Lifeafterballet

Ds is in a very small group G ! But they seem to join with all the girl groups at some stage ! Looking forward to watching the Romeo and Juliet repertoire on Saturday ! My favourite ballet

Just had a thought ! The Birmingham tunnels are closed til the 1st September to those traveling to Elm from the north east ! Safe journey everyone x

Ds doesn't do jazz either ! He didn't take any jazz shoes last year ! He said there were only a few boys with them ! He went bare foot ! Imagine it is the same for the girls ! Or they could wear ballet shoes ! We have just packed too !

Dd's school arrange a taxi to the station and at the moment we have a grandparent chaperoning ! But it won't be long now before they can travel independently ! We are lucky that ours is a straight through train ! Only now going into year 9 we are considering it ! But when I think of the risk of driving tired late at night on the M5 in the winter ! The train looks safer !

And then there are summer schools ! Not compulsory but helps fill in the 7 week break ! Cornwall to York twice !!

We are 420 miles round trip ! That was 840 miles for a weekend leave until we met another dd and mum who live near us ! Now we lift share and it halves the cost for both of us and it's lovely company in the car ! The other option is the train ! Excellent service from new street and there is probably some other dd/ds going her way !

IMO I don't think that a couple of months makes that much difference ! It's all on the day ! In my experience leaving it to January/February increased stress levels due to weather and traveling arrangements ! Then there's the GCSEs looming for some !! I aim to get it all over and done with as early as possible so DC can concentrate on academics !

? Hernia ! Definitely see a GP x

Quite fancy that myself ! Lol !!

The show was a real mixture of styles ! I think that the flamenco was a lengthy piece as they had joined together years 10, 11 and the 6th form. So no one year group missed out ! My dd is going into year 9 and I love watching the older year groups as it boosts my confidence that she is most definitely in the right school ! I don't believe you can judge a school too harshly on its graduates employment record ! It's like in my profession, one year qualifies and there are plentiful jobs, another year later and there aren't any !! Doesn't mean that year are rubbish !! The world changes year on year ! And 6 months down the line who knows where they go ! You rarely step into a dream job straight from school ! I saw a passion and love of dance ! A talented group of young people stepping out into the world ! Good luck to them x

The Elmhurst Graduates were fantastic in their summer show yesterday ! I do hope they all get their feet on the first rung of the dance ladder ! The very best of luck to them all x

Interesting blog ! But although it lists the professions more likely to have psychopaths in, it goes on to say that anyone with these personality traits is probably not capable of achieving that amount of success. My husband and I are chuckling that we are in the least likely list ! Some of my fellow professionals are a bit suspect though ! Lol !

Women at the top of organisations I agree are generally charming, charismatic and ruthless ! Rebecca Brooks springs to mind ! But I would not describe them as psychopaths !! Or lacking in empathy ! Without these social skills they would not have achieved their position ! Although Margaret Thatcher perhaps comes close ! Lol !

There will always be those who want to drag you down and sit waiting for you to make a mistake ! It happens in every sport and in every school or work place ! IMO Those that put others down are hiding their own issues and insecurities. When my dd started at vocational school she was the last in, number 13, and struggled initially with confidence and to feel worthy of her place. With lots of reassurance, love, support and some great friends and teachers she is blossoming ! She still messes up ! She now laughs and learns! I forget the ballet now and focus on her growing into a beautiful young lady ! Chin up ! A well earned break is on the horizon x

Parents and children meet the house parent and are shown their rooms and left to unpack and settle in ! The rooms are mainly twin with one or two bathrooms on each floor depending on the house ! There is plenty of storage in the bedrooms and a sink ! The house tends to be very hot so dress lightly ! Hope that helps ! I have a dd who boards there and a ds who summer schools ! Feel free to pm x

We are in the same boat ! Ds is auditioning for 6th forms this year and I have had to reduce my work hours for this financial year in case he is successful ! It's good to know that it is a one off assessment and then I can do extra to pay for accommodation etc....

It is amazing ! So pleased your DS enjoyed the experience ! It's full on ! It's taken DS time to recover and "come down " !! He has an English Literature GCSE on Thursday about Lord of the Flies ! I feel an A* is in the bag !! Thank you Matthew Bourne x

Congratulations Celb to your DD ! X

My DD too !

Just got home from the opening night of Matthew Bournes Lord of the Flies at the Theatre Royal Plymouth. Amazing performances ! This is a must see ! Not that I am bias ! Ds has been purely classical ballet !! I have heard the word diversity banded around so much but never understood it til now ! There is so much more to dance ! One happy ds ! Sleep tight 5 performances to go xx

We are going opening night and the Saturday !! Will let you know !! Xx

Fantastic news !! Will tell dd ! She will be so pleased !! We are real Matthew Bourne fans !!

Hope you have a fantastic time on the 17th Billyelliott ! My ds is in the itv footage ! He is having an amazing time ! Can't wait to watch the show next week ! We are collecting dd from school on Saturday so she can watch her brother in LOTF !! Hope the school take them to watch and support your ds ! What a fantastic experience the boys have had ! Ds is more smitten with a career in dance than ever !!

Elmhurst pvp is primary school only ! At the moment ! But rad do classes in Birmingham I believe for an older dd/ds ! RBS MAs or even YDA !

Need to go to Tescos and get a bottle of wine now !! Lol !!