Durham University

[EwwSprouts]

To quote @kingscotestaff The continuation thread for those with DC at Durham, or applying to Durham, or alumni, or staff!

June 2023 End of term for all. Hopefully young people are brim full of plans for summer fun and jobs to pay for it!

Link to old thread
]Previous thread (fingers crossed!)

How happy are we all to have our young people home/ heading home? I collected DS in the high wind and horizontal rain on Saturday. He seems to have had a good term and is tired from a week of late nights.

Assuming academics are also looking forward to a break?

DH drive up to collect DS on Sat too @EwwSprouts - said the M6 was ‘interesting’! DS has a couple of pieces of work to complete but is chilled and happy and loving his first term in a shared house (wouldn’t be enough bathrooms for me, but he is obviously made of sterner stuff ).

Hope everyone has a good Christmas 🎄

@SpamhappyTootsie Glad he is also in a good place.
Agree for DS too, the move into a flat with friends has been really positive. They even cooked themselves a Christmas dinner on Friday night.

Hah, DS’s house did that last weekend @EwwSprouts! from the photo evidence, he is now in charge of veg prep for our Christmas dinner apart from the mashed potato And I’m going to get them a house Gravy Boat because the measuring jug was just too sad….

Edit: duplicate post

@SpamhappyTootsie Lol at the sad measuring jug. I only got anecdote of the mound of roast potatoes they worked through.

I hope everyone's DCs had a good term and are able to have a really good rest over the holiday - they do work hard, play hard!

Alas, I think most academics are now approaching with horror all the tasks they had to put off during term time ... (perhaps just me!). We get 25 days' leave per year, plus an extra three days in between bank holidays when the uni buildings are closed over Christmas but I never personally get chance to take them. However, I have a glorious term of research leave coming up in January (Jan to April), in which I will be working purely on my research (with some lovely, helpful undergrad research assistants who will benefit from the experience in a lot of ways) so all is well with the world.

On a slightly soppier note, thank you for entrusting your DCs to us. As my own kids approach university application age, I am increasingly aware of what a leap of faith it is to see your beloved newly-minted adults go off into the wide world to make their own mistakes and build their own lives ...

@SchnitzelVonCrummsTum I love that you are so enthusiastic about your research. I felt DS had truly flown the nest when one weekend he referred to returning to Durham as going home. A bit of a shock but a very positive sign he is comfortable there.

There is an ad currently running on TV for Mog on Christmas Day which you may have seen. When I first caught a glimpse I thought it was going to Slinky Malinki's Christmas. DS didn't remember so I said 'well we only read it around Christmas but you'll remember Hairy Maclary that was a favourite' and he didn't. I think we still have a copy, it may have to come out just to assuage my disgruntlement 😆

DS can't fault the teaching he has received @SchnitzelVonCrummsTum and as a parent I appreciated the sympathy and support he got on the academic side when he had a short period of ill health last year. I hope you and your colleagues have an enjoyable and peaceful break despite the work not stopping necessarily when the students go home.

Thank you @EwwSprouts and @SpamhappyTootsie - glad that your DC are feeling at home and well-supported with us!

I think Slinky Malinki's Christmas might be one of those books we don't own (I thought we had all the Hairy M books). Off to google now - thank you for the tip!

Have a lovely, peaceful festive season. I hope that all DCs get to recharge, enjoy lots of home comforts, and share endless tales of their Durham doings. And I hope that you get lots of hugs and a chance to reconnect xx

@SchnitzelVonCrummsTum
My DS has had a fantastic first term in Stephensons. He is psych/anth bsc student. He also happens to be autistic, so I was really grateful for the amazing welcome the new students were given and the way the collegiate system has given him a sense of belonging to a smaller community within the wider Durham Uni cohort.
Thank you for everything that you do, my lad is loving his Uni life.

@EwwSprouts
It's so lovely having my DS home. Hope you have a lovely Christmas with your offspring.

@DeadbeatYoda Thank you. He's in Stephenson too!

Mines at Stevo too, he's had an amazing first term, he's loving it. Nice to have him home though, he seems so grown up!

So lovely to hear how happy all the dc at Durham are and how well the freshers have settled.

Dd absolutely loves Durham, her course and Chads - they have all exceeded her very high expectations. She’s made loads of friends and is super busy in a social whirl.

For those dc considering Durham who are apprehensive about room sharing I would say don’t worry. Dd and her room mate don’t socialise together and are quite different people but coexist happily and I would say dd has learnt valuable skills in learning to live with another person. I asked her if she would move to a single room now if one became available and she thinks not - she likes the space her massive room gives her.

@Netcam @EwwSprouts
Yay! 3 stevo rangers!
Well, it was fab having them home but back they go.

Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas with their Durham lads and lasses.

Yes it was lovely to have DS home. Bit of a whirl as he caught up with friends and did some paid employment but a relaxing Christmas was enjoyed by all.

I had a flying visit to Durham on Sunday. My son was disappointed I'd missed the cathedral being lit in purple for the holocaust memorial.

We had a really nice meal at The Cellar Door which I hadn't come across before. If anyone is looking for somewhere to eat.

It did look beautiful in the photos I saw @sparrow4. The Penshaw Monument was also lit in purple and one photographer had caught both in a shot, twin beacons of remembrance.
We’re off to visit in a couple of weeks but sadly mistimed it again to catch the Fire And Ice Festival 🤦‍♀️.

What’s fire and ice ?

https://www.thisisdurham.com/whats-on/fire-and-ice-durham-p1116961
Here, @Fruitygal. We always miss it due to the way half term falls here. So I book half term week for a Durham visit instead of a long weekend when the Festival is on.

Oh DD has her birthday that weekend and we have a family wedding so she’ll see it on the friday but we won’t as she’s coming home on the train xx

@SpamhappyTootsie No idea where you are but it's York Ice Trail this weekend, no fire! Was excellent last year but I fear they will be up against it with the warmer temps this weekend.

@Fruitygal How's your DD doing? I think DS would have preferred an exam to the torture of a 10 min video assignment.

@EwwSprouts which module has a video presentation- DD wouldn’t not like that !?!🤣😂

@Fruitygal More than one! Cue grumpiness. I don't know which but last week one module had a formative assignment of group video and another module a summative of the solo video....on something to do with DNA.