Birthday

To like, reply or ignore is an annual Facebook birthday dilemma.  I had loads of lovely messages and eventually decided on the like button option.  So many people commented on how wonderful it must be to have a birthday on a Saturday.  Normally, I think of Saturdays as nothing days, punctuated with some light housework.  (Very light as I am cultivating a particularly fetching crop of spiderwebs in time for Halloween)  but today was special.  The fifth of hundreds of University Open Days my daughter has planned for us.  These visits have usually been quite traumatic, as my daughter and the long-suffering-husband find something to argue about. Not today, however, as they were both on their best behaviour. 

We were up at 6am for present opening before setting off for Leicester, DeMontford Uni.  I felt very spoilt with presents: Great British Bake Off Book, Cake tin, Handbag and a novel and box of Maltesers. 

My impression of this University was that it was full of very nice people.  I particularly liked the Vice Chancellor's speech.  I can relate to a man who says that his proudest moment was having 2 of Lady GaGa's bras pictured on his university website (because they were designed by a student), while wearing a nifty suit designed by another student.  He is also a twitter fan and asked people to tweet him during his speech.  Quite brave, I thought.  Even braver, though was that he projected the live feed onto the screen as he was speaking.  My favourite tweet was the one that said, "Get me out of here now!".  

This was exactly what my daughter was thinking during the journalism lecture.  Not because it wasn't interesting but because she had developed a migraine and was about to be sick.  Luckily, she held it together. How embarrassing would it be to be known as the girl who vomited during the open day talk?

At every Uni we have visited, a parent always asks about cleaning at the accommodation.  At one, a parent asked who was responsible for cleaning the windows.  I'm so confused about why parents think cleaning is so important.

It was an interesting way to spend a birthday but it was great to get home to this lovely Birthday cake baked by my son and a take-away Chinese with my fantastic Mum and Dad,