Thread 29 - Covid Cohort - Whirlwinds and Waiting

[OrangeCinnamonCroissant]

This is a thread for supporting all young people post GCSEs 2020, regardless of their educational setting. It is respectfully requested that all are supportive and helpful to each other. If you want to start a debate, e.g state vs private, please don't within this thread. Please also be sensitive when responding to threads about grades.

Some of us have been here since first thread back in yr10, some will be new. Everyone has been friendly and helpful in the past. Everyone is welcome. It is hoped this will continue.

Our DS/DD may go down various paths (such as employment, apprenticeships, higher ed) We have decided for anyone interested they will most likely find us within the Further Ed board.

previous thread 28

@BlueMarigold He has to catch mice and voles (releasing them afterwards) to analyse their droppings for parasites. This is for biology dissertation. He's struggling to catch enough. He's caught 50 out of 100. But only 4 males. So needs to catch more than 100 now. He's setting 40 traps full of food. But only catching 4 or 5 each a time. He was very excited at the prospect of catching mice, but is now getting fed up.

@icanbewhatiwant

Dh still says he will tape or video stuff. He also calls the radio a wireless and a car is called a motor. Oh and bicycles are push bikes. He's an old man though.

My DH says motor and cinema = the pictures, love him

@icanbewhatiwant: Dh did applied zoology at uni and loved parasitology. His final year project was on bat parasites. And (after a few years in a different research area) he now works in an allied field diagnosing/monitoring animal diseases and parasites!

Oh, put another way, he also spends a lot of time looking animal poo…

@Heifer Unfortunately I've missed it as i'm just catching up with the thread. I'll see if I can catch on any repeats. Was it good though?

Betamax! My bestie at school raced in one day to tell me all about the new gadget they had got, a Betamax of course and they'd been watching something called 'Saturday night fever' on it. She knew all the moves...but was finding it difficult borrowing other movies from their family friends as their 'video' was big .

Jobs wise - DDs bestie is at college so has a couple of week days off and works at TKMAX which I’m sure DD said was £9 + per hr and better than most

ican, sorry about clean phone. What a pisser. And I loved your previous posts about mice droppings, it's a shame he's getting so few males, so disheartened.

Re our new member and acronyms. Dh works for water. Thames Wxter Action Teams. TWAT's. He himself named them this in fun.
His company employs more women than most other companies so was listed. My closest friend is Employment Lawyer partner. One of her clients was the firm who organised the listing of top 50 of employing women: they are called : Business In The Community. And their Heads of Dept = Heads : BITCH's.

Ds, has been off this week and next on study leave, only had one exam this week so far, all the other Feb mock exams are next week. Some revision I have actually seen going on.

Meanwhile he is continuing to watch films. I'm sure he must be nearly completed of watching top 100 films. Yesterday was Nottinghill. I was (supposed to be) working from home. I came in at the Daft prick bit and stayed to watch the car ride to the Savoy / end.
DaftPrick

@OrangeCinnamonCroissant yes pictures is another one. The dc's think it's funny. @Isthisjustnormal I think Ds would like a job like that. He's not sure what to do next.
@Oblomov22 it is females Ds isn't catching. I might have written wrong. He's not sure why.

DD has got two more mocks today. Said this morning they were a bit pointless as we will all be at war by the time the real things come along. She and her friends have been discussing ways to avoid conscription!! She's hoping that as she is not 18 until the end of July, it may be over by then....

These poor kids - two years of covid and now this. I don't know how they keep a sense of reality, or keep going at all.

DD has her 18th and a party at the weekend! (The DH and I are going out for the evening) can't believe I no longer have any babies left! She says she doesn't feel 18 - in some ways she is very grown up and mature and other ways she is still young. She's just driven to school though!

Happy 18th for the weekend Fruity dd.

Hope she has a great weekend Fruitygal!

Happy Birthday Fruitygal DD's.

Sorry to read about the phone Ican. So easily done.

Hope Cardiff goes well today Orange.

DD said this morning that she'd rather prefer to not be living is 'historical times'...I mentioned those born in 1905 ish having two world wars and a depression, and got short shift of 'not all at the same bloody time'. I did say being part of the sexual revolution in the 60's would have been more fun...

Ukraine is affecting her as she competes internationally, and two Ukrainian kids she knows and is in touch with throughout the year, have posted on Insta video's of the shells dropping and their homes being ruined. She's afraid for them and the rest of the Ukrainian team. Her first European Championship competition was in Ukraine so its doubly 'real' for her.

Seeline I was thinking this morning of the terrified Ukrainian mums with DC the same age as ours 😢
DD asked me about a week ago whether there was going to be a war and I said no with complete confidence, it was unthinkable.

On a lighter note, happy birthday to mini Fruity, hope she has a great time

@OrangeCinnamonCroissant I too would be really interested in feedback from Cardiff. DS applying next year will be looking there for Computer Science and year in industry. My exh is from Cardiff and the kids know the place well and have Grandparents there, both love the City but havent looked around the campus. It always feels like a lovely place to live especially around the bay area

Hi everyone and welcome @TangoWhiskyAlphaTango. Thanks for the new thread!
Isn’t the news out of Ukraine draining and appalling. I am really feeling disheartened about the world we have created for the new generations coming to adulthood. When I compare it with the peaceful, clean, hopeful world of my 70s / 80s childhood in North America … I wonder how much worse it is all going to get, and whether in 30 years this decade will seem like a much better time. Depressing.
Anyway - DS is off to Plymouth offer holder day with DH who hasn’t seen what’s on offer there yet. He is fully signed up for his ocean crossing in the autumn - which is well away from anything Ukrainian so let’s hope that goes ahead. The changes to the student loans are exactly why I have never accessed student loans for my kids- the moving goalposts. I know I am lucky to be able to afford for them to graduate debt free. But at least it sounds as though there will be no rise in fees for DS even if he has a gap year as planned…

@Heifer

Hi and welcome Tango. Have you been on MN for a long time? I've seen the Tango name in various forms over the years but not sure if it's all you or multilples :-) Congrats on Firming, that much be a relief.

Everyone got the VHS set to record the Money show later? ;-) Will be interesting to hear his take on it all.

Yes too long but not under Tango have lurked and posted since DD was a babe. Isnt it strange they are now off to Uni? I am going to miss her so much we are very close. DS (17) on the other hand has been visiting his girlfriend in Brum all week and Ive not heard a peep from him, I just know he will leave next year and barely look back which is good...I suppose

Waves at @stockpot and @ealingwestmum nice to 'see' you both

Thanks for all your welcomes, this thread moves fast!

I am quite envious of the DH taking their dc to Uni open days, exh promised to share the load and was taking DD to Liverpool last week that was until a holiday came up and he decided that was a higher priority so all of it has been left to me to sort out. Poor DD wasnt even surprised by him pulling out....TWAT (see where it comes from)!

Hi everyone, thanks for the new thread @OrangeCinnamonCroissant

It is kind of freaking me out that their could be posters here who were on my DS birth and baby threads.

Anyway, has anyone else had their UCA hub screen change in the last couple of days, at first I thought Yay Warwick have offered but it is just some gubbins about extra choices?

Good luck to your DD today @OrangeCinnamonCroissant

Thanks for the updated list @singingstones

Welcome @TangoWhiskyAlphaTango

Had a laugh about the video chat. We had a Betamax as DF said it was cheaper than VHS

Watched Martin Lewis on the loans update, so DD will be on the 30 year plan with repayments over £27295 with tuition fees frozen until 2024/2025 and DS (current year 11) on the 40 year one with repayments over £25000 frozen until 2026/2027. Just need a crystal ball to know future salaries to understand what the effect will be!

As a nerdy film teacher, I would like to inform that Betamax was always the better technology. That's why geeks had it. It was more expensive to produce and so companies' profit margins meant they made VHS instead. See also : Blu Ray. Ah, the joys of market competition.

@Delphigirl

Hi everyone and welcome *@TangoWhiskyAlphaTango*. Thanks for the new thread! Isn’t the news out of Ukraine draining and appalling. I am really feeling disheartened about the world we have created for the new generations coming to adulthood. When I compare it with the peaceful, clean, hopeful world of my 70s / 80s childhood in North America … I wonder how much worse it is all going to get, and whether in 30 years this decade will seem like a much better time. Depressing. Anyway - DS is off to Plymouth offer holder day with DH who hasn’t seen what’s on offer there yet. He is fully signed up for his ocean crossing in the autumn - which is well away from anything Ukrainian so let’s hope that goes ahead. The changes to the student loans are exactly why I have never accessed student loans for my kids- the moving goalposts. I know I am lucky to be able to afford for them to graduate debt free. But at least it sounds as though there will be no rise in fees for DS even if he has a gap year as planned…

I lived next to a nuclear base in the 80s! Must say I didn't feel that hopeful then. This reminds me a bit of that awful cold war feeling.

Childhood was better in so many ways though!

I was just coming on to ask the same, ChristopherTracy.
DD has a message from UCAS, saying she’s now in Extra and has an extra choice, even though she’s had 4 offers.
Glitch??

DS has the same, "You are now in Extra!" But I don't think he can be because he has offers.