The Greatest Crepe

[MontserratCaballe]

I hope I have remembered the chosen title correctly - I have used Crem's title (think it was Crem's) as the old thread is full.

Herbs - will be fab to have lots of time en famille in the summer but eek re new job on horizon.

Inspired by CV and Rose I have put 10 things on Ebay. They range from size 10 to 16. WTF.

Cash. You can always use it to buy DS an old banger when he comes to learn. And old banger in insurance group 1.

No idea Herbs as we have never had new cars/company cars! However Herbs suggestion sounds sensible. But maybe your DH doesn't want sensible!

Herbs, that sounds truly crap.

Had a great local veggie night out with friends last night - so cheap and so tasty! And lovely to catch up too.

We take the cash and lease our main car. We bought the last one from the lease company after three years at a good price, which is notionally our second car, but it is dying. Currently have DS1's car here whilst he's in Oz. dS2 covets it, but has just this morning failed another driving test...so...bugger. I could do with another driver in the family.

I am with Cv on the waiting for exams to end bench. This week DD has had PM food tech and English. Tomorrow is maths calculator paper. There after she only has two RE papers so the end is in sight. DS has all his papers next week except French which is this week.

Thanks Nu, Monty and others. I am still coughing horribly and it's keeping me up at night. Some symptoms are better though.

herbs glad DM is recovering now from surgery and it's over with. Workwise, after the fiasco with annoying trustee wanting to pay me two hours for a full day's work, I took a decision it was better not to work than to be exploited. I now find that the people I do work for, don't bat an eyelid when I tell them my fee. I think I was expecting not to be thought worth it, so people cashed in. When I finally got brave, i seemed to get more respect. Dunno...
DQ crem and addle that holiday destination look and sounds lovely!

Off to orthodontist with DD who then has maths tutor and revision all day. I am getting my gels done and a pedi. My feet would currently grace the reptile house at the zoo. So there.

CV , you are a bit stuck with the Finance arrangement with two existing cars unless you can afford to pay them off. We are in the same boat here, not that anyone has offered us a nice new co.car!.
I'd say Dh should take the money and if he is set on having a fancier car, then use the cash to upgrade his existing motor. I do believe that having an old banger is money down the drain because of having to spend more cash on fixing it up for MOT and bits failing or dropping off. ( words of experience) if you have a maintenance agreement for the two existing cars in particular then this is already covered on your repayments
In other car related news, Dh is doing 75 miles a day to work and back, and is over his agreed mileage limit. He is now talking about getting a motorbike. If he does I will LTB . I recognise this as some kind of skewed midlife crisis.

Rose, so wish you better soon. Sorry it's dragged out so long. You must feel completely drained. Poor sausage

Interesting hearing different POV re new/second-hand cars. We go for second-hand but not falling-apart old bangers rather than brand new as they lose value as soon as you drive them off the forecourt and as cars are SO likely to get pranged round here, a brand-new car just leaves you in a ball of sweat when driving/parking/having no garage!
And we are the world's meanest parents - no intention of paying for DD to learn to drive in the foreseeable!

Cremo at your DH wanting a motorbike - what midlife crisis?!

We are with the MrsS approach to cars.... dp drives them (literally) into the ground, but does have an Audi at the moment which is tres nice.

Cremo - dp would have another motorbike like a shot.....

Here, we started with exams in April and it is another 2.5 weeks until dd is finished. This is because she has re-taken all her AS exams except for one biology paper and is also doing all her A2s. She had 2 this week, has 4 next week and 3 the week after and already did a bunch (plus 2 orals) before half-term. Ds is doing science SATs today (some kind of pilot, administered by the NFER bods).
Herbs, I am on some kind of shite zero hours arrangement, which means that I only get paid for the hours I teach. As most of my pupils currently have exams, I earnt the princely sum of £13 pounds yesterday. As it takes me 50 mins to drive here, I stayed all day to do preparation. And then I have to do reports and draw up learning support plans. For no money at all. No sick pay and no pay for the entire 9 weeks of the summer 'holiday'. When I am going to have to look for alternative work, whilst my co-workers - all salaried - get time off. And as dh is also self-employed and we always start every month from ground zero, I'm deeply unhappy, as my return to teaching was supposed to avoid the 'oh crap, we have to eat dust' scenario.

Atm, after DH's possible bill for £5,000-£6,000 for a new gearbox for the BMW, we are off cars. When we lived in Essex he worked for Ford and has always been a car enthusiast. He had company cars for years and I generally had something utilitarian. When he retired he bought his old company car as DH would rather slit his throat than buy a new car. As BTM says you lose thousands just driving a new car off the forecourt. We now buy cars which are 18 months/two years' old and keep them for years - the BMW is just over 5 years' old.

Soz, did not preview that post and I'm currently not thinking particular coherently because I'm so bloody angry at sitting here amongst so much effing wealth and privilege, working damn hard, but still looking at a summer with zero income.

Stropps :( Sorry. That does sound monumentally crap.

Jeez stropps thats tiresome.
And poor dd. She will sleep for a month after that exam regime. You have no option but to put dd out to work this summer to help sustain the household.
Would it be too late to get summer scheme work? I know many teachers do that here?
Dd now earns more than i do an hour!
She is a qualified steward supervisor fir large events. So impressed that she has done this off her own bat.and is still in University. Anyhow shes back tomorrow, sans the he/she, and hopefully not in revolutionary mode.

Re new cars, once into the v cheap , in my case monthly payment scheme I've been getting a new 500 every two years. Affordable and under warantee with free insurance for 4 years.
Hard to say no after driving a 25 year old mini metro into the scrap yard.

How rubbish, Stropps and Herbs. Zero hours (or low hours with unpaid extra) contracts stink, for proper adults, we should be revolting on the streets about it. No way to treat people, especially talented, hard-working crepeys. Hope dd manages to soldier on, Stropps. Whatever the outcome, I think she has done amazingly well to stick at it - grit is clearly a family trait.

Crem, dd did similar last year - events work - and is doing so again this year. It was great for her confidence and good experience at dealing with whatever is thrown at you I think?. Hope you have a lovely time with prodigal's return.

BTM, with you, no way are driving lessons forthcoming here. But they don't need it in London I don't think - we hardly use our shed on wheels as it is.

Strops - that's rotten. Can you do private tutoring at all? I know that's pretty lucrative.

Regarding cars, we do like nice ones - as we pretty much drive anywhere - and after I wrote off my Kia Carens four years ago we ended up buying a new Toyota on a finance plan because it was such an amazing deal (0%) and we had virtually no ready cash to buy anything half-decent outright. DH followed suit when his car gave up the ghost. Like Crem says, it is lovely having a car pretty much maintenance-free, but we are really tied into the three year plan, because of the first year depreciation.

DH's car is a "young banger" and will be perfect for DS, so we want to hang onto it.

Yes Lalsy, ours is only taken out to DS's footy matches or to go oop North on the whole! And it is totally unsuitable for DD to learn in (huge automatic!)

Stropps, my sympathies on all fronts

Cremo, fingers crossed all is good when DD appears. Well done her on the summer job front!

I must say, after years of driving £500 bangers, a few years ago I did buy a new car. Normally I think it's the preserve of madmen, wot with the depreciation and all, but took advantage of the scrappage deal which gave one £2000 off the price of a new car.

I bought a skoda, which was only £8000 new, meaning the £2k took care of the first few years depreciation, and I got three years of maintenance-free living. And even now it's v cheap to mend.

Stropps, I am sorry I think we cross posted earlier: pay situation sounds rubbish and I can absolutely understand how upset you are. Well done to DD, by the way.

Crem, good luck with your DD when she comes home - I hope all goes well.

I have spent the afternoon weeding and putting in bedding plants in the one bed in the garden where I use them. Still haven't started on the containers and hanging baskets ...

Thanks all. Lalsy , yes marvellous for esteem building and meeting a hold host of different people. Dd seems to do a lot of footy matches ( Scots league) which is a tad worrisome, but she is armed with good training thank goodness.
Nu no window boxes here this year either. I need to paint the sills , so it seems a waste of time at the minute.

Have gad a filling today and feel wretched. The dental nurse holding the aspirator nearly pulled my mouth so hard i though she would draw blood. I was imagining that I looked like Wallace by the end of it.

Hello crepeys - mainly lurking as having to work full time to cover for sick teachers and teaching assistants. Also DD2 doesn't start the bulk of her exams till 20th so being supportive. Will try to catch up soon. Love to you all and glimpsing some of you on FB.

Cremo, glad it's not just me that hates those damn aspirator things. I think the one on my marathon hour and a half caused a crack in the corner of my lips but LOL at W&G!

Squeezing in dinner between meeting about DD2's weekend school trip (have to equip her with enough food for ten (10, X) hours) and her sax lesson. Once again would prefer to dine on gin and Bombay mix and chocolate....

Well, why not, MI? It's a balanced diet - gin in one hand, Bombay mix in the other.....

Bombay Sapphire, Bombay Mix - sounds very balanced to me.

I am on the King of Soho gin. Went to Beating the Retreat tonight.

I had to hold the aspiration myself last time I went to the hygienist! (And I pay!!) but at least I could control things s :)

Here dp is getting ready to bugger off to Stockholm and I am eyeing circling black dog in the distance....

Huge hugs, BD.

And hugs from me too.