caramac

So very sad. She was brilliant.

Our middle daughter is at Bristol uni and her costs are pretty comparable with her sister's in London, except for travel (she walks or cycles most places). She shares a four bed flat with three other girls and we pay £500pcm for that. The older one lives in Collier's Wood in a house share and shares a room with her boyfriend which costs us £300pcm (half the cost of the tiny room). They both have a cleaner included in the rent, and the older one has everything included, but the middle one has her bills on top of hers. I wish they'd both chosen universities in the north! I went to stay with my friend in London last week. She rents a tiny one bedroom flat in St Katharine's Dock from a friend. Even at 'mate's rates' it's more expensive than our six bed house in Northumberland which has easy access to Newcastle and Durham. It's a gorgeous flat, but how does anyone on an average salary manage to live down there?

It was absolutely gorgeous in London yesterday. Cold after the sun went down, but my friend and I had lunch out on her balcony in beautiful warm sunshine, watching the boats go by. Just lovely.

This winter has been so grey and wet. I've hated it. It's so hard to feel motivated to do anything when it's constantly dark and miserable. I'm so glad it's coming to an end. I heard the weather forecast earlier which said this milder, brighter spell will last until Easter, at least. Fingers crossed it's right.

It started here yesterday. Mild and still - somehow the light seems different, clearer and brighter. The birds are singing and the lambs are bouncing around in the field. Love spring

Our's didn't have to go into quarantine, but he hadn't seen me or our daughters for months when he arrived here. He came through the arrivals centre at Heathrow after landing only two hours before, saw us and looked at us as if to say, 'Oh, there you are. Where's the car?'. He hopped in back, we drove to Cheshire, he hopped out straight into my parent's house and lay down on the rug as if he'd always lived there! He was never stressed about it at all. Hopefully Ralphy will be just as chilled when he arrives in Aus.

It's funny, our little dog has been here for five years now, but whenever he hears an Australian bird/animal on the tv he pricks his ears up and trots over to the tv to have a look/listen. We had a couple of our daughters' friends staying in January and although he hasn't seen them for over six years, he went absolutely nuts when they arrived. They don't forget. Enjoy having them both back with you - you've brought spring with you too, so thanks for that!

It's one of the places which does have one which would suit him, strangely. It was the same coming back here - usually difficult to find jobs in the NE, but the only place outside London where there was one to suit him! Bizarre. We've not made any concrete plans yet, just looking at options, so things may change, but we'll definitely visit to have a look.

My husband's quite keen on living there this time. I'm not so sure, but willing to have a look before I dismiss it..

It's not not the killing me that worries me (well, it does, but it's not my main concern), it's the fact that it's there and I can't see it! Even as a child, in North Wales I'd hop around from foot to foot thinking every stone was a crab having a nibble or every bit of seaweed was some giant eel wrapping itself around my legs.I don't even go in the med unless the weather's really hot! The only places I've been really comfortable in the water, because it's clear and calm, are the Maldives, Croatia and Broome. Years ago we camped on the beach near Ningaloo with some friends and I didn't mind sharing with the dolphins and dugongs, but the jellyfish were horrible. I'm a wuss and I'm sure I miss out, but I'm happier in a pool where I can see the bottom and the worst fear is an aquatic spider :cute: I will give Tassie a go next time we're in Aus though - it might be my perfect place.

N That you know about! :laugh: That's the biggest reason I don't go in the ocean anywhere (well, I did in the Maldives, but you can see everything in that water) - you're never sure what's swimming with you :unsure: Give me a nice, clear swimming pool with a good filter to get rid of the spiders and a 35+ degree day and I'll be tempted. Maybe..

Us too. We spent so many lovely summers there.

I love Wales. Stunning countryside, beaches and the sea's the right colour!

You can get dosa almost everywhere in the UK now (at least everywhere I've been - I love them, so seek them out wherever I go) and there are lots of restaurants specialising in curries from every region in India. Gone are the days of everywhere selling chicken tikka masala and vindaloo, thankfully.

If they're moving to an area where there is a high population of non native English speakers, they're likely to find the schools are well set up for integrating children from those families. Despite the reduction in classroom assistants across the country, there are still resources available to those schools. Four year olds are generally very adaptable. I remember a Japanese girl of that age joining our daughter's class. She didn't have a word of English when she started, but after the first term she was pretty much fluent, both speaking and reading.

3.7 million children live in poverty and 64% of those are from families where at least one parent works. The number of children in absolute poverty has increased by 500,000 since 2010. The life chances, personally, professionally and healthwise are so much lower for these children. It's disgraceful. Shame indeed.

Perhaps because they didn't know how important those people were until they moved? I don't think its always a case of not being able to 'cut the apron strings' (which sounds a bit perjorative), it's just that if the place you've moved to doesn't live up to your expectations then fairly obviously home is going to better for you. If your new home lives up to, or exceeds your hopes, then it seems reasonable that family relationships are a worthwhile 'sacrifice'. I don't know, it's not something I felt while living away, and I didn't really have close relationships with my grandparents, but one of the benefits of living in the UK (albeit 200 miles away from my parents and sister) is that our daughters have grown up being a part of an extended family. It wouldn't be enough to keep me here if I desperately wanted to live elsewhere, but it is a benefit.

I'm so relieved it's not just me! My memory is hopeless! I remember when my friend was first diagnosed with MS and she was telling about her symptoms. She said the worst thing was that her memory was 'shot to pieces' - she couldn't remember things from one day to the next. I just looked at her and said, 'welcome to my world'. My sister seems to have been blessed with my share - she could tell me anything from my childhood and I wouldn't know if she was telling the truth or not :laugh:

Getting rid of hospital and hostel beds was/is only a problem because the proper support was not put in place before closing them. With the correct, multidisciplinary support in place, people with mental health problems get better quicker and stay in work and education, thus reducing the personal cost and the cost to the economy of being hospitalised. If the illnesses are caught early and treated correctly the risk of relapse is also lessened. There is also a big problem of misdiagnosis by GPs in the early stages and often, sadly, inappropriate medication given which can exacerbate the problem. Look at how many young people are put on antidepressants. Sometimes these have a place, but should only be given when absolutely necessary, in conjunction with 'talking therapies' and under close supervision. The mean age of onset for bipolar disorder is 14/17, unipolar depression is 27 (if I've been listening properly!), so giving antidepressants alone can be the worst thing for the patient and can raise the risk of suicidality. Of course, no one goes to the dr when they're feeling a bit overly happy, but will go when they're feeling fed up and down. Overworked gps often don't have time or adequate training to properly diagnose, sadly.

I guess that is true for some, but it can also be a step up the career ladder. It was for my husband, both times. He brought the experience and expertise he gained in Australia back to the UK (and vice versa). Parts of Australia are further ahead in his field than here.

Yes, it depends whats you need them for. Most immigration stuff can be done by a magistrate/JP, but my husband's professional documents had to be stamped and signed by a notary. Best to make sure before you get someone other than a notary to do them, or you may end up paying twice.

The headmaster at a private should have had the freedom to not continually test. That was one of the main reasons we sent ours to independent schools - to free them from the ridiculousness of nationally imposed rules and curriculum. That's not to say they weren't tested. They had tests in senior school at the end of each topic in each subject so that their understanding could be assessed, which was the same at their Australian school. I guess the SATs tests they do in the UK are pretty much the same as the NAPLAN tests in Australia, although no one seemed to get quite as stressy about NAPLAN as SATs.

We've lived in both Perth and Sydney with girls at private girls' schools and similar 'wishlist'. I'd go along with Northshorepom's summary, but if you'd like a personal opinion I'm happy to pm you with our experiences of what we'd recommend/avoid.

I don't think it's the parents who think constant testing is a good thing. I don't personally know anyone who does - everyone seems to hate it. It's imposed by a government who doesn't trust it's professionals and who thinks everyone should fit in a neat little box, but it is something to consider when making a decision to return. However, our girls were tested constantly in their secondary school in Australia and definitely ''taught to the textbook' - no deviation allowed - so unlike the two secondary schools they've attended here. That said, it was an awful school all round and the biggest reason we returned to the UK. Good and bad everywhere.

Most do exactly the same as their peers anywhere. IME anyway. Swimming, bike riding, walking, socialising with friends etc. especially on Sundays. Organisations like scouts, brownies etc tend to hold activities at weekends too. Our girls used to spend their time sailing, windsurfing, canoeing with Scouts, or in summer, at camps. They used to ride horses and do drama classes too, just like most of their friends. You get disinterested parents everywhere, just as you get involved, interested ones.