Number 2 Thread When You Are Fed Up With The Solitary Burden Of Single Parentdom

[Solo]

Happy New Year and Happy New Thread to all the single parents looking for a place to rant, rave, moan, share the highs and the lows and chat with people that know! It is the second thread and probably a slow one if the first is anything to go by, but it's here when we need it.

LINK TO THE FIRST THREAD

I'm in the South East - whereabouts are you?

I'm also in the south east!

I am in Kent on the coast! (Oh please please please say you are near me )

Yes near the coast too! I will pm you!

Changeoflife I have attempted to send you a message ! Please send me one if there is nothing there!

I've just replied to you skat

I'm se London/Kent borders...have car, can travel...time is my problem, but with planning!!!

I'm in London, but have been hankering after a day by the sea for a while....

It sounds like we might have a day trip to the seaside in the offing!

My children are 8 & 5. How about everyone else's?

Mine are 8 and 3 ! Day at seaside sounds good.

Changeoflife - I will reply to your message soon , youngest's birthday today so all a bit manic!

Question to those in London - fancy a day trip soon with the girls . Any suggestions other than the museums (which I like) but just wondered if you had any other suggestions. When I lived in London I loved southbank but that was pre-kids !

Mine are 17 and 9. 9yo is a girl. We love the seaside!

I don't really go out so can't really recommend anything London-y! Sorry.

Mine are 6 (DD) and 7 (DS). Day by sea good...can't believe this might actually happen!

skat, mine actually adore the South Bank. There are often free bands in the Clore Ballroom, and they love to run around in the cloakroom space underneath. There's always something on somewhere, there's a great park to play in, it's really fun to go on the Thames Clipper (goes really fast!). We often just spend a day hanging out at the South Bank. Also in Feb half term, isn't it the children's festival? It's called Imagine, it's super fun.

Children's Festival? Ooooh! I'm supposed to be using my few days off over half term to do some sorting out at home...

Hello! I've just come across this thread (I've been a Mumsnetter for a long time but rarely get a chance to get on it these days) and I'm also a single mum who lives in Kent! My DD is 9 and I turned 40 last year, I've been a single parent since DD was 2.5. I'd love to meet some other single parents down here, and DD would really benefit as we're the only single parent family she knows and it would be great for her to see she's not alone. If one of you could let me know about a meet-up that'd be great

Hello spurs :) welcome. Kent is a big place, but it does sound like we might actually fashion a meet up at some point, which will be great!! :)

I have to take my two to a birthday party in Maidstone on the Monday of half term. Birthday lunch at the Beefeater followed by a trampolining session at a place called Bounce or Gravity or something in the afternoon. So if anyone wants to squeeze in a 15-minute meet between lunch and trampolining I'm well up for it!

Seriously though. Time for a rant? My job involves visiting elderly people and I STUPIDLY, STUPIDLY did not check the parking as I have a permit for the borough. And of course, I parked my car assuming I was in a permit area but NO! I was in an identical-looking area that you have to pay for! I know it's nobody's fault but my own that I now have a FORTY POUND FINE but I particularly hate parking fines because they are so unfair. Forty pounds is nothing to someone with money but to a single parent it's a week's food. So, thanks for that, Mr Parking Enforcement Officer. I really appreciated it.

Sorry that was so boring, but I just had to vent. Is it too early for a ?

My ds has been invited to a party next weekend at Gravity in Maidstone. Not sure I'm liking the disclaimer element of him going there!!

Warm :( why don't you try an appeal? Nothing to lose surely? I hate parking fines too.

It does sound like we are very close to one another warm and change Maidstone town centre is about 28 miles from me, but very close time wise...half an hours good run!

I guess I will appeal solo but the borough where I live are utter *!r1§§§fsdfsdf!!?!!s about parking fines and are highly unlikely to let me off. I was parked in the wrong place, after all! I just hate the unfairness of it all. I wish they could do parking tickets on a sliding scale! I have some very rich friends who claim that paying for parking is more expensive than paying parking tickets, so they just park anywhere and then pay all the tickets off at the end of the month. I find that kind of disgusting (but they're lovely people so I forgive them!)

Anyway. How was the weekend for everyone? I had the kids all weekend with no help from XH or my folks, so we went to the seaside (I live in East London so it was more the Essex estuary). It was soooo windy but at least we were out of the house! My best friend came along as well. It was so lovely to have some help and some company. I am so isolated!

Monday is my day off (I work the other four days and don't really count the weekends as days off any more because the kids generate so much work). It is blissful! I'm sitting in a cafe right now trying to do some writing. The cafe is in a yurt and the wind is whipping the yurt walls; it's cold and noisy but at least it is not home, with its towering piles of laundry!

Anyway. We mustn't let this thread die: I need it to vent, or celebrate, with other single mothers!

Oh yes! That is disgusting! I don't like flippant attitudes to stuff! especially when there are so many people with no money .

I didn't do much over the weekend really. Glad you got out though :)
Have a good day off warm . And don't worry, I won't let the thread die just yet! It's funny; sometimes I want to say stuff on here (rant or whinge or whatever, but something stops me.

Catch up soon!

Well, XH has just informed me that he is "too ill" to collect the children from school and look after them tonight so that's the end of my day off and planned yoga class this evening. Who has the kids when I'm "too ill"? Oh yeah that's right. Me.

Grrr the being ill thing drives me crazy!! My ex has cancelled so many times because he is "too ill" to see the children. Yet last week I was horribly unwell with a sinus, ear, throat type infection and who relieved me from the children... oh yes, that's right NO ONE!! I carried on as normal and even went to work because by the time I'd dropped the children off to school I might as well just continue my day at work too. So bloody annoying.

Hope everyone is doing OK. We are being battered on the coast with the high winds. Kept me awake last night and my 5-year old ended up in bed with me too because it woke her up! Feeling tired now.

Sorry not posted for ages last week has been ridiculous!

Warm - thanks for south bank tips , I think I'm definitely going to give it a try thinking a day out in the Easter hols.

Plus definitely still up for a meet up if we can all organise it!

Welcome back skat :) Hope things have calmed down for you. Yes, I think we'll definitely have to have a meet up!

How has everyone's week been? I'm about to rant (warning alert !) ex has agreed to have the girls one day in the week as it's half term but as he is he is not having them at all this weekend (we split the weekends) so really he is making out he is doing me a massive favour but in reality he is not helping me at all. Pisses me right off as he truly believes he is dad of the year. Anyway rant over.

I am going to crack open the shortly (once the girls are in bed) and then I will feel better .