Graduation Day!

I received an email this morning saying the dress that I'd ordered had arrived so Keith and I hotfooted it over to the library in Brixworth to pick it up. I also bought some pastries in the Co-op and a load of batteries for my camera in the small hardware shop there.

It was then back home for breakfast and a morning of getting ready. It was very hot in the house so we had all the fans going to try and keep us cool. I have to say we all scrubbed up very well!

Luckily, Mike's new trousers had arrived yesterday but he hadn't tried them on until this morning! My dress was lovely and I felt very floaty in it! As usual, Sophie looked stunning in her new dress and shoes and I was enormously proud as they stood on the steps!

We made the short journey to the uni and found a car parking space near the entrance which was a real bonus as I'd been having nightmares about not being able to park and having to walk miles! We were directed to the library where Sophie collected her gown and I had high hopes as a covered walkway had been set up with beautiful flowers in planters.

Sophie collected her cap and gown and met some of her friends so there was much kissing and squealing as they all donned their robes! We then took some photos outside.

So proud of my children!

I was just so thankful it was a beautiful day and the sun was shining! However, it was a little too warm for my liking but I'd rather have had that than pouring rain and grey skies! Sophie got together with her friends and we took more photos.

Beautiful, and very smart!

I love this photo of Sophie and her friend, Brooke

Once the photos were over we trooped back inside and I bought some water. Once all her friends had arrived we took the shuttle bus down to the Derngate theatre where the ceremony was being held. As we had a little while to wait we had a drink in John Franklin's bar and sat with Sophie's good friend Madina. The girls enjoyed Prosecco while Keith and Mike sipped a cold lager. I stayed with sparkling water!

Just before the ceremony started, we said goodbye to Sophie and her friends and we went right up to the Upper Circle, somewhere I hardly ever sit if we go to the theatre so it was a bit of a shock as to how far away we were! I could see the stage and rows of seating and assumed that the graduates would be brought up in groups to sit there until they were called up.

However, this seating was for the good and worthy of the uni, including Richard Coles, the Chancellor who used to be in The Communards in the 1980s! He gave a short speech and I could see Sophie far below. First up was Earl Spencer's wife who was awarded a Fellowship of the university for her work with disadvantaged children.

The ceremony then began and they really rattled through all the graduates. We had been given books with all the names and the order they were graduating so we knew when to expect Sophie. It was all over in seconds! I didn't record or photograph her as I wanted to see her collect her certificate properly but I knew Mum and Dad were watching at home and they probably had the best view!

I felt very emotional when she went up but for me, the proudest bit about today, was how hard she'd worked over the three years and kept on going even when she found things difficult. I was so proud she'd gained a First.

The ceremony took an hour and then we were all reunited with our offspring. There was a surge of people waiting to board the shuttle buses and it was a very hot and uncomfortable journey back to the campus. Once there, Sophie took her cap and gown back and we went for a quick drink in the Student Union. She was hoping to meet up with more of her friends but some of them were absent, which was puzzling. I said it would have been great to have had a Graduates' Ball at the weekend so they could have all caught up with what everyone was doing, but in the end people just melted away and we decided to go home. It was all a bit of an anti-climax!

We'd booked a table this evening at The Tollemache Arms in Harrington for 7pm and invited Mum and Dad along and the plan had been to go straight there, but we all needed another shower, as it had been so hot and sweaty.

When I drove out of uni I realised it was rush hour - I had forgotten it was a Tuesday! We crawled slowly home, had showers and changed and arrived at the pub at 6.30pm, just enough time to have a drink in the lovely garden and wait for Mum and Dad to arrive.

There were lots of people enjoying the sunshine and sitting out in the warm evening air. At 7pm we went inside and met Mum and Dad coming through the front entrance as they'd booked a room at the nearby B&B for the night.

We had a lovely meal and my parents enjoyed seeing the photos we'd taken throughout the day. We enjoyed starters and main courses and Mum indulged in a dessert. It was great to see them relaxing and being out again!

It was great to sit and chat after such a hectic couple of days and I'm looking forward to having a bit of a lie-in and a lazy day tomorrow!