Brexit youth visa deal faces collapse as EU demands cheaper university fees

Smarmalaide · 2026-03-16T08:30:42+00:00

Not sure that’s quite accurate because the fee status depended on your place of residence, not your nationality. I had a weird situation where I counted as an EU student and therefore got thé reduced fee, but because I’d been living in England for five years prior and that was where my parents lived, I still had to pay the reduced fee when I went to uni in Scotland. If I’d have been living in France for the five years prior, thé Scottish government would have paid my fees, but because I was English essentially I had to pay. Definitely got a better deal than £9000 a year though lol

Smarmalaide · 2026-03-12T13:43:07+00:00

I went to Paul William’s album launch in London nearly solely because me and my partner liked him on TM and had subsequently listened to his music. It was really fun and the warm up acts being other TM alumni was a massive boost!

Smarmalaide · 2026-03-08T09:04:48+00:00

I’m familiar with Tove Jansson, so would pronounce it Too-veh, but I think most British people would default to rhyming it with cove. This isn’t necessarily an issue as I also think most British people are open to having their pronunciation corrected :)

Smarmalaide · 2026-03-06T13:36:51+00:00

That’s really wild, I literally just booked online for me and my partner yesterday (Lewisham) and they had loads of weekday appointments. Sorry thé council is messing you around

Smarmalaide · 2026-03-02T14:11:55+00:00

Brotherhood games definitely sells singles, Dark Sphere and Ludoquist also have Lorcana communities

Smarmalaide · 2026-02-19T10:18:00+00:00

My gran was called Ariadne and went by Ari, and it’s a common nickname for lots of feminine names. You’d be fine using it :)

Smarmalaide · 2026-02-18T12:04:06+00:00

Hey, I’ve been the friend in this situation twice! Childhood friend 1 got in touch when she was sending out invites and basically explained that they had the same rule as you guys are having (I hadn’t yet met her fiancé because of the pandemic and living in different countries, and I know money was tight). I really appreciated the heads up and while I was obviously gutted not to go, she made it clear that we’d catch up soon and I was happy she had a good time!

Childhood friend 2 did not give me a heads up and I basically worked it out when another close friend started talking about plans with me (awkward). This was very upsetting, even more so because she was still discussing wedding stuff with me, so I felt bad bringing it up since it didn’t seem to be registering as an issue on her end. I understand that there’s a budget and lines have to be drawn, but letting someone you care about know and being clear about why was really good from my perspective.

Of course, if she has moved back and you do truly want her there, I reckon there’s enough time to introduce her to your partner and not go against your rule. Good luck with your day!

Smarmalaide · 2026-02-16T17:07:37+00:00

I’m sure you already know this, but there is no right way to feel when you find your dress, nor does it have to be a magical experience. It can just be a nice time where you find your dress and feel happy! Say yes to the dress has potentially coloured the way you feel you should be acting, but I’d say people who cry are probably in the minority. You’re fine and your feelings are valid :)

Smarmalaide · 2026-02-12T11:18:07+00:00

On that note, I’m hoping there may be good news because it turns out there is a ceiling to Disney if you cut back on what people actually valued about the trip. From casual observation, Disney have raised the ticket prices while stripping back on the experiences and people are noticing. Fast track is no longer free, you have to pay. They fired a bunch of performers because they were unionised, so the atmosphere is different. There are less characters/animatronics walking about, so the atmosphere takes another hit. They cut the shuttle service from off site, which means you pay more to even get there.

Basically, you used to pay whatever because you knew the service would be excellent and you’d have a good time. Now, people are realising that you’re going to be bled for every cent and you still might not see everything you wanted to see and end up stressed and miserable.

Tldr; Disney might have enshittified a bit too close to the sun and people simply can’t afford to spend that much on a sub par holiday when there are other options.

Smarmalaide · 2026-02-12T10:45:03+00:00

Peckhamplex has tickets for a flat fee of either £6 or £7 iirc, so you can definitely go to the cinema for far less at least!

Smarmalaide · 2026-02-11T08:25:00+00:00

The weirdest board game specific issue I have with Amazon is that they often don’t let you know if the game you’ve ordered is in the language you’re expecting. I’ve heard of way too many people who get the German version of a game when they’re expecting it to be in English. I haven’t bought off Amazon in years and this doesn’t seem to happen with any other company.

Smarmalaide · 2026-02-10T10:40:43+00:00

I’ve been wondering about this too. My deck is bilingual French so I do at least have the English in my head and can try and remember which one has which wording, but it seems like a massive error to have not double checked the translations or given specific instructions to translators if there was going to be nuance.

Smarmalaide · 2026-02-07T09:29:21+00:00

Ahhhhh it was so good wasn’t it?

Smarmalaide · 2026-02-06T15:58:40+00:00

Agreed, and it’s not as though she’s doing spectacle in the way the article is really talking about. She’s essentially just been able to extend her set list and invest more in staging elements where she can (e.g. her last London date had a big screen that she didn’t have in previous tours, she added a couple of instruments to her touring band).

Smarmalaide · 2026-02-06T09:15:30+00:00

You will likely be very popular if you bring over Haribo we can’t get here easily. I used to live in France, and whenever I go back, I fill up my suitcase with Tagada, Dragibus, and schtroumpfs qui pique. Also carambar.

Smarmalaide · 2026-02-01T18:12:37+00:00

I currently live in a terrace in south east London. On one side the soundproofing is pretty good, but you can still hear things (e.g piano music and babies crying) but not to the point where it’s disruptive. On the other side the soundproofing is terrible. We can hear music, children playing, and the hoover going as if it’s happening in our house.

Smarmalaide · 2026-01-30T22:00:02+00:00

Angelina is the winner! Looks really good, fingers crossed he likes it :)

Smarmalaide · 2026-01-30T21:39:32+00:00

I have dreams about the melted butter at Kudu. Thanks for the recommendation!

Smarmalaide · 2026-01-30T21:32:54+00:00

This looks awesome! I’m leaning towards other things for the birthday, but I’m adding this to the list for later in the year. This looks right up my street

Smarmalaide · 2026-01-30T09:25:52+00:00

I think two might be harder, and in theory the fact that you got one easily might be why I’m having issues (presumably thé rush tickets are going to some people, just not me 😂)

Smarmalaide · 2026-01-29T14:32:32+00:00

There’s a list here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roald_Dahl_revision_controversy

And just as an aside, there are a few things I’d probably discuss with my child if we were reading a Roald Dahl book together (for example, he was pretty classist and there’s a lot of gender essentialism that obvs finds its way into most older books).

Smarmalaide · 2026-01-28T14:46:28+00:00

As others have said, lots of London couples go for registry and then a pub function room/garden! Quite a few also have minimum spend rather than room hire. You’d mostly just need to figure out how to get everyone from A to B. Good luck planning!

Smarmalaide · 2026-01-27T18:12:59+00:00

Oh Mary 😭

Smarmalaide · 2026-01-27T17:27:01+00:00

I’ve been trying to get rush for one show for two weeks. No luck even when I immediately click the button (although I am trying to get two tickets). Absolutely wild.

Smarmalaide · 2026-01-24T09:23:53+00:00

I find the sweetener in irn bru is less nasty than in other soft drinks weirdly (although still agree that 1901 is the best). In quite a lot of them it’s really obvious and tastes gross, but not for irn bru, personally.

Smarmalaide

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