Another path ....... the journey begins

[chopc]

Hello @321zyx @AvocadoPlant @bendmeoverbackwards @BigWoollyJumpers @Braveheart35 @calculatorqueen @ChimneyPot @Dobbyisahouseelf @Eastisup @jano69 @Majaso12 @MidLifeCrisis007 @NCTDN @Notagardener @OnTheBenchOfDoom @Parsonage63 @Pumpkintopf @Peaseblossum22 @quest1on @Peaseblossum22 @SATSmadness @SeasonFinale @Tenpastseven @Vargas @Xenia

Apologies for anyone I omitted to tag

Hello all, lovely to hear of those being reunited with dc at home or away. Sorry to hear of so many cases of freshers flu and lingering coughs.

DD continues to enjoy Durham and says she won't be back home before Christmas which I'll take as a positive. I'm still clearing our empty nest of bags of rubbish, recycling and trips to the charity shop. It will take a long time to get things how I want them to be.

DD has found a house with extortionate rent (rents have increased dramatically due to increased student numbers) - 6 of them will be sharing. I've signed the guarantor agreement so hopefully the paperwork will be done and dusted in a few days. It's strange to commit to living with people you've only just met but having seen DS already go through this, wrongly or rightly, it seems that's just the way it is!

Chopc I'm hearing very little from DD and when I do it's mainly about social life rather than academics. History is renowned for having few contact hours and I agree it takes enormous self discipline and independent learning. I will quiz her on number of formatives and summations set this term. I recall DS had about 5 in his first term, but only 2 were mandatory.

Pumpkintopf relieved to hear your DS's ankle isn't broken and that it will heal in time with both rest and exercise.

Bend, a bit late for me to comment but your DD's plans for a year overseas sound very exciting.

I hope your DS is on the mend soon @Pumpkintopf

It is interesting how different subjects are run as my DD still hasn't had any submitted work so is a little apprehensive as to how she is doing academically. I think she will be happier once she has completed an essay and had feedback. She isn't loving the style of learning but that's life and I'm sure she will get to grips with it in time.

[quote chopc]@Notagardener noted

Those with DC at UCL - could you ask them if Cocktail nights at the union is still a thing? Was Thurs night in my day [/quote]
Yes I remember it well @chopc It was the 4th floor bar wasn’t it? I was partial to a Brandy Alexander. Happy days. I also remember the Maths department being at the top of the students union. Us Chemistry students would traipse up there for our compulsory Maths class taken by a Scottish lecturer. 5 mins into the lecture, there were numbers and formulae all over the board and we were completely flummoxed, despite me and my friends having Maths A Level 😂

@bendmeoverbackwards I thought it was on all floors? Snakebite and black was my drink ........

So wrt History, I asked DS again and as far as he knows there is only one essay due in Dec and even that is not a summative if I recall correctly.

Seems that self motivation and independence is needed more at Durham and although required at Oxbridge entry, Oxbridge students do have a lot more guidance (from what I hear anyway)

So I did actually ask DD what she had work wise, as she is coming home later this week, and we have a new bathroom going in, so it is very, very, noisy and disruptive. She is trying to get a good chunk done before she comes later in the week.

She has a 2000 word essay to do, an 850 word commentary, and a formative essay plan.

I know she has already submitted one piece of work, not marked exactly, but given feedback. She did really well, with the only comments being too long (a longstanding issue), and she had put too much detail in the references, which weren't needed, so again, gave herself too much work.

She has also said she hasn't had time to do any recreational reading, just course reading, so obviously fairly busy, and seems to have something every day.

She phoned last night and was very homesick. All her flat, bar one, have gone home, BF has gone home. She doesn't mind being alone per se, but was getting lots of pictures from her friends of their homes/pets and felt sad.

Big sis is going down to visit tomorrow for a couple of days, they will go out and about, and probably visit places DD hasn't yet got round to. She will then come home Thursday and spend a long weekend with us, and celebrate DH's birthday with dinner out somewhere nice.

DS at Bristol had to submit an essay last Tuesday which will count as 20% marks towards that module and has a second due in December for that module for which he already has a choice of questions but which he won't start writing until after reading week. He also has exams in January for other modules and then starts some new modules after those.

He has 10 face to face hours and one online hour a week by way of lectures and seminars/tutorials. Aside from those he does independent prep and reading between 11am and 7pm each day other than Wedneaday as he has sports and any catch up on Sunday pm along with laundry.

I am not sure whether he will receive the grade for his first essay back before he does the second. His friend at Durham who was y1 history last year had discussions with him regarding organising workloads before he started. Friend got a first in year 1.

Thank you for the input re: History. I shall wait and see and just hope DS is aware of everything.

On another note was it @bendmeoverbackwards who said about the covers her DD has for drinks? Care to share a link?

Don't know how to stop the injecting though - even DS knows a student in Durham who was injected twice

@SeasonFinale

DS at Bristol had to submit an essay last Tuesday which will count as 20% marks towards that module and has a second due in December for that module for which he already has a choice of questions but which he won't start writing until after reading week. He also has exams in January for other modules and then starts some new modules after those.

He has 10 face to face hours and one online hour a week by way of lectures and seminars/tutorials. Aside from those he does independent prep and reading between 11am and 7pm each day other than Wedneaday as he has sports and any catch up on Sunday pm along with laundry.

I am not sure whether he will receive the grade for his first essay back before he does the second. His friend at Durham who was y1 history last year had discussions with him regarding organising workloads before he started. Friend got a first in year 1.

@SeasonFinale dd says she had a source question from one of the core modules. I’m not too sure how much work she is doing, she just says ‘fine’ when I ask about work.

@BigWoollyJumpers sorry to hear your dd has been homesick, understandable with tales of home from her friends. Hopefully her sister’s visit will cheer her up.

Funnily enough, it’s ME who’s feeling a bit lonely this weekend. Dh and dd1 have gone on a city break to Liverpool, dd2 at Bristol and I’m at home with Dd3 (who is autistic). She’s holed herself away in her room, appearing for food and to glare at me ☹️

@SeasonFinale that’s a lot of work your ds is doing! I’m worrying now that dd isn’t doing enough. I hope I haven’t given her the wrong impression by telling her I didn’t do much work in the first year.

Re Spiking - DD bought one of these and the uni provide spiking detection kits (no idea what these look like!)
www.amazon.co.uk/NightCap-Drink-Spiking-Prevention-Scrunchie/dp/B08RF32Y7N/ref=asc_df_B08RF32Y7N/?hvlocphy=1007178&linkCode=df0&hvptwo&psc=1&hvnetw=g&hvadid=535836204190&hvpone&hvlocint&hvpos&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl&hvqmt&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&hvtargid=pla-1257454316377&hvrand=15900828203634375294

@BigWoollyJumpers hoping your DD is feeling better today. Homesickness is so horrible.
DD is staying at Exeter all week. At the moment she’s too scared by the injection spiking stories to go clubbing, so I think it will be a quiet week (last night the planned club was replaced by a movie night). And I don’t think social or sports clubs are running this week. But as more flat mates go home I’m expecting it will be quite a tough week.

Thanks @AvocadoPlant . I am wondering if this would be suitable for DS as it's essentially a scrunchie?

[quote bendmeoverbackwards]@SeasonFinale that’s a lot of work your ds is doing! I’m worrying now that dd isn’t doing enough. I hope I haven’t given her the wrong impression by telling her I didn’t do much work in the first year.[/quote]
He has always been a play hard work hard type. He is out clubbing until 3 or 4am most nights hence other than lectures He sleeps until 10.30 and starts work at 11am. He just works on a different time clock.

The only reason he is focused on good grades this year for his year that "doesn't count" as such other than needing to pass is because he knows his potential career path and knows they will want year one module grades for internships applied for in first semester of year two.

@chopc sorry to barge into this thread but I saw your note about drink spiking and protecting drinks - you might like to take a look at
stopttops.com

Presumably you could store the scrunching in your trouser pocket rather than wear it on your wrist? But I hear you!!

Sorry that should have been

stoptopps.com/

Thank you @LaLaFlottes . Much appreciated

That sounds great @SeasonFinale he obviously has found what works for him, that’s really good. I just hope dd is managing the balance between work and play. She does need to do quite well this year to be in with a chance for the term abroad.

So how is everyone?

Having stayed at uni to catch up/work on essays due next week, DD has actually spent quite a lot of time sorting out her Y2 accommodation. Deposit now paid on a house near the uni and with a mixed group of new and existing friends.

The medical news this week, as if freshers flu and pneumonia weren't enough for the first 6 weeks, is that she woke up covered in a rash. GP surgery were right on it and she was seen the same morning, luckily they confirmed its an allergic reaction rather than anything more sinister.

Hope everyone else is having a good week.

Wow that’s really organised @AvocadoPlant, nice to be sorted with a house so soon.

I had a lovely weekend as DD was home and it very relaxed catching up with all her news. I cooked all her favourite meals, as I could see she has lost weight, which I think is down to having freshers 'flu' and too many nights out. I didn't even grumble at all the washing she brought home, she was very apologetic at the amount.

I don't want to worry the Exeter crowd but I did hear some very upsetting news this week. A colleague's friend's teenager sadly died of meningitis at Exeter. Apparently they were taken ill very suddenly. I've sent my DD back with a meningitis checklist and told her to check in on flatmates regularly if they become unwell. News like this really upsets me but I realise that I can't wrap my DD up in cotton wool from the harsh realities of life.

Disclaimer - I don't know the strain of meningitis involved but my colleague simply asked if my DD had had their vaccination, which she has - ACWY.

I hope all our teenagers are having lots of fun at uni but most importantly stay well and safe.

Oh my goodness @Dobbyismyabsolutefav what tragic news, I can’t begin to imagine what those parents are going through. Is your dd vaccinated against meningitis?

Glad to hear you had a good weekend with dd at home.

Mine is coming home next week for reading week. While I’m very much looking forward to this, I’m feeling a bit guilty - we decided a while ago to swap all the girls’ rooms round, Dd3 (14) has a tiny room so we thought now was a good time for them to swap. While dd2 has been away, we’ve done a bit of work to her room and it’s looking a bit bare. She’ll sleep there when she’s at home next week as Dd3 hasn’t moved in yet. I really want dd2 to have some home comforts and she will of course, it’s just bothering me her room looks so bare.

Oh no @Dobbyismyabsolutefav that’s such dreadful and tragic news. That poor family, I can’t begin to imagine how they must be feeling.

As you say, so important that students do check in on each other. Meningitis can come on very quickly I understand.