Thread 44 GCSE Covid Cohort - Countdown to Christmas & New Year

[OrangeCinnamonLatte]

This is a support thread for our young adults post GCSEs 2020, regardless of their educational setting, and their results ( or life updates for those who went into work or have had results earlier). 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, uni vs employment please don't within this thread.

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. We were previously on the secondary board and then further education, now we shall be here in 'Parents of Adult Children' gulp

Our DS/DD may continue down various pathways ( employment, apprenticeships, higher ed). Be warned there might be lots of 'Uni Freshers' chat this time of year. My experience is that everyone is welcomed wherever, whatever their child is doing we have some in work, gap years , apprenticeships etc too. Lots of contributors with different experiences and always sympathy and advice to be had

Happy New Year to you all 🥳

Happy New Year to all.

Both DSs went out, DH and I stayed in nursing the lurgy but did make it to midnight just about! Just can’t shake off this bug, I have been keeping DH awake coughing each night since Xmas day. It’s tedious.

Happy new year everyone. We’ve had a quiet but lovely Christmas and I’m already feeling sad at the prospect of dd going back next weekend (not that she knows that). She had to hand in four essays before she came home and has had one result back which was good so she’s feeling very buoyed and happy that she’s on the right track.
it’s been great to read that generally, the holidays have been a success here. Looking forward to seeing what the second term brings for us all.

Happy New Year. Not sure when I last posted, we went away to see family for a couple of days 26th-28th, stayed in a hotel as we have outgrown FIL’s house and it was a nice little break. Then home and on Friday we went to the Harry Potter Studio Tour (neither DC or DH really wanted or needed much for Christmas so I organised our days out at the darts and this instead of main presents). HP was absolutely lovely, we went about 5 years ago but there are some new features now and it was all dressed for winter with Christmas trees, fake snow all over the sets. Quiet NYE, family board game and film evening.

DS had been planning to go back for the start of term next week, but the new semester doesn’t start till the 23rd and he has no lectures etc till the 20th, just a couple of assignments to hand in before then so may delay his return a bit. Only problem being he had booked his first driving lesson up there next week. So he might go back for a couple of days and then home again, we’ll see. He is going to talk to some of his course-mates and see what they are doing. I have been proof-reading an assignment for him today, the work he is doing is very interesting.

It sounds like half of us will miss our DC and the others are treading on egg shells. It is hard adapting to the change in dynamic, my DS has met with friends a lot and been to the gym, but is enjoying spending time with us too. I enjoy seeing my 2 DS together, luckily they’ve always got on well despite being very different.
@Monkey2001 that is fantastic news, what a difference a year makes. Fingers crossed you get some good news soon. DS is having a great time which is a relief. He was lucky to get such a nice university and his choice of course.

Happy new year to all. We have never really done anything New Year's Eve. We just watched tv. Ds1 and ds3 both stayed in their rooms. Ds1 was very grumpy as his mates were all busy and he felt he should be out celebrating. Ds2 isn't replying to messages either. I last heard from him on Friday. I don't like it when he goes silent.

I've taken all the decorations down today, the bare tree still sits in the living room though, dh will take it out tomorrow, I'm now making my way through the Christmas chocolate 🤷‍♀️

I just messaged dh's dd, ds2 went back to Sussex with them as they are close to the university, he has been staying at their house ever since. I'm glad he's safe as he's not replying to messages. But I do find it sad that he'd rather be there to here.

Happy New Year, I've started 2023 right by slipping over on my front path and twisting my knee. January 1 is always a duvet day here anyway. Pasta for dinner and the next episode of His Dark Materials.

Happy New Year! I came home last night to two speeding offence letters 😩 both in exactly the same location doing 35 in a 30 limit. It’s obviously no excuse but I thought it was 40 there. So now I have to spend £88 on a speed awareness course for one and hope I don’t get fined more than £100 for the other! I don’t think I’ve ever had a speeding fine before, in nearly 30 years of driving 😮 I’m so annoyed with myself!

@crazycrofter oh no, that's bad luck. I had one about 10 years ago. Dh has never had one and always reminds me. Yet he is always driving at 35mph through 30's. He's just been lucky. I was doing 55 on a dual carriageway, but it was a 50. I'd like to see dh get a fine...he's always smug about never getting a ticket.

@ZittiEBuoni I hope the knee recovers.

@crazycrofter Snap! About two years ago I got two speeding tickets in one day, having never had any before. The speed awareness course wasn't too bad.

@ZittiEBuoni Hope you recover soon. We watched S3 of His Dark Materials over the last week, and very much enjoyed it. Just slightly less crazy than the novels!

Happy new year all. After having a mild cold for a couple of days I woke up yesterday feeling awful. Took a test (we have many boxes still in the cupboard) came up immediately as Covid. I feel so horrendous today, everything aches, no energy at all, stuffed up completely, sore throat, feeling nauseous etc.. Feeling very sorry for myself.

@crazycrofter what a nightmare! There is a very steep hill near me which is a sort of dual carriage way up to the motorway. The speed limit swaps between 40 and 30mph but the 30 sign gets over grown in the summer by adjacent trees. It’s actually really hard to slow down coming down that road (no excuse I know) but the police van sets itself up just on the change of speed and makes a pretty penny. The first time I got a speeding ticket was after about 30 years learning to drive and it was on that hill. Did it again about a month later!! 🤦‍♀️

@ZittiEBuoni hope your ankle is feeling a bit better.

Oh just...Hope you feel better soon.

Get better soon Just.

PhotoDad, we're only up to episode 3 but it seems they're going to leave out the loooong section with the wheely-type beings, which seemed impossible to portray - I'd been wondering how they would do it. Although there's still time to fit it in somewhere...

Thank you both.

Just checking in. Back to work tomorrow. DS says he's really bored and wants to go back to uni!

@ZittiEBuoni The actress who plays Mary Malone was talking in an interview about working more with the animal puppets this series, so that sounds as though the mulefa are in there somewhere.

I am back to work tomorrow and was so bored this morning that I …… ironed a shirt!!!!

Happy New Year. Spent yesterday celebrating DS's birthday which is today (he's working and going into London with old school friends so won't see him today) He had Covid last year for his 18th. He's had so much crap in his life since then I really hope being 19 is an improvement.

Hope you feel better soon @JustHereWithMyPopcorn

@crazycrofter I'm also booked in to a speed awareness course. 35 just into a 30 with the police hidden round a bend 🤦 It was the morning after I'd dashed up to Notts to get DS when his mh was really bad. The only other speeding ticket was also 35 and also DS's fault - I was in a state having dropped him at nursery and him having to be peeled off me, screaming and crying. He did this every morning from 6 months old to year 1 at school. That day must have been really bad. At least the course is online so I don't have to sit in the room of shame.

DS has many speeding offences. He quite enjoyed the course. He still speeds though....

Happy new year! DH got two speeding fines within a year. Both for 34 in a 30 from a hidden van. He is now ultra cautious and has his car set to beep if he goes above. I’ve not had one (yet) but his situation made me be more careful as well as teaching both DDs to drive .
We have all had food poisoning from a funeral wake! Ruined our NYE plans.

I neant DH before by the way! Neither DSs can drive!

Hope you feel better soon @JustHereWithMyPopcorn . I had covid at Christmas 2020 and Easter 2022, both times I felt absolutely awful for all my annual leave days, but was just about well enough when I had to go back to work- so annoying!

Can anyone confirm that my fine will ‘only’ be £100 and I’ll only get 3 points per offence? It says it can be up to 6! I guess I won’t get points for the first one as I can do the speed awareness course, so should be ok. Except on the same journey when I got the second one I was also flashed in Nottingham 😬 although I’m hoping that was for being in a bus lane so ‘only’ a fine. Still waiting to hear!. Like @mummyinbeds it was DD’s fault really 😂 I was picking her up late on a Sunday night for an interview the next day and I was tired and just wanted to get home.

Dd is in London with uni friends. I was amused when she said they planned to go to a museum, as she’s had very low tolerance for museums with us for most of her teens 😂 She even said she was really interested in Greek and Egyptian history which was news to me 😂 They get over the teenage years eventually don’t they!

Ds told me he had a proper conversation with one of my brothers for the first time this Christmas. I mentioned it to my brother who said it was nice to see that he’d emerged from the semi-silence of his mid-teens! Ds can talk for England now actually - he’s got opinions on everything!

@crazycrofter I really hope none of the cameras in Nottingham work. The bus lanes/tram lanes catch me out every time, as does the 30mph dual carriageway just outside the uni west entrance. All DS's fault obviously 😂