Thread 53 - Covid GCSE Cohort - Happy New Year 2025 to our fab young people

[Delphigirl]

New thread! Looking forward to traversing 2025 with this fantastic group 🎉😘

I don’t think we will have any more proper family holidays. For the last couple of years Ds has either been working, or he has gone away with his (now ex) girlfriend.

we will actually be in Amsterdam at the same time as Dd this year except we will be in a hotel & sightseeing whilst she will be camping and watching the Grand Prix. She booked her flights separately too as she didn’t want to miss out on the tickets.

we do have family short breaks though, usually built around a theatre trip. We have one coming up in August.

Thanks @Oblomov. I’m going to do exactly as I’m told, for the first time in my life. The funny part is that they belong to a group of parents who agree no phones until 16, but they had to get him one for the data. He’s 2.

@Zebracat great news for your girl! Hope you can get your GS on track soon.
@crazycrofter hope DS recovers quickly!

DD is home for Easter with loads of work to do. She has a uni friend staying this weekend which is lovely.
DS has completed his first week at work, has had his train cancelled once, and missed it once. Spent the whole of day 1 trying to get his work laptop connected! Was allowed to work from home in Friday - still ploughing through hours of on line training.

Hope everyone has got the lovely weather this weekend and can make the most of it 🌞

@Zebracat my dc have split the tattoos and motorbikes between them! 😂
Given ds had two accidents within the first week after he bought his motorbike last year, and (remarkably sensibly for him) decided to sell it, I'm not sure what he was thinking hiring one, especially one more powerful that he's allowed to ride in the UK.

@Comefromaway standard travel insurance covers you riding motorbikes up to 125cc - this was more powerful that that. You can add it to the policy as an extra - but from what I've read, the insurance wouldn't cover you anyway if you're driving a motorbike more powerful than you're qualified to ride at home (you can't ride a 125cc until age 21). Dd assured me that she'd already spoken to ds (the day before - without telling me) and he was adamant that he's now learned his lesson and he realises he's not invincible.🤔

That sounds like a standard first week in new job @Seeline! I hope the next few weeks get better...

I hope the ABs kick in soon for your DS @crazycrofter

Gosh, so much to catch up on.
DD is home for a few weeks and has picked up a few shifts at the cafe job she's had since she turned 16. She has an essay to write and revision to do as well as planning her fourth trip to Ghana. We spent last night applying for uni funding to help with costs. They were very generous last year so fingers crossed.
DS has finished lectures in France and just has 5 exams to go ( plus any resits) He's staying out there until the end of June, including flying to Portugal to join up with his Nottingham friends for a week's holiday. I think he's doing some revision, as well as playing tennis daily and sitting by the river in the sun.
@Zebracat we had the no tattoos, no motorbikes rule too. They followed one rule each 🤦‍♂️
@crazycrofter hope your DS heals quickly. His trip seemed to have passed drama free until now. How long until he's home?

@Zebracat
I only mn on phone these days, but if you ever want a pm, ask a question or a quick diabetes phone call, please ask.

And yes, battling diabetes is a 24/7 job!

I’m so sorry to hear about @crazycrofter ’s DS - really worrying but he sounds like he is now in the right place, and @Zebracat ’s GS. The tech makes it so much easier to manage than before but still not what anyone wants. Really delighted to hear about your girl - she sounds like she is doing so well. She is so lucky to have you.
I’m frustrated as I have been suffering SO MUCH with hayfever this week it has been almost unbearable. I’ve almost scratched my eyes out. I’ve been double dosing antihistamines which just makes me drowsy so I’ve been in bed today with a cold compress on my eyes cursing whatever tree is pollen-ing and praying for rain grrrr.

Ugh, that hayfever sounds awful @Delphigirl !

@mummyinbeds he's supposed to be coming back at the end of June, but i'm not sure he'll be able to afford to stay out that long!

So much to catch up on.
Hayfever this year seems to have ramped right up @Delphigirlthat I thought I had a horrid cold but no it’s hayfever. DD suffers too but doesn’t seem as bad as me yet as hers is grass which comes later. I’ve had it all my life but the severity comes and goes. Hope you get some respite soon.

Sorry to hear about DS accident @crazycrofterand GS diagnosis @Zebracatbut so lovely to hear your girl is doing so well.

DD is home for Easter and handed in two assignments on Friday so she can enjoy the weekend before the planning for her placement needs to be done. She took me to The Ivy for a belated Mother’s Day Brunch and we did some shopping and I bought her a dress for her summer Ball. Weather is splendid at the moment so enjoying it while we can but it’s all set to change next week - boo!

We’re also off to Amsterdam @Comefromawaythis summer for a short family break as despite DD having a boyf that I guess she’ll go away with at some point she still loves her time with us.

Happy Easter break to you all 😊

Thanks @AnneOfCleavage , hope yours is less severe when it hits! Your DD sounds lovely and brunch in the Ivy together plus ball dress shopping sounds absolutely perfect 💕💕

Apparently, it has only today dawned on DS that you only get a loan for master's fees and not maintenance. he had assumed it was the same system, even though DS1 did a masters' and both DH and me know we told him this!

He has now realised he can't afford a car- which means he can't get a job he needs to drive to this summer. And that he doesn't have enough money to live on next year.

How on earth is anyone else affording this? I am aware some are maybe more generous in funding HE than others . With DS1 he got a job in Lincoln, racked up debt and paid his own rent etc. DS2 will find getting a job harder.

Honestly where we live is so shit. There is dire public transport, and very few student type jobs. We can't ferry him around flexibly either.

But that's OK because we are getting a theme park in 6 years which will apparently put the world to rights (even though it no doubt still won't be accessible form my village by bus , form whence we can glare at the roller coasters).

Bit narked.

oh no! @Piggywaspushed What is he going to do? I'm wracking my brain trying to think what other options he might have, how did DS1 fund his maintenance?

@crazycrofter Hope ds gets better soon.

DS1 got cheaper fees because his course was cheaper and he had alumnus discount. He had a few jobs but also a bigger overdraft than he owns up to!

@Zebracat So sorry to hear about GS's diagnosis, here's hoping his DM is able to get into the flow of managing it (and she will) and all will be well and he'll grow up into a strong strapping lad.

I'm guessing ds2 is doing his elsewhere? but that's not going to make much difference even if he does. I thought about getting a loan BUT way too young to be starting out with so much loan SFE loan, then another one....!

Has he turned down the training job yet?

Yes, he did. That wasn't a job. He had to pay for that without loan at all.

Piggy, I know you are not wealthy( neither are we!), but could you get him a small car?. If he can’t work it really is impossible, and I guess he will have to give up his place.

Shimy , thanks . Dd is a paediatrician, so I’m fairly confident they will manage, it’s just such early days

Buying him a car definitely not going to happen! Ultimately, he has savings if needed, I guess.

Dd bought her own car for less than £2k @Piggywaspushed and it’s still going strong two years later (if only she hadn’t lost her licence!). Is the car required to do the summer job? He should be able to earn more than £2k over the summer so the car will pay for itself. And he could put the money back in his savings once he’s earned enough to cover the car. And then he’d have more options for work in Sheffield /Salford.

I’m sure he’ll be able to find a job in term time too? It’s certainly competitive out there but persistence usually pays off in the end. Dd struggled at first and it took a few months, but she’s now got one zero hours contract at home, plus two zero hours jobs at uni and a 12 hour a week contract with Nando’s.

My two are saving now for their masters. Ds may not end up doing one. But if he dies then one of his choices the loan won’t cover even the fees.

No cars for 2k round here. He has to do a placement on his course so can't do lots of extra work. A summer job round here isn't even guaranteed annoyingly.
But yes the Sheffield masters at least costs a bit less than the loan ( by a whopping £300!!).

@Piggywaspushed no cars for £2k locally either but she looked country wide on Facebook marketplace and we got it from a slightly dodgy guy in inner city Leeds 😂 It did turn out to have a motorbike battery in it 😫 but once that was replaced it was actually fine, if basic. Ds spent nearer £3k but he got a really good car for that; at the moment I'm driving it because it's so much more comfortable than ours!

Still might be worth looking around - and actually, ds got his from someone in Birmingham, so ds could have a look on the local pages before he moves out?

Anyway, good luck to him, I'm sure he'll make it work. Maybe a couple of weekend shifts at a restaurant or pub, which wouldn't interfere with a weekday placement?

@Piggywaspushedif your DS is looking for something over the summer to bump his funds then he could do worse than looking at EF (Education First summer camps for international high-school students). My DS has done this the last two summers and earned about £2k each summer for only a few weeks’ work, by no means the whole summer. He was an Activity Leader so responsible for groups of up to 30 children aged 13-18, taking them on excursions etc. You do not need to have language skills. Accommodation at the location (they have several all over the UK) was either included or subsidised. I wouldn’t say he loved every minute of it, but the company was very fair to him and he earned way more than he could have in any other holiday gig. He’s going back again for three weeks this summer after uni finishes just to give himself a budget bump for holidays before hopefully knuckling down to looking for a real job. Happy to give more details if you want to DM me.