Thread 47- Covid GCSE Cohort - Summer's running away from us!

[OrangeCinnamonLatte]

...it will be Christmas before we know it.

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). 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 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/parents_of_adult_children/4792342-thread-46-gcse-covid-cohort-searching-for-summer-solstice

Oceanography sounds like an exciting course @Delphigirl !

Ooof. Sympathies to those with DC who aren't really engaging with the process. Our DS has the joys of that to come...

I had to collect his musical instruments from the family who were kindly looking after them (complex logistics) and I hadn't quite realised that they were in Perth! So a lot of driving today but I broke the drive home at the RSPB reserve in Loch Leven. Nothing "unusual" but I was pleased with a couple of shots... I'm taking after my DD!

Oh, I just came on to say we hadn’t had any wildlife photos for a while! Lovely shots @PhotoDad .

Look, a flock of Canada gees just took off over my head at the local pond, I have had a generally irritating day (not just down to DD) and needed to chill a bit. It’s a still from a video hence not great quality

That's a lovely scruffy Robin!

Getting outside and watching birds/animals is, for me, a really great way to de-stress. I think I might try to get into photography a bit more myself (nice to pick up a hobby from DC rather than the other way around!)

@OrangeCinnamonLatte The robin is a juvenile, they start off entirely brown and spotty with no red and over the course of their first year the red/white comes in until all the spots are gone!

Is that a dragon fly to the right? wonder where or what that scruffy Robin has been up to, it looks a bit guilty.

Yes, it is! I only had a telephoto lens with me so I had to stand a couple of metres away... getting the focus involved quite a bit of patience. If I get more into photography I might buy a close-up ("macro") lens as I love dragonflies.

nice photos @PhotoDad I like the dragonfly. 😊

I don't take many wildlife photos due to only using my phone, its mainly plants and landscapes for me but I keep thinking I should borrow DH's SLR and learn how to use it (he never uses it). I used to work for a photography firm many years ago and they were keen for us all to learn, we got subsidised film and developing but I never did buy a proper camera. Learnt a lot about light, composition etc though.

Though with good light and zooming in I do sometimes get a good one, quite pleased with this bee on lavender today

@EversoDetermined Very nice! Yes, grab that SLR and start experimenting!

Still reading. I have found this thread so useful. Ours is away this week and ds is away for the weekend so we have the house to ourselves , a rare treat, except that I’m really struggling to sleep after the hip surgery, and our dog is being an a*hole and barking the house down in the small hours, every night.
I keep fantasising that she will have some sort of epiphany while she’s away, and do something better, but I know it’s up to her. It’s all very well knowing they have to make their own mistakes, but when it’s clear that you will be the person who has to clear up after it, I think you ought to get a say. Sigh.

Why are you so sure it’s a mistake @Zebracat ? Are you not convinced computing is for her?

Ds text to say they've now changed his schedule and he's now starting a day earlier. He only flies back from USA at 10pm. Lectures start at 9am the next day. I'm not impressed.

How are you doing @oblomov23?

Do you think you might have a squirrel or hedgehog or something @Zebracat ? Hope recovery not too much impeded.

@icanseethesea was it your Dd starting Marine Bio at Portsmouth?

I think it was @wheresthebeach as I remember thinking her name was apt 😀

Both names are apt in fact!

Yes, me too, infact I may have just made up that username 😄

@crazycrofter . She did Computer Science at A level. She had to be coaxed through it. Her teacher said she was really talented, but she hated it and left the project too late and got in a mess. She said it was all boring , except the programming which was too hard. When they were first applying she wanted to do History . I pointed out that computer science was her most useful asset and that she loves gaming, so I tried to get her thinking about courses that had some of these elements. She was adamant that she didn’t want that, she hated computers, wanted nothing to do with them. Now she insists she has wanted a course like this since she was 11, and that-she wants to work in the games industry, which is something I know about as 2 of my others have or do work in that field. 1 offered her paid work with a games company this year and she got UC instead. They think this course is a waste of money. There are much better courses in clearing if that is her aim. She is also giving up a fees paid place at a Russel Group University to do it. She is going to live in a really vibrant busy city, despite being very quiet and easily overwhelmed, in private halls that have awful reviews. She’s chosen a flat for 2, so if she doesn’t get on with her flatmate, she will be quite isolated, and she is really picky about friends, she has 2, although people do like her and try to make friends.
I will be thrilled If this works out for her. I think I have been overprotective because of her difficult start, but I don’t think it will. Apart from that, its all fine!
@OrangeCinnamonLatte I think we’ve got a Fomo beagle. Dh is sleeping elsewhere, and new dog sleeps downstairs. Beagle can’t decide where to be!

We picked up DD from her summer camp two days ago, got an amazing slightly teary hug 😍 She’s had a great time but was a bit over it in the last week, plus the last day was hard work. She’s now enjoying being able to shower whenever she wants, without flip flops on, and remaining clean afterwards.

I’m currently chilling and pretending I didn’t see a storm warning earlier 😬

@DontCallMeBaby I dont know if that is a deck or a balcony, but I’m insanely jealous!

@DontCallMeBaby Did dd love it? The camp itself? Ds says he has, best thing he's ever done, and wants to go again next year. He's still got another week of camp. Then 9 days travelling, before he flies home from New York.

@Zebracat its more a deck, though in US terms it’s a porch, and I want to call it a veranda. It’s one two sides of the cabin, the ground slopes a lot so it goes from
two steps off the ground behind me to a full storey in front of me. My only complaint is it’s incredibly buggy … but it’s in the woods with a river 100ft away so to be expected.

@Oblomov23 she did love it … I think she would do it again, but probably won’t due to practicalities. She’ll be going to South Korea for year 3, so she’d have to be incredibly organised to sort out camp and all the associated malarkey AND sort out visa etc for S Korea … ensuring she didn’t need to do anything critical or complicated for the latter while at camp.

PS @Oblomov23 we also fly out of NY in 9 days 😀