in reference to holiday time - we were 'allowed' 4. i took one to great disgust of my supervisor.

not wanting to sound too negative, but in my experience lab based phds you need to be working the full 37.5 hr week +, if not then maybe you could get away with it, for example if its more a reading based phd. that said several close friends of mine (both science) had children and were bascially told if you want to do a Phd deal with the hours bascially. Which in some ways people agree with as if the rest of us left early for example it would be frowned upon. maybe part time would be your best option. and also find a supervisor with children, this changes their attitute entirely!

well the viva day has finally arrived (this friday) and i literally have not slept for weeks, having had a unsupportive supervisor (long story) who has since i submitted been emailing me reasons why im going to fail i am a complete wreck, and convinced therefore i am going to fail. Ive had several people say to me that in science vivas the main focus is your work and your work only, not all literature published since leaving, even though this is what my supervisor has led me to believe, how did anyone get through this time? does anyone know how common it is to fail outright?