I think if she makes an issue of it and tells them that it's not true, there's a chance of him being (illogically) offended. Blokes are funny.
Go with a. He hasn't made a big deal out of it and nothing has changed as a result of him knowing how she feels (and he will have that element of doubt, since she hasn't said it to him herself). Absolute worst case is they drift apart. Best case is it's got him thinking about her in a different light.

If he genuinely thought you were uninsured why the heck did he still let you carry on driving?? I'd question that hard if you do get taken to court.

Doesn't your brother know if a payment has been missed? He should be able to check his bank statements and see, surely.

Either way, good luck, I hope it's some kind of administrative error that meant you were wrongly flagged up. Someone's been button bashing somewhere :)

Don't miss out on enjoying your pregnancy either though. Take it easy, don't get overly stressed, and get plenty of rest while you can (easier said than done, I know). I agree with the deciding that you're going to work X number of hours a day and leaving it at that. You need to squeeze in some time just for yourself! :-)

Congratulations and good luck :-x

In addition to everything else that's been said, I can recommend going to the gym from personal experience. It's done wonders for my mood, my self confidence, and my general wellbeing. If there's one near you then try and overcome your internal objections (pretty much every time I go I'm battling lethargy/anxiety/self consciousness about it until I'm there), join up, and go at least 3 times a week.

And go to the counselling service, you need to talk about things to someone just to offload a bit if nothing else.

If you don't need an extension and you think you can get it finished on deadline, then stick to that if possible, more for your own peace of mind so that it's not dragging on and stressing you out. As for mitigating circumstances, definitely submit. Every University has extensive experience of students with depression, never mind staff with depression, and *should* be well aware of the fact that it's a long-term illness, not a cold that hits you one week and is gone the next. Plus the pressure of study on someone who already has it means it's harder to pull yourself out of it. I would be extremely disappointed if anyone thought that you were "milking it", given the nature of the illness, and especially since you can actually produce documentary evidence from medical professionals that you are suffering.

Mitigating circumstances can, in most cases, be considered at external examiners' meetings where your final award is considered so perhaps you should ask them to take it into account at this discussion. It may be that you're worrying needlessly anyway and to be honest, you've done exceptionally well to be this close to a distinction despite suffering from depression! You're obviously very good at what you're doing and chances are that the thesis will be fine...but I'd still submit something since you have a very genuine case.

I'd say 2004, as that's when the examination was held and the assessment was completed and finalised, and it wasn't that the process was completed in 2003 and then the award was made in 2004 - the award couldn't be made without the viva being passed. That's my opinion anyway.

I've seen a lot of people recommend Authoring a PhD by Dunleavy as well.

On this note, the reviews on Amazon seem to indicate this (Dunleavy's) is a good book for arts/social sciences - I'm in natural/medical sciences so is Phillips' general enough to be applicable to me? I've also been looking at "The Unwritten Rules of PhD Research" by Rugg and Pat Cryer's "The Research Student's Guide to Success" - anyone used these? I don't need a book with loads about getting into uni, I've done that bit - I'm more interested in something from Day 1 of the PhD onwards, planning, doing the lit reviews, hints and tips for as you go along. Any advice appreciated (up)

Working/child tax credit as well. Your maintenance grant can't be counted as income as it's non-taxable so the allowance will be calculated just from your husband's wage, assuming he works over 16 hours per week.

It varies from journal to journal, but the general process is that it's sent to a reviewer who is known to specialise in a similar area. Things like your question regarding references, some reviewers will be especially conscientious (or interested) and will look them up - as I say most will be a specialist in that area anyway and may or may not be familiar with the referenced material already.

Of course then assuming it's accepted it's published and thrown out into the wider community for scrutiny, at that point errors and omissions will also be picked up and people may write in to point them out. This will be passed to the author for comment and both the initial letter and author's comments will be published in a later journal.

If it's completely baseless, or found to be fraudulent or similar at a later date, the journal might publish a withdrawal.

I've worked on a journal for over 4 years now and I've never known a reviewer to only read the introduction!!

Those are two universities out of over 100 in the UK alone, both of which are notorious for being run and administrated in an entirely unique way. They can't be used as the basis of an argument for the benefits of taking on PhD students. You could have made things a lot clearer by stating that Oxbridge pay a supplement - nowhere else does. As many have said, it's just part of the job, and the advertisements I have seen for lecturers at all levels include a statement that as well as attracting grants and funding, they must also supervise research by students at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Part of the bonus is if you create a little research group, it makes the chances of promotion to senior lecturer/reader/professor far more likely.
Obviously another benefit to have PhD students is that effectively, elements of your research is being done for you which you can then utilise for future projects, without you having to get your hands dirty in the lab all hours of the day :-)

You will have to have a reasonable UG background in maths, so it depends on what level and what type of maths course you studied. You will need advanced calculus and linear algebra as a minimum, preferably studied at Honours level, so at Level 2 or Level 3 with the OU. If you did the OU's Mathematical Modelling course, and did well in it, then that should stand you in reasonable stead, but I know that all of the OUs later-stage physics courses develop the mathematical techniques a bit more in a directed way depending on the subject you are studying.

The OU is very well established, it's been going for over 40 years as a chartered University, longer than the polytechnic conversions of the early 90s. I started my study at a traditional uni and finished it with the OU (Physical Science), and I'm starting a PhD in a crossover area between biology and physics. I did have a good maths background from my initial studies and I added to it with the OU though.

Fantastic! If you don't ask, you don't get, it's always worth a punt 8-)

Aye, university politics. I've been on the receiving end a couple of times, it's all about who you know it seems, no matter what level you're pitching at!

As for that utterly rubbish feedback, ignore it, it's obviously them having to establish an "excuse" in case you challenge the outcome - which tells me that they know they are being underhand and are trying to cover it up, but you mustn't take it personally or allow it to get you down. It's poor. You're better than that and I truly believe that things pass us by because there's something bigger and better out there for you just round the corner. So far, that's been the case with me and I'm sticking with that philosophy!