Southsider

Quick note to anyone out there looking for a good maths tutor. I can highly recommend Betsy who coached our daughter for about a year and a half. Our daughter, who was in year 4 when she started lessons with Betsy, was very unconfident in her maths, and really struggled with some of the basics. Betsy was able to relate mathematical concepts in ways that my daughter could grasp, and her approach often included games. From being someone who struggled in maths and who was beginning to get a bit phobic towards the subject, my daughter is now in the top maths group and actually enjoys it. That's a major success in my book! Betsy wouldn't mind me giving out her number if you're interested - 07738 545030

ha ha - nice answer and could be. But what about most of the rest of bin days when ED streets are all but deserted and more rubbish truck friendly? Never see them later though.

So why does the council/its contractor block so many narrow, car-lined East Dulwich roads at rush hour/school run time with its huge, snail's pace rubbish trucks? There must be a reason other than, say, foolishness or bloody-mindedness.

I switched from Virgin a couple of years back after a patchy service that culminated in being left with no broadband or email for nearly two months. Umpteem calls, eons on the phone and two technician visits failed to solve the problem. Fearing for my sanity I switched to another provider. Absolutely no problems whatsoever since day one of the switch. I didn't know life could be like that. Imagine being able to switch on the computer and for my broadband to just, well, work as it should day after day after day. As a VM customer I thought such things were the stuff of science fiction. The thing is a properly functioning internet connection is a utility. If my water or electricity stops working properly I don't expect the provider to talk me through endless "can I just ask you to try this" scenarios. "Have you checked all the fuses in your house?", "can I just ask you to go to the manhole cover just outside your house and try turning the...." No! They don't ask that. They're the provider, the experts, and they tend to deal with problems promptly. When your broadband suddenly doesn't work or runs incredibly slowly when it was absolutely fine the day or hour before it is highly unlikely to be something you've done or can fix. Especially after you've already tried the rebooting and switching off at the mains routine five times already. Yet, in my experience, VM's default position seems to be to talk you through endless and fruitless checks and routines. I felt I was being treated as an unpaid, untrained on-site VM technician. "Can I ask you just to go into the bios of your computer and...." No you can't! I don't work for you. Just deliver the service I'm paying you to deliver! As you can tell talk of VM still sparks a powerful Pavlovian response of anger and frustration in me.

I had terrible problems with my Virgin broadband service a couple of years back which grew in severity until, finally, I was left with no internet connection for six weeks. Count 'em. Six! I wasted eons of time on the phone to technical advisers attempting to use me as an unpaid, not to mention unskilled, on-site technician. The thing is the problem clearly wasn't a fault with my router or computer. Two separate home visits by engineers also failed to fix the problem. So I decided to stop banging my head against the brick wall, cancelled my contract and switched to another provider. My broadband has worked a treat since. Life really is too short.