Thread 18 - Corona Cohort Enrolling to Year 13 2021, Invasive Infections & Uni Uncertainty

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Heifer - that's lovely to bear about your involvement with hockey. We're not a hockey family, but my friend's family are, her DD was at primary school with mine. At about age 9 DS was at a local football
club and totally out of his depth, despite the best efforts of the coach, so he quit. I knew my friend's DH coached at the hockey
club and their DS also played so I suggested to DS that he could try it. Well, it has been great. He struggled to play in the junior teams as most of the others were bigger, stronger and neurotypical, but the club looked after him and once he got to 14 and could join the lowest men's team things took off and he has played regularly ever since. He plays disability football at a big club now as well, gosh that's another thing he'll miss if he goes off to uni.

Piggy - sorry to hear recovery is taking its time .

@Alsoplayspiccolo I had several friends from Walton. As I went to Hinchley wood school. A bus covered Walton so we had children from there. I used to teach children to ride too...that was in hersham, so we had children from Walton then too.

@Fiddlersgreen yes I can imagine rent is a lot too.

Yes yes to Kingston shopping. It used to be really good...Bentalls and the market, throw in a riverside drink or eats.

I was a bit further in..the home of the Derby. Some family still in that area. When we moved down over 20 years ago we were renting a two-bedroom flat in zone 4 Surrey (w park). Our rent on a three-bedroom house was half the amount! We rented until five years ago and it never reached the same level of cost. However as late home owners I appreciate some of the freedom renting enabled us...living in exactly the right place for good local infant schools for a start.

Speaking to her yesterday it seems MIL is convinced that if Dd goes too far away to.a cheaper area she'd never be able to afford to.come back. I don't understand that reasoning at all. We live in one of the cheapest areas of the South Coast...her village isn't though... I think this is just another factor adding to Dd favouring universities within an hours drive.

One of my colleagues has just moved house, we were chatting at lunch break and looking at the new house on google earth etc, which led to me looking up our house on Zoopla. It was valued at WAY more than I would have guessed and its not a big house (3 bed end terrace). It does make me worry about the DCs ever being able to buy in this area (Hampshire/Surrey borders).

Waving to all the former Kingston shoppers and residents.

DD and me have a shopping trip planned this morning. We'll do John Lewis and the Bentalls Centre and have a riverside coffee for you all. It's a bit sad at the moment with lots of boarded up shops 😟

@SandyBayley when I lived in Kingston bentalls was a department store...not a centre. I think it is probably shopping mall now. I will go back and visit one day (moved to Suffolk in 1994) I don't have family there now, I lost dd 20 years ago, dm lives on the south coast.

Bentalls is the main store in the Bentalls Centre these days. I think it's been that way for a long time, probably as long as I've lived in the area (20+ years).

Oh that is sad @SandyBayley enjoy the coffee, make sure there's cake

I grew up in Sutton. My first proper job was in the home of the Derby. Occasionally shopped in Kingston!

icanbe, our family house was very close to Hersham station, (around the corner from Millie Dowler, who was murdered on her way home from school - the school I used to teach at), and I was pony-mad, growing up - I sometimes went to Weylands for lessons and my friend kept her horse at the stables at West End.

Ah, Bentalls! I remember the centre being built. Enjoy, Sandy!

Hope you feel much brighter soon, Piggy. DD lost her appetite last week when ill with Covid, but she seems to be eating ok now.
It can’t be helping your energy levels 😞

I love occasionally going to Kingston. I order Poor Boys. Mac and cheese balls, calamari, chicken lollipops. Yum.

Sorry to tease but because of my voracious appetite I could really do with a 9lb loss, minus the nasty bits Piggy had.

Another big Kingston fan here, nearly ended up there 18 years ago but Ealing won us over with the better transport links.

I am guessing most of us have DC returning back to school either later this week (DD on Thurs) or from w/c 6th. It's gone quickly here, but more for her than us, though I have been hugely impressed with you all for undertaking uni visits. Zero done here. Nada. And can't see it happening now before she gets any offers, even though I've warned her she could be in for a very long wait for those, (of any), but I'm sure it won't come to that as her course choices aren't in the super high demand categories as others.

@Alsoplayspiccolo I used to drive past west weylands on my way to work at the stables. We were down burhill road...further into hersham (the rest of the horses were kept in Ham near Richmond park which is where I lived) Unfortunately I let horses rule my head and worked with them from age 16. Such a stupid thing to do...so many adults told me to get on with school work, go to 6th form etc. etc. Then do the horse work. But I didn't listen. Now I'm embarrassed by my lack of education.

@ealingwestmum yes Ds2 has to go in 1st for a LFT. Then in for lessons 3rd. Ds3 (year 8) doesn't go back until 9th though...I can't wait for him to go back, he's hard work. Ds1 has about 4 weeks of his summer job here, then will head back for third year at university.

@ealingwestmum Same here! That said, I think DD has finally (loosely) chosen 5 Unis to apply to…

Dd is back next Tuesday. We’re on holiday this week and I don’t think she’s done a scrap of work all holidays! It’s been a social whirlwind… I hope she’s not too behind!

@Piggywaspushed sorry to hear you’re still suffering. Dh had exactly those symptoms with COVID at Christmas and it took maybe 6 weeks for the nausea to fully subside. Worryingly he’s been feeling the same again since we arrived on holiday. We don’t have any lateral flow tests with us and he’s reluctant to book a PCR…

Good to know I'm not alone! I think them hearing about accommodation challenges on top of deferred options hitting 2022 places doesn't help. It will all come good, I'm sure, but for now these DC want to have some assurance as to what they will be preparing for in advance of mocks - full exams, reduced open/closed book, assessments etc.

Hopefully all will be clearer post Dec/Govt review. Including an acceptable Plan B if we endure a 3rd year of exams not going ahead.

Think the Bentalls Centre opened early 90s.
I used to work there later on, in 2001. I still work in Kingston now.

DS doesn’t go back to college until 13th so still has another 2 weeks off! He said he will get his covid vaccine this week, it’s annoying we can’t book an appointment as he is not 17 + 9 months yet so he can only get it done at a walk in centre instead.
Haven’t heard anything about him having to go into college for LFT before the start but I’m guessing he will need to?

icanbe, never be ashamed of yourself! Sounds like you followed your passion at 16, which is a fantastic thing - DH did the same and all but failed his A levels, didn’t go to uni etc but is waaaaay more intelligent than me, with my A levels and good degree, and has managed to make a career from that passion.

ealing, DD is trying very hard to ignore the whole uni issue. She says she feels time is going too fast and she isn’t ready to “grow up” (she’s 18 in October but not at all mature, possibly due to ADHD).
We want to apply this year at least, but it all feels a bit panicked and desperate.

I lived in the home of the Derby for a couple of years in the late 80s & also loved shopping in Kingston!

Just collected Ds & friends from Reading. Sounds like they had a good time but not much sleep! He’s had a shower & gone to bed...

DD has 2 days of hockey pre-season this week and a friendly match on Friday. Then she’s in on Monday to help with the Year 7 induction day, then proper start on Tuesday.

She had what I thought was a reasonable first draft for her PS, but has deleted it and is starting again. I have hidden a copy just in case…

@ealingwestmum Exactly!
I’m sure the Unis would also want to know what Plan A and B are too, asap.
There are ‘optional’ exams next month at DDs school for those that want to improve UCAS predictions ahead of October 15th deadline
As it stands now, it’s mocks in January unless informed otherwise.

My DD also has hockey all day on Saturday and is back in school on Monday. She is due home from Leeds later today so am guessing she will be in bed most of tomorrow. She is going to be busy Thur & Fri - as hasn't even started her PS and 1st draft due when she goes back along with a Pyschology test that she hasn't revised for yet....

There was an email from the 6th form tutor saying due back in 2 weeks and to make the most of that time to come back to school ready to start yr 13.. Um, that hasn't happened - and she's had 8 weeks off..Got to admit to being a bit worried as I've never known her to switch off for this long.