Housing update

The phone call may or may not have had an impact this morning, but we did speak politely and firmly to a lady in the accommodation office, and by this evening, the EFG had an email saying that she can have a room on 12th September and if she wants to arrive before then, they will put her in temporary accommodation.  Phew!  The relief is amazing.  OK, there is a minor hiccup in that she will have to move from the temporary place to the permanent room, but that is minor compared with not having a room........we'll just have to pay for a taxi to move her if there is no help on that front from the uni.

Today we have been to Gressenhall Workhouse and Museum of Rural Life - and it was fantastic!  I have taken loads of pictures, but I am tired now and I'll share them tomorrow: I am just SO relieved about the EFG!!

Home needed

(image from abdn.ac.uk)

The university seems to have miscalculated slightly and has not got enough accommodation with which to honour its guarantee that it will house all first year students in halls.

Not good.

We're 480 or so miles away, so we can't exactly pop along and look at a few flats, and the EFG hasn't conveniently got a group of 3 or 4 friends to take along to share with, so we are in a bit of a pickle here tonight.

We don't know for sure tonight that she hasn't got a place, but we haven't heard that she has, and on her FB group, those that have got accommodation know what they have, and those who have heard anything today have heard that they haven't.  She hasn't heard anything, so at this time, it seems prudent to presume the worst.

We've got the phone number to ring at 9am prepared with a list of questions.  I am also going to politely but firmly tell someone that a recently bereaved student needs a little more support than she might get in a rented flat with a group of people she doesn't know.  

I've emailed the Methodist minister there as well in case any families in the church want to offer lodgings, and we have scoured the rental websites - but you need a group of mates in order to rent a flat.....

Stressful?  Yes.  The end of the world?  No.  Hassle we didn't need?  Definitely.  Disappointed with the uni?  Unfortunately, yes.

Friends and family

We've had a good day.  Didn't get to chapel this morning because I overslept [whoops!] but was glad in a way because a lovely lady from the village came up to see us with a bunch of flowers for us, and I would have missed her otherwise.  She chatted for a few minutes and we shared our news about the EFG and uni, and then she left.

This evening, we have been to my sister's house for a BBQ with UJ too, and had a very nice evening, eating good food and playing with the latest additions to her feline family - two lovely kittens - which bring her cat count to nine!  There isn't a lot terribly frugal about Dear Sis, but she earns the money so I guess it is up to her how she spends it.  We've come home to a message on the answerphone from my dad, so I rang him back and he has done something really frugal - and a bit strange!  He told me I could have a sofa, which has been in the family for as long as I have, but it hasn't been used much and is in very good condition.  He has a towbar on his car, but no trailer, so when he saw a car towing a trailer in his town today, he followed it!!  He followed this poor random man home and asked him if he could possibly borrow his trailer!  And the man agreed....so he is going to bring me the sofa this week.

Tomorrow, I am having an at-home day, as I have arranged a day out on Tuesday, so I need to get some things done here first.....starting with the washing and ironing.  Monday's chores, after all!

Bargain hunting

The list of items which the EFG needs to take to Aberdeen is quite long, so we made a start on it today.  A particular charity shop had been recommended as THE local place to get household goods, but they seem to have suffered a lack of household donations lately - they had no cutlery or glasses at all today - but lots and lots of Shoes.  Sadly, we didn't need shoes.

We mooched around the town for a wee while and had a good look in some of the other shops, before I took the girls to Morrison's for a treat lunch for them.  The EFG wryly commented that some of her friends have had meals out and champagne for their celebrations and she got to go to Morrison's for fish and chips, but when you go out as often as we do [not], then Morrison's best is a treat!  Even better, I met another local preacher in there and we had a lovely catch up - his wife played the organ for me for the FH's funeral and it was the first time we had seen them since, so they were eager to know how we're doing and how the EFG's results had turned out.

This afternoon we headed further north into Lincolnshire and visited first my aunt and uncle, and then my cousin and her husband.  We had a good chat at both houses, and then travelled home via Morrison's again to make use of a couple of vouchers to get £10 of meat for £5 - I had already acquired one and then my aunt gave me another one!  It was a busy day in the meat department there, probably caused by the vouchers, so we ended up not having a lot of choice, but I brought home 4 x 500g minced beef, two lots of stewing steak and a large brisket joint, all for £10.  Rather a lot of beef, but it will last us for ages!

Tonight, I have just had a snack tea and the girls have made themselves something, and we are all watching tv, knitting and occupying ourselves in the same room with one eye on Twilight: New Moon.  These last nights are for spending together, pootling around and generally just being.  The EFG bought a lovely multi-photo frame this afternoon and has spent the last hour sorting out photos of the four of us, printing them and cutting them to size.  She just needs one of her brother and it will be finished.......

Hope you are all having a good weekend with those you love xx

This week in pictures

The 8lbs of greengages which UJ brought over on Monday and I turned into 16 jars of jam.  I love greengage jam and that should set me up for months!

The gorgeous tomatoes ripening on the vines outside the back door - they are scrumptious picked and popped straight into the mouth for an impromptu snack in the garden!

The veg plots are looking tidier after UJ had a hoeing session, and I did a little too.  The French beans in the foreground are still producing well, there are leeks in the middle bed and the courgettes are amazing.  The runner beans survived the windy conditions of last weekend too!

And this is the fantastic leaf-pattern hat which the EFG has designed and knitted herself.  She downloaded the leaf pattern from a knitting library on the internet, and then pulled together elements of other patterns to make a hat.  It fits beautifully and I want one!

Watch out....

Aberdonians, she's coming your way!

The EFG has done really well and got an A in Maths, and Bs in Chemistry and Biology.  SO proud of her, and wish that the FH had managed to hang on long enough to see this and know that she was going - he really wanted to, but I know he would be incredibly proud of her too - and wouldn't have had a wink of sleep last night for worrying about the results this morning!

Nerves setting in

Given that I need to have the EFG at school by 9am in the morning, I should be heading to bed, but I don't think I am going to sleep very soundly.  I am incredibly confident that she has done the best that she possibly could, but how will that translate into exam results in the morning?  What will it mean in terms of Aberdeen or Lincoln?

I'm going to take my book and knitting to bed, just in case.  I'll come back and tell all tomorrow.  Fingers and toes crossed for the EFG and for all the other kids getting results tomorrow, that they all get the results they need to do what they want......