Crepeys say Bah Humbug, (it's not Christmas yet)

[beachyhead]

Here we go

Good luck Rudy

They are very labour intensive and frustrating but that's a great way of raising money if people are prepared to pay that much! I doubt I could pay anyone to take mine away

What colour is it Rudy? If it is black or navy blue, it shouldn't be too hard to find something that suits both the school and your DD. I say should....

So nice on the train on my own I love train journeys.

I'm off to a ball later, crepeys. I'm now wondering whether to wear my fab new Gok dress or stick with the pink charity shop one. I could probably pop the pink one on eBay and get back what I paid for it....

Before then, I'm girding my loins for this afternoon's must-do tasks, one of which is my Passport application. DH has booked flights to Dublin for his BF's wedding at the end of January, and if I don't get going now the application will be lost in the Christmas rush. And Thursday is the last posting date for Australia, so I need to write a few cards.

OMG - Christmas cards - I hadn't even thought about them. I need to get my act together.

I have made carrot soup and DH has annoyingly dropped some old lettuce leaves into it. Still, I expect once it's blended I won't know the difference.

CV - wow a ball - only DD1 seems to get that sort of thing. I have never been to a ball
(channels Cinderella). Mind you, I'd look daft in a ball dress.

Feeling very happy as DD1 says the uni is going to pay for her piano lessons - great stuff.

Stropps we should all froth about young people not getting the support they need.

On train on way back from mad dash to see dd. We had such a lovely day including an enormous lunch and at her request a trip to buy biscuits and washing up liquid. . She really seems to have landed on her feet with her flatmates. They have defied the university authorities by putting up Christmas paper chains.

Have fun at the ball cv.

Lalsy, what fab news that dd has landed on her feet with her flatmates - I pray for the same with ds next year. (Dd will, in due course, have the nous to choose sensibly, I reckon.)

Stropps, perhaps unusually for them, the Telegraph today is sharing your froth against the mad tutoring trend:

www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationopinion/11257642/If-theres-one-thing-Ive-learnt-from-tutors.html

You don't even need to read it - it says the same things as we've been saying here about disempowering the dc.

I used to do tutoring (French and German) when I was at school, and used to get £5 an hour for it back in 1982. I was very well off in sixth form - I used to do at least four hours tutoring a week, plus three hours a week as a life model for an art class, at £7 an hour. I also had a cleaning job, which I gave up at my teachers' insistence, as they felt (probably rightly) that I should be doing some work towards my A levels.

I don't think I have been to a ball since the mid 80s. I helped to organise one in the Connaught Rooms on one occasion. There was so much champagne flowing beforehand that I could barely stand when it started, didn't recognise my boyfriend in his DJ, and certainly didn't recognise the guest of honour (Nyree Dawn Porter). We had to start the dancing and my then boyfriend propelled me around the dance floor, so that I didn't look too pissed. His car broke down in Wandsworth on the way back, and I had to push it most of the way to Putney, which sobered me up a bit.

Gosh , lots to catch up on!

Well done indeed Herbs on your class going so well. It's so nice to get some verbal encouragement. And sorry about the laryngitis…don't strain!
BD Whatever plan B is, I do hope it gets you to a better place work wise. You must also think of yourself.
Auriga Might PM you sometime soon as my DD is dyslexic, dysgraphic and has trouble with number as well. No one helps her except me and she'd never get a statement. We just muddle on….not very well most of the time.
Mi At the risk of seeming very dim, what is "lyrical dance"?
Rudy hope you found a mutually acceptable skirt that also conforms to the rules!
CV A ball…how glam! And great news on the bathroom too!
BTM Enjoy your trip! I love trains too…beats sitting in a snarl up on the M1/M6. eh?
Lalsy That sounds like great and reassuring news about your DD's flatmates at Uni. DS1 chose badly in his second year…a real waster of a student/flatmate who flunked out and we almost had a stand up fight with his parents when they didn't want to pay the rent for the rest of the year, which they were locked in to.

Today, I have supervised homework, done a lot of housework and laundry, taken DD to the opticians to choose her Ray Ban lookalike frames which I gather are very "cool" at the minute, had DParents and DS1 round to tea with 'bridge rolls' (the filling of which is very labour intensive but looks nice...) and then cleared up.
DH has been to the rugby at Twickers. He is not home yet. I am pissed off and bored.

DH is upstairs reading bedtime stories to DGS1 who decided he did want try out his new bed. I am collapsed in a heap after an afternoon spent at the beach which at the time was lovely. A typical murky gloomy day here, though.

Hatty, we saw lots of uni students on Friday (particularly on the buses), they were universally polite and pleasant. I am always up for a shopping spree in York - perhaps next summer holidays, BTM?

I am shocked by the price of the gingerbread houses, one of the many things I have never attempted. There is a pavlova base cooling in the oven as I write: the new food processor seems to be ok. I was also shocked at the vegetable stories - so sad to hear about people not knowing what some normal vegetables are. DGS1 already knows the difference and can name types of apples.

Aww, bless your GS knowing types of apples already, NU. I hope they are decent English varieties
Molly, thank you for the link to the Telegraph article, but what kind of fruit loop insists on getting their nursery-age child tutored in hopping, eh? I feel these parents may have a deeply peculiar idea about what is important in life. When I worked in the Far East, I saw what some of the parents there thought was an acceptable level of pressure to put on very young children and was also asked to tutor some of my pupils outside school for large sums, but I refused.

If I ever employed a general subject tutor, I would insist on them being a qualified teacher with proven recent experience of the relevant syllabus. But then again, I'm not sure what qualifications to look for if the tutoring is in pre-prep hopping.

And Lalsy, it sounds like you had a really nice day. What's wrong with the Christmas paperchains, though? :) Hoorah for nice flatmates.
I have got out the wooden advent calendar, as I will have to work all day tomorrow and so I must get everything sorted out now. I have some nice chocolate sprouts to put in it.

Fire hazard apparently. dd assures me they have conducted their own risk assessment and all is well. She is pleasantly surprised at how she likes really quite a lot of people .

How was the ball, CV? ?

Finally catching up on this thread from yesterday, having sat down to read it. Great news about the flat mates, Lalsy. I do think it makes a huge difference, also room mates at school. DD1's room mate this year is lovely, and they get on really well (and look quite alike, which is a bit spooky).

Fab afternoon yesterday with MI and DD1 at the cinema and then charity shopping. Got two cute dresses for DD2 and some books.

I gave DD1 a "MTFU and deal with it" talk on the way home about her additional maths class, where she doesn't like the teacher. Told her that if she fails it, the teacher won't give two hoots, and it will only be her who suffers.

Are we all set for Friday? More importantly, does everyone know where we are going?

BD - hope things are a bit better next week.

MrsS can you PM details? (Place/time)
I am hoping if I say in bed long enough the kitchen fairies will have been and cleared up last night's dinner...

Thanks for calender reminder Stropps - must get ours out.

And thanks for all the good wishes crepeys....

Blimey another full week Crepeys. Only just caught up.

MI welcome back. Delighted you had a spiffing time in the sub-continent. And a lovely day browsing the charity shops with Mrs S yesterday.

Rudy, glad to hear The Curious Incident of Dh in the nighttime ended well. Although nipping to Australia does seem a little rash with no warning. Phew

BD oh lovely what a horrible time for you ATM. Can I just second taking some personal leave. Or at least talking things through with Occ Health to try and get some perspective. IMHO you need rest and distance. Rest is very much dismissed as unnecessary these days - like being exhausted is some kind of weakness. Bolleaux to that. Sleep deprivation and stress are devastating. Please look after thy self. Unmumsnetty {{{|}{}}}}}}

Everyone else lots of news I need to catch up on but CBO

I'm at the start of Crazy-Month here.
It's all kicking off at work too .
We are being relocated , which is very discombobulating and not least , a bit worrying.
Oh and I didn't get the job as you know. A 23 year old grade 1 got it. Go figure.

Then it wasn't a job befitting your capabilities, Crem.

The Ball was great fun. We were on a table with three couples we've known for years; the only problem is that our table was so close to the band we could hardly hear ourselves speak and I've gone hoarse from shouting. It was a fundraiser for the two youngest daughters of friends, who suffer from severe (life limiting ) epilepsy, and they are trying to raise funds to take them to the US for treatment. Our friend made a very emotional speech about the girls; it has been such a hard journey for them, even though they are relatively well off, educated and articulate, they have to fight on a daily basis to get support the girls deserve - heaven knows how anyone with less confidence, brains and sheer determination would get anywhere.

Food was delicious and there were lots of nice things being auctioned and raffled off to raise more money. We didn't come home with any goodies but somehow DH and I managed to get signed up to do a fundraising 5k "military style assault course though hilly and muddy natural terrain" in March with the aforementioned three couples. My BF, who is considerably fitter than me, had to be restrained from putting us down for 10k. Cripes, what have I done?!

No, I haven't forgotten our Friday meet, but can you PM me the deets, MrsS? I may be a little more abstentions than usual, as it's the day after our Christmas party. Or I may be in the mood for hair of the dog...

I have the worst hangover EVER. Ibuprofen and dioralyte not touching the sides. And I've still got to finish off the referencing for my assignment.

< dry heave >

Ball sounds great CV. 5km mud - scrambling less so!

I am en route home, feeling a little jaded after falling into bed at 2 am. No hangover though, despite very copious amounts of fizz! It was a great party - even had a casino room plus caterers doing lovely canapés, etc. And great to see my friends lovely family and friends who were all reminding me of stuff that happened 30odd years ago

Crem - ageism is rife...

BD - have PM's you the details, and we will be there from 6.30.

Herbs - you great pussy.

It was a bad combination of endless bottles of strong malbec, and a pub that stays open until midnight.

Going to the cinema in a bit to see Paddington. I hope it isn't too loud.

Mrs S , I fear you have a valid point about the ageism . It makes me feel so cross and crepey too.

Herbs you wild child you!
Cv what a lovely event. Love a posh frock myself.
BTM I was at my uncles 70th yesterday and finally met all my cousins' children ( first cousins once removed) what a delightful bunch of cuties they are. There were also the adorable Romanian foster kids (of my cousin)who I am completely in awe of. Gorgeous!
It was just lovely . Dh who is a child magnet was prevented from leaving by two rascals wrapped round each leg.

Awwww!

No bloody trains from LB - have to wait for the bus

Crem - the family get together sounds lovely. I would love a good family get together but we are all so dispersed and contentious that it's unlikely to happen.

Have had a very lazy day here which is just as well as I've done something to my shoulder which hurts all the way up to my neck and is affecting how I turn my head.

After the ball dress conversation yesterday, DD1 coincidentally send through a photo of an amazing thing she found at TKMaxx which was very reasonably priced. That's her Christmas present sorted!

Hope you've left London Bridge BTM and hope Herb's is feeling a little better.

My book club is getting a bit overly serious and we have to each choose a book that we think represents 'great literature' and defend it. I think I may leave for the other book club which reads something a bit trashy and then drinks and gossips.