FOOC in Monaco

It's panic in Monte-Carlo. 12 classes have been shut in various schools over the last couple of days because of swine flu infection of their pupils. To understand why this is a big deal, you need to know that there are only a handful of schools in our tiny principality. DD (4) went to school this morning but we quickly regretted it, once we learned at lunchtime that a kid in her class had SF and her teacher didn't come to school because she was ill. Normally we go up to their classes to get our kids. Today they were brought down to the gate. I told headmistress that I wasn't going to bring her back after lunch, but couldn't get her bag from upstairs because they wouldn't let me inside the school

As of last Friday, DD and DH have received invitations for SF vaccine. I haven't. (Clearly the expendable member of our family ) DS (almost 6 months) will be called when a vaccine without adjuvants is available next month.

In our favour, the weather is still quite mild here. This afternoon I took DD down to the beach to ride her scooter, and we were both in long sleeved shirts.

FOOC in Monaco

It's panic in Monte-Carlo. 12 classes have been shut in various schools over the last couple of days because of swine flu infection of their pupils. To understand why this is a big deal, you need to know that there are only a handful of schools in our tiny principality. DD (4) went to school this morning but we quickly regretted it, once we learned at lunchtime that a kid in her class had SF and her teacher didn't come to school because she was ill. Normally we go up to their classes to get our kids. Today they were brought down to the gate. I told headmistress that I wasn't going to bring her back after lunch, but couldn't get her bag from upstairs because they wouldn't let me inside the school

As of last Friday, DD and DH have received invitations for SF vaccine. I haven't. (Clearly the expendable member of our family ) DS (almost 6 months) will be called when a vaccine without adjuvants is available next month.

In our favour, the weather is still quite mild here. This afternoon I took DD down to the beach to ride her scooter, and we were both in long sleeved shirts.

Oh thanks a million billion times BD. Actually I am quite sleepy after spending the day becoming an Aunt via internet, phone and text and just want to sleeeeeeep now!!!!!!!!!!!

I will defo keep it in mind for next year.

P.S. Sorry to hear Paris is so grey. We are a riot of colour here with the sycamores out the back window being shades of yellow through orange to a sort of dark pinky red, and the forest beyond being dappled dark green through brown. All of the birds have their breeding plumage, so even the great tits look glamorous, and the jays are a feast of pink and blue flashes as they fly around picking up bugs from the leaf litter.

Hey Tfor2, I know of at least two Guy Fawkes nights in Paris region - one at Maisons Lafitte, one at the athletics club in Meudon. You can still go and see fireworks if you want to...
I can't take my kids because DD is terrified of loud noises and DS too little, so I miss it too. I spent many of my formative years (age 10ish to 18ish) in Kenilworth where the bonfire celebrations were always held at the huge ruined Norman castle. Seeing them in a field has never had quite the same glamour.
DH misses it too - he's from near Lewes!!

I 'bumped into' gorionine on another thread and she called me over here...

To be honest it is difficult to write about Paris right now with her various shades of grey when my heart is in a little village in rural Suffolk. My mind is imagining continuations of various family sagas played out in bobble hats against an orange bonfire glow.

I always miss Guy Fawkes Night with a passion. The village my family live in has such a lovely show on the green near my parent's place. There is along with the musthave massive bonfire that the men excitedly build and fireworks the same said men excitedly let off; a Guy competition, sparklers, hot potatoes and a bar where warm alcohol recipes get their first outing since last Christmas. I like the inclusive ritual of it. The village green is filled with many new faces from increasingly various corners of the World, old friends, a new rumour (she's pregnant, he's Gay, I saw teafortwo snogging a boy on a motorbike (that was not true grrr)and so on and so on) and there is always a shrill of excited children’s voices. Some of whom are Great Grandchildren and Grandchildren of people I once knew but who now rest past the pub and turn right, in the church's yard.

I remember how we used to go along as cynical teens snurk and say "Are we celebrating Guy being a rebel or the English burning him?” It was only the year I had experienced walking through London a week after my then boyfriend now husband texted me “They bombed our station”, that I realised starring into the flickering flames on the Green; that we are celebrating neither of these things. He didn't succeed is what mattered. Democracy and the UK were left to evolve. Really what Guy Fawkes night is today, is a coy British National night, wrapped up in oddness (telling a story about burning a bloke and burning massive homemade dolls of him is quite weird if you think about it hard enough) and a bit of suffering (brrr - cold hands and sore toes I shall not be missing)...

Anyway with that I better go and sort out how to make these firework gouter cakes that I have promised my daughter on Thursday and search for a good website that tells the tale for her in a not too gory way... any ideas are very welcome!

- thanks - after a stressful afternoon shopping for gloves we have to go and collect dd's best friend for a sleepover - why did I agree to such a thing??? - I will post and read your post too when I have fully recovered a moment to think. ... ouch my head already!

Over to you T42

FOOC Greater Manchester

It has been very quiet arround here.(both RL and thread!)

I am having my first experience of finding a good secondary school for one of my dcs! (I can only hope irt will be easier the next times arround!)

DD1 quite bright and always had "above average" reports. We decided to give a go to grammar schools in the county (next borough to ours still has the grammar school system so most of them are free but there is fierce competition to get in). She sat two entrance exam (11+).

I had no idea that it would be so hard. As I do not know the system I just assumed that sats and 11+ where just the same thing with a different name. OMG the shock when we started doing papers ,two weeks before the test, no tutoring as I wanted to see exactly where DD1 was and get in or not according to her own merits, not because she has been drilled (nothing wrong with tutoring BTW, just a way to give myself a good concience as we would not have been able to afford tutoring.) Almost half the math subject had not been touched at all in school and she spend two weeks having math for breakfast lunch and dinner with DH.

She failed the first exam (we were expecting it) surprisingly enough not on her math and succeded in the second one. But... It does not garanty her a place in that school as it is (even after selection) still oversubscibed. I cannot help but thinking it was a very tough process for a limited gain as we are not in catchment area and the chances of her getting a place are not great.

There is two other more local high schools, one with a fantastic reputation but none of us liked it (Dh, DD, myself) when we visited and another one with a lower reputatio that we were very impressed with somehow.

We are now in the long wait (until March) to hear about which school she will be attending.

When I ws a child in Switzerland, there was not gap as marked between a school to another. We used to go to the the nearest high school nearest to our home and would have exactly the same chance as the people from the neighbouring towns in later life. Here I hear things like "do not send you DCs there it is full of chavs!" or " they have good ofsted reports because they start with cbhildren with very low grades and manage to pull them up to a decent level but if your child is ok in school they will get bored and get bad marks..." " Did you like THAT shool? REALLY???"

I am so scared to make the wrong decision, or that the wrong decision will be made for me.

How is it where you all are? how much imput do you have into which high school your Dc go/will go?

gorionine maybe we are! The heap is still growing, the conker window is just about over so we're finding some really big ones at the moment!

ds has had some ups and downs about missing Spain and of course missing his friends, but this morning he stood on the doorstep swathed from head to toe in vests, hats, scarves, gloves and woolly lined jackets and peered out at the murky drizzle before declaring "You know Mummy, I think I DO like it here."

Hurray!!!!