The end of an era? The little boy on the left starting his reception class with a big smile and a neat uniform. The young man on the right, at the end of Year 11, aged 16, with a wry smile, a smart dinner suit, hands in his pockets…and a lot more hair. And look, old kitchen and new kitchen!
Last night was Prom night and, for most young people in the UK now, this has become a big event. It’s at times like this I’m glad I have a son, as the expense was purely hiring the dinner suit. Talking to mums of girls, the costs can spiral with frocks, hair-dos, shoes, make-up and jewellery, for what is, as Rory said this morning, “a hyped up school disco”.
Rory’s Prom is a joint event in Spalding for the four main secondary schools in the town. Rory thankfully wanted little fuss: no limo or quirky means of transport. Can we just drop him and his mates near the entrance and he can walk in? Well we nearly ended up in the procession and quickly managed to turn off and park, which was just as well as Dougie wasn’t dressed as a chauffeur and the car wasn’t exactly showroom clean. So we parked up, the boys tipped out, and we watched the procession. Limos, sports cars, old buses, scooters, a Hell’s Angels type entourage, a shopping trolley, tractors, horse and carriage and the Mystery Machine complete with Scooby-Doo in the front seat. It must have taken about an hour and a half for all the vehicles to drive into the venue, drop off, photos, then off again.
A few hours at the prom and a quick change for the ‘after-prom party’. More worry as my son and his friends assured me they were ‘on the list’ for a huge party at a friend-of-a-friend. Two very tolerant, some might say crazy parents, had set up marquees and a band for an all-nighter.
My son eventually returned home at 8am; picked up by his friend’s mum who offered to do that part of the taxi service. We had experienced torrential rain all day until about 5pm last night when the gods were kind and offered us some sun, but of course it was soaking wet underfoot, so Rory came home caked in mud. A shower, quick breakfast and bed, where, at 1pm now, he remains.
My baby is safe and sleeping and I can breathe a sigh of relief.
Oh my flipping God! A prcession! Wonder how bad this stuff will be in five years when it's my boy's turn – or 10 when it's my daughter's?! He looks like a lovely boy – and even your old kitchen looked nice! 🙂
I predict in five to 10 years time you will probably have to charter a plane 😉
Old kitchen did look ok then, but it was newish at the time and the cooker worked properly!
2 girls went by helicopter to my daughter's school year 9 prom. It's too much there's nowhere left to grow its all happening too young. Even an all nighter ina marquee seems to be more 18 year old suited than 16. Either te worlds gone mad or I'm getting old. Rory looks delicious though, lucky girl that gets his arm 🙂
Helicopter?! To think, I was having a laugh in my answer to Sarah above!
I agree, it's all getting mad. I wished he had been coming home at 11 but thankfully the party afterwards seemed well-supervised and I think it may have finished at some point in the early morning as Rory said he had a nap on a chair!
Must admit, Rory did rather like dressing up in the suit- happy to pose for photos and when he met up with his friends they all felt the same, so there is some benefit to getting suited and booted.
I remember my prom, some got quite carried away even back then. I went with my husband to be (yes we've been together that long), and to an all night party afterwards then off to San Francisco to spend the next day. Our prom was in our last year of school, we were all 17 or 18,
Janet this is brilliant! So it looks like we are just lagging behind and this generation, lying all day in bed, have got no stamina. San Francisco after the after-prom party: now that's pretty cool.
A prom? Gosh. It certainly beats Mr James the Gym teacher playing his records at the school disco in my day!
Exactly, Steve. I can't even remember doing anything much when I finished school.
Young'uns these days..crikey..where will it all end? .. lovely though in a way I suppose……and your baby will still be your baby even when he leaves home.. you just have to learn to sleep easy…trust me!
That last bit is difficult, Libby. Very hard to relax!
Ah the joys of youth and being mean, moody, magnificent; as opposed to the joys of midlle age and being mean, moody……
Ha! Surely we're magnificent too: can't let these young whippersnappers have it all.
OMG an all nighter! Heck, I suppose I'm just a bit envious as I couldn't hack it anymore! Have no idea if there'll be proms in 7 years' time, Bet I'll be a bag of nerves all night until my boy gets home
PS he does look great!
I ws ok with the prom, but the after show party with sneaked-in booze was a worry.
I wonder what they'll have in 7 years: I dread to think.
What a milestone! He's a very handsome chap. At the end of school, we did indeed stay up all night, but it was inside the grounds, to watch the sun come up! School tradition. These proms do sound a bit bonkers. Nothing like that here, thankfully!
I was quite pleased Rory wasn't fussed about a grand entrance, though his dad had offered to give the car a clean and put on a suit!
You have to programme yourself to the mantra " no news is good news" when he goes out, as he will more and more now. I only managed to stop worrying when my eldest, aged about 19 at the time arrived home with the milk, having told me at 11.30pm that he would be about half an hour. (It was few years prior to him having a mobile ) It was necessary for my sanity! Rory looks like a sensible young man…trust him.
Half an hour! Oh you must have been frantic with worry!I think we parents now have it much easier with mobile phones. Rory sent me a text when he was leaving the prom, and again when he ws picked up in the morning. He knows if ever there is trouble he can contact us at any time, and likewise I can contact him!
And yes, so far, Frances, he is a good lad and a sensible one in his group.
He looks so smart! I love his attitude, "hyped up school disco" indeed! I would have preferred the after party too! 🙂
He kept very level headed about the whole things but did enjoy dressing up!
He looks very handsome. As for those parents hosting the all-nighter – wow, are they mad?
Very accommodating! It was a girl's parents who held the party – I think she had her elder brother and his friends keeping any eye, as well as the parents themselves.
What a handsome lad! It sounds as though he had great fun- hope the hangover's better now!
He came home sober: told me he had a couple of small beers and I believed him 🙂 He was just a tired puppy.
Wow! Seems like a very serious affair. Wonder what to expect when it will be my girls' turn? ;o)
You have one handsome son, by the way.
I think it's quite common now in the UK. Would be interesting to find out what happens in Germany?
Thank you and everyone else for the lovely comments about my boy. May try and persuade him to get his hair cut for the holidays!!
Ahh, how lovely. It was my son's Prom this week too but sadly it lashed with rain all evening so the procession of arrivals were a bit wet. The Boy went in a New York taxi, provided for free by a friend of The Husband. Apparently the UK prom industry is now worth £31 million. I must admit to being a bit po-faced about it all – a few records in the 6th Form block were good enough for me – but then he was voted Prom King, which makes me the Dowager Queen, so you can all call me Ma'am. They had an all-nighter at a friend's farm in a hay barn. I wish we'd marked the end of the era a bit more spectacularly.
Afternoon, Ma'am!
I felt just the same, a bit bah humbug about it all, but then became quite excited by it all. Such a shame your son's prom was rained on; I don't know how we escaped it as it had poured all day.
How proud you must be of your Prom King 🙂 xx
Oh to be 16 again and be able to do all-nighters! Sounds like they all had a cracking time.
I know, Molly, if only we had the stamina for that now!
Starts with Man and Boy and ends with "my baby". Chronologically rather confusing but still a nice blog posting!
It's my age: confusion is par for the course!
Oh what a good looking kids with the rock star hairdo too! Can't believe this prom thing has taken on so much in England. I guess a glamourous frock and a horse drawn carriage is universally tempting.
Yes, the kids love it. Even we parents, who mutter about it all, were clamouring at the gates to get a good look at everyone arriving.
Rock star hairdo getting a wee trim tomorrow! Yippee!
There I was, thinking that the School Prom was an American thing…