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.

@Carriemac We were at the Leeds graduation yesterday too! Didn’t get to meet any other parents though... we had a nice couple of days in Leeds. Youngest has decided to make Leeds his firm for September entry (different subject) so it was also a good opportunity for him to have another look round as there have not been any open days. I’m pleased as I like the city a lot so good to have an excuse to keep visiting for another few years.

@Decorhate we should have had a secret handshake. We were the 11:30 ceremony, stayed at the lovely dakota hotel for what is probably our last stay in Leeds.

@Carriemac We were at the same one! In fact as a fellow “Mc” I think my Dd may have been immediately after your Ds!

@Decorhate My DS is pretty distinctive 👨‍🦲

Yes I thought I remembered that happening just before he started? Has he come to terms with it now?

The person calling out the babes yesterday got DD’s name right (Dd had written down how to pronounce it) & then mangled the surname 😂

names

They got our surname correct this time, mangled it for DS2 .
'
DS1 was amazing , coped very well with the alpecia and is very outgoing and sociable .

Are all of yours finished uni now? When is your own graduation?

12th May is my graduation . All the others done thank goodness .

I'm trying to think how long ago we were on the 'getting your child in medicine ' thread @Decorhate a- 8 years ago? How well they have all done - little did we know what was ahead for them

Wow Carrie. Anything special planned?

The thing that I have belatedly realised is that for medics, graduation is only the first step. My cousin has his daughter and her boyfriend back living with them as the pair both work and study for their professional exams. There is no point them looking to settle down till they know where their permanent jobs will be.

I'm thinking of a garden party the Saturday before to celebrate all the Dcs grads this year, and their friends ( and parents that we known) who also have graduated . Plus all the people who have supported me .
But I slightly cannot be bothered planning it 😆

Yes, my mother always pointed out my father (a doctor) was going exams to age 30. He did a 3 year science degree at Durham, then his 5 years medicine and then when he was 31 his Diploma in Psychological Medicine (he was an NHS psychiatrist) so she was keeping him on her full time teaching wage for years at least in part in the early days. It is a long haul for medicine so well done to those going it. Law is easier as after 4 or 5 years of study at least you start getting paid as a trainee.

By this weekend the first of the 2 graduations will be over and by June the twins will have finished their law exams forever (unless resits in August).

@Carriemac, that sounds lovely! Could you get food in?

Finally had DDs graduation today! It was a really lovely day - ceremony, faculty drinks, late lunch (with her best friend) and drinks after. They are all off for a big night, DH and I now relaxing in the hotel

That's lovely.
We had child 4's yesterday in Bristol (and girl friend of child 5 in same group) and child 5 (the other twin) in Bristol last week. The one last week was I believe the first Bristol graduation session and first in the day - they are doing 3 lots per day 10.30am, 1.30pm and 4pm from last Friday to yesterday. Very hard work for the university staff. Both graduations were lovely, particularly special due to lock down laws prohibiting them in 2020 etc. It felt like freedom was back.

One twin has had 2 nights in Bristol with his girl friend - he is back late tonight and the other is having 4 and has a coach back to here on Easter Sunday morning and tube in time he says for Easter lunch. I have had a very packed house since this bunch of graduates were all sent home in March 2020 as not only at home but studying at home largely and with exams at home. As the speaker said yesterday all these 2020 graduates lost their last term, their last chance to say good bye to friends, their finals (which were done on line) etc so it was very nice they could get together. I was very surprised just about everyone attending - those in absentia seemed no more than in normal years so I think they all felt the same - a time to celebrate.

Even my latest grandchild who went to the one last week (is in Cornwall this week) seemed to enjoy it - she is a very happy baby and sat near the door so she could be taken out if noisy.

Just Easter next (after a very busy 3 weeks of baptism, graduation 1, graduation 2, Easter weekend) and then we can get ready for the run up to final law exams, indeed final exams ever unless they have resits in August, in late May, early June. I have even pinned them down to a meeting on Monday to do various admin things relating to their training contracts which start with me in June.

Lots of graduations and celebrations!
We will be going back in July for DDs MSc graduation

They go on and on. The twins did not go to theirs for the law conversion course as it is not even a degree, just a post grad diploma thing and their sisters did not bother with that either nor I doubt they will for this year's LPC course. I did go to mine for when I was admitted as a solicitor and took my husband and first baby - he took her out for part of the time so she could climb up and down the stairs at the Law Society when it got a bit boring as she had just turned 1. May be the twins will go to their admission as a solicitor ones if they get that far, with me. That might be a nice ending to all these years of studying and children qualifying for things.

We have 7 for Easter Lunch (well 6 not including the baby which only has breastmilk) as my older son managed yesterday to negotiate time off from work today and is coming to stay today.

The 2017 starters at university are getting quite old now. My twins did well in their Legal Practice Course core exam results (Jan. exams) yesterday which is a huge relief as that is about 63% of the year's marks and have no resits in August. So just got to get through the May and June exams now (and to have passed two of the minor exams already done with results in July).

One of mine said the advocacy exam was the worst exam ever - live in front of tutor one to one etc but seems to have gone well in the end. I think he just felt it was intimidating to do and his webcam did not work at the start and he was last in the day so the poor lady doing it was probably exhausted by after 5pm. Anyway huge relief here and onwards and upwards for the rest of their course - 3 more weeks of seminars left - this week and fortnight after, then 2 weeks revision leave then in their case given their subject choices 2 weeks of exams. I am not sure if they are lucky or otherwise that the 3 days of exams are early on in the exam period but at least it gets it over.

I hope everyone else is doing well. We had one of their friends staying here for 4 days this week who is in a job. Most of them are now so it is interesting hearing about work, how they work (in the office or otherwise), where they rent a flat with friends and that kind of thing.

Good luck to everyone with DC still studying. DD is coming on holiday with us - every time we assume it'll be the last time she comes. She is bringing a friend with her, so they can travel home together. This is our 2020 holiday, so we're really looking forward to it.

Have a lovely time. Our 2020 and 2021 family holidays were all cancelled 2 weeks before we were due to leave due to covid laws so I have not booked this year.

Nice to read about the graduations finally happening and congratulations @Xenia to your twins on their results. It makes me realise how lucky we were to go to DD1's graduation last summer, even if it wasn't the "normal" Cambridge experience.

DD1 is still happy doing her PhD. I have only seen her once briefly since NYE but she texts regularly. She managed a holiday to the Lakes but then received a message to say the rest of her house had Covid so she went to stay with her bf's family. He then drove her back once they had recovered. Whilst she was there, we took DD2 to Heathrow for what's left of her year abroad, so DD1 & bf met us all for dinner the night before the flight. DD1 was marking practice exam questions from her 1st years last night and worrying that they hadn't understood something - welcome to my world DD!

Well done the @Xenia twins another milestone! We managed a break in Portugal over Easter with 2/3 kids and one girlfriend 😆. DD is trailering for the summer before the second part of her Irish LPC in October

Good to see all the progress of others and trips abroad. One of my twins has a week abroad with friends (all of whom now have jobs) in one of his two revision weeks in May before final May/June law exams which is not ideal but he thinks he can work around it. The Bristol graduations were normal iones (but nearly 2 years late) in the same hall as their older sister's (she finished her degree there in 2006). I was looking at my records of hers and there were two differences compared with 2022 which are a pity - no National Anthem sung in April 2022 and nowadays they do not state who got a first etc as there are "prizes for all" in 2022 society and it might make people cry if they realise someone is better than they are, I suppose. Anyway at least the threat to move it to an out of town race course due to covid a few months ago did not happen and we were in the traditional hall.

One of mmy sons at his seminar yesterday said he is with only 3 others from his term 1 and 2 group and the 4 of them get on very well and the lecturer is good too. So it sounds like he really enjoys that subject - he is doing employment law as one chosen module which I recommended and his twin is doing it too. Even if you never practise it most people are an employee so it is useful knowledge and quite fun. They were doing discrimination law yesterday. I think he said all 4 of them now have law firm 2 year training contracts for after the course.

We were talking about physical attendance at the course (after their law conversino course the year before was 100% online due to covid). They liked attending in person in terms 1 and 2 tihs year as it was so novel to go there, see people etc etc This term is only 3 weeks of seminars anyway so one is not going in and the other not for all of the subjects. It seems to work fine that way as after everything is online anyway and they can just find the best way for them to study and learn.

We're on holiday on Skye - so far it's been dry and mostly sunny, I think just Saturday is forecast rainy before we head home. We've got another two U.K. holidays booked for this year, the September one is a boat on the Norfolk broads with DD and her BF. If that goes well maybe we can do some more adventurous aquatic holidays with them in future.

@ErrolTheDragon Skye is gorgeous when the sun shines ! We had a couple of boating holidays in Norfolk a couple of years ago and really enjoyed them. DH would like to return with dd and her bf - dd is less keen😂