Crepes, Galettes, Pancakes and Brian the Bucket!

[MrsSchadenfreude]

Here you go...

Buena Sera Crepoes!
Just back from Italia- terrific little break which has renewed our love of the country .
Mrs S Happy Birthday - hope your day has been happy and your evening involves and jollity.

Now to catch up properly with this thread - managed to read 3 books while we were away( train travel very conducive to reading, watching snowy scenery zip past), but failed to look at mumsnet at all.
Hope everyone is well. X

My memories of teen holidays usually involved tumescent penises belonging to the hotel waiters. And sangria. And cheap Champagne.

Well Mrs S ... no tumescent penises ( I want to write peni) in the Highlands of Scotland - lots of sheep though .

Pleased to report I stayed awake through Wolf Hall - I do find the pace slow though. Also at the beginning of the episode she wasn't married to Henry and at the end she was being made queen and several months pregnant. Maybe I did sleep after all but there seemed to be a substantial and unlooked for jump forward.

I am finding the juxtaposition of Rudy's and MrsS's posts quite amusing. It's a long time since young men of any description offered to take me up anything, let alone show me their sangrias.

MI, sorry you are having the long-distance liaison and parent-wrangling to deal with.

I had similar difficulties when DH was discharged home direct from HDU. I didn't think it was because professionals were uncaring or 'trying it on', myself. Community services are fragmented because of GP commissioning and 'any qualified provider'. It's harder than ever to achieve seamless transitions. It was tough on me, though, so I sympathise.

Crem, a short Italian break sounds fantastic. I am nudging DH as I type. Though maybe not Rome, which is top of my list, at Easter. Actually, though, I may never be allowed to travel again because on my new passport photo I'm so faded as to be almost transparent. Even I can't tell it's me.

Hope the birthdays are still heing thoroughly celebrated.

Passport photos are truly torture. I may never travel again.

As predicted, this couple of weeks when I don't have too much college work has not resulted in a magical vast quantity of reading and research done. Rather, I have dicked about on the internet, and bought a toilet brush. Must Crack On.

Have parent council meeting later on. The playground is abuzz with talk of the latest behaviour management system - that of some children being 'role models'. Said chosen children (of which DS is one) have been seen to display such traits as obedience, kindness, concentration, etc, and the other children are supposed to look up to them, and try to also become role models. However, it seems a bit much for five-year-olds, and is in addition to a very complex 'traffic light' system - gold, supergreen, green, green warning, amber, red, red warning - and a 'star of the week' and 'star of the term' awards.

What with DS being docked his gold award for 'making faces during sometime prayers', school is seeming very strict at the moment...

Cremo, so pleased you had a lovely time

Rudy glad you have a lovely young man to take you out - I am so looking forward to that day (especially after yet more trouble in school)

Herbs, that sounds overly complicated for 5 year olds. Even worse for those struggling with their behaviour.

I had a very bad start to the day, after not sleeping because of worry over both DC at school.... Said I would drop DD and her mates at school and the traffic was terrible, then the fuel gauge started flashing horribly (because DH had failed to fill up) and I was in panic-mode in a jam for half an hour till I made it to a garage and got to work 45 mins late, having left the house at 7.50 I didn't get to work till after 9.15

I will definitely need a drink tomorrow.

Sympathies, Tilly I too have been in gridlock this morning (effing bus strike)…the car was ok though but I wasn't. I couldn't get to a work meeting in Hertfordshire

Ach, behaviour systems, Herbs Don't get me started…plus ca change…Most little ones are impulsive, so they dont have time to think "If I do this…I'll get a warning…if I don't do it, I'll be star of the week…

Italian Hols sound really lovely cremo!

Ok..I'm off to do battle with HerrD. wibble Wish me luck Crepeys….hopefully ConS will be holding my hand but it's on their territory, so anything might happen. I'm going in….

Auriga, you are of course perfectly right re GP commissioning and fragmentation. I feel a couple of features for trade mags coming on I am just feeling coshed with daughterly resentment.

I spent the morning writing about baking, which was incredibly soothing!

Crem, your holiday sounds luverly, how very nice .

I am feeling very faded today. Trying to keep track of stuff with ds that I have forgotten about, work experience (need to find some), theatre trip, coursework, laptop, parents' evening...they take a lot of servicing don't they, to keep them on the road [well pavements on bus strike day]. And dd keeps skyping me with admin queries [though owners of disorganised dc take heart - the girl who didn't understand the concept of filing till Christmas of AS year now skypes me and holds up her to do list to the camera and ticks things off. I hope the novelty lasts].

MI, quite right, you could do a fab point of view piece!

BTM, sounds like you need a meet up..... Have a good time tomorrow everyone.

Lalsy, work experience now?!
Shame you can't make it tomorrow.

Rose, that must have been even more frustrating than my morning. Well I was actually panicking more than getting frustrated!

No, Tilly we have to find him one for June. Should have done it ages ago.

What, after the GCSE's? That's harsh! What sort of thing is he looking for?

Well, if Rudy can issue birthday wishes a day early, I can do them a day late...Happy Birthday (for yesterday) Mrs S.

Yes, that's right. He has no idea, playing football work experience would be ideal obviously

Lalsy what about applying to a football club for some hands on sports management experience.

Rose, I do hope everything went well with Herr D

Herbs, that green light system is far too complicated. Too many signals for small children who are of course impulsive and I personally would struggle with so many mixed messages.

What a brilliant idea!

Down at Selhurst Park

Well done Cremo - must remember that for DS. If he makes it to work experience

Herbs, that system is so weird - singling out 'well behaved' children for other children to 'look up to' is very strange and divisive, I think.

We are all ill here with all the things we didn't catch at Christmas. Dh home from work, dd2 collected early, ds did it last week and dd1 is just feeling a bit thick with it. I am just blowing hot and cold, which may be a fever and may be my age..... I'm still going to come tomorrow (assuming a peaceful night), just to avoid being everyone's nurse maid for another evening.

The new school was good - just a taster day to attend and a reference from his old school and we should be good to go for April.

Have to share audit thought we were fab so all that grief before Christmas - I am vindicated!
Other programme less so, but not my problem - mine. They loved

Well done BD! I'm still slightly mystified by the very concept of audits, but it sounds lke you can metaphorically flick the Vs in many directions.

Beachy - I think the idea is to reward all those children who are just good, and otherwise don't get any reward. But it's just added to an already overcomplicated system. They also gave the 'role model' status to about a third of pupils, so rather than making something rare and precious, yet attainable, it just made all those were didn't get the status feel inadequate. Much heated debate at the parent council meeting.

Feeling dreadful. Massive headache, mainly over my left eye. And sick. And have very long and difficult lesson to teach tomorrow morning. I hope it's just my usual pre-AF migraine thing. Though wish I could find a painkiller that would touch it...

Well done, BD - good to have some positive feedback at last

Good to see you are planning to soldier on tomorrow night Beachy! Fingers crossed you can too Herbs.