I didn’t go to university, and nor have my three children. The reason I didn’t go is because I didn’t do A levels, and knew I wanted to be a Nanny, and my three didn’t go as they all wanted to start working straight from A-Levels. So, when I see people talking about their kids heading to uni and making decisions about where their children are going to possibly experiencing life away from home for the first time I am in awe. Even more so when I see uni checklists being drawn up and lives packed into cars from mid-September.
With being away from home though come some questions about, well life in general really. I was recently asked if I wanted to put some questions to my family about life away from home to see if they would know the answers. So Round One was about life in general and Round 2 was about uni life, which would mean Bruce would have to trawl the memory bank since he left Leeds Uni in the 80s!
It is rare that we all get together as a family these days but over the recent wet weekend, spent binging TV together, I put these questions to them.
How Much Does a Load of (Launderette) Laundry Cost?
To be honest none of us had a clue about the cost of washing in a launderette so we the guesses varied wildly, everything from £2.50 to a tenner!
The average cost of a load of laundry is about £4, but of course this is going to be different depending on where you are.
On which shelf in the fridge is meat typically stored?
Ellie knew immediately the answer to this as she is in charge of food hygiene at work so can tell you anything you need to know about preventing cross contamination in kitchens or food safety!
You should keep raw meat on the bottom shelf in order to prevent any contamination.
How long should you boil an egg for a runny yolk?
We all got this one right, dippy egg and soldiers were a huge part of their childhood, so they all knew that one!
If you want to make your own dippy egg and soldiers, you should leave an egg in boiling water for 4-5 minutes.
What does a TV Licence cover you for?
This question flummoxed a few of us. We had a really interesting discussion around whether they would need a TV Licence for Netflix or YouTube. We also had a discussion about whether students at uni need a licence or are covered by their home licence.
You need to be covered by a TV Licence to watch or record programmes as they’re being shown on TV or streamed live on an online TV service. And that’s not just the BBC; it’s all channels on any platform and on any device. You also need to be covered to watch BBC iPlayer.
In halls of residence, you need to be covered by a TV Licence if you plan on watching live TV in your room. But the biggest benefit for students who buy a licence for the year is that when they go home at the end of the academic year, they can apply for a refund for the unused time! This ensures students only pay for the months that they live away from a family home, provided it is already covered by a TV Licence.
In Round 2 we started of by discussing how often everyone called home and got in contact with each other. This got a few eye rolls because obviously I would like it to be daily, but that would mean everybody would have to accept me spamming the family WhatsApp with hilarious videos and images on an hourly basis.
When we talked about our best stress busting tips there was a range of really lovely answers. Some of us suggested a bubble bath, some going for a drive or standing barefoot on the grass. There was even one about heading to the beach to eat chips… bet you can’t guess which tip was mine?
It was an interesting discussion and one that I am glad we had that afternoon
How about you? How do you think your family would answer these questions?
This post is a collaboration with TV Licensing, but all thoughts and experiences are my own
I’m going to do this with my family !!!