2017 seems so long ago, now they're fledgling graduates.

[latedecember1963]

4 years since A Levels and the wait for August and confirmation of where our chicks were about to fly the nest to.
It's been 4 years that has sprung a few surprises along the way, not least this lovely series of threads.

He certainly won't look like a loser. I think he should go.
(My twins have their 2020 graduations in Bristol next month nearly 2 years late and we are going).

I can’t imagine anyone other than his guests will be taking that close an interest @SandyIrvine! He has done really well to get a job - nothing to be embarrassed about, why miss out?

@Xenia, we will be in Bristol for DDs 2020 graduation next month - I believe your boys will be earlier in the week as DDs best friend from Bristol has his then, and is going to come to DDs too!

We are going two weeks in a row as one twin has his one week and the second the week after. If you are at the second one we will probably be the only people there with a small and very cute little baby (my daughter is bringing it).

@Haffdonga that's great news congratulations- is he doing GEM?
DS2's Leeds graduation next Monday , his twin sister can't attend as she has a law exam that day and DS one is on nights so it will be just DH and me .
Still making a fuss of him as a graduation , whether degree , certificate or Phd , is a big deal.

How wonderful to read of all the graduations and offers going on . Congratulations to sll

DS is still on his year out & loving it, he’s currently based near Florence and has met my DH in Rome to watch rugby today. Before Florence he was in Genoa, in Paris for Xmas & Slovenia & Croatia before that - meeting lots of other volunteers from all over the EU & having a great time.

He really doesn’t want to come back to this country & start work in September.

Gap year sounds lovely, Eve. Oneo f my twins was going on one in 2020 (before doing a law conversion) but covid put paid to that so he just got on with the 2 years of law courses instead. All the friends are in jobs etc now so there is no chance of it ever happening now although I did tell him he would have hated it anyway ( it was going to be 6 months working to earn the money (and his work cleaning a hotel one summer put him off that kind of job) and then 6 months pack packing, hostels etc (and his Duke of Edinburgh award he says was the worst experience of his life - he loves 4 star hotels and not camping) so I think he was saved a year that may not have been that good (other than the fact he loves all his friends and that side of the year would have been lovely). At least most of the friends have settled in London and now covid restrictions are lifted he is seeing more of them.

@Xenia are you going to give the boys paid qualification leave like my friends DS in one of the magic circle firms? He got 3 month on full pay if I remember correctly

Luckily as DS is a dual citizen his gap year voluntary work is via a youth organisation funded by the EU. He can pick & choose projects to work on and gets food & accommodation paid for & €5 per day pocket (beer) money.

That's great Rve, my thre are dual citizens also it definitely opens more doors .

Thanks for all ds1's med school congrats. He's very chuffed with himself although now it's real he's starting to question whether he really really wants to spend 5 more years earning nothing. (He's not doing GEM @Carriemac as he felt he didn't do enough biology in his degree to fast track). He hasn't decided where he'll go and is still holding out for a Bristol offer. If he gets one I'll be picking some of your brains!

Good luck to your boys in their exams @Xenia and good luck too for the changing dynamic when you go from being mum to boss. I'm sure you'll be a firm but fair taskmaster with high expectations

And how lovely to hear about all the international travels of your young @Eve, @Needmoresleep , @Carriemac and others. It's been such a strange few years with us all stuck in one place. It's great young people are able to get back out there. DS2 has decided to do his summer elective in Sri Lanka. He's sorted a hospital placement there but seems extremely vague when I've asked about where he'll stay or boring things like visas, vaccinations or insurance. Oh well. He'll work it out.

Yes, not much travel here either but hopefully that will change soon.
(The twins qualify in 2024 (if they pass these 2022 exams) but they will not be getting paid qualification leave as 2024 should be my year of financial freedom from my children so I am counting down the days not extending them.......)

Just catching up with the thread and all the news!

We're down visiting DD for a few days, being walked off our feet. she seems to be thriving on a good mix of work and leisure.

That sounsd like a good mix. (One of my sons has taken to massive walks at the moment quite often 2 or 3 hours and every day so I have been avoiding those (not least because of work)).

We had the baptism of my latest grandchild today in London and all my 5 children were there so it was lovely. The baby looked very sweet in a long christening gown and seemed so happy today, gurgling, smiling, looking around (she is 4 months). We had both sets of little cousins on my side and the husband's side there too - each of whom now have a cousin for the first time.

That sounds perfect, Xenia
We did nearly 20 km today between a long riverside walk and then more around the town, but were rewarded with dinner at a nice Algerian restaurant - not something we'd get at home.

Finally booked trip to Scotland for ds graduationat last
It coincides with my birthday and annual leave, so we're now extending stay for a few days and even managed to book a meal in 2* Michelin restaurant to celebrate the occasion!
As he doesn't start his grad scheme until August , he is continuing to work in well know home /garden retail business until then which is doing his head in but at least he's getting paid , so he can put deposit down on flat and is planning a solo trip to Italy before he starts

We got away for a week to the sun which was nice, but DH seems to have picked up COVID on his way back. And then passed it on to DS who was on his first visit for two years. Neither were ill, but after 9 days DS is still waiting to test negative.. He has been invited to take notes for a breakout session at a prestigious conference in Boston later in the week (so free conference entry and dinner) so needs to get on a plane tomorrow afternoon. Fingers are crossed.

Transatlantic fares, and DS has been changing flights almost daily, are extortionate but StudentUniverse is proving way cheaper. (Under 26 or under 30 and registered with a University.)

DD is still looking for an elective placement. A few months back a friend had said her mum, who works there, suggested she might find her something in St Petersburg. Off the cards now. But, and really exciting, a professor who she had approached as she is in the field DD is interested in, emailed last night suggesting a meeting to identify possible projects DD could be involved in. A kind doctor in Bristol has offered DD a fallback but two months out of the normal medical school routine would be such an opportunity.

Our lives are much duller. I spent some time finding out how my Ukrainian tenants could have family members, who have had to flee Kyiv, come and stay with them, without me, as landlord, breaking the law on overcrowding etc. A solution is found, but lots of new empty nesters I know who have signed up to the Homes for Ukrainians scheme. So if other close family, currently sheltering elsewhere in Europe, are unable to go home, there are more solutions. I feel particularly sad for them as my tenant was telling me last year about the family already being refugees from Crimea.

I've signed up for homes for Ukrainians too, feel guilty we have so much extra space as empty nesters .

DD graduation in Leeds next Monday - can't decide if it's going to be summer or winter clothes !
A christening is a lovely occasion @Xenia

I would sign up but we have no space - DD is permanently here and wfh 3/4 days a week, and DS is back for Easter and will be permanently back in July

@Carriemac, we have DDs graduation in Bristol in a fortnight. She has finally found a dress, but I fear she may be very chilly once the gown is returned

@Needmoresleep fingers crossed for your DD.
My DDs medic friend (who intercalated last year) has a placement in an exotic location in the summer, and DD is hoping to visit!

Back home after an early drive back this morning. We had a lovely time, with glorious weather Fri-mon, a bit cooler and drizzly yesterday but not too bad. DD and her BF finally got to punt us along the Backs, and we've done a heck of a lot of walking and sightseeing.

@Needmoresleep - so sorry that your ds managed to pick up covid on his precious stay back in the UK. How unfair it must feel after you all waited all this time to get to see each other. I hope he tests negative and makes it back for his conference.

We had ds2 home for a very flying visit last week. He's started doing a placement in A&E and is loving it (to our great surprise. He's always been fond of his sleep, that one). I think he's enjoyed the variety and feeling of actually being useful now he's a bit more competent. He's even considering it as a potential career route. He wasn't impressed by the way his shifts manage to cut across every social and sporting activity he has planned for the next few weeks though and he still hasn't got any further with sorting his elective (except looking at a few nice images of beaches )

@Xenia the christening with all the family and your granddaughter sound lovely. How clever of her to gurgle and smile instead of screaming the church down (which is traditional, isn't it?)

@ErrolTheDragon the punting along the backs sounds idyllic. I love a punt. When I was a child my family (along with about 6 families from our street) used to join together on a great punting picnic trip. We'd punt down the river to the pub (Cherwell, Ox) where the grownups had a picnic and the kids would all spend the afternoon splashing around in the boats on the river. Looking back there was no health and safety at all and probably a bit of drunk driving by some of the dads on the way home so it just wouldn't happen now. But I remember it as golden times.

Good luck those offering to take a Ukranian. I hope you're able to home somebody. We won't offer as we don't have a spare bedroom with rooms needed as home offices but I think we're too far from a city to be a good place for a refugee.

Haffdonga, well done to your son. My father had a year at medical school when he was just married (as he did a 3 year science degree immediately before medicine so was an old medical student in that sense) and he was required to live in. So he had to sneak my mother into his quarters at times. May be that is what they called a "houseman", that you lived in but I might have remembered that incorrectly.

The baptism last weekend was a lovely day. I paid for the photographer who was a wedding one and he did much better photos than I do and was very patient - I had a lot of combinations of line ups afterwards, as I don't often have all 5 of my children and 3 grandchildren together [ actually as regards the new baby it was the first time since Christmas] and I wanted some with my side of the family and then the children with their parents but then also without me but with their step mother etc etc . We also had a photo with everyone including the priest. It was a year since the small 13 person wedding (covid laws limited numbers) last year at the same church and we were joking we might even be back for a 3rd year in a row in 2023 if another baby comes... but that might be pushing our luck a bit and there is no rush for that - that we meet that new side of the family once a year for new babies.

This week we have child 5's 2020 (much delayed) graduation in Bristol which is so early in the day we are going the night before and then the next week repeat the process again without the overnight stay for his twin in Bristol. They are nearly through 2 years of post graduate law - law conversion and now the LPC course which ends in mid June so it seems a bit funny to have a graduation almost 2 years too late but they both wanted to go.

Had a lovely lovely day at DS Leeds medical graduation yesterday - a rather perfunctory ceremony ( the 54th Leeds ceremony this year alone ) but a fancy dinner the night before and then early tapas with 20 parents and graduates - amazing to have so many doctors who could take a Monday off to graduate . It felt very emotional - such a close bunch and we got some amazing photos.

Brilliant news. I never went to my graduation as it was all of University of London and I was the only Brit on my course so did not expect many to come back especially. It is lovely to meet their friends and some of the people who taught them. As well as the special occasion meal to mark their achievements.

The extra time with DS was great in that because he was infectious albeit asymptomatic, he could not go out. (Not so good for him.) So both he and DH were working from home. It felt so normal just having him around. To get on a flight he had to test negative, and the real concern was that he could get to a conference on the East Coast where one of the organisers had invited him to take notes. It was cheaper to buy a single non flexible ticket than to change his existing one. First thing that morning the test showed the palest faintest line, but luckily the official one a few hours later came out negative, and he was able to fly. More luckily the new flight was Virgin not BA so he took off when many BA flights did not, and so got there in good time.

DD comes home midweek as her remaining teaching will be on line. She has finals in June so we probably won't see that much of her. But, like with her brother, it will be good to have her around.

The baptism sounds lovely. And as if it will be the first of many. The professional photographer is a good idea.

We are still working on the intercalation. DD applied formally to a London hospital four months ago, but they have still to reply. It looks as if she might have something in London with Bristol as a fall back. If it were not for Covid or wars she could have gone to Asia, where I used to live, or to Russia. There is also a bit of an industry in placements in exotic locations, which would be nice, though with the risk that the firm takes the money but does not make too much effort to match interests and skills.

Lovely to hear news of christenings , graduations and travel. DD has now finished her PG diploma course and has 4 months free before starting her trainee post in August.

She is hoping to attend lots of concerts postponed due to covid and to visit family in Europe and the South of England. Crossing fingers flight disruption eases soon.