2007 stuff

Not a review. Just some random bits and pieces and definitely not in any order.
 
Son became 18. He’s now an adult and can do practically anything legal he likes without my permission. His birthday was horrible for me, but he was ok about it.  An 18th birthday is special, is it not? I gave him a gold family heirloom watch and other things and his friends took him into London for football and boy stuff. That was all ok, but the bit I hated was that he only got two birthday cards. Only TWO cards for an 18th! One from me and one from Emma. That’s so, so sad to me; I had to email his dad to remind him and all he did was make a ‘phone call to wish him happy birthday – and that was the day after!
 
He also passed his driving test earlier in the year (I can’t remember the exact date) and has been dropping not-very-subtle hints for a car. But oh no… he’s still a student and there’s no way I’m giving him a car. Getting a full licence was the important bit for now; getting a car is something he can work for himself.
 
On the same day as son’s birthday, 27th September, Emma and Chris had their baby boy. About five minutes after Emma delivered Jack, Chris produced a ring from his pocket and proposed to her. Apparently, even the nurses were blubbing! Chris has turned out to be the best young father I’ve ever seen – it’s amazing the way he’s taken to it and is so supportive to Emma.
 
Lauren and her daughter emigrated back in March. I’ve already written about that, so no more this time.
 
I also joined a fat club for the first time which I’ve also written about, so moving on…
 
This next bit of information is a secret. Nobody in my real life (apart from son) knows about it. I have a hearing aid. Because I had uneven hearing loss (only one side affected), I had to have an MRI scan to rule out a tumour or other nasty. This wasn’t particularly stressful though; my dad had had a similar experience with his hearing and I got the all clear very quickly after the scan – the loss is purely age related, it’s just a bit unusual for only one side to be affected.
 
Tell me, why is it ok for someone’s sight to deteriorate and to need glasses, but if hearing starts to go it’s seen as an indication of extreme old age and is the fodder for jokes? Most people of my age have to wear glasses and nothing is thought of it, so just because it’s a different sense that’s starting to change, why the difference in perception? Incidentally, I don’t need glasses or any sight aids!
 
So… I paid a small fortune to go private and buy a tiny little hearing aid that can’t be noticed at all – and I don’t even use it all the time, just in meetings and places where I need to hear someone who may be quietly spoken.
 
I work closely with a lady called Diane. She works for the district council and I work for the county council, so our work is a partnership arrangement, which ticks a lot of boxes for both our employers. We work with groups of young people on projects for both authorities and to save ourselves time and resources, we’ve brought these groups together and called them “The Training Group.” The Training Group members attend joint training events and also train other young people in skills they’ve already learned. The group has been awarded funding from the Jack Petchey Foundation and has also been nominated for, and received, a Diana Award for its ‘sophisticated’ partnership working.
 
When we see some of the local authority bickering that goes on, it’s extremely satisfying to see our little group of young people achieving partnership better than the adults!
 
Still on work, but the other job now… I’ve been accepted by the awarding body we use to run a Functional Skills pilot with the Alternative Education groups. Briefly, Functional Skills are to be a component part of GCSE’s and the new diplomas, but will also be a standalone qualification. They’re designed to address the problem of young people leaving school with a shed load of GCSE’s, but with no ability to actually transfer and apply the skills they’ve learned. Functional Skills are expected to be compulsory in three year’s time. We’ve got our first exams at the end of January.
 
I’ve started piano lessons. I have mum’s old piano in my house and although I had lessons as a kid, it’s been many years since I tried to play. The piano was horribly out of tune and I’m having to have it tuned three times in six months to “retrain” the strings. I’ve only had three half-hour lessons so far and it’s coming back (slowly), although the method of teaching is totally different to what I remember. Although I really like having a proper piano, I think sometimes I’d like a digital one so I can stick headphones on and not have to suffer son coming out and making “you’re assaulting my ears” gestures! 
 
My car is still the same one. It just goes on and on and never goes wrong. I suppose that’s a good thing, but the car is a bit small and I do quite a lot of driving so a bigger one would be good. However, while it’s not broke… I hope I haven’t just put the mockers on it!
 
We didn’t have a holiday last year. Daughter was supposed to be coming over, but passport and money problems meant it didn’t happen. Basically, her passport expired and she didn’t bother to renew it and although I promised to pay her fare over, she didn’t even save up any spending money. She’s 20 now and has to take some responsibility. She also told me she’s been diagnosed as bi-polar, but I don’t know if it’s true – many of her claims and stories are false, so I no longer unconditionally believe what she says. On the upside, her father and I have had a few telephone conversations and I’m now happy that if it’s necessary he will ‘phone me and keep me informed.
 
These are the bits I remember mostly about last year. It’s now 1.00.am, so tiredness is winning.
 
Good night!