Summertime...and the Crepeys are easy

[motherinferior]

With much love to BD.

(We are going to county cork btw in frugal manner.)

MI better start working on your rock chick look...

Fanfare......I have a new laydee gardener who was brought round today by the boss and she is paired with a very nice deaf guy on whom I might start to resurrect my very rusty signing skills. They are promising great things. I have also spent the time whilst waiting for them putting together a PowerPoint for a talk I have been asked to give in a couple of weeks, and calling back what will be an additional private client for September, referred to me by the theatre. I am rewarding myself with tea and cake locally.

YES I'M RIGHT, ARENT' I.

Ps...I have never flown strange Russian airlines (sheltered upbringing) unless, of course, you count eleventy million times on EL AL...

Bon voyage Cremo - Rose sounds just the ticket

Rose, like the tankini!

Stropps and MrsS DD has a similarly messy room, though happily no plates

We have been out to eat and have a beer or 2 (at 40p each!!!) and we managed to avoid any complete meltdowns/shouting/sulking.
I am now feeling pleasantly snoozy but no doubt my eyes will ping open at 3am or something.

That sounds better tilly I am reminded of a game that we play when everyone is bitching and cussing on holiday. It's the silliest thing in the world and makes even the most dour of travel weary peeps collapse into fits. It's a silly app called Heads up.

Plates (4), cereal bowls (3), mugs (3), glasses (5), empty crisp packets (2), yogurt pots (1), teaspoons (3).

Herbs - have just looked you up on a map - the first part of our honeymoon was due south of you, on the coast, in a peculiar little town called Sabaudia. It was built to Mussolini's grand design, stuffed with Fascist architecture. We only chose it because there was a decently-priced fly-and-flop hotel there, and it was quite straightforward to hop a boat to Corsica (for part two of honeymoon).

Rose - distraction app sounds interesting - we may be needing it.

MrsS, I think I am getting even more senile than I thought, as I have no recollection of my DC leaving their bedrooms in such a mess.

Rose, I like the swimwear. I keep on gently suggesting to DH that we need to get a gardener in for some work: he is currently contemplating pruning the 30 leylandii which make up the hedge to our garden.

Stropps, sorry to hear that you are still stressed and anxious, not helped by DD and DH's shenanigans.

Re Aeroflot, BTM, DH was in the aerospace business and knew huge amounts about their maintenance (or lack of it) in the past. DS also had a nasty incident at Moscow airport when his plane was on the runway and had its take off aborted because another plane was landing on the same one!

BD, try to take some time off.

WAF, sorry to hear that DH has been made redundant - I hope things work out for him.

[itunes.apple.com/gb/app/heads-up!/id623592465?mt=8 silly distraction game]]

whoops

trying again

This would be the ideal place for a crepey hangout - more lounging options than you can imagine, a pool house complete with lav and shower, outdoor pizza oven, and even a vast ceramic outdoor table with INTEGRATED LAZY SUSAN. It has, however, only got two bedrooms. It's about half of the family house, and is separated by various doors. Feel a leeeetle bit guilty as the grandpa toils in the garden, and the granddaughter shrieks ( she's probably used to going in the pool all day). But they'd rather have our money so stuff em.

There's a pretty louche air to the place. A hot tub outside, plus top-of-the-range whirlpool bath inside. Hugely elaborate master bathroom, with glass walls, and highly complex lighting system everywhere. Apart from the kitchen, which has two 40w bulbs. Saucy pictures here and there. And it's built for Giants. The kitchen tops come up to my waist, and the door handles to my boobs. And the shower head can't be reached.

Crepeys, just how essential is it for the DC to go to university open days? DD1 has booked to go to Warwick, but wants to go to Lancaster as well. She will either have to get up at silly o'clock on her own (we are away) and get a really early train to get her to the uni for 0900, or go up the night before after school and stay in a hotel. I would prefer the first option, frankly, as as long as she can get up and out the house, it should work. She is being all wah wah wah about it and doesn't want to do either. There are no other open days at Lancaster, as she missed all of the others due to being in Africa. The second dilemma is that she wants to go to Aberystwyth too, and this will entail a day off school, which she thinks they are unlikely to agree to (I think it would be during half term for most other schools). I am tired of telling her that she is an adult next month, so she needs to MTFU and deal with it. Any advice? None of her friends are interested in Lancaster or Aberystwyth, as most of them will be going to the US, although she does have friends to travel to Warwick and Bristol with.

Mrs S - has she ever been to Lancaster or Aberystwyth? It would be worth her going to the open days to get a flavour of the towns as well as the uni's. We went to an open day at York which was really well planned and very useful. We went to Exeter and Bristol last summer as part of the holidays and were lucky enough to get tours even though there were no open days. DD didn't like Bristol that much so I think it can help . Even if you can't get to the open days, the uni's can usually organise something if you ring in advance.

MrsS, it isn't essential at all, IMO - BUT, Aber is another kettle of fish - she should definitely visit before accepting an offer there, I think (but that could be post-offer). I am hoping ds will be able to put a couple on the form that he has seen and are realistic - then the others can be aspirational/unseen/whatever.......His school won't let them have much time off either and discourages loads of visits and he will be playing fotball every Saturday from end Aug...... He may stick at the two he has done.

Rose, that is perfectly lovely swimwear.

Stropps, sorry things tricky with dd, I guess the results tension is building, apart from anything else?

Classic cockle-warming teen text from ds "Yeah, in bothy, bit scary, think we will be OK".

Yes, NU congratulations!

Thank you!

Aberystwyth would be her "insurance" offer as apparently for the course she wants to do, their standard offer seems to be the IB equivalent of two Es at A level (ie she just has to scrape a pass).

MrsS, DD and her DH were both at Lancaster and enjoyed it, although I think a Crepey (BD?) hated it. Perhaps a trip during the holidays to the town and just a run around the university, if only to get the feel of the place.

Thanks for all the best wishes for our anniversary; I can't believe it's such a long time.

Does she know what Aber is like (the town and area)? Personally, I think anyone not from west Wales planning to live there should see it in winter anyway (and travel there and back under own steam) - maybe she could go post-offer? Is it normally in clearing?

I think it will be very different from what she is used to, Lalsy - this is a girl who grew up in a very chi chi area of Paris, and likes the city. I agree with going under own steam in the winter - if just to see what the journey home will be like. Warwick is her first choice, I think, although Bristol also looking good. She likes the location of Lancaster and said the student accommodation is nice!

Will catch up, but tonight it's nits FFS and the washing machine turning in languid circles when it should be doing 1200 rpm.... Bugger... Add new washing machine to list, cross off Herbs AirB&B

Lancaster for someone from a town who likes a town Nooooooo! Warwick better - more connections

Mmmm....yes agree about journey and culture shock. maybe she will feel more confident by then in having a higher insurance. If she is considering likes of Bristol/Lancaster - that seems very different from Aber's standard offer?

news from ds' bothy: "we are fine but there is a ferret-type creature in the rafters". Any advice crepeys?

Blimey Lalsy - sounds like a bad joke - Question: "What looks like a ferret and lives in the rafters?" Answer: "Fuck only knows!" Poor ds. Think I'd prefer to sleep outside. Tell him to keep his trousers tucked into his socks in case it runs up his trouser leg in the night!

Herbs, enjoy your lush holiday pad.

Mrs S, what subject is she wanting to do? How has she chosen this particular selection of universities? if she likes Parisian chic there won't be a whole lot of that in Aber or Lancaster!

Urgh!!!! Latest is "A man has just come in so that's good". Is he trying to wind me up?

BD, please take time off if you need to. Your colleague will understand and the rest of them will have to manage. Put yourself first for your own sake and those relying on you at home too... take care lovely.

Stropps, so pleased your back is getting there. Fingers crossed for continued recovery. Dd's room sounds pretty par for the course for a certain brand of teen - ds1 has always been incredibly tidy, ds2 is a whole different story. I have to coerce / threaten / cajole/ bribe him into mucking out his pigsty of a bedroom every so often. left to his own devices he would just wallow in squalor indefinitely.

Rose, I like the glam tankini. I have the identical Speedo swimsuit that Beachy? linked to a while back - I can thoroughly recommend it for serious swimming. It's fab and comes in some good colours too. I have a deep navy and a patterned black and white one.

Beauty, any more news of your dd1? Hope she's ok. I was worried about ds2 going to Berlin for a few days with a couple of friends!

We're off to N Spain on Thursday! haven't even begun to get organised yet... and haven't actually booked any restaurants in either Bilbao or S Sebastien... If we don't want to go anywhere supersmart / Michelin tell me we'll be okay??

For crepeys waiting breathlessly - the man is nice and has identified the creatures as pine martens (weasel-type creatures the size of cats).