Oh ffs!

[ilovecaboose]

I am driving down to Poole to catch a Ferry and I've got to leave about 3.30am tomorrow.

I've never driven outside Bristol b4 but I have prepared the route and been through it with OH's dad (who goes there regularly) and have left an extra hour in case of problems.

So then my mum phones me from Australia (where she is on holiday) to tell me DON'T DO IT!!!

Why the hell not? She is worried cos its a long drive and that there will be (heaven forfend) other people in the car! (OH, ds and OH's sister). I can't possibly drive that far. She told me to phone up my auntie and get her to take us! Oh and apparently it will actually take so long to drive from Bristol to POole (in the early hours) that I should really leave tonight to get there. She can't believe I could do something like that. She's not going to sleep or eat worrying about it. And on and on.

I am now definately going to drive through sheer bloody mindedness. She also told me we have to be very careful on the ferry and keep ds strapped down or he will jump overboard and that she is very worried.

Oh ffs - when is she going to let me grow up?

my grandmother has an equal amount of faith in my driving, i now find it funny rather than irritating (it has taken me 4 years to feel this way!). i generally dont tell her i am driving now, i pretend dp is doing it.

i am sure you will be fine, i have faith in you! (just dont set off while you are still angry, that is a bad idea)

HA! If anyone in Australia heard your mum's conversation they would Pee themselves instantly. The folks out here think NOTHING of driving up to 8 hours in a day.

Of course you'll be fine, the roads to Poole Ferry terminal are well signposted and once you get in to Dorset from Avon it's simple

My mum is like that too. When I said i was gonna by my sister an electric mower for wedding present, mum said 'oh dear, she will cut through the wire by running over it and electricute herself'. I said 'mum, FGS she is 35 years old'.

Cheers gg - I am going to take it easy today and relax! (well after the packing).

OH can't drive and I don't know whether that is a good thing or bad (it would be useful - but we'd have to share the car - and god knows what mum's reaction would be to HIM driving!).

Usually I can ignore this kinda thing but it was just that I was nervous anyway, and the fact she phoned me from halfway accross the world about it (and to tell me that me and ds should have gone with them - but that is a whole other story).

SO the question is - do parents ever let their kids grow up?

Bristol to Poole at 3.30am will be fine, it's not that far and there won't be much on the road.

Thanks everyone else to for the comments (sorry weren't there when I started posting)

Just remember - Mums have different ideas about driving.

For example my mum won't drive if its dark, snowing (or threat of snow), heavy rain (or threat of heavy rain), ice (or threat of ice), if theres going to be a lot of traffic (she lives in a rural market town so not exactly inner-city London or the M25!), on a motorway, in a city...etc. As you can imagine from that, she doesn't drive very much.

Sounds like my mum. She phoned from Spain when I was at work and they had to go and fetch me. "GO HOME AT ONCE IT IS SNOWING ANG YOU WILL GET SNOWED IN AND WONT BE ABLE TO DRIVE HOME". My answer was that I couldn't see any snow falling but if it did I'd ask if I could go home.

We didn't get snow for months!

you'll be fine

I know you know your route but I really like the aa routefinder .. it gives really good directions

its on the homepage of www.theaa.com

my dp doesn't drive (can but won't) his mother is always telling me how some people get so nervous (her son) when they drive, argh!

are you getting the fast craft?

check in is at 6.30am? it won't take you 3 hours to get there

Just ignore her. I have done Bristol to Poole loads of times and it is fine. If you can cope with the Bristol traffic you can certainly cope with the traffic on the way down which is going to be all of about one car. My Mum is big on the it's too hot/cold/long/short to drive bit. It goes in one ear and out of the holiday. Have a lovely time away.