Thread 45 GCSE Covid Cohort - Bunnies bouncing into Spring

[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

previous thread

Just did a brief catch up on news. I see a lot of you have got exam results they did, DS still hasn't got his results, infact ds1 hasn't got his results either which is frustrating for them both in particular ds2 who had 1 bad paper (Accounting). despite the fact the course doesn't require A'level Maths & he did 'Core Maths' he is finding financial accounting quite challenging so really keen to get his result. On the upside, he's got some essay's back and he got really high marks in those (70s) always been his strength.
He is still enjoying uni BUT, a big but, he is furious at the number of online virtual lectures. In one new module they had a teacher, then 'she became pregnant' and everything went online. Pointed out the issue isn't her getting pregnant but the uni has found a way to cut costs but covering her absence with virtual learning.

He's got his first ball (I think) coming up and he's coming home to get his trousers etc which i hope still fit! Apparently its a 'Massive' ball, event of the yr bla!bla!bla!

He's also learned to cook four new recipes!

Just got back home. We went to watch Ds play keyboard for the musical theatre show today. It was totally bonkers but brilliant. There are some very talented young people there

I second that Direct Line is great for car insurance for students. We put them on and take them off at a confusing and alarming rate, but Direct Line don't seem to be too fussed.
Not sure if you can call it a hobby really, but Ukrainians (previously hosting them, now teaching them) seems to take up a lot of my spare time. Also have a lovely very mixed ability netball group that I go to when I can. Although the last time I went, I headbutted the tarmac and got two black eyes, so maybe I shouldn't be recommending that to others! Would love to make more time for learning a language (currently in Italy, but my italian is very pathetic) but never seem to be able to commit to it regularly enough to make a difference.
Hope DS doesn't want to go to a ball anytime soon. No suit ...

I still need to think up some hobbies for me!
DD still loving her hobby of dance. She's currently on her way back from Sheffield where the comp squads have been (very successfully) competing today By the time they get back they'll have been up 24 hours. I feel tired even thinking about that!

@NCTDN was your DD in Leeds for a competition on 18/2? DS1's GF and my niece bumped into each other there.

I play scrabble, at a club, even do tournaments sometimes. It’s marginally less embarrassing than railway enthusiasm, I suppose. I used to do arty stuff like pottery etc. I wasn't very good, but it made me happy. I’ve always been quite sociable , but discovered my inner introvert in lockdown and see much less of other people now.
I love walking and visiting gardens, but I can’t until I get a new hip. I am swimming a lot though, but only indoors in lanes atm . I love open water swimming. I love board games and we always played a lot but seem to have stopped. Mainly I read and garden. Lots of buts here, I’m in limbo.

@crazycrofter It's with Direct line. Used to be £28.60pm for just DH (60) and now £46.28 with him and DD.

No this was her first one.

Well done on driving tests and exam results!

re hobbies. I’ve just joined local WI with a friend which is a lot of fun. DH and I walk a lot and go to the cinema and just generally enjoy pottering.

DS had a disappointing week. Should have swum in Varsity match yesterday, but Monday night was in A&E having damaged himself playing basketball… sent home with crutches after X-ray with ligament and tendon tear diagnosis. Anyway it actually improved quite a lot by yesterday and he thinks it may be more minor than that. He is going back to swim training hopefully this week just doing pull. He was so fed up. He has got ball tickets for his college which are almost half price as he has full bursary. Is taking his college “wife” - I don’t think it is a boyfriend/girlfriend thing but not sure!

I’m still not enjoying my new job but have been approached by old job to come back so am waiting for official offer before I decide. It would be 5 hours more than I worked previously for them but still only three full days and it is far better money than am getting in new job for three full days.

Was thinking about your boy Craggy last week when DD was considering doing an away swim varsity meet. She decided against in the end as she’s been enjoying the training and didn’t want to spoil that for sake of injuries retuning. I hope he recovers v quickly. The ball sounds fab to offset ;)

@ealingwestmum - hi! Was wondering if your DD was swimming still. DS has really enjoyed being back in the pool with no real pressure. He was a 200 swimmer so probably won’t compete much as he doesn’t do enough stamina stuff to be fit for that, and he was never much a sprinter, but he is very happy to be back three or four times a week - without needing to be up at 4.15 as he was for so many years!

I am not missing the early starts at all! From a breaststroker, once knee went, to backstroke (until shoulder went) to now back and freestyle and shorter sessions. She’s carrying a lot more weight vs her 16 yr old self, but, she’s enjoying the camaraderie and also back into netball.

It really was a big part of their life wasn’t it?

My main hobby is making glass mosaics. I went to a short course put on in our village hall in the summer after the first lock down, and got the bug. The great thing bout it is that you can just be imaginative and don't have to be very precise!

Those are lovely, Ruby!

Beautiful work GR, love mosaics.

I am still in throes of turning my thing into a career (hope your DD is more £ successful than me Photodad!) but I did have 27 years of real work before turning independent artist. More abstract, figurative work, avoiding being drawn into realism. I work big, which is not totally practical for all interior spaces, but it’s my preference. For now.

Wow, I love those mosaics @GoldenRuby !

@heifer I've looked at Direct Line. Maybe it's because there's 3 of us insured on the car? Although with both me and dh it's about £270. Weird...

Those mosaics are amazing @GoldenRuby !

@ealingwestmum - your DD has been so unlucky with injury but it is great that she's enjoying training. DS was in a squad from the age of 6 and it has been such a good way to make friends at uni. Am pleased your DD is loving uni life.

Take your time Craggy to weigh up the return, but good to see they valued you.

Redundancy was clearly a financial circumstance of that time and not reflective on you personally, as is so often the case.

Hi Heifer - been thinking about your dd and her tiredness and lack of appetite. Two possibilities which are very easy to check out are anaemia and glandular fever. I wonder if it is worth her going to the gp and asking for a full blood count including serum iron and to check for mononucleosis. Both can cause real fatigue, both are common in young women of this age. I had glandular fever in my 1st year at uni without any tonsillitis, just sleeping all the time and still tired.
If neither of those are found to be the problem, the tiredness might be a product of the not eating well enough. Does she have any history of disordered eating? It is of course better to catch that early rather than letting it become entrenched, and for that reason I’d be getting the bloods asap. Hope she is ok xx

Love the mosaics @GoldenRuby !

@GoldenRuby I like those mosaics. I wouldn't mind trying something like that.

Another fan of the mosaics.

@ealingwestmum Bet that was a big decision!

@Delphigirl thats a good point re @Heifer’s DD. Mine had tiredness, brain fog, poor appetite and unexplained weight loss around Xmas 2021. Blood tests initially okay until she got a text that seemed to say ‘oh we forgot to run these tests - you’re deficient in B12 and folate’. She was put on supplements and taken off them again when things were better - which makes me a little nervous as while her diet wasn’t great it shouldn’t have been deficient in those things (vitamin C I would have understood …)

@craggyrat I go to WI too. I have been going for about 6 years and am the youngest by a good 10 years and one of only a handful that are still working! It is nice to get to know ladies in my local community. I organise the walking group on a Friday evening and host a movie night every other month with another member. We have watched a huge range of films: 'What we did on our holiday', 'Parasite', 'The Upside' , 'Thirteen Lives', 'Hidden Figures', 'Three Billboards' etc. We always have such great evenings nattering and sharing stories.

The WI evenings are great fun. We have done burlesques dancing, flown in gliders, had food from around the world taster evenings, had speakers from guide dogs, a magistrate, a lady who rowed the Atlantic etc. No jam and Jerusalem in sight!

@Cranmer - we've only done two meetings so far but really good. Lots of subgroups but we both still work so they may have to wait! Quite a good mix of ages but we are amongst youngest