffee. We even went to a beautiful performed Carol Service (DD was paid!) - allowed as a collective act of worship.

The Scottish side of the family have had to cancel their Christmas trip. Their presents had all been delivered direct to Fil's house at the other end of the UK ready to be wrapped and put straight under the tree. If my niece & nephew play their cards right, they should be able milk this & get another batch to unwrap on Christmas Day.

So sorry to hear about ruined Christmas plans. We are allowed a Christmas Day meet up so will see brother and family then. He just phoned to ask that it's at my house rather than his (as planned) so looks like I'll be going turkey shopping.

Monitor is good idea for DS. Re Bluetooth headphones, hmm, I think I've been a bit of an idiot: DS persuaded me to contribute half the cost of some fancy noise cancelling ones on the grounds that he needs them for lectures and they are educational..(and therefore don't qualify as a legitimate present).

I've offered to buy DS some tech to help with the online learning but he declined and has requested the latest D&D handbook and a Kurzgesagt mug (which luckily has already been delivered from Germany).

That sucks goodbye

My parents live a mile from me and we have decided to cancel visiting them. I feel bad about it but we are getting stuck into planning FirstNotBalticDayOfTheYear BBQ instead. In our part of the UK it could be July. My mum always over caters so she has the unenviable task of jointing out a Turkey that would have fed 18.

That’s rubbish for your London-based DC @goodbyestranger. There must be so many young people in the same situation.

Thanks for the comments all. That's right ofteninaspin, it's been the young ones taking the hit right through this pandemic.

What a government. Just breathtaking.

Sorry to hear your dc are stuck in London goodbye. It has been very difficult for our young people but I comfort myself with the fact that our dc did actually get to university this term, however strange it might have been.
Last night ds raised the question of whether Oxford would be going back as planned. It had crossed my mind but I was trying too push it firmly out! I have told him to try and not think about it until New Year. Decision making for schools and universities must be a total nightmare at the moment.
I am wrung out with it all myself. I am a hcp albeit in a Managers role but keeping my Team vaguely functional alongside the constant policy changes, reorganisation and redeployment of staff is exhausting. I have written off the next 2 weeks in my head until we see how things pan out.

I'd say the Oxford and Cambridge Freshers in particular have done relatively well HuaShan. DD4 has done well. And the two DC in the family who work in London hospitals have also had a but more normality, odd though that may sound. I was thinking more of the next age band up from our freshers, stuck in small flats in large cities still working from home.

Phone typing!

I have young colleagues who have been stuck in single person households for months. The restrictions around Manchester have been in place since July and the toll on them is awful. Over the summer I was line drying one colleagues towels and sheets because he had no outside space. He missed the smell of summer.

DD in a fit of organisation brought her most used art supplies home with her so that she could work over the holidays. She is chilled about working from home. The food and internet is better at home, but she was looking forward to having a space to work in with the other art students in her college.

DS has his head firmly in the sand. He's even talking about rugby squads and dates for training before term starts. If only things were that normal. Still, the gym sessions are keeping him busy and (polite) requests for multiple meals a day are keeping me busy.

It has been very hard for those in their mid 20s. I have several people in my team who either live in the SE Tier 4 area or Wales. Those in Wales are surrounded by their families, horses and dogs in large family homes. Those in tier 4 are often spotted with a bed in the background or fighting others for space in a wifi hotspot. It's such a contrast. Each time the rules change, it seems to get harder & harder for them.

I agree that our freshers have had it relatively easy. Although DD has only had 1 F2F session, she is studying in beautiful surroundings with lots of new friends. She is planning to go back at the earliest opportunity but is resigned to more u turns & uncertainty.

I have two nephews in the early stages of their careers who are stuck (again) in rented flats.

I am beginning to think that there will be a country wide lockdown in the New Year which will prevent our DC returning to university as normal. This is very sad for our Oxbridge DC in all years, as last term was relatively "normal" for (most) of them.

@goodbyestranger I'm sorry to read about the oldest DC. Please do pass on my best wishes to them.

@ofteninaspin I think you may be correct. I am already stressing about blended teaching/learning in the first week back at school. 4th Jan is INSET; on 5th I have a full teaching day, 2 lessons with y13 which should be in person, and 3 remote lessons with years 8 and 10. There is a kid in my y8 tutor group who is not allowed any tech at home. No smartphone or PC/laptop. He has to leave his school laptop in school, so that is going to be tricky.

Another of my tutor group has a mum who is a colleague in my primary school. She bought me a bottle of the Welsh version of Baileys. It's much less sweet/sickly and absolutely delicious. I'm about to pour a large glass of it whilst I listen to the football....

Cheers Malbecfan. Not entirely surprisingly the very well off London crowd are beginning to arrive in their large second homes in the village this afternoon, with their families. Grr and double grr.

@goodbyestranger. report them. They are strictly forbidden from coming down here. I know I'm a petty witch but I have horrible "neighbours" who bought a converted (listed) potato barn to use as a 2nd home. They now rent it out commercially and we frequently have their guests turning into our courtyard demanding to be let in. The local landowner took great delight in telling me of their "great track record in bringing redundant farm buildings back into use for local families" meaning this barn, until I put him straight, aided by my awesome next door neighbour. Everyone else here is brilliant. I just have issues with the woman who tells everyone else how to live their lives, then buggers off back to the Home Counties at the first hint of snow, mud, cow-shit or flooding. The rest of us roll up our sleeves, don our wellies (pour the gin) and get on with it.

It would be tempting Malbecfan if I wasn't concerned about Mafia style reprisals - these guys are very, very rich....

So sorry to hear about those, like Goodbye who can't be with all their DCs at Christmas time this year and also to hear about the 'invasion' of local areas by people travelling in. I hope everyone has a good enough Christmas, despite everything and that our DCs can return to O & C as planned, in the New Year.

We are so lucky to be able to have our usual small family celebration as normal and DS1 and DS2 have been enjoying the comforts of home but have also got the most out of their first terms at C and O.

DS2 has been wearing his college/uni stash out and about - where possible - and also studying hard for his college collections plus next term's reading list. DS1 didn't buy any stash but has enjoyed going out and about with his brother again and is meanwhile taking a complete break from any work at all. He did finally manage to elicit a draft version of his term's feedback (lovely and positive) from his DOS (who seems extremely busy) but is still waiting - almost 8 weeks and still counting since he handed in the earliest of these - for the return of half of his essays from last term. However, being DS1, he's totally relaxed about it all and has a very good connection with his DOS. So all is well.

Like many of you reported above about your own DCs, DS1 and DS2 only drink at uni. to fit in socially, where appropriate but much prefer water, hot chocolate (they've been making their own versions of this since being home) and the occasional coffee and as I don't like or drink alcohol at all, I think fizzy elderflower will be our Christmas drink of choice.

All our DCs are so very lucky to have had even the limited experiences they've had this first term and as they've not known any different at uni., seem to have adapted well enough. I do hope that before they finally finish as undergraduates that they can still have some more normal experiences of university life.

From Oxford yesterday:
"From Saturday 26 December, Oxfordshire will move to the Tier 4 COVID alert level. The UK Government website provides the latest advice on these restrictions. Under Tier 4, universities and workplaces will remain open. We therefore expect teaching and research to continue at the University in the New Year, and for students to return for Hilary term broadly in line with the arrangements communicated at the end of Michaelmas term."

Of course there's no way of knowing how many changes there will be between now and then.

Thank you @Ironoaks. That is as reassuring as we can expect for now.

Has there been any communications re changing start dates? DD was due to go down on 10th, but I am assuming that will be postponed a week?