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.

Sorry to hear about your eye troubles and sorry too you couldn't down a gin or two with us yesterday...

Sounds horribly rollercoasterish Herbs. Hang on in there.

Going to collect the PFB son from Uni tomorrow - end of a whole year - bloody hell that went quickly! Really looking forward to having him mooning about the house grunting and eating at odd hours of the day and night. I miss him.

Wham! Young Guns!

Yes, GGG, it was a huge pisser I couldn't make it, but there was no way I'd have got from Oxford St to the gig (ahem) in 20 minutes to suck one down quickly before you went in. Another time!

Oh no, it is Wham Rap.

Hello lovelies drunken wenches. Herbs, I have a sodding summer cold as well. Very croaky. Have permitted myself a dram of Bush' heated with a slice of lemon. What a saddo I am. Friday night in my jammies in front of the telly box with a tot of hot whiskey.
Sorry to hear about ds BD. How scary, poor child. Hope he's able to overcome and continue.

Have a nice weekend Crepes.

Yes indeed BD - poor ds - so frightening sounding (even if I'm not sure I understand what happened).

TOTP 1981 now - all going rapidly downhill - Julio Inglesias anyone?

I turned off when Hool came on and went to bed!

How is DS, BD? It sounds terrifying. Can he make up this dive?

DD2 is going on a DofE hike today. Despite repeated nagging (part of my strategy to get them to take more responsibility), she has discovered this morning that her cutlery has gone missing and that she has put on weight and her hiking stuff no longer fits. She is horrified at the weight gain. I helpfully pointed out that this is what happens when you spend all weekend in bed eating crisps and chocolate.

Oh she has lost her socks too and is having a shouting match with DD1, having attempted to nick a pair of hers.

I love TOTP 1981 - the entire naffness of it all. I can sing nearly all the songs (except Hoolio). Last time I watched, I'd had wine, and I ordered ABC greatest hits - I play it in the car and sing along when I'm giving lifts to the DC's and friends.

GGG - we're not getting DD1 until next week - she's staying to vote Remain! Getting more and more frightened now.

Crem - hope you're feeling better. A Hot Toddy should do the trick.

Still waiting to hear re dive. Sure we can sort something and he seems okay.

Here every other teen girl seems to have anorexic - sat in pub last night with the mother of one who is in hospital, and know of two others.... Whole body image thing seems so much tougher than when I was a child.

MrsS sorry about the eye - anything that can be done?

My dearest dearest niece also struggling desperately with an eating disorder. It made me weep to see her skinny wee legs recently. My dsis says her brain is like a computer, constantly whirring working out calorific value of every single thing. Sadly her fathers side of the family each have a whole bundle of compulsive behaviours.
Its so sad.

I'm at Hatty singing " shoot that Poison Arrow though my heeeeaaart"
To annoy her teenagers.
Heaven 17 anyone?

Feeling moderately better after a good sleep.

Gosh GGG has it been year???

Herbs do you agree with them?

I haven't got over my summer cold yet...still coughing and snotty in the mornings...

Agree BD. DS2 can reel of a number of names in his year alone. The daughter of one of my close friends is in hospital as I type, being tube fed and taking her GCSE's there...

Am off shortly to a relative's son's Bar mitzvah. Parents have split up very recent and acrimoniously. Not sure what it's going to be like. Really feel for the boy.

And I am somewhat missing DS1...maybe you set me off GGG! He'll back on 29th for 2 weeks for DDads stone setting and other family functions. But then back down under until October.

Happy Saturday, Crepeys.

I do know quite a few people our age who turn out to have been anorexic as kids - and of course my mum - but I also agree the overall pressure to look Amazing is far worse these days. Though DD1 appears happy to go out to a rehearsal and then entertain a visit from the boyf in trackies and a baggy T-shirt (and we're not talking sports luxe here!)...

God, I hope I haven't set DD2 off on the road to anorexia. She was prancing about last night in pants and a T shirt and her legs looked suddenly huge. She has always has slim legs which is why I noticed. Hopefully just a wake up call that you can't lie on your bed all weekend eating the contents of Cybercandy and for it not to have any effect.

Oh god, Herbs. I know it is bloody awful now, but once you have a long-term solution in place it will get easier.

MrsS, I hope you got her out of the door with socks and clothes that fit!

I agree about the pressures on teens to look amazing - selfie culture, etc. It's a knife-edge between filling their faces with junk food and sweets and starving themselves

Cremo, yes to Heaven17. Scritti Politti? Orange Juice?
Echo and the Bunnymen, China Crisis, The Christians, The Teardrop Explodes....

MI, DD spends most of her time in trackies and big sweatshirts whether she is "entertaining" or not! But then wears a dress the size of a hanky when she goes out to a party

Gosh yes MI, teen girls all about the hair and nails and perfect smiles.
Dds orthodontist was mildly horrified that she didn't want surgery to remove teeth (!) so she had a perfect model's smile. Also desperate to push £££ teeth whitening on us. I commented that it might be nicer if dd 'just looked like herself'. Dd agreed. Clearly this is now part and parcel of 'getting the look'
I have no memory of this kind of pressure and was happy enough in a pair of jeans and a cheesecloth top when I was 16. I never gave a minutes thought to my nails, and rinsed my hair in chamomile tea.( to lighten)
Why can't they just be allowed to be themselves?

I don't know what they need, Rose. We're in a holding pattern of agency carers until we can get something longer term fixed up. I'm going up on Tuesday to meet such a person at M&D's house for her to do an assessment. Finding such people via recommendations, etc, and arranging to go up has of course taken loads of legwork, which neither mum nor the current carers see. I also don't want to keep phoning with new suggestions, as it just causes confusion. So it looks to them like we're doing nothing. Galling.

Can't decide whether to sing in this concert today. If it causes me to lose my voice, teaching for five hours on Monday will be challenging! Maybe I'll go to the rehearsal and see how it goes. If it's getting dodgy, I'll stay for the concert but in the audience.

In cheerier news, we have booked a holiday! For first week in August, so there'll in fact only be three days with no Dutiful Daughters. We're returning on my dad's 90th birthday, but can't imagine there'll be much of a party. It's an A.MA.ZING villa near Rome, with huge vaulted ceilings, frescoes, mad furniture, a whirlpool bath in the bedroom, 1.5acre gardens filled with olive trees and amazing flowers, and a pool. £700!

Oh that's excellent news Herbs. You so deserve it. I hope you can get a good solution for dps, so you can go to Italy without worrying unduly, (and get in the whirlpool bath and chillax) x.

We are on the hunt for a new dishwasher today as old Zanuzzi is no longer an appliance of science. Tis an appliance of leaking and streaking glassware
Currys have so far failed us.
AO don't deliver here
Argos have nothing sold just cheapo brands
Local suppliers thin on the ground.

We are stuffed.

In other news Mr Inferior is offering creative writing advice again. WIBU to biff him one?

Bottle of Fairy and a pair of Marigolds for Mr Crem then?

Stab him or LTB, MI. I have expanded my prawn short story, following some advice from a friend. One who writes, that is. Not the one who said when I showed her something "Oh I thought it was OK, but thought I could write better." And who has never written anything in her life.

I am completely pooped after the past week at work. When will they learn that we are two people short, and the three of us that are there can't do everything? And I have been told no leave until after 9 July. I will be on my knees by then.

Spoke to mum, who was v perky and annoyed at lack of organisation of carers, which is a good thing. She loves a good organise. Spoke to sis, and we have a plan. Feel better.

Bloody dishwashers, crem. Sometimes they're more trouble than they're worth. Ours was never installed properly, so whenever you open the bottom drawer when full, the whole thing tips forward, shedding its load on to the kitchen floor, and causing many swears.

I've had a career thought. Tutoring home-educated children.

Herbs, possible. A friend of mine is doing this, but has found that parents who home Ed don't want to pay the going rate for tutoring. She originally asked for £20 an hour, which I think is slightly less than the going rate (she does English, French and Latin), got quite a bit of interest, but no parent has been willing to pay her more than £9 an hour (two offered £7 and seemed surprised when she refused).

She said it was almost as if they felt they were doing her a favour too! (She lives near you.)

Bugger that. I had a quick look at a tutoring agency, and the rates for qualified teachers seemed to start at £20/hour. Not worth it for less than that, once you factor in travelling, planning, etc...

Crikey, that sounds cheap! It's £30-£40 here. Admittedly for GCSE/A'level, but still.
I would be surprised if HEders wanted to pay that much though.

Glad you have a plan with the DP's, Herbs.

I could also possibly do 11+. 'Normal' tutoring is of course at evenings and weekends, which wouldn't be ideal with DS. Hence thoughts of HomeEdders (though I fear they might be a bit annoying). If I specialise in literacy, maybe I can bump the price up!

Right. Off to my rehearsal, then probably concert, if voice holds out.