Apoa's off to another first round test today. She's gone to school with a packed lunch and a see-through plastic bag containing: a letter with her candidate number, several sharpened pencils (the one she'll actually use is 2 centimetres long), a rubber and a pound to buy a drink and a biscuit. Alice will be collecting her and a few other kids from school this morning and taking them to the test. She won't be allowed to park, just to drop off and collect later.

It feels weird not helping her get there and back, and we'll be going straight out after work tonight, so we won't see her until tomorrow. She's said she'll phone when she gets home, though.

Last night, Apoa prepared for the exam by going straight from school to practice in a local orchestra and then rushing home to gulp a couple of bites of food before going off to play guitar in a concert and then heading home for a late bath and a chapter of Peter Pan. Maybe not the best preparation but she seems cool about it.

Meanwhile, we're all dealing with the fact that some kids didn't get through the first stage at the other school, which is definitely not nice.