ballettaxi

I only wish these comments had been on here a few months ago - prior to us picking up our Springer Spaniel puppy! I truly believe she has a screw loose! She is now 6 months old, growing by the day and NEVER runs out of steam - she just runs and jumps from 6am to 11pm every day! I have no doubt that I'll have some similar stories in the not too distant future as I'm already struggling to hold her back when we're out walking. My husband thinks I have a partially dislocated elbow due to her pulling me - but who has time to go to the doctor, I've popped a tubigrip onto it and that'll do until the pain goes away! Yesterday she managed to jump out of her play pen because she got so excited when my son came home from school. The pen 'walls' are 1.2 m high. Surely this is ridiculous - it isn't as though she was able to take a run at this - she literally sprung up from a sitting position. I guess the clue is in the name - but those back legs are unbelievably strong! The problem is that she's just too gorgeous to get annoyed with - even when she started to chew my kitchen cabinets (hence the play pen). I've been told she'll eventually calm down - in about 6 or 7 years!

Students can feel isolated and alone no matter the location. Whether they are in the middle of a large city or a rural location. Would we be having the same discussion regarding pastoral care if the school in question were in London I wonder? For me I would say the pastoral requirements would have to be of a higher level in a big city than in a small village where the school is a key part of the local community. Taynuilt has a frequent train service to Glasgow and Oban along with buses to many other locations. Sorry if I've upset anyone with the above but whenever there is a conversation about Ballet West there are always concerns raised about its 'remoteness' - my answer would be don't audition if the location feels too remote for you. My daughter is in 1st year at Ballet West and has had nothing but support - Yes we had a few issues with her accommodation when she first moved in, but we had a conversation with the school and everything that needed fixed was fixed. Similarly DD needed to see a physio, this was arranged with no fuss and no repercussions with her missing class time to attend. Anyone who knows me, my children included, would agree that I have zero tolerance for things not being done properly or for people who I belive are messing me around. I have to say I've been happy with how Ballet West have handled anything I've raised to them to date. Of course everyone has their own experiences and opinions, but I just wanted to ensure we had a fair picture shown here on the forum. Again, apologies if anyone takes offence, these are my views, take them as read and decide what you want from them.

If you register with Groupon you can search for offers in the city you're going to be visiting. There's also www.bookatable.com - they have some pretty good deals at times. Not sure of what type of food you're looking for but if you're going to be in Glasgow shopping during the day I can thoroughly recommend the Horseshoe Bar in Drury Lane. A Glasgow tradition - old school type pub with fab food to build you back up for a few more hours of shopping - mains all under £10 and I think if you sign up for their newsletter you also get a money off voucher. There's also the Chippy Doon the Lane, just off Buchanan Street - down a lane up some windy stairs, yes the entrance leaves a lot to be desired, but definitely worth a visit. DD and I will be frequenting both of these again in the coming weeks when she is home from Taynuilt and we are shopping for her birthday presents and starting our Christmas shopping. Maybe we'll see you there sarahw.

‘Colleagues’ who can’t comprehend that someone else may have a different approach to workplace challenges – but that that approach may actually be more appropriate and productive than their ‘bull in a china shop / JFDI’ manner. Arrgh – so angry right now at certain people who have learnt their ‘management’ skills from someone who was an out and out bully and can’t comprehend that possibly some of that may have rubbed off on them. They can’t accept that a calm, controlled and reasoned approach – borne from many, many years of experience, can actually achieve far more productive results. Yes, it’s not as dramatic and attention grabbing as storming around the office and slamming your keyboard, but at least my staff aren’t afraid to come to work every day. They are also far more invested in getting this right for the Customer rather than completing a task as quickly as possible before they get a rollocking!!!! Sorry just had to get that off my chest – have a lovely weekend Forum Friends!!

At DD's dance school everyone pay's for a character skirt when they are sitting the first exam that requires the wearing of one. Her teacher would put this towards replacing the worn out/faded skirts that she had in stock. This meant that no matter how much the girls grow parents only ever had to pay for one character skirt. It was a great arrangement that worked for everyone.

All of the above recommendations!!! - Plus people watching from the Spanish Steps at night, possibly with a little gelato for company. :-) Rome is my most favourite place on the planet, I visit it every chance I get and each time I see something new in all the places I've visited 100 times before. Every corner you turn presents you with another breathtaking sight. Very jealous as I don't have my next trip planned.

Try having a Scottish accent when you encounter voice recognition software!! Our smart TV at home will only respond to my son - apparently it doesn't recognize anything my husband, DD or I say! Heaven help anyone with a strong accent as ours isn't that 'broad'. Very frustrating.

Haha balletbean - I daresay that I 'could' possibly complete each shoe quicker, but then you can't rush perfection can you?

Wow that's impressive Sam, I am very impressed!

Understand what you're saying Pixiewoo - I should have added that those 2 hours tend to be very late on a Saturday night (I'm such a party animal) and my I'm struggling to keep my eyes open by the end of each shoe - but needs must.

I use a blanket stitch across the full platform as this is what DD prefers - it gives her more stability she feels. I can now do elastics, ribbons and darning in roughly 2 hours per shoe - just find a good movie from Netflix, pop it on and get comfy. Not wanting to boast too much, but my shoe preparation has been called out by many of her teachers as outstanding (she says with just a slightly smug expression !) Yes I know she should do these herself but I feel it's a fair trade - I prepare her shoes and she does the long list of household chores that I prepare for her AND I receive 'on demand' cups of tea as required.

Fiz - before the internet we were driven round the twist trying to remember things, and then in turn drove others crazy when we shared the problem. I was in Tesco last night and, without realising it, was singing the last song that I heard on the radio whilst parking. The girl on the checkout asked me what I was singing and even though I knew every single word of the song AND could visualise the group from Top of the Pops (yes I'm that old) I couldn't recall their name. The girl on the checkout behind her and her Customer were also trying to recall the groups name - we were all frantically humming the tune and racking our brains to remember who it was. It wasn't until I got home later and logged into Spotify that I remembered - then of course it was obvious who it was. (In case anyone is interested it was 'If you leave me now' by Chicago.)

Haha thanks Fat bob, the name just felt very apt, as most of the parents on here will agree I'm sure - although your name is pretty good :-) Fingers crossed there are no clashes. From our experience your DD will love her time on both Associate programmes. My DD made a friend at her first SB JA audition and they are still great friends now - 8 years later! Similarly with BW she's made so many new friends and one of the girls from her BW Senior class is also going to Taynuilt to start the degree course - so it's perfect as they both have a familiar friendly face when they make this big change. IMHO Associate programmes not only help their ballet, but broaden and widen their circle of friends and acquaintances as they meet children from very different backgrounds - so it let's them see a taster of the big world that's out there.

I'd agree with the Bloch leather tap shoes - they are pricey initially, but DD has had the same pair for 3 years and they are still in great condition (2.5 hours of tap per week). But if you think your DD's feet may still grow then it may not be a realistic option.

Hi Fatbob Congratulations to your daughter, what a great achievement. Which Scottish Ballet Associates scheme is she joining - Junior, Mid or Senior? I've attached a link to their website where you can find out the days & timings of the classes for each level. https://www.scottishballet.co.uk/join-in/training/associate-programme If I remember correctly Juniors is on a Tuesday (P6) and then Thursday (P7), with both Mids & Seniors being on Saturdays each week - but check out the website. So if you're saying she has BW on a Sunday, this will be the Glasgow Associates, then you'll be fine for whichever level she's going into at SB. She'll have a great time.

Such a dreadful event. One of my daughters best friends was at the concert and, as a student nurse, stayed at the scene until the early hours assisting the medical teams there. She is such a selfless girl. Since the event this lovely girl has been very upset by the experience. At times like this we expect - and receive - so much from our emergency services but this just reminded me of the toll it takes on them as individuals too.

Wow! Wow! Honestly can't come up with anything else - just WOW!!!! Can't even begin to imagine how happy you and your son must be - massive Congratulations!!

Flit and float, when my DD was an Associate as Scottish Ballet the pianist was Alan Costello, he is absolutely fantastic and she would love to tell me all the little tunes he played during classes. I particularly liked at parent observation classes when he would slip in the theme to Blackadder and various other TV programmes. Always got a few chuckles from the parents.

We didn't get too battered with the delightful Doris' wind problem(!), however we were hit pretty bad with snow yesterday morning. Not sure if anyone caught the BBC news last night as it did apparently include a feature on the M80 being closed (must have been bad if it made it onto the National news coverage!). We live on one of the hills above this Motorway and it was absolute carnage yesterday morning. After clearing my driveway in a blizzard, the children and I left home at 7:30am. This is about 20 mins earlier than usual as it was still snowing and I suspected that it was going to be a bit busier/slower on the road than usual. Normally leaving at 7:50am I drop the children at school by 8am and I can then proceed to work, getting into my office by about 8:40am - perfect! At 11am I 'parked' (read : abandoned!) my car in a space in our local supermarket car park - don't worry I 'parked' in the same manner as everyone else, given the coverage of >6 inches of snow and our complete inability to spot the painted bays. This supermarket is 0.86 miles away from my house - 210 minutes to travel 0.86 miles! That works out at a travelling speed of 0.004 miles per minute! This has to be some sort of record! We proceeded to avail ourselves of the supermarkets 'Customer Facilities' and then visited the café for a warming cup of tea, before we started the long and arduous walk back up the hill to home. We made it back home at about 1:20pm. Thankfully it did rain for a short while in the afternoon which rendered the main roads passable, so I was able to retrieve my car and, with the aid of a few neighbours, managed to get it into my, very steep, driveway. Unfortunately the temperature dropped overnight so all the snow is now solid ice - looks beautiful, but treacherous underfoot. With the majority of my colleagues being based in one of our southern offices I received a fair bit of ribbing about not attending my early morning calls - that is until I started sending them some photographs of the weather conditions and the Range Rovers that had fallen into ditches at the side of my wee local road! Think the temperature has to fall again tonight, but hopefully this will be the end of it and Spring can hurry up and arrive!! Stay safe and warm x

DD always had problems with her turnout until she started additional private classes with a specific teacher who also runs a gyrotonics practice. She took the time to examine how DD was rotating in her hip and worked with her to develop specific exercises to allow this correct movement to become natural to her. The difference is amazing. Previously DD had, what I would refer to as slightly muscular legs as all the previous work she had done had been developing the wrong muscles - and the more she worked on it, the more she developed the wrong muscles. Now both her teachers and I can see a massive difference in her legs and her turnout is fantastic. (Her muscles are now much more 'long and lean' if that makes sense.) She just has to remember that certain exercises in class don't work for her so she does her own at this time - much easier now she's older to 'do her own thing' and the fact that her teachers all understand why she's doing this. She's now secured a place to study full time from September and absolutely knows that this would not have been the case if she hadn't taken this time to re-educate her muscles. Good luck to your DD

Don't stress about it, if it weren't for DD's ears I would never have known which child she was on stage when she was younger. Thankfully she has now grown into her ears i.e. they are now in proportion to the rest of her!

taxi4ballet - isn't that just the beauty of this wonderful forum!

Just to add that we had a very strict Academic attainment criteria for our DD that she had to reach for us to allow her to follow full time vocational training. This has meant that she has stayed at school until the end of 6th year (Scottish system) to achieve an impressive record of exam results (proud parent comment there!). This also means that she will be 17 before she leaves school. As many people on here will know she has been successful in securing a place to move to Ballet West in September - which was her first choice. DD always understood that whilst we were happy to support her in her passion for Ballet, she knew that she had to achieve her academic best to have 'in her back pocket' for whatever the unknown future might throw at her. So I suppose what I'm saying is please don't feel your parents are putting barriers in your way - they are looking out for your best interests in the long run - just continue to prove to them that you'll make sure your academic studies don't suffer as a result of extra classes and be realistic to yourself in the workload you take on to do this. Good luck

Apologies, I'm back at work now and haven't been able to indulge in the forum to my usual extent!! I'll drop you both an IM with the details and phone numbers of the fitters we use - I'm just conscious that I believe one has cut down on her travelling as her 'day job' is exceptionally demanding so wouldn't want to put her contact details out there publicly in case she'd prefer that not to be the case - I hope you understand. x

Where do I go for : Advice, Guidance, Support, Encouragement, Friendship, Laughs, Comfort, Insight???? Quite simple really, I couldn't live without this forum. Thanks to all involved in the running of this amazing resource. Here's to more of the above in 2017 !!