saw my dentist and he recommended I see the dental hygienist to scrape the plaque off my teeth - as one side was a concern he said an hour would be best.

when I booked in I was told it would be £178!!! for one hour!!!! WTAF??????

I had to see an osteopath the other month & she charge £60 for 50 mins - that 50 mins included a consultation with a healthcare professional educated to MSc level + diagnosis & treatment who has independent accountability.

how on earth can the dental surgery think that £178 is reasonable???? btw I am pretty certain that the majority of the cost isn't going into the pocket of the dental hygienist

I love reading about the history of food and recipes and how we ended up eating what we do. Along the way some foods have become commonplace and some are sought after and celebrated (mostly because expensive).

I am here to celebrate the pea. That pretty and delicate little green ball that I can’t believe comes in giant bags for £1.50. How is it so cheap? Why don’t people appreciate it? A dish of peas with butter and mint is divine. They are so delicious and delicate and pretty. Did people appreciate them properly when they had to remove them from their pods and could only eat them fresh for a couple of weeks?

Other things that absolutely punch are sesame oil, sumac, balsamic vinegar. Why are they not more expensive?!

I absolutely love this dress but I'm not confident enough to show my legs off. Anyone seen similar dresses in a longer length. Or any way I could create an underskirt or something?? Probably not, but thought I'd ask in case there are any fabulously creative minds here!

https://mewmews.com/products/indy-v-neck-rainbow-crystal-fringe-mini-dress?variant=42084038049852&fbclid=IwVERDUAVNyUVleHRuA2FlbQEwAHBkb2YBYWRpZAGrNVrFotA6c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMzUwNjg1NTMxNzI4AAEeFG0y7MuR4xTNjfkW15uBnx0tU-i8xX_Fgr6b2QS1gufyJ-yVRfpvwBuhLHQ_aem__hGx2Q3v8JG6KwJJ9Ihzpg&utm_source=26&utm_medium=261012-bz-cbo-materia-%E6%AC%A7%E7%BE%8E-None-Mix-20-50&utm_campaign=261012-bz-cbo-materia-%E6%AC%A7%E7%BE%8E-None-Mix-20-50%23M10W1&utm_term=120248478373900570&utm_content=120248478862250570&utm_id=120248478373830570

I feel overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I have to do. I’ve lost control of my house. It needs a major declutter, there are several half done DIY projects, many other projects that haven’t been even started. Surface level clean but loads of areas that just haven’t been touched in months. I am drowning in it. I don’t even work full time - I work Tues-Fri school hours so I have a Monday off to try and get caught up on things but in reality I manage to get a clean done ( slightly deeper than the everyday stuff but still not amazing), maybe walk the dog, pick up a shop and then it’s time to do the school run again.

Weekends are taken up with kids activities. On a working day I do the school run, work, go straight from work to the school run, get the kids sorted with snacks and prep dinner, walk the dog, do a basic clean and wipe down and maybe stick a load of washing on, some nights more activities and then the evening is gone.

I have no idea how people who work full time get anything done at all. The stuff I have to do now feels like such a mammoth task that I don’t know where to start. There just doesn’t feel like there’s any time. I often fantasise about having a few weeks off work to get on top of it all but I need the annual leave for childcare.

Is this just me? I feel constantly overwhelmed, over stimulated, knackered and busy yet never achieving anything other than the basics.

I'm starting to think about Christmas presents, but money is tight and I'm kind of low on ideas right now, but I was imagining how nice it would be to be the kind of man person who just turns up for Christmas day, opens some presents, eats some nice food then has a relax on the sofa...

I love Christmas and I like the excitement of the lead up, and spending time with my family. We (me, DH and 2 DC) live abroad, so always travel back home and stay with my parents for a couple of weeks. On Christmas day, I do the cooking with help from DH (I get him to do the veg minus the potatoes!), but I have 3 siblings who come with partners so there's a lot of people! The kitchen isn't that big either so getting everyone to chip in isn't very practical, unfortunately.

I was just having a little daydream about how nice it would be to just turn up and wait to be served...

Anyone else?

I can't believe people are doing this.

It was my friends wedding a few weeks ago and she'd ordered a dress online from a well known shop. She'd tried on the same one in a shop before and then ordered on online and it only came a few days before the wedding.

The dress looked fine at first but when she tried it on she could feel and see that someone else had worn it before. It faintly smelled of perfume and didn't have any of the feeling of a new dress and was slightly marked around the feet.

It think this is awful, and can really ruin the best day of someone's life. She couldn't get a new dress the same in time and had to wear a different one last minute. Of course the retailer should be able to prevent this in the first place, but I think it's disgusting that people do this at all.

Does anyone know people who do this? Or how people try to stop this happening?

I'm thinking of investing in my first pair of knee high boots, but am nervous about them being work appropriate!
Are these suitable, e.g. with an almost-knee-length skirt? I imagine I could also wear them with a miniskirt out of work

www.office.co.uk/view/product/office_catalog/2,17/4591300000

www.office.co.uk/view/product/office_catalog/2,17/5026200000

This is intended as a friendly, kind, safe, warm and fuzzy place for people to share discounts, bargains and Christmas gift ideas both online and IRL. Please note the tone and intention of the thread and join with spirit as generous as DC helping themselves to the Christmas chocolate celebrations

Here’s some useful information about how to save the thread or a specific post so you don’t need to have a message to check in for every thread so you have the thread saved:
To watch the thread - click on the little bell that has ‘watch’ under my first message. This adds the whole thread to your ‘watched threads’
You can also bookmark a specific post by clicking on the ‘bookmark’ under the specific post. This saves your exact place in a thread but doesn’t alert you to new replies.
If you have any referral links or codes, please share them on the referral thread

www.mumsnet.com/talk/christmas/5444936-bargain-referrals-thread-8

A reminder that we don't use affiliated links on here please

🎄 Emoji to copy if required for posting bargains as some agree this makes deals easier to spot.

Will request this is deleted if someone more official beats me to it or if Reastie returns!

Just wondering here what anyone else would have done in these circumstances.

Today I was in town. It was chaos, given half term. There was a group, at least a dozen, of kids, perhaps 13-14, who were wearing gold masks. (Am I outing?).

I'm just wondering what anyone else would have done to react to this? I found it incredibly threatening. I did approach the kids and speak to them, querying whether or not their approach could be threatening or illegal. I later found a policeman who was patrolling. He went to investigate.

Would anyone else find this threatening or am i being over cautious?

I’m getting married next year and have a large family. I have 14 nieces and nephews, and two of my those nieces and nephews, who are only 1–2 years younger than me, have eight children between them.

Our ceremony venue has a strict capacity limit, so I’m struggling to decide what to do.
Do I invite all their children and leave out my overseas cousins I’m close to, or invite my cousins and not the children of my niece and nephew? My two niece and nephew would still be invited, just not their children. If the venue was bigger I'd be able to invite everyone, but ultimately, I really want my cousins to be present.

Would it be rude or unreasonable to invite my niece and nephew but not their children because of the venue capacity?

How would you handle this?

Nothing truly awful, but a lot, DFIL is in hospital, we got a call from SIL on our way to airport for long awaited weekend away, chose not to tell Dd(18) as she is away in another country and honestly wanted to wait until we knew more and were home, think we didn’t want to think about it all more than needed, anyway came home and found her cousin has filled her in and added her to a family group chat I didn’t know existed (DH did) and now she’s really cross with us, because we didn’t tell her. And I’m missing her so much (she’s working abroad for a few months) and really didn’t intend to exclude or upset her. DH is looking at residential care options with DSIL now. Also going on my house is in chaos thanks to repairs after a leak, I’ve just discovered a toilet is not working and I’ve no idea how to fix it so need a plumber, had to turn water off and it’s constantly dripping (thankfully appears to be into cistern) I’ve banged my head getting up from turning off stop cock and just want to cry really. I should be cleaning and sorting out the kitchen (furniture just been brought back today), but now I’ve turned the water off that’s tricky…

I got married last summer (2025) and took offence to a comment made by DH’s best man. Juvenile humour at my expense. I remained calm at the time but told DH in no uncertain terms I would not socialise with him again.

He has respected that until now. Big row last night that I’ve ‘dragged it out for over a year and need to move on now’. I explained I felt embarrassed in front of family and friends. He says as he has apologised repeatedly I should give him a second chance, and be mindful that a lot of alcohol was consumed by him and he has ‘cut right down as a result’.

Maybe I am stubborn. But I believe that fool me once, you don’t get another chance.

YABU - move on and agree to meet up
YANBU - stick to your position

Not really sure where to put this as I’m not specifically looking for style advice per se! But I’m looking for a workout tshirt like the photo I’ll attach (but might take a while for approval), this one is out of stock in my size but the other reason it’s not quite right is that I want the sleeves to be slightly longer.
I need something a bit more fitted so I can see my body positioning underneath it when I’m exercising and all my existing ones are big and baggy. I can’t find anything that’s form fitting but with longer sleeves (not full length, I’ll maybe get too hot). Has anyone seen anything suitable?

Hi,
As an NQT, after about one term, I was threatened with Capability and jumped before pushed. I have a theory about what really happened, but would you care to give me your wise insights? I will provide some details that may (or may not) be relevant.

So, (not recent)
NQT, started before Christmas.
3 teachers in the year group- an experienced teacher, another NQT and me.

I had a Maternity contract, ran until end of Summer term.

Dont remember exat dates but in roughly this order these evemts took place:

I was given bottom set English- when I started.
I am also given bottom set Maths.by I think Feb aftwr half term.

Around this time maybe, im told by my mentor/deputy that they will support me with planning. Im happy with this, as I take criicism well and was happy to have some 'support'. Some efforts were indeed made to 'support' me.

Later in the term, Head says that there is good news and that the maternity lady who I was covering for until end of July, is able to come to my class straight after May half term, 5 days a week so that she can supoirt me in class, with planning, lear ing everything. I was soo grateful. What an expensive resource to be using on supporting me. And they have already done things to suooirt me, so this is just amazing!

Maybe a few days or a week later, (so about 2 weeks before May half-term) I am called into the Heads office. I was told that despite me being on a
'Support Plan' I have not made enough progress. Im confused cos ibthought Maternity lady was going to be lart of that supoort, but ok. This is when i realised i wasnt just being supported but was on a
'Support Plan'. I had never heard of this before. And still didnt understand the significance of it.

As a result, I was told, that the following week, on Monday, (the laat week of befire breaking up) we will have a Capability meeting and I can bring a Union Representative if I want and they will be discussing what other steps they can put in place or something, cant remember exactly. No idea what it all meant. So stressed! What's going on? They pull out a whole list of things ive not done well e.g. ' On x say in x lesson, during a learning walk, we noticed that...'

Spoke to a teacher friend in the evening. She said they want to get rid of you and you need to get out before they put 'Capability' on your record. She said do whatever it takes, even if it is going off sick until your contract ends, but do not allow them to put you on Capability!

I cant do that- go on sick. Doesn't sit right with me. Next day im discussing with another colleague- 'im not sure what my options are, is it better if I leave' etc, etc. In confidence, so I thought.

Pretty soon, Deputy comes to my room. And says we heard you are thinking of leaving. If YOU want to leave we will 100% support that. I say 'Oh, ok but what about serving my notice, how long would I need to do that? (as i only had 2 months to go) she said 'You dont need to serve your notice' 'ok, I replied, so when do you want me to leave?' ' You will be leaving end of next week' she replied. Meaning the last day of term.

Im then called into the Heads office pronto, so she can clarify that THEY are not telling me to leave next week, but if I CHOOSE to leave next week THEY will fully support that and that they can, as a gesture of good will cancel the Capability meeting on Monday. But if I choose to stay, then the Capability meeting will go ahead on Monday, and they just wont be able to change it. It is out of their hands! And that they wont pay my notice because I am CHOOSING to leave next week.

I speak to my Union. Hand in my notice. Not allowed to tell the students. They were informed on Friday via a letter. I was too sressed and compliant to go against that.

So if you have got this far- thank you. Do you see anything obvious about why this all happened or is it just what they told me?

Oh, also, they had an Ofsted the following term which had a poaitive outcome.

YAbu- They gave you support, you just werent good enough. They had no choice.

Yanbu- There were hidden reasons beyond what they told you.

Firstly, this is a NC for privacy. Secondly, it's not a brag, I'm genuinely interested in other (genuine!) opinions, and for that reason I'm not going into finer details. Thirdly, I'm not looking for savings/investment advice, more the opposite I suppose!

OK, prelims over. I'm retired, in my mid 60s (so hopefully plenty more years of health and foreign travel to come) and have more money and pension income than I need. (I know I'm lucky; but I had years of being very broke and learned thrifty habits which have stood me in good stead. Plus every penny I have, I worked for). I'm in the position of still being able to save a fair proportion of my money each month, without really having any reason to.

If you were in this position, how would you prioritise your money?

So as not to drip feed - out of choice, my LTP and I don't live together.
I have no debts at all. I own my house.
I have one child to whom I've already gifted a 6-figure sum so they are mortgage free.
I have small grandchildren; I could invest for them but I'm not sure that the amount I'd be happy to give, divided between them, would be enough to make a difference to them in 20+ years' time but might make me a difference to me as I age. Neither could I realistically afford private school fees for all. On balance I would rather my child made the financial decisions and provision for the grandchildren.
I have made my will, LPoA etc.
I may downsize at some point but I don't live in a mansion and there seems no rush to do so - If I do, that will only give me more cash anyway!
I don't have anything put by specifically for care as I age, but I could move into the most expensive care home in this town tomorrow and my savings and investments would cover 10 or more years of care before the house had to be sold. My mother and grandmother both lived independently into their 90s!

I could definitely spend more on holidays and on my house but I never really feel comfortable blowing large sums of money. And my partner doesn't like to travel, otherwise I'd go away a lot more.

What would you do if you were me? How much financial cushion would you want for yourself?

I love preparing the Christmas stocking each year, it's one of my favourite jobs and so I tend to get it done early (and then try and stop myself buying anything else!)

So far for dd, who is nearly 8, I have got:

Mini brand surprise balls (pet and food)
Activity book
Reading books x 2
Rosalinda mini figure
Nutcracker chelsea doll
Marshmallow keyring
Koala teddy
Tamagotchi
Brain game - cats
Penguin pen
Gel pens
Nature colouring book
Lip balm
Mini bee revival kit
Minibrand backpack
Hair slides and hairband
Snake tshirt
Snake stickers

I will also buy something chocolatey and a Lush bath bomb.

Under the tree she will get a schleich stable with some horses and a bean bag and the pets are getting her the Minibrand fridge.

If you are as madly enthusiastic about the stocking as I am, what have you bought so far? Or, what do you plan to buy?

I'm now wondering if DH might also need a stocking this year...

Just caught a snippet of some confident sounding commentator on tv repeating a line that you tend to hear in all news programmes. That Burnham is personable and has charisma. That line is starting make me think that as a country, the tyranny of low expectations has really hit a new low.

First thing’s first, when did saying ‘isn’t it’ after every sentence pass for charisma. Is the bar for charisma really that low.

Second, the guy’s failed upwards into a job that he’s clearly not fit for. His answer to everything is ‘Booses’.

The economy is on fire, buses. Immigration is out of control, buses. Crime is a problem, buses. We have the most expensive energy, buses. Industry and businesses are shutting down, buses.

He’s basically a small town mayor who accidentally became the prime minister because the quality of talent in parliament is non existent. Manchester is not a small town but running buses in Manchester doesn’t make you fit to be a PM. He was a failed health secretary, failed to be Labour leader twice when he actually had to have proper fight, somehow grifted his way to a mayor job for a decade. And yes his predecessors were any better. But why all the fawning over Burnham.

AIBU to think that we are headed towards a point soon when the public turns on him. He’s utterly out of his depth and the false shine will wear off in no time. A General election is looming.

All in all, so sad to see that this is the calibre of person at the top of government. What has happened to this country that no one smart wants to go anywhere politics.

In 1990 the average age for getting married was 24. I know couples who got married when they were 21/22 and had only just graduated from uni. I can’t imagine being married that young.

At the moment, it seems like most people get married in their 30s, if at all.

Hi all,

I’m not sure if there’s a separate IVF thread but I can’t seem to find it so apologies if this is in the wrong place.

I had a 6 day transfer of a hatched embryo 9 days ago. These are my very faint tests from day 6-9dpt. They are very faint and the progression is minimal. I’m thinking it’s a chemical pregnancy and the progesterone is keeping my tests showing faint positive. Did anyone else have similar at this stage? Xx

I was just doing my online shop last night. So many items like bottled water and long life milk were out of stock.

Quite clearly many people are taking the advice seriously. But to be honest, three days’ worth of food is really very little - most people would have that at home, even if it may not be their preferred food. So I think people are responding to this by buying supplies for a lot more than three days.

Full disclosure - I have done this myself. Not buying silly amounts but just a few more cans than usual. I don’t even know why!

For a multitude of reasons, DS has decided to drop out of university. He’s in the first term of his first year and officially withdrew on Monday.
In hindsight, he probably should never have gone in the first place. He’d always wanted to take a gap year and travel, and he had clear plans to do so. His decision to take a year out was fully supported. However, one evening during the summer holidays, he suddenly announced that he’d completely changed his mind and was adamant that he wanted to go to university.
Although he’d completed his UCAS application, he’d done so on the assumption that he wouldn’t actually be going, so he hadn’t given much thought to what he really wanted to study. As a result, he ended up applying through Clearing.
He secured a place at a pretty good university, but he’d never visited it or properly researched the course, the city or the halls of residence. (Yes, more fool him — I get it! Hindsight is a wonderful thing.)
He couldn’t get into university accommodation, so he ended up in private halls with no other freshers. There was no shared kitchen and very little opportunity to socialise with the people he was living alongside. He broke up with his girlfriend during his first weekend there, then caught norovirus in his second week and was really ill for several days.
Once he’d recovered, he joined clubs, made friends, signed up at the gym and genuinely tried to make the best of things. However, deep down, he hated it and has thoroughly regretted his decision. His heart just isn’t in it. He hates his accommodation, isn’t particularly enjoying his course and wishes he’d stuck to his original plan of travelling.
He’s now decided to withdraw, get a job, work hard and save as much money as possible. He may then reconsider university next year, but with more research behind him and, hopefully, a much more mature approach to the decision-making process.
That all sounded pretty sensible and realistic. However, he’s now saying that he wants to go to Barcelona next year to study. The course he’s interested in is taught in English, and he understands that he’ll need to prepare for and pass two additional exams, achieving very high marks in both.
My concern is that he could be setting himself up for exactly the same situation all over again. He’d be committing to a university he’d never visited, studying something different, and doing so in a country where he doesn’t even speak the language.
Is he panicking? Is he simply trying to escape his current situation and looking for somewhere else to be? Does he just need some time to mature, reflect and think things through more carefully?
I’d hate to discourage him from pursuing a dream if Barcelona is genuinely what he wants. Equally, I don’t want to see him make another huge decision on impulse, only to find himself in the same position this time next year. At the moment, it feels very much like history repeating itself.
If this were your son, what would you suggest or recommend? Would you encourage him to pursue the Barcelona idea, or would you advise him to take a year out, get some work experience, travel and give himself more time to work out what he really wants?
Many thanks for any advice or insight.

On our first date, we also went out for dinner, and I suggested we split the bill. (I would always expect to pay half). He was surprised and said that no woman had ever suggested that before and he always paid. I insisted and we split it. Now he's suggested a restaurant for the second date which is way more than I'd usually pay - he has a higher paying job than I do. And also it's only a second date so not worth of £100 a head in my view! Is there a way I can respond which is asking him if he's paying or maybe I just say, I can't stretch to that can we go somewhere cheaper? What do you think?

I hadn’t really considered it before but a few opinions on raising minimum wage got me thinking. If you work 40hrs minimum wage is now over £27k a year.

• Raising minimum wage but not raising the tax brackets works in favour for the government.
• Any jobs just above minimum wage are now going to be squeezed, unless there is career progression possibility, why would you bother earning £28k in a more stressful job?
• for businesses does this cause more issues for starting / entrance level jobs?

Other options people have mentioned is the government should tackle the cost of living instead as you can’t keep increasing minimum wage. Not sure how they tackle that though and what the options are?

I’ve been wanting a green leather jacket for around thirty years, always gone with generic black or brown for value and versatility but I still want one.
the new ash panesar on eastenders seems to have quite the collection, including these two (attached) does anyone recognise these or know where I can find similar please in both colours ?
I have tried ‘shop my tv’ type sites but I think these are too recent , an image search suggests possibly mango or warehouse

The style chat continues....😊