GCSEs 2018 (15) The Reckoning

@Ellen We had a similar experience in Hamburg - I only had a 50 Euro note and the transport machines would not take it...so I tried to buy some drinks on the taxi boat but he would not take a 50 Euro note just said pay later...we got off taxi boat into metro station and ticket machines would not take note or credit card...so we just jumped on train into city and hoped for best...on way back the ticket machine was only taking coins and NO notes and the taxi boat was so packed I could not get to machine....there were no ticket barriers or ticket checkers on any transport we used - seemed really odd. Enjoy Centre Parcs...

I'm feeling like a plane spotter (planes definitely landing 1 a minute)...DD is at a weekend Musical Theatre convention at HRow ..I'm just staying at hotel because I didnt feel comfortable letting her stay alone at least on Night 1 (she is meeting up with people from all over the world she has never met before)..

@stickerrocks - we did the land train in Olden to the Oldevatnet lake and the glacier. ...have virtual identical photo to the one you posted...but also took photo from opposite direction at the lake...loved Olden so incredibly beautiful ...

I'm sure it will be fine, GettinTrimmer. (Famous last words!)

I didn't help DS3 at all with his revision past encouraging him to make a revision timetable and encouraging him to stick to it. This thread is a broad enough church to support us all.

mmzz thanks! It was really only English Literature that I helped ds with; it would have been better had he read the books again before the exams; I did keep reminding him but other subjects such as Science were more pressing for him. I went through themes for Jekyll and Hyde, Macbeth and An Inspector Calls and discussed the texts, relating them to sample questions, and pointed him towards Mr Bruff. All crossed as he didn't think the exam went well. I admire your ability with spreadsheets and I am sure it has helped your ds no end.

EllenJane I hope the public transport works out for you. I've heard the Center Parcs there is very good. Enjoy!

TheThird your ds adds a bit of variety! Well done to him.

My ds is pounding the home treadmill at the moment; I am hoping the flurry of activity will result in an interest in taking up an organised sport somewhere....

At least she rang, Oddsocks!

I'm loving the very subtle white T shirt, TheThird!

We have managed to get to Center Parcs 30 odd miles from Amsterdam by public transport but trying to get tickets for the bus has been problematic. A kind bus driver took pity on us when we'd failed to pre-buy tickets and he couldn't sell us any but took us for free! Except now we can't buy tickets to get back! Might have to fork out mega € for a taxi. DS2 nearly had a meltdown. Getting public transport was supposed to be an adventure not a nightmare.

DD back from first week of NCS. As usual limited information, all I know is she did the following activities; raft building, canoeing, giant swing (sure there was more but that was all she mentioned).

My only gripe so far is they were 1 1/2 hours later than we were told. Organisers didn’t contact us to let us know and as DD didn’t take her phone she borrowed a phone to let us know just as we were leaving to collect her..

Hi all, have to smile TheThird as I know my DS could have easily done just that.

May be just me but I imagined this summer would stretch out endlessly with extra time out for the dc but it actually seems to be flying by.

DS really enjoyed the last couple of weeks of term popping back in for activities and rehearsals and then had a week away with the school. Could hardly stand when he got back as it was the first but if physical activity for months and late nights/early mornings but he said he s definitely going back next year so that’s great news in that he must have enjoyed it. I have to say again the last few months have been tough for both of us but he seems to have really matured and started to mix more both of which I thought I would never see so some good may have come from the struggle whatever the results.

Ha! Korma that actually would be my DS.
I'm liking the purple shades, though...

AChickenCalledKorma 😂

I can just visualise a speech bubble above his head:

"Hey, look. Everyone is wearing green. What a coincidence. Oh, wait a minute ....!"

Loving the purple shades of the guy in front! Like they said, you know he packed it, this is not your fault unlike everything else that parents do

I love him.
So will the audience!

At least the clarinet section is at the back...

Third embrace this as a positive gesture of individuality! And if he's in Germany, the audiences are lovely. DS got hugged by middle-aged women two years ago!
Last year, DS1 lent the polo shirt that fitted him to someone else. Never saw it again. He's had to take 2 different colours this time and they're completely different sizes because we only found out a couple of days ago that he needed the red one as well as the black. The red one belongs to younger brother who has grown out of it. He claims the red one fits but if I see a photo of a boy in a marching band with a ripped T shirt I will know different!
You know you packed the shirt. That's what matters.

DS2 rarely turns his phone on, so I asked a friend to relay a message via her son, who is playing in the same orchestra.

Apparently DS2 forgot to change into his tour polo shirt before the concert. 🙄
I would have thought that multiple boys getting changed before the concert (in the same dormitory) into the same item of clothing might have been a clue, but this is DS2.

I wonder what he spilled down it .....

At least it makes him easy to spot in the photos! 😂

Go Third’s DS!

Some photos have appeared on twitter of the first concert in Germany. Every member of the orchestra is wearing their tour polo shirt apart from one.
He definitely packed it...

DD wants to do the trip to New York, but I think she wants to go to the Other One, more, even though they don't seem to have any trips. I'll let you know on Aug 24th!

Well said terf this thread rocks. I couldn’t have coped through the prime time GCSE season without it.

Also off to Barcelona in August, thanks all the travel tips cblue

terf I completely agree we all do things differently....I can't push my ds as he would dig his heels in, it's more putting things in front of him and encouraging (but when I can get away with a little push I do!), it is the same as when he was toilet training, he did it at 3 years old, and only then when he could understand that 'poo is dirty!' unless he sees a point to it I have no chance. I just tried to persude him to do an indoor climbing course and got nowhere....

Sticker I want to visit Norway. Beautiful...ds would love the landscape. Yes he did taster day, very much enjoyed it and that's where he is going re our previous conversation. He found others friendly in his classes too, I feel being treated more like an adult and studying subjects he's interested in more indepth will be the making of him. How did your dd get on? My ds is interested in trips to Sicily and New York. Lucky thing.

Peggy gorgeous scenery. Good job it's cooler today!

terf definitely not a SAHM, so DD has always had to be very independent, but I hear you.
Peggy lovely.
gettin Sometimes we need a name change reminder! How did the taster days go & has DS decided where he is going?

DD describes MN as bunch of overly invested mothers too

I am def overly invested but have a DD who doesn't always like it so I am invested from a distance 😁

That's one of the reasons I signed up - to talk to you guys and to share my worries!!!

I am not sure I would have got through the exam period intact without this thread....

Ah Peggy that's lovely! And making me actually excited about going to the Isle of Man in 10 days - it's very similar landscape.