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

Dd got her invoice today for Imperial accommodation and disappointed to find out she’s on lower ground floor, which at first we thought was a restricted view room but as it’s at the back, it’s not. The view is onto a small street, but the rooms at the front look over onto a park, that’s what she was hoping for and was hoping for one higher up. Still haven’t got her timetable. Someone emailed and apparently will be some time this week! Induction lectures start from next Monday as well.

Lovely to read lots of good news about driving tests, happy drop offs and epic parenting!

I would WhatsApp DD fairly frequently. Could be twice one day and not at all the next. Often with photos of stuff that is happening. Sometimes she replies and sometimes she doesn’t.
She had posted a photo from the Harvard v Brown game on Friday and I replied with a of some scones that DDs friends mum had made for a coffee morning captioned “you might have the big game but I have Bs scones”

She is definitely doing her laundry, whether she is doing it properly I have no idea. She mentioned her roommate had the delux laundry service package where the service give you back your clothes ironed and on hangers or folded depending on the item, unlimited dry cleaning and delicate washing for a mere $1079 per year. I suggested if she wanted that she should get a job and pay for it so she decided to do her own laundry.
No shortage of machines as there is a laundry room on each floor in the halls.

@ChimneyPot Ooh I want to sign up for the deluxe laundry service sounds fantastic.

First came DS1 then we added two more cherubs and grew as a family and we loved most minutes of it. Now we are at the other end with one cherub leaving the nest …… such is the cycle of life.

No words to describe the feelings

@ChimneyPot your DD certainly seem to have all the mod cons. And I bet she is finding her academic study rather easy?

She finds the economics and maths easy so far because it is material she covered in school but the politics class and equality in education ones are new to her and have a lot of reading. Lots of assignments, papers and tests.
I think she decided to balance the easy classes and more challenging ones to leave time for her social life this term.

Sorry to hear of the laundry woes! @ChimneyPot that service sounds amazing!

I don't think dd has done any washing yet. She is waiting for me to post her laundry basket (divided into darks and lights) that arrived at home via Amazon after she had left. She's using a blue Ikea bag in the meantime. I did point out that she could still do some washing in the meantime!

She seems to be enjoying it so far and has been signing up for societies and going to Freshers' events. First lecture was today!

She sends a few WhatsApp messages and we've FaceTimed a few times. A few times she's had a joint video call with both her sisters which is quite sweet.

Well, he's only gone and done it! DS passed his driving test first time this morning. Delighted for him.

@MidLifeCrisis007 takes the driving parenting award for me though, and resilience in the face of adversity to @Majaso12 's DD. 😊

Great news @Pumpkintopf!!!

Well done to your boy!

That’s really good news Pumpkintopf! Well done for passing first time! Such a relief to get it out the way before going to uni.

@Pumpkintopf Brilliant news, well done to your ds 👏

Thanks all, much appreciated- yes, so glad he squeaked it in before uni. Imperial's late start has certainly been a blessing from that POV as last week it was touch and go whether he'd sit it, let alone pass!

(I will be booking some refresher sessions in the hols just to get him back up to speed!)

Great news, congratulations @Pumpkintopf!

Congratulations @Pumpkintopf and son!

Thanks both 🤗

Love this thread

Well done to @Pumpkintopflad! Great news!

Well done to @Pumpkintopf DS.

Well done to all who managed to pass their driving test.
It does worry me a bit how both dc (who are in London so hardly any driving practice for 3 years), will keep their skills up to date. I did suggest older one to have a one off lessons if/when he gets his own car and doesn't live in London anymore. Obviously he said no to that suggestion...

My Godson who’s lived in London all his life (apart from going to uni), has never learned to drive as the public transport is so good.

Meanwhile we live in a little village, with a couple of buses a day to the nearest town, so our DC learned as soon as they were able!

@Notagardener

Well done to all who managed to pass their driving test. It does worry me a bit how both dc (who are in London so hardly any driving practice for 3 years), will keep their skills up to date. I did suggest older one to have a one off lessons if/when he gets his own car and doesn't live in London anymore. Obviously he said no to that suggestion...

DD1 passed her driving test just before going to Oxford a few years ago. She was in-college for three years so didn't need a car, didn't drive over the holidays as she used the train. When she graduated she bought a car, thinking she would use it a lot as now back at home. She got a job really quickly, starting in the January and moved to London. The car sat on the drive like a beautiful monument. Even during Covid, when she was back home, it got used infrequently, where was there to go? So three years down the line, we have just sold it. Three years worth of insurance, MOT's, maintenance, much due to just sitting there and slowly deteriorating, and it only did 5,000 miles in three years!

Her new flat in South London does have on-street parking, but she just doesn't need it, so off it went. Only upside, we sold it for the same amount we bought it, second hand cars are at a premium at the moment.

Hats off to the college principles who matched people on the floors. There are common links between students eg one lives in our town (another from his school), another has lived in Dubai etc . Spoke to DS today and although he hasn't found the college events themselves to be exciting, he seems to have gelled with people in his corridor and doesn't feel alone or homesick.

On the downside they had a College subject meet up and was told they had to have read this book by Friday (I wonder if it was a joke?)

"told they had to have read this book by Friday"

I did on the LSE website there was a reading list but I don't think she read any of it....

@Notagardener I meant any other history student at Durham as he was told at a college history meet up

How is your DC enjoying LSE? The course must have started now

Chops I know , just wondered whether it was something they "should" have known if they had carefully read the uni website etc , or whether it was completely new information.
Maybe I have "bad experience" with my dc coming up with something like that, when it was actually something they should have known beforehand....

Apparently some other history DC has heard in the summer 🙈

Oh well.... his problem