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 Birthday @Oblomov22

I know the strikes are frustrating @Decorhate but I really think that our group are not the worst losers from Covid. 2019 intake also had a lot of strikes in 2019/20 and then lost the end of their first year, second year was dreadful due to Covid, third year a bit better but there were more strikes. 2020 - for DS1 there was no opportunity to meet people in his first year, no activities, most of the students were not allowed back in the second semester. It was so much worse than the university issues this lot has. Ours lost the normal sixth form experience, but at least that was whilst they were at home and had family support.

Maybe studies will happen in years to come to work out who the biggest losers were - it might be people who lost critical early years education which was not provided at home.

I only told you all because my actual day (Thursday) was so pants, crap stress at work, meal out at new recommended restaurant was awful. And because I'd been generally pissed off recently, it was so nice that yesterday everything was perfect, understated and lovely.

I have deep wine red gel nails at the moment too @Oblomov22 , I only get them done a couple of times a year but it is a real treat.

Me too ED. Just for a big party say.

Yes, or a holiday.

I really, really didn't want to be 50. Not sure why. It's only an age. I don't ever tell people how old I am. My husband tells everyone his age and often mine too, it really winds me up. I have my birthday in March. I've not come to terms with being 50 yet...let alone another birthday 🤣

I didn't want to be 50 either, we all do birthday cards in the office (only 12 people where I work and everyone's birthday is on the holiday wall planner) and I kept very quiet about it being the 50th. I'm fine about being 55 now though.

Happy Birthday @Oblomov22 !

@Monkey2001 Yes many of those starting 3 year degrees in 2019 had a very poor uni experience. Ds1 was in that cohort but his course is 4 years plus he did a year in industry (mostly wfh though…) so he is only in third year now so is experiencing a more normal uni year at last.

Something flipped in my mind when I reached 50 and now I'm trying to plan for retirement (I know...).

DD is a birdwatcher and got me into it, so we've been exchanging texts today about doing the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch. She saw way more in central Cambridge than I did in suburban Newcastle. (But she still hasn't made any progress on finding a house for next year; should I start nagging?)

I saw two blackbirds, one starling and one woodpigeon. Not a great tally. Something else flew overhead but it was too fast to see what it was, possibly a jackdaw as there are lots here, although you don’t normally only see one, there are hundreds of them.

DS did the annual 5k campus run this morning. Did anyone of the other Brummers do it?

He came 94th out of 550, so not too shabby ! He's never done a 5k before.

@PhotoDad I'm not much of a birdwatcher but spend far too much time sitting looking out of the window when I'm working from home watching red kites circling around.

Glad you eventually enjoyed your big birthday @Oblomov22 I totally ignored mine as it was a few days after DS's 18th and he had Covid. My work colleagues totally ignored it too which pissed me off as it's usually down to me to do a collection for big birthdays. At the same time I was quite relieved that none of them realised just how old I am 🤣

@mummyinbeds Love red kites! DD has some cracking photos of them from various feeding stations. @EspeciallyDetermined I only saw jackdaws and woodpigeons here today. DD saw a redwing, and was pleased with that!

We saw a red kite opposite our estate earlier. Dh is a big fan of birds of prey so he was excited!

Glad you had a good celebration in the end @Oblomov22.

Dd is slowly on the mend and is going back next weekend even if she’s still unwell she says - I guess at least she’ll have her friends around.

@PhotoDad @crazycrofter's DH we have so many red kites here it's difficult to believe they were endangered.

We get a lot of red kites too, I particularly notice them when I'm at the allotment because of their distinctive call, there's too much traffic noise in our garden. At dawn and dusk we get spectacular displays of flocks of jackdaws roosting, I often open the door to just stand and watch.

So pleased to hear that crazy.

Don't know where any of you are but red kites can be guaranteed flying around Harewood House. We live over an hour a way but saw them as regular as clockwork on the way to hockey matches. They are now in this area too but smaller numbers.

DH feeds the birds in our garden and we back on to a field so get lots of visitors. Plenty of finches and tits etc. The one I like to see is the green woodpecker and in spring a pheasant family.

@PhotoDad DH is already retired here. I often feel jealous. But then I think to myself that he's 15 years older than me and I definitely don't want to be his age! I was a SAHM for many years, dh worked hard and 7 days a week all year round, I made sure he always had clean clothes, food on the table etc. etc. I commented recently that I still do all the same jobs in the house, he has all his meals, clean clothes etc as before, but now I go to work as well. How did that happen? Ok...I only work part-time but it's funny how I do the house jobs still as well 🤷‍♀️

We did the garden birdwatch too. Greater spotted woodpecker, blackcaps, greenfinches, goldfinches, blue tits, coal tits great tit and long tailed tit. Wood pigeons, blackbirds magpies and a very possessive robin. Ive always selected plants for wildlife, but now we are feeding them too and it has made a huge difference to the birds we get. Only 2 miles from the City centre. We are besotted.

@Piggywaspushed No Brum 5Ks have been mentioned. DS went to visit DD & it was a very alcohol fuelled weekend with one drama after another! I need to let go & leave them to it. DS lost his phone in a nightclub last night. I suspect the Brum to Swansea bus journey tonight will be mind numbingly boring!

On the subject of 5Ks though I need to get my head above water & get back to it. The craziness of the last 6 months have led to me grinding to a halt & I’m going to need to repeat C25K to get back to it. I’m waiting until the evenings are lighter. I need a kick to press the reset button!

I think the reason we get so few birds is that there are so many cats (we have two and so do next door). I don't feed birds now as I worry I am luring them down out of the trees to become sitting targets for the cats. We do get blue tits, long-tailed tits, magpies the occasional goldfinch, robins, as well as blackbirds and starlings, but none in evidence yesterday. I would have seen more if I'd done it at my allotment but didn't fancy sitting out there in the cold for an hour. I try and make up to nature in other ways, lots of bee and bird friendly flowers and shrubs, organic methods, feeding hedgehogs and we are registered as a release point for hedgehogs that have been cared for at the local rescue.

We have a cat, and she used to hunt, mainly mice though. But she’s 12 now and appears to have retired , hence beginning to feed the birds. It is an issue. Don’t know what the answer is.

Good news here. DD has finally passed her driving test. It has been a long time coming - she has failed a couple largely due to making mistakes because of her nerves. It hasn't helped that it takes 6 months to get a test slot around here, this one was booked in the summer and we couldn't get a slot in Uni holidays so she had to make the long trip back for the weekend. Well worth it in the end.

Congratulations to your DD @GoldenRuby !!🙌