Hi!

I have come to realise over the years that I will never fully understand what is deemed ok for British people to put in an e-mail and what isn't, so I thought I'd just ask your advice on this one.

Situation: need to send something to a university where I've applied for an MA and I should have sent it like two weeks ago, but didn't get around to it, in part because my grandfather died and obviously some things, like this, just kind of faded into the bakcground for a bit. Is it ok, or is it overly personal or whatever, to give this as a reason in an e-mail to a university official that I don't personally know? Or should I just go for something like "personal reasons" or a "family situation", or something else?

Please help a poor foreigner to survive in the insane jungle that is British etiquette. Thx