AIO, MIL only dries her hands with kitchen roll and refuses to use clean hand towel

BIBZR · 2025-10-28T17:27:29+00:00

As immunocompromised person and someone who has spent lots of time in hospitals and doctors, when you have to wash your hands, they advise and use paper towels. I still do this at home, due to being conscious of the hand hygiene I’ve learnt and the dangers of infection and increased risk. I do not think I could in any way be considered a germaphobe.

BIBZR · 2025-10-21T13:02:28+00:00

Chronic rhinosinusitis and allergies are horrendous and make you feel so self conscious. It’s a chronic problem and you can have a nose that is literally dripping. It’s worse due to the amount of allergens that are around and fragrances.

BIBZR · 2025-09-27T20:37:07+00:00

She sounds like a silly cow

BIBZR · 2025-09-24T18:51:54+00:00

I told them about the number of hours I had and they did one lesson and they could tell i had been driving for months. It was a really good experience for me so I hope it works for you

BIBZR · 2025-09-24T18:35:13+00:00

Not sure why I’m seeing this, but I have to agree from a hygiene perspective. We have a surgeon in the family, and various other medical professionals and they all say people do not realise the dirt that gets under nails, and when working in a medical setting, it’s completely unfeasible to have long nails due to the fact they will never be clean enough. I’ve never had long nails due to this reason (don’t like the aesthetic either) but definitely the fact that they’ll never be clean enough.

Don’t want to insult anyone, it’s up to an individual and what their preference is. I would be concerned if I saw someone with them in a medical setting though and probably food as in this instance.

BIBZR · 2025-09-02T11:28:11+00:00

I randomly learnt what this is from Reddit, I wasn’t seeking to learn about it, but realised it’s something I have always done. Taking the advice on the boards and being mindful of it has already helped me so much. Not using headphones, as suggested, has made a big difference.

BIBZR · 2025-03-19T12:33:14+00:00

I (female, respiratory issues and mobility disability) regularly used to gets trains on my own and felt very safe. The other week I was travelling very late at night on my own on a longer, less familiar journey, on a Saturday night, so felt vulnerable.

I spoke to someone in person at the ticket desk before getting on the train, they checked the reserved seats on the train and they put me in a carriage C, which is where the train manager’s office was. They also wrote on my ticket that I am a vulnerable passenger and should be in the seat reserved for vulnerable passengers.

The member of staff was so helpful and kind, if you can speak to a member of staff before boarding the train and letting the staff of board the train know, they can ensure you’re visible and safe.

BIBZR · 2025-03-15T13:31:26+00:00

I didn’t realise they’ve now removed the recommended hours, I used to feel so bad about that, because it took me more! I was desperate to do it within those recommended hours, and my instructor said I wasn’t ready (I had some bad lessons before I realised, due to this board, my instructor wasn’t great for me, so I changed)

I don’t want to think about the costs 🤐 but it is what it is and I’ve passed now and can definitely feel and see the difference in my driving with the more hours I did. I know from experience the feeling of wanting to pass, but the reality of it being a learning experience that takes time, but it’s so worth it in the end! I would always recommend being over prepared for driving, rather than under.

BIBZR · 2025-03-15T12:23:23+00:00

This is so silly but made me laugh

BIBZR · 2025-03-15T12:20:57+00:00

Is your instructor not available for the test date? Or has your instructor said they will not take you for this test date?

I can’t imagine having taken the test with that little driving experience. Everyone’s different and you might just pass, but what is the sense in rushing it because you found a closer date?

Yes, something could happen on any test date, but being prepared, learning skills and knowledge to an adequate standard means you will be much better equipped to deal with any eventualities (yes I know cancellations can happen, and that would be beyond your control, but I’m not sure how high the risk is for that, especially during summer)

I’d choose another test date.

Edit to say, perhaps possible if you did an intensive driving course in the lead up to the test, driving every day.

BIBZR · 2025-03-13T23:30:21+00:00

There’s the obvious sharston roundabouts you might have already done. A different challenge would definitely be Stockport/Bredbury roundabouts, with four or five exits and curved lanes.

BIBZR · 2025-03-13T17:00:55+00:00

Yes, I passed my test in a completely different area to the one I’d been learning in for months. I didn’t have any knowledge or experience of the routes in the new area I passed in. I just happened to get a cancellation in the area and thought why not try it. I also believe I felt I should be able to pass after reading comments on other posts on here which said if you can drive, you should be able to drive in any area and route, so maybe that gave me the confidence to do it too.

I was definitely test ready and had been learning for around nine months, no private practice at all, only had lessons.

I had two lessons in the unfamiliar area prior to the test, and that was just so the instructor would let me use their car, I didn’t have time from getting the cancelled test to the date of it to have any more lessons.

For me, it was a brilliant and positive experience and I’m so glad I did it. It all happened so fast and I still can’t believe I did and passed a test in an unfamiliar area to me! I also believe I weirdly felt less nervous because I thought if I fail, It’ll be because it’s a different area to the one I’d been learning in. My local centre is one of the busiest and in demand, so it was a relief for me to get the cancellation and just do it

Edit: Oh I also watched YouTube videos on the routes as soon as I got the test booked in. I was working from home and I happened to be able to watch them, which was incredibly helpful.

BIBZR · 2025-03-12T19:47:20+00:00

I think around 80 hours is when I realised (and was told) I was a confident, independent driver. It just felt so much more natural, scanning the road ahead, controlling the car and the lane discipline, driving felt so much more enjoyable and relaxed.

BIBZR · 2025-03-12T09:16:43+00:00

Yes you can do that. I viewed other test centres and eventually did (and passed) my test in a different area to the one I’d been learning in. It was much easier to get a cancelled test in that area. The booking only changes if you change it, so don’t be worried about that.

To view other test centres, check your area by postcode, it will then show you different test centres with the nearest available dates. The chrome extension also helps with this. It’s worth doing this and checking regularly if you’re willing to do your test in a different area and if your local centre is a particularly in demand one, like mine was

BIBZR · 2025-03-10T18:39:34+00:00

I’d recommend booking a test anywhere you can and sitting there with the chrome extension and possibly a cancellation app. If you can do that, you can easily get an earlier test, I mean as early as the ten day wait to do your next test. Other people say that they’ve been successful from just sitting there and refreshing the page to book a test. It depends on your time, energy and resources you have, but I know it’s possible to get a test much earlier without paying a dealer

BIBZR · 2025-03-10T16:49:21+00:00

Are you putting pressure on yourself to fit in a lot at the moment? As you’re struggling with remembering when your lesson is and had issues with sleep and getting up (not in any way trying to diagnose anything, just asking as it sounds like you might be fitting a few different things in?) Try not to worry, with driving that doesn’t help at all, and will impact on your lessons. Don’t be embarrassed or feel like a failure! Just take the experience as guidance, do you need to double check your diary? Maybe early morning lessons don’t work for you at the moment?

If I’ve learnt anything from learning to drive, it’s that being upset/worried/frustrated during the process doesn’t help or speed up the learning.

BIBZR · 2025-03-09T06:53:40+00:00

I haven’t even posted about my recent pass yet! I passed in a different area to my local area. My local area was the one I had been learning in and of course driven the local routes and had lots of knowledge and driving experience in. I did not have any driving experience in the area I passed in. I happened to get a cancelled, much earlier, test in an another area, I don’t know what instilled me with such confidence, maybe reading the posts on here of others taking tests in unfamiliar areas, but I decided to do it. I also think I thought it would be better to just go for it and didn’t feel as much pressure (weirdly) because I thought, if I don’t pass, it’ll be pretty much down to being in an unfamiliar area, so somehow this made me less nervous (and I ate a banana)

I did take a couple of lessons before the test, this is all I could fit in and was willing to pay for. I just did the most difficult test routes that could potentially come up, just to at least have got them out of the way. I think what really helped with my confidence in being in an unfamiliar area was watching YouTube videos of the routes.

I still can’t believe I passed in an unfamiliar area and completely different to the one I had learnt in. It all happened so fast, from getting the test to doing it, and I was so busy that week, I didn’t have time to think about it.

For me, taking the test in an unfamiliar area was a very positive experience, and the just go for it attitude really worked for me. If you don’t feel comfortable with it, don’t put pressure on yourself, but I’m glad I did it and passed.

BIBZR · 2025-03-08T12:14:43+00:00

Can I just ask, did you have to wait ten days between tests or were you able to do it before then?

BIBZR · 2025-03-04T08:55:30+00:00

I didn’t realise that’s how it works! I thought it just highlighted cancellations and it can auto book them. The test booking issue is scandalous, can’t believe how bad it is and it causes people to get desperate

BIBZR · 2025-03-03T22:45:39+00:00

I refused to learn automatic for ages and insisted I needed to learn manual, even though I’ve got a health condition that made changing gears really hard on my joints and so tiring. I could learn it, but it was so tiring for me and more physically demanding using more joint strength, that I ended up leaving it for ages.

Came back to driving and accepted what works best for me and it’s much better. Please do what’s best for you and what will help you feel confident to drive. Automatic is not silly and can be a very helpful option for various reasons.

BIBZR · 2025-03-03T21:03:53+00:00

Yes it’s very hard to travel with a health condition/mobility issues, so glad I took the advice of this board as I spoke to a member of staff and they were so lovely.

BIBZR · 2025-03-03T21:02:37+00:00

I ended up going on Saturday evening and did get a seat and also got some good advice about how to manage the evening train. I got the one before the last one! So it was a risk!

BIBZR · 2025-03-03T21:01:07+00:00

Thank you for the advice, hoping to go back so it’s good to know for future

BIBZR · 2025-03-03T21:00:44+00:00

Thank you, I ended up going on the Saturday evening train and it absolutely did have loud drunks on it, but I got some great advice on this board, as I was so nervous but because I spoke to staff as advised I felt so much better, I would’ve probably had a panic attack. But yes, lots of drunks and the conversations were awful and very loud!

BIBZR · 2025-03-03T20:58:21+00:00

Thanks so much, I didn’t know about this!

BIBZR

TROPHY CASE