New Batch of Year 13 parents this way!

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Hopefully this thread will appear on TIO! No need to use it til our old thread is done, but at least we have it for when we are ready.

I hope your horse is happier today Ursula. My cat drinks from the loo. Does that count as a dietary indiscretion?

Dd is driving us to the pub. I'm sat in the back trying to pretend it isn't happening help

Oh my nelly aunt. Diversions and dh getting lost and pointing her down a very long windy narrow country road with lots of cars coming the other way means I really deserve my beer.

How cosmopolitan going to the pub on a Saturday lunchtime!

Driving to/from the pub is good practice because it makes expectations clear for after the test, ie lifts are expected!

very true Raspberry!

It is a joy. I've had a few middle of the night lifts from DS1!

Dd drove us to the restaurant on Father's Day. As we exited the car I commented to DH that it had been a confident drive.

DM commented on how confident DS is as a driver. We aren't sure it's a compliment, coming from her...

Trust me, it wasn't a compliment when I said it!

I have a big FO 4x4 which feels like a tank. Zubbing round country lanes in her tiny Aygo with four of us in was a real white knuckle ride.

dd is the opposite of a confident driver. When she was a toddler she would let everyone else have their turn on the slide before she would get on even if she got there first. It was exactly like that yesterday. She's a very 'polite' driver.

Well, that's Bristol off the list. 5 hours each way involving several train changes. Cross Country decided to cancel the train back to Sheffield after Birmingham, so we had to change there onto another train. Apparently this happens a lot. Then we missed our connection at Sheffield and had to fork out for a taxi. The train from Birmingham was full of drunks and we were sat near the smelly toilet.

I have been encouraging DD to learn to drive, and until now she said she wasn't interested. They have changed the school bus to include an earlier pick up before it gets to our village and it is too crowded and feral. She has now decided she wants to learn. She only turned 17 in July, and learning in the school holidays would have been ideal, but I can't make her do something she isn't ready for.

Had a good day at Leeds yesterday, it has now gone top of the list. DD loved the course and met some of the lecturers, had a look round halls, v small rooms compared to other Unis we've visited. On drive North saw lots of parents driving DC to Uni in fully laden cars.

DD liked Leeds. She has done a taster day there and it is going to be her insurance option.

Lonicera was there Something about the university she disliked or was the horrible journey just enough to tip her over?

She thought the people were very friendly, but as she has an ongoing knee problem the hills and the fact that it is so spread out has put her off, plus the horrible journey and distance.

She doesn't want to be just down the road, but I think anything more than three hours would be outside her comfort zone (and mine - she is on Fluoxetine for anxiety, plus has a few other health issues)

That seems like a really sensible decision then. Important to have checked it out none the less.

I hope the horse is feeling better Ursula.

I'm utterly exhausted by the first week back at school, early mornings are an absolute killer. Unfortunately, dd2 will still be around for another 10 years before she goes to uni. But I'll be working for longer than that anyway, so it won't make much difference to me really.

My school's AS results were surprising. Some pupils did significantly better/worse than expected. I now have to write subject references for all of my AS students from last year, and the deadline is really soon for Oxbridge candidates most of whom are deluded, as their AS results rule them out comply from Oxbridge

Ds1 seems to have got a lot from Bristol yesterday. The only thing he didn't like was that it's the nearest to home.
MrsAwesome he has ruled Oxbridge out, not deluded although his parents may have been
He has spent today filling in his UCAS application and completing any additional forms the universities are asking for as part of their process.
I'm exhausted after yesterday, there was a lot of walking!

Southampton yesterday, DS liked it but then he's liked everywhere

"I'm exhausted after yesterday, there was a lot of walking!"

That's one of the reasons DD didn't like Bristol.

Bristols hills are brutal. I had no idea before we visited. A lot of it seems to be a giant hospital too.

Ds1 didn't mind the hills, he would quite happily have run up them instead of dragging me behind him
His reservation is distance but I think it will be going on form.
Last one is Notts on Saturday.