Newcastle, Durham and surrounding area Christmas night out!

[Indith]

It is time to gather the troops :) All are welcome, newbies, lurkers, usual Durham thread rabble and anybody else out there.

First up a vote on the date:

4th December

Kara
Indith
Juney
Frozen

11th December

Leggy
Indith
Juney
Frozen

Small babies welcome. We all know how much you can long for a meal out yet be unable to bring yourself to leave the baby so as long as you are happy to bring them, we are happy to have them.

Please suggest places to go for a nice drink or 2 (cocktails anyone?) and a meal. The date which most people can make will be booked.

Yeah it's funny Indith, Daniel is still a bit boob obssessed!

He did actually ask for milk when we were in the bath but he sort of hovered over my boob and started giggling!

Well I didn't do much at the session today, but saw lots of lovely, tiny, squidgy babies

ooh I was across the road from you, at Grey College
(don't work there now though)

Hi, I'd love to come too but I can't make the 4th.
Please bear me in mind for any future meet ups though, it would be great to meet some real life MNtters!

Shall add youto my meet up radar :)

Myth the colleges are nice but because they are not academic colleges they are basically just halls with a few bells and whistles. I think the main benefits are for the undergrads really as they each have their own welfare system, own choirs/orchestras/theatre groups/sports teams so there is more opportunity to get involved in tehings than when there is just the main university choir/orchestra/theatre/sports team. As a lecture I'm not sure what it adds, a bit of a community beyond your department I suppose. If you are not that bothered then perhaps ring round the hill colleges (the ones nearer the science site) and see what they can offer you room wise, you don't want to end up with a bunch of noisy 18 year olds! I wonder if it is also worth contactinc Ustinov the post-grad college, remember only Ustinov and the newest college Josephine Butler are self catering so facilities would be very limited for you living in other colleges.

Okay Indith - wasnt sure if I could stay in them if I wasnt a member of the college. St Marys looked like it had nice grounds to wander in so I didnt feel quite so cooped up in a small room!

But yes, definitely do not want to be in the middle of lots of 18 year olds

Hi Myth!

Any hill college is a short walk to the Science site. Trevs has staff houses and flats and has fellows coming and going so might have something.

That said a room in a shared house with ther professionals in town might be better as you'd be less overwhelmed with UGs around you - the colleges are very social and you WILL have drunk students coming past your door late at night! (It happens in twn too, but the doors and walls are more substantial on a real house!)

I've bought my outfit...hopefully it will fit!!

Hi Myth,

I'm ex Castle (University College) but am currently a pastoral tutor for St Chad's college whilst I finish up my PhD. I also work on the science site (well, on the days I'm teaching I do). I live in the city centre, and agree with Leggy that a house in town is likely to be more undergrad-proof. Still get the drunk students, but I've perfected my 'deranged woman in hairnet and dressing-gown at 3am yelling about noise / cigarette smoke / broken glass' routine and the students always run off scared.

(I don't wear a hairnet but the rest is true. Especially the deranged bit)

Looking foward to the night out ... must decide what to wear! I wonder if any of my non-nursing bras will fit?

I think everyone is deranged Frozennorth when finishing up their PhD! Me, I became a manic cake baker!

Maybe I shall reconsider - I will only be there half the week so cant decide whether to just stay in travelodge/B&B on the nights I have to stayover.

Thanks for all the info everyone - MN very useful - like having eyes everywhere!

Been to Durham this afternoon with dp...had to go in the Shakespeare of course for some beer And usual visit to the fair trade shop in St Nic's for some soap and a drool at the lovely things

juney you have bought an outfit especially?

No no I buy an outfit for every single night out / christmas day hehe

Sorry I mean the same outfit for all nights out lol

I've ordered a couple of new tops to try out from Empire, should get them tomorrow/tuesday and will see which one I like best.

So looking forward to our night out.

I just realised my pic is on my mn page anyway Can't even remember why I put it there though?

hi everyone
just bumping this up threads im on
don't suppose any of you know how/where i could get a chickenpox vaccination?

No idea, how is A? Is it the pox?

she is fine, and no it's not, took her to see the nurse this morning before taking her to nursery and she is pox free!
sorry :)

SPB - do your GP surgery not offer the cpox vaccine?

I'm going to call and find out - I assumed they wouldn't, not sure why :o

I'm not sure it is something that is handed out but I think that you can get it with a good reason so depends on why you want it!

The pox is a paranoia of mine having never had it, we are pretty certain about having one more now so if the dcs have not managed to catch it and pass it onto me before then I might ask for it or I'll spend the entire pregnancy utterly paranoid.

yes me too, except not the pregnancy thing (which is totally different). I don't want to catch it and be out o action for a month or so when the children are so little. I don't have time to be ill.
But they are selfish reasons so I expectto pay for it. If I was getting pregnant again I'd definitely want it!

Sparkle I was talking this through with DH last night as I want to get our DDs the chickenpox vax as well as the BCG (will wait until they're a bit older for the BCG though as it's transdermal so you need the injectee to sit still). Anyhow, DH (GP) thinks it would be a matter of phoning the GP's surgery and arranging for it to be given during one of the nurse clinics albeit, as with jabs for foreign holidays / travel, paid for.

Indith - our paths may well have crossed. I'm probably identifying myself here (tho' I don't really mind as a lot of this information is on the Durham Uni website anyhow) but I graduated with my BSc in 2004, started my MSc in 2006 (two years in a job from hell in London inbetween) and should finish my PhD at the end of next year (crosses all fingers and toes).

thanks FN, so hopefully I won't have to travel too far :o
If you don't mind me asking, why do you want your DDs to have it?