Originally Posted by cheers (Post 9192683)

£13.50 if you go on February 30th:D


OK, if you book in advance it is £13.50 roundtrip.

Originally Posted by cheers (Post 9192822)

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

To get the very best fare you buy maybe 30 days in advance and then you have to grow up:D to get a senior card.

There are various types of discount cards so you might find one that applies.
Like everything else when you get use to the website it is easy to find what you are looking for.

Originally Posted by Englishmum (Post 9192563)

OMG that's awful :thumbdown:

Well I have BIG NEWS!

I became a granny today!

My daughter gave birth to a baby girl, our first grandchild :wub:

The baby was born at home after 18 hours of labour, in Isleworth. My daughter was utterly exhausted and a bit 'out of it' but thinks the baby was born at around 1.20pm UK time and approx 3kgs (which she thought was around 6 pounds?). She will be called Amethyst, after the birthstone for February - but I will probably call her Amy or Emmie, which my daughter is fine about.

I was mortified that my daughter chose to deliver her first baby at home, but she is very stubborn and a bit of a bohemian/hippy. (She's kept the placenta, thank goodness not to eat it but is freezing it and will bury it at some point...I've been to one of those at a baby-naming ceremony in Pennsylvania and it was hard to keep my face straight!). Also my daughter is tiny, only about 4ft 10" but needed no stitches or painkillers...she had a 'hypnobirth' where you apparently meditate (and now the NHS has announced it's going to fund a pilot scheme of 800 mothers to deliver by hypnobirth).

When she called me the baby was sleepy and hadn't had her first feed and I think my daughter was struggling with trying to establish the milk supply. Also the baby had to have some oxygen at birth, and possibly swallowed some meconium which worried me, but I think if there was any concern the midwife would have sent the baby to the nearby hospital. No photos yet, I'm dying to see what she looks like but apparently has lots of black hair, dark eyes (like all newborns) and a cone-shaped head :lol:

My daughter began her maternity leave on 23rd December, the baby was due on the 9th of Feb but decided to be a late arrival! My daughter plans to return to work after 9 months, if she doesn't then she will need to repay the maternity pay (which I think is paid for six months?)

I would have loved to have been there, but sadly my daughter's partner says that they need to 'bond' as a family unit before they want visitors (they're in a 1-bedroomed flat) and want to be on their own for a week or two at least (he has no contact at all with his own family and is only about 4 years younger than me, which makes for an uncomfortable atmosphere). I'll fly to the UK in a couple of weeks or so....spouse is also leaving Singapore to work in Switzerland in the Summer, so I will also meet up with him and go for a look-see in the Zurich area too.

Oh, and it's my son's girlfriend's birthday today too! I'll open up a bottle of Bolly tonight :thumbsup:

Originally Posted by jasper123 (Post 9190858)

Denise you and i have simular tastes cause i bought a pair of sneakers just like that last week at Debenems --- on sale from £25 down to £6 :D

Originally Posted by between two worlds (Post 9193316)

wow many many congrats!!!! how exciting..so glad all is well. Home births are lovely if no unusual risk factors...

I can see the desire to bond as a family unit first (as long as this is what your daughter wants too) especially if space is tight...Tho if I were you I too would be itching to dash over there! (Have no grandchildren yet).

Hypnobirth is a very interesting idea....I myself was helped enormously by the writings of British childbirth writer Sheila Kitzinger, whom I still recommend to every mother-to-be...she helps you relax and know what to expect and be less afraid....so I had no painkillers for any of my three children.
(On the other hand, I have to beg the dental hygienist to numb my gums before she starts the cleaning!!!!).

Anyway congratulations on little Amethyst, hope you get to see her soon!

tina

Originally Posted by trottytrue (Post 9193893)

Englishmum....Congratulations on becoming a Granny:thumbsup: She was very brave to stay home. I would have been still sat there waiting for the baby to arrive. I had over 24hours labor and then had to have a C/section.:frown: Did you say her husband is your age or did I read that wrong.

Originally Posted by Englishmum (Post 9194025)

Her partner is only about 4 years younger than me and 5 years younger than my spouse! They met at university as he was a mature student on her course.

There is a chilly atmosphere between us, not just because of the age thing but for various reasons; he had a kidney transplant about 3 years ago yet he is a chain-smoker and refused to give up smoking around my pregnant daughter and now I fear, the new baby. He won't even smoke outside, he smokes in the tiny flat. I can't tell you how appalled I am with his attitude.

He's also signed off work as he is 'sick with stress' :rolleyes: I don't think he's ever held down a job for long, possibly because of his previous history of kidney failure but also lack of work ethic. I suspect that he would like to stay at home with the baby whilst my daughter returns to work (she has a 2 hour commute each way...) :ohmy: He hasn't got two pennies to rub together and my daughter's been paying off his credit card bills.

Also he says he doesn't know or care if his parents and siblings are dead or alive as he was 'abused'....who knows what the truth is with this guy, it's so frustrating - but my daughter loves him. They do say that love is blind! :unsure:

Originally Posted by jasper123 (Post 9190818)

Hey cheers £147 to fill it up ---- NUTS !!! at least its not as big as a Hummer I think they only get 7 m.p.g. tops,

Originally Posted by julierandall (Post 9193785)

We have been back in Southampton for 2 months now after spending 28 years in Avondale Arizona - cost of living here not too bad but clothes and shoes soooo expensive - the Sales are all we can afford!

:D

Originally Posted by Beedubya (Post 9190903)

Rodney you bought a pair of silver, sequinned, glittery sneakers? :ohmy::D:blink: