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.

Well done on the 2/1 and for those finishing exams.

Well done to your DS , Stopyourhavering64!
🎉🥂

DD WhatsApp'd us this morning to say she thought her presentation had gone well! We might just treat ourselves to a small glass of vino (we're rather abstemious as a norm).

So... that's her fully educated

Oh heck, the newspaper says easing of lockdown may be delayed by a fortnight from 21 June so I guess that may make DDs graduation event on the 3rd impossible after all by a couple of days.
Silver lining is I don't need to buy any shoes, I suppose.

I hope not. If the test is hospitalisations then I think 21 June can remain freedom day although probably not freedom from everything imposed by law in the pandemic sadly so more like partial freedom day.

I was glad my son could go t his first job today in a normal open law office, not behind a screen at home...(not least as it is the first time since March 2020 when someone is out in a normal sense during the day for work so I get a bit of time alone until the work man arrives thism orning.... never peace here....)

I took a picture of him leaving in his suit. I have a sequence saved by year of "starting and going back to school" on the door step usually in September in fact starting in 1966 which may parents took when I started in my sweet little uniform so this one today had that kind of flavour although I will certainly do one with both twins in September when they start their next law course - last year ever of children on the door step going back to studying... except I added the first grandchild to my sequence last year when she started, of her first day so may be it never ends....)

Congratulations to Havering, Errol, and Eve for supporting your DC through 2 decades of education. And congratulations to the DC as well.

I am impressed by the different directions in which DC are headed. Darwin! And of the collection of first day photos.

DD was told she should be fully vaccinated by the start of September, ready for her first placement. As she was not able to return to Bristol she walked into our local major vaccination centre in Central London to ask what she needed to do to get a vaccination there. It was completely empty, and she was given a choice of perhaps 30 vaccinators willing to give her an immediate jab. Vaccination rates are very low in our area, though I was pleased that our high risk decorator did finally get a jab, when a pop up centre appeared in Sainsburys.

DD is headed back to Bristol next week to catch up with the friends she has not seen since March 20. Unfortunately many have been stuck in Bristol for the last year and so are returning home for the summer. I have no idea whether there is a graduation for her intercalation degree. Doing it all from her bedroom and not meeting course mates means that she is remarkably unaware of most stuff. Lots of work was marked as 25% of 40% of a course etc, and so she existed in a limbo where she plodded through with little idea of how well she was doing. She does not even know when the results are due. I hope she does well, even though it does not count towards anything, as she enjoyed the course and worked hard. Perhaps we get another graduation day. DS has one BSc and two Masters, though the last certificate was sent through the post, so two already. If there is one it will be low key as it would be a short bus journey and there would be no one to say goodbye to.

@Xenia - I’ve also done the first and last day of term photos - they are lovely to look back at. The photos are framed on the wall in my study. DT’s went to a non uniform school and I could judge by how much they had grown by the length of jeans!

DS has finally finished his Masters with just the results to come next month. His new post grad employer in Singapore has contacted him (and the other new starters) that they may be relocated to the Netherlands in the short term as Singapore has tightened entry into the country. DS has wanted a couple of years of the expat life but his long term plan was to work at the company head office in the Netherlands so he is quite pleased by the possible change of plans (as am I as he will only be 2.5 hours drive from DD).

My favourite going back to school photo had the older children as 3 mid teens, looking extremely grumpy/Kevin the teenager like.... We certainly have some not in uniform too - one of my daughter's schools had no uniform in sixth form and the university ones too. The saddest school phot is my uncle - sent to a tiny boarding school in about 1921 when he was 4 because he was jealous of his new baby brother - a school of about 25 pupils only with his 12 year old cousin on it.
He was also forced to write with his right hand there (he was left handed). Luckily his father ran out of money and he got to go back home after a few years. The Victorian psychology that you send a child away at 4 to help solve its jealousy of a new baby is just dreadful even though of its time.

Good luck to the Parker masters one for the results. My twins believe they obtain this year's law results next week. If you fail one paper the regulator requires that although you can resit it when you pass it then all your marks in every paper are treated as a basic pass even if you got very high marks in all the others so a fail on the multiple choice for the land/equity module even if your essay paper was brilliant means yours marks in everything if you pass the resit go to a pass which is a bit harsh but there we are. Hopefully they passed everything. Their friend had accountancy exams this week and the girl friend of one of the twins her law exams.

Well done to Eve's DS, Parker's DS and Errol's DD for getting through it all. Definitely worthy of a little tipple! 🍸
Hope your DD enjoys seeing her friends again, Needmoresleep.
The end is in sight for DS2 as he does his last exam on Friday.

We did the September photos each year up to Y11. That poor little boy, Xenia. The past really is another country!
Hope your DS enjoyed his day at work. Bet he's shattered this evening!

I hope the easing of restrictions doesn't get pushed back. One of my colleagues is getting married on the 10th July so he's getting a bit twitchy.

Good luck with the wedding. It is one reason my daughter got engaged in December and then fixed a weeding for March (which only had to be postponed until April and went ahead come what may - 13 guests, no food) as otherwise she thought like some brides postponed since March 2020 it could go on and on for years)

We have not heard from my son from work today but I did say to him yesterday that if I employed someone today I would tell them not to look at their phones during working hours to make sure I got full service out of their employment so he had obviously taken that to heart. That was after my telling him about office switchboards, getting outside lines on landlines and all the complicated stuff you don't know until you work in a real life place unless you happened to see it on Suits.

Our Portugal holiday has been cancelled so no last family holiday before the two DS s start work.
We have booked a few nights in a Uk luxury hotel instead but DD can't join us from Ireland . DS2 hangs in last assignment tomorrow but DD s masters goes in till September so not finished with formal education yet.

Good advice to your DS @Xenia , drives me mad how much the younger ones at work are on their phones all bloody day

Congratulations to @Stopyourhavering64's DS, that's great news.

Also well done to Errol's and Eve's DC and good luck to Parker's. Sorry Carriemac about your holiday.

Nothing new from me. Just waiting for results. DD has been cooking. That's it!

Really sorry about your holiday Carrie. We have one (for 10 of us - 5 children, me, 2 sons in law and 2 grandchildren - never mind the baby on the way which I suppose makes it 10 and a half) at end of July although perhaps the company will cancel it as they did last year. It's a week only and so hard to arrange around so many different employers.

Child 5 survived his first day of work which went fine except he says he knows nothing yet. Drinks after work. The boss who drank orange juice only drove him all the way home which is extremely kind. I am glad he is in the physical office. He said it would be so hard to ask questions remotely. He is going in tomorrow too and says he likes the routine of it like a school day. (It was very hot however in a suit on the tube. I am not sure if it would be easy to change when in work and he probably doesn't have to be in a suit but perhaps he can leave the jacket and tie at home tomorrow mind you he already called someone today so perhaps will be in a meeting with a client at some point even if just taking notes)

Sounds like a good first day, and I think I'd be worried if he thought he did know much after one day!

Just realised my phone has done an auto- correct on me a couple of times. The Darwen I meant is in Lancashire, not Darwin Australia. 😁

amp.theguardian.com/education/2021/jun/10/increasing-student-loan-repayments-would-save-government-4bn-a-year

Interesting article on the funding of higher education.

Thanks for that. Taking repayment threshold back to about £19k earnings rather than approx £26k almost halves the state's loss from £9bn to £5bn and plenty are on £19k to about £26k. Not sure if they will do it however. Meanwhile I have told my son today whilst I was happy to drive him to the tube this week (first week of work) he will need to drive himself next week and not try to save the parking costs (£20 a week parking). I was married with a child at his age.

My own view was that they have been waiting for Brexit before any changes. Pre-Brexit students from the EU had the same entitlement to loans as students from the UK, though I suspect collection of repayments may have been more difficult in some cases because of a lack of ability to deduct from payroll, and because salaries in some countries such as Poland and Rumania are significantly below those of the UK.

There will be a bigger impact in Scotland where the proportion of EU students was higher.

We shall see what they come up with. Luckily DD is now eligible for an NHS bursary. Like Xenia, we have been paying up to now, so not paying her fees will be a relief. Though possibly diverted into rent, if no one she knows comes up with a spare room and she ends up renting a studio flat.

I love the confusion between Darwin and Darwen. I hope guests don't get confused.

DD had her second jab today. AZ. She was saying that the US is opening up, so perhaps she will be able to visit her brother.

Just heard Leeds are doing 'mini' graduations - hire a cap and gown and have some pictures with you mates - 2 weeks of bookaboe slots so just trying to juggle work and DH on call so we can go to see DS1 ' graduate ' with his mates . @Decorhate you have a Leeds graduand too?

Good luck with the mini graduations. I am not sure the twins will bother with 2020 grads/Bristol now as it is so late and did my fake pictures of them at home in my old cap gown and hood. We shall see.

The one working is still doing fine - home at mid night last night after drinks with people at work so that's nice and normal except it was too late for me to collect him from the distant tube line that is the best way to his work and his phone was silent so he would have had a 30 minute walk to the tube at the work end and 30 minutes in the night at ours... may be he will take an emergency £20 note as I have done for 40 years in case of being stranded, in future......

@Carriemac I had not heard of this - the last news we had on graduation was that it was going to be next February... will check it out

Through a catalogue of minor disasters, DS1 was graduated from Birmingham in absentia back in 2018 and I have prodded him a bit on the subject of doing everything that he can not to find himself in a similar situation at Bristol when he completes his MSc later this year. But of course, in absentia might turn out to be the only way to go this time, as well .

We're very doubtful the college garden thing will be allowed in which case there's not much point us going all that way - if they have the actual graduation ceremony as planned presumably it will still be live-streamed so we can watch it at home. Fortunately the hotel booking can be cancelled with 3 days notice.

She's been to visit her colleagues-to-be today( tea in someone's garden I think) and been doing a lot of picnicking etc with friends as they too finish up exams etc - good to have a few weeks of fun after all the intense work

As of Friday DS2 has completed all exams and essays so he's got a couple of weeks to catch up with a bit of socialising before we pick him up.
We haven't heard from Horsemad for a while. Hope all is going ok with her lad.

Yes, home Horsemad is fine.
I spoke to my Bristol one yesterday who had women up at 4pm !!!! so missed a trip b ut planned whilst he was asleep to swim upstream in a river. Never mind, his fault for sleeping so late. We were also talking about which will be his leaving date (and none of us want to collect him so we will have to see who can be forced into that in July - his twin or I.

I think their results are out on Wednesday so I hope they both passed as resits over the summer would be a pain. The one in the paralegal job has signed his contract - all very grown up now to be a worker etc. at least for summer anyway although I want him to get some time off to relax before 6 Sept next course starts.