Proportional Crepresentation

[Cremolafoam]

There you go lovelies

Harrumph - my Saturday got well and truly derailed - got up at an unearthly hour to drive 3 hours to a meeting with DH - halfway there got an email cancelling due to illness. Now back at home and regrouping...

On plus side -

• do have hot water
• do have working washing machine
• could go back to bed for a nap this afternoon...

WAF - the swallow test sounds very nasty.

It is lovely to be logging on to lots of good news - may it stay that way.

Just back from a lovely walk - half way up my local landmark (& down) & no knee problems for DH.

Am having a mooch here & then going to sort out clothes - much overdue.

Stropps, delighted to hear about outbreak of sibling harmony and well done on the personal maintenance MOT. It takes me about 6 months to get round to what you did in a day.

Rose, great news about parents' evening. I love it when teachers really 'get' DD.

We had fun watching the 6th form elective production of Daisy pulls it off with DD as Daisy. Seems it really only came together in the last two days & drama teacher was looking a bit green beforehand but it was v funny.

Good news about student placement MrsS 😊

Sorry your day has been derailed GGG, hope it improves.

I have a streaming cold to add to my infirmities & got less than 3 hrs sleep. Supposed to be clothes shopping with DD this afternoon, then taking her to the theatre this evening. Think I will be dozing in a cafe while she shops.

My bush is blooming and smells divine

My bush is blooming and smells divine

How did that happen?!

Auriga, sounds like your DD is doing very well juggling performances with revision! Sorry you have a cold to add to your woes - hope the shopping isn't too onerous.

WAF, you poor thing. You deffo need that special weekend

Cremo, I have PM'd you. DS is kind of OKish ATM, although nowhere near recovered. Which is a better place than we were in previously!

Nice looking bush BTM!

Your bush looks lovely.

Cleared my clothes & was ruthless - if I haven't worn it for 18 months it was O U T!!

DH got inspired & went through some of his stuff as wel..

4 large bags for the local hospice shop.

That's a very fine bush.

I have been Rolling the Boulder. Sometimes it goes in circles but all in all it's heading uphill.

DP said heavily that he thought I should step back from it and get an overview "instead of letting it take charge". Given that this is precisely what I am trying to do, WIBU to LTB?

That's not even the bush - just some cuttings!

MM that is impressive. I do find it hard to part with old favourites dont know where DD gets it from

MI, since when did any of us worry about our DH's opinions on anything?

I am trying the homemade rhubarb gin my lovely friend gave me. It is very good!

BTM and Beachy how are the respective ds's?

Done very little today except canter through book club read and Hoover up a tonne of dog hair... Oh and laundry... Lots of laundry.

First, may I congratulate you on your Lilac cuttings BTM, and say yes just reading your kind pm my love, but am past my sell by date and will give due consideration tomorrow as have had a melting head sort of day

Molly , you were right about the Essex Serpent - can wait to hear more but fear my eyes won't stay open. Will Finnish it tomorrow.
Xx 😘

BD, I'm not really sure how he is - have PM'd you.

Cloud - re: hot water - might be a daft suggestion, but after our boiler was serviced recently we noticed that she (for 'twas a rare lady plumber) had switched the timer off at the wall. We only found out when the hot water ran out. Also check power to boiler.

In domestic appliance news, I've been shopping for new washer dryer. That is, once I'd picked myself off the floor laughing at NU's question "is DH mechnically minded?" The current machine is almost as old as DD1 and has served us well, so I can't complain.

Oh, and yes, WAF, I did see the menopause thing. Interesting! DH heard the program being announced and couldn't get out of the room fast enough.

HW Update - it needed a new photovoltaic 'dubrey'. Left DH in charge as I went dancing, clutching large towel, change of clothes and my spongebag. Came home to find boiler chugging away heating up the water. No doubt crappy plumber will charge us ££££

Been to local pub/independent theatre for Macbeth with Inferiorettes, and a friend and her daughter. Hugely enjoying having interesting young adults to talk to though had had two (2, ii) large glasses of wine and hope was coherent.

Didn't get to theatre; needed my bed. DD found a willing substitute. Worried that he may be a rival for sweet BF. Hope not, don't want any pre-A-level upsets.

Beautiful blooms BTM.

I bet your bush smells gorgeous BTM

I had a snort at the notion of CV's dh being mechanically minded.

I invited DH to watch the menopause programme with me and he declined. It does make me a bit hot flush under the collar that our partners are a bit.... unenlightenable/stereotypical. I hope our daughters partners will take more of an informed interest.

Lovely walk through Dulwich Park and thorough inspection of the Picture Gallery. They have a small display about the museum's beginnings. When it opened in the early 1800s it was free, but you couldn't get in without a ticket and the tickets were only available from various art dealers and booksellers. One in Cheapside, another in Fleet Street, one at Wimbledon, another at Bromley..... how were you supposed to work all that out without Google!

Watched Louis Theroux's Scientology Movie last night. 'Bit thin' said DH. I agree.

Currently lying in bed but with big plans for finishing up a work pitch, blitzing the shower room and starting a tedious bit of admin.

Would love to hear state of the nation on all the GCSE and other exam revisers plus their mothers.

This exam revisers mother is feeling a lot calmer. Not unconnected with the fact that 2/3 of the exam candidates have left I think. They have temporarily been replaced by a friend of a friend's daughter and her boyfriend who are here to run/support the Marathon. FFD is different to many of the runners we have hosted in the past - she is refreshingly casual about it all and her main worry seems to be to run quick enough to have time for a 'bevvy or three' before her train back home. And she has uni finals this term but is taking a similarly chilled approach to that as far as I can tell. She is one of nature's sunny people I think and a joy to have around.

WAF, we are deep in revision here. I am holding my breath for another burst of anxiety as the GCSES start in 3 (III) weeks. Thankfully DD's A levels don't start till after half-term!

MrsW, she sounds great! We are going up to watch shortly although I don't think we know anyone running this year, but I watched the heartwrenching programme about the people running for MH, so maybe I will spot one of them.

What is this menopause programme? Will I find it on catch-up?

This mother is fine, just bored with the ds food provision/being around thing (already) - I have had years of it and it is not my forte! dd is stressed but far away and has good friends there. Was a bit up-fed yesterday as dh also working all day on something not IMO necessary, in addition to working all day today on something that is. But addle cheered me with top boy-birthday-present-finding outing.

WAF, that procedure sounds horrible, you poor thing. I hope the next stage goes smoothly. How peculiar about the gallery - I wonder if it caught on elsewhere?

BTM, glad some glimmer of overall progress amongst all the ups and downs. And Auriga, well done to your dd on Daisy.

And MI, it is such a joy isn't it? They light things up.

No domestic appliances broke or faltered here yesterday - hope that marks the end of our run.

Ds still pootling on here. He's ok ish, but not looking forward to going back tomorrow. I think the next three weeks will have to be carefully managed IYKWIM......

He has managed about an hour on some days, but nothing on others.... he knows and we know it's not enough, but it is what it is. I'm trying to focus his head ahead to the summer to give him something to look forward to. Could everyone give me some ideas? He has a festival to go to and the family holiday, but that's it really.... I've suggested lots, but he doesn't really know what he wants to do at all.

Watching the Marathon and missing Sarf East London

I seem to recall (it was only us last year!) that when the study leave kicked in, and we'd filled in a week or two of revision plans, I suggested that DS and I could go away for the night. Maybe take a friend. Go to the beach, find a B&B, and eat fish and chips on the sand. Nothing expensive, but something to work towards, and to come home a bit more refreshed.

In the end we went to London for 36 hours and slept on a friends floor. Did cheap last minute tickets to a show, and ate at that ridiculously rude place in China Town. Won Kei's?

It did work. Got me out of the house (and all the continual food provision), and spurred DS into a fit of work beforehand, and afterwards, too. Also gave us a chance to talk about all those decisions that need making at this point - uni choices etc etc.

Was it you, Lalsy who mentioned that? Suddenly lots of decisions, and cajoling a grumpy teenager into making them. I know some of you have younger ones about to care for, but as I said, it worked for us.

HTH someone!