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Mumofballetmaddaughter

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  1. For Bloch canvas ballet flats, you need to go up a full size from outdoor shoes and will assume it's the same for all Bloch flats. I'm not sure about 1st position but a lot of manufacturers do advise going up a full size.
  2. RIP Queen Elizabeth II, an amazing lady who was an inspiration to all. Her devotion to duty, and her stoicism, especially during latter years, has been remarkable.
  3. As far as I'm aware (although I'm not 100% sure) the A1 form is proof that an individual is making or has made NI contributions to HMRC and therefore wouldn't have to pay again when working overseas. My husband is self employed and works mainly in Europe (although often world wide) but makes additional contributions to HMRC to ensure he doesn't need to pay again in whichever country he is working in. Congratulations by the way on your daughter's contract and hope you manage to get things sorted and everything goes well for her.
  4. Not sure if this helps but just in case it does, my daughter is a 4.5 and wears a 4.5 Bloch Serenade pointe shoe but 5.5 in Bloch canvas soft shoes.
  5. Congratulations and well done to your son. Lovely news for you all to start the weekend with.
  6. Excellent advice Millicent. I encouraged my daughter from a young age to treat auditions in much the same way too.
  7. I think I learnt from our mistake when we dropped elder daughter off at her uni flat (8 bed) in halls, her and her flatmates had enough crockery, cutlery, pots, pans and kitchen equipment to start a small restaurant. After seeing the very limited kitchen cupboard space, the saying 'a quart into a pint pot' sprung to mind and a lot of it came home with us again!
  8. In addition to an emergency medical kit and sewing kit, I made up a box of essentials such as a toilet roll, shower gel, small shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, just in case my daughter didn't have time to shop and ran out of them. I also put in a supermarket 'gift' card to be used if (when!) she ran out of money towards the end of term. She only took 2 mugs, 2 plates, 2 cereal and pasta bowls and 2 each of knives, forks and spoons, a couple of paring knives, a colander, 1 small and 1 medium saucepan. My logic was that in having so little, it meant she had to wash up regularly. She also took a very cheap toilet brush (supermarket white plastic type) that could be ditched at the end of each year and replaced cheaply for the next. I made 2 fabric laundry bags and these were able to be put in the wash each time so there was always a clean bag to put the clean laundry back in. They didn't take up much space in her room either. Another handy item in addition to a clothes airer, was a multi peg 'sock' type drying hanger for leotards, tights etc that may not be able to be put in the dryer. An overdoor multi pocket 'shoe' organiser (Amazon) was great for storing the multitude of bits and pieces that they seem to accumulate.
  9. Happy 10th birthday and thank you to everyone involved with this forum especially the moderators who give their time so generously and freely. I wish it had been around when my daughters were training in the 1990's and early 2000's, although I think at times, my ignorance was bliss! I still love reading all of the posts and even though I am unable to offer much advice as my experiences are very out of date, it's good to keep up with what's happening in the ballet world. Here's to the next 10 years!
  10. Congratulations to all of the prize winners and wishing everyone a happy and healthy Christmas and 2022.
  11. Congratulations to your daughter Hairpins and good luck to your daughter, Silversparkle. I hope she gets good news. My daughter loved her time at NBS many years ago.
  12. Congratulations and well done to your daughter balletbean. Good luck to her for the future.
  13. I spent many hours darning pointe shoes and found a curved needle was much easier to use than a straight one. I used pale pink darning thread and did chain stitch starting at the outside of the platform working in a spiral to the centre. I'd recommend using a thimble too. We tried the suede tips on various brands of shoes but found them to be a bit of a faff to get right and not be a hazard. Daughter also wore Gaynor Minden's which gave my fingers a rest but she went back to Bloch and continued to use them throughout her performing career and still does now as a teacher. I don't think she darned many pairs, if any. She just cuts the satin off the platform.
  14. I agree with you Alison regarding the synchronised swimming - the swimwear (when did swimsuits get to be so dazzling, literally), hair and make up (not a hair out of place or smudged mascara) had the wow factor and as for their routines, they were breathtaking. One of the commentators mentioned the competitors use gelatine on their hair as it's kinder than using grips and it obviously washes out easily in hot water. Another one to add to my list of 'must watch' in future.
  15. I've enjoyed watching the skateboarding and BMX, the tricks were breathtaking. I've also enjoyed bouldering (felt quite dizzy due to some of the camera angles, triathlon and cycling. It's been quite refreshing and uplifting to watch these alongside my old favourites of gymnastics, diving, track and field.
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