NCO residential - help

Michael - dd has packed an emergency food bag for tomorrow which weighs a ton! Hopefully they will have lovely weather.

Saw the Main Orchestra concert tonight - wonderful esp with the guest artist

Oh yes the 230 feeling of dread, such a relief that he’s home now and that’s over. Turned out he didn’t get his phone out after the second day because he realised contacting us upset him but we didn’t know that so still dreaded those times! Training orchestra concert was fabulous anyway 😀

Sooo glad I'm not the only one!

Hi there trumpetmom - look out for LG in the horns! Well done our chap on his travels - he seems to hold down such an impressive range of stuff. DS is also meant to be doing the N. Youth Choir later this month - will have to see how this one goes.

His luggage may be carrying some hob nobs and similar rarely encountered goodies!

I sent DS off to Pro Corda with a load of cereal bars. The lovely matron also gave him access to the fruit bowl when he was hungry between meals. Nothing wrong with the pc food, but DS2 is quite picky. I think I’ll do the same with Nco.

michael we had the same issue with School shoes, but didn’t try them on before Pro Corda. DS2 played the concert in his blue trainers! He had the opposite problem with the rest of his concert clothes. I sent him with outgrown DS1 stuff, assuming it would fit, so the trousers were falling down and the shirt was way below his hands. Fortunately, the lovely matron stepped in again... Pre-residential course organization is not my strong point

Good luck to those playing in concerts and starting courses this weekend!!

Not good - food ( I hated predictive text )

Michael must remember to look over the Nco list today Ds goes away so much now I'm not as organised as I used to be / should be !!
Hope he really enjoys it ( even if he doesn't like the good !!)

Ahem. When you leave it until 6:20 pm on the Friday before the residential to realise that your son simply can't fit into his black concert trousers.

Greeted my husband back from a two day business trip by snatching the car keys for him, whilst shrieking "I have to get get to Peter Jones before they close".

Not my finest hour....

I think silence is beyond golden - we feel the lack hit it means they are happy and in the mode, rather than having half their mind on home. Last year I felt dread as 2:30 approached, knowing that he'd soon get his phone.....

Am hoping that next week will be easier for him

How are everyone’s dcs getting on this week (those who are on this week’s courses)? We have had mostly silence from ds since about Tuesday which I hope is a good thing.....

Card games are a good idea, thanks. Ds is a lot less wobbly about it than he was so will hopefully enjoy it.

Dd always seems to end up playing card games suck as uno - good ice breaker in the dorm too; Yes to a bit of bedside reading too - may not use it but may find it a comfort in eve

I would pack clothes and snacks !! Otherwise they keep them pretty busy . They can use tablets etc at set times - but no access to wifi they have to use mobile data . Hope your Ds has a great time

We are getting ourselves in gear for ds’s training orchestra course in two weeks time. Anyone got tips on what to pack apart from the obvious stuff they tell you in the emails? Not sure whether to bother sending him with a phone as it might upset him more to call us, he wants to take his tablet although he knows use is restricted. He could message us on WiFi with it but I imagine there isn’t any?! Sounds like lots of books/comics might be good if the bedtimes are early?

That is a good idea - and thanks both for the comments. My impression is that tidal is less structured than port regis - fewer organised activities which distract him and more free form “go have a kick around” which he doesn’t do. But I think he brought quite a bit of it with him - I suspect the geographic distance might have had an effect. Hey ho. Fingers crossed

Hi we are the same situation of U12s again - dd did not enjoy the food at Rossall but the beach was s big plus. I think it feels longer than easter esp with the coach to Birmingham. Might you have a quiet word with the course mgr/head of social staff to check in with ds a bit more?

It's odd as Ds really enjoyed that one ( though he says the food wasn't good ) Ds is really looking forward to the playing but says he's dreading the early bedtimes etc again I'm just emphasising all the stuff that he really enjoys about it and hoping that I don't get the stressed out teenager phone call that we got mid week at easter because the internet/ bedtime rules were so unfair!! I guess it's just getting them to weigh up the positives against the negatives but that can be a hard thing for their early teenage brains to do !! ( teenagers are way much harder to parent than toddlers ) I don't think I'm being especially helpful - sorry - but good luck

I’m a bit full of dread. My boy enjoyed both easter ones reasonably but was really miserable last summer and doesn’t want to go again. I was hoping for a change of venue because that seems a factor (Rossall) but with the age change he is back there again. Really not sure what I am going to do. Sorry / not a helpful post, just a rather stressed one!

I know Ds had to make a certain number of weeks for AYM if there are too many clashes he may need to choose between the two !! ( before I start paying fees!!)

Yes we have to pay the non refundable deposit for a school trip by Tuesday! Mind you we still won’t konw if they are in or not until Dec.....

Good !! I do wish they would send out audition and course dates for next year though I'm starting to feel quite stressed by managing ds's diary there are probably going through be lots of clashes !!

And we now have U12s 😀

We've got under 13s !! Haven't looked at the music yet but for the first time ever Ds read the email and felt positive rather than out of his depth !! So that's good . He's loved his tutors in the past and was a bit sceptical that this one was going to be older - his others have been really young - but everything he's asked them to work on is stuff Ds is doing anyway !! Plus the music is right up ds's street - high and lots of Latin vibes so he's a happy boy

No U12s yet for us

Got u10’s but no u11’s

Did everyone get their extracts today? The violin ones look much easier than the southeasrerlies regionals! There is even a glissando in one of them, which DS2 will certainly enjoy