Relatives can sometimes be such a pain plum. We actually decided to go away this year to escape (not that mine are are as dreadful as yours sound)! :)
Thanks carciofi- have had a v stressful few months and it has been catching up on me!
Didn't make it to the sales today as too busy unpacking, washing, etc still but will do tomorrow!
vino- I think you could definitely manage a medical course at your age- are you just 25? Also, definitely possible with your son. I found the mature students were v much more focused and mature in the way that they studied and most of them did very well (we were all out drinking and partying when not working)!
I'm just wondering exactly why you feel that you want to be a doctor. I'm sure you have thought about it a lot but from what you wrote, I'm picking up that it is something you were going to do when you were younger and were sadly unable to due to lots of unfortunate circumstances. Are you now wanting to do it partly because of the challenge it represents because you are not challenged enough by your job or because you are at a crossroads and trying desperately to leave your P and change your life?
I think you have to consider really carefully whether you actually want to be a doctor at the end of the 5/6 yr course. Although the hours are far, far better than they used to be and juniors are more protected, the hours are still v antisocial and the training long (depending on which specialty you are interested in). The salary is also not going to be as high as your current one and if you continue as a lawyer, your pay will rise much higher than it does in Medicine (I know this depends on your field and I guess yours isn't the highest paid specialty). It depends how much this matters to you but I can see you are a lady with expensive taste :) Working as a hospital Dr in the NHS is also very different to working in the private sector and you may find that you go from being someone well respected and entitled to certain perks to being treated somewhat differently.......
I don't think you should let your family/ friends put you off because they feel it is irresponsible but I think you have to think v carefully whether it is the sort of life you want to lead for the next 10-15 yrs (depending on specialty) and whether the sacrifices that you will have to make are justified by the end result. Also, I'm unsure about how much Universities are charging nowadays especially for graduates (twas all free back in my day) :)
Anyway, good luck with your decision and good luck with evicting your P.