Susie1791

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The Bridge Leisure Centre in Sydenham also has courts.

Yes that's correct. I wasn't sure if paying half of that rate for the days my son was not there was standard practice but I've had a few responses on my query and it looks like it is.

Hi, I just wondered if anyone on here can advise if its standard practice for a childminder to charge half of her usual daily rate for a child's place in the school holidays who are not attending that day to keep their place open? I'm currently in the process of renegotiating our current contract as he is starting school in January and she will be working around school drop off/pick up. Thanks in advance

Great, thank you :-)

I thought the House of fairy tales was on until mid September? I was planning to take my son on Friday for his birthday, is it definitely finished?

Well good luck, I'm very envious! :-)

I'd love to do that El Pibe as I'm originally from there but the dilemma is what to do for work as the economy is so dire but it's a great time to buy property over there!

Another great day out is Coolings nature trail near Knockholt (about 20-25 mins the far side of Bromley). It's a ?3 entry since January, it's at the back of a garden centre and the nature trail has wallabies, pigs, goats, ducks and geese. Has lots of goodies for children to play with, tepees, long line of trees shaped into a tunnel, wishing log, plus back at the garden centre there are some Wendy houses on display which they let children play in, little go kart track and motorized diggers. Cafe is also very nice and not badly priced or they have a picnic area outside if you want to bring a picnic. Overall a really fab few hours, we are normally there for at least 4 hours.

I had mine at the Punch Tavern in Fleet Street earlier this year and really recommend it, no hire charge but a minimum spend of ?500 to have the whole pub exclusively to midnight, if you want a bar extension to 2 am it's a charge of ?50 for the licence and then a minimum spend of ?1,000. I didn't bother with the late licence but went to a nearby cheesy 80's club which opens to 3am but met the ?1k minimum spend with just 50 people so think it's a good deal. Also, they do food at really good value, starting at ?4 per head which offers a really good choice. They recommended a dj who I used, charge of ?250 or equally they are just as happy for you to bring your own music as they have a PA system in the bar. In addition, they decorate the pub for you with balloons, fairy lights, candles, flowers at no extra cost. Location is good as close to Blackfriars, Cannon St, London Bridge, City Thameslink so most people found it easy to get to. Can't recommend it enough.

Bea, I totally understand your dilemma, my son is just over 2 and also for practical reasons it would be so much easier to stop at one for most of the same reasons as you mention, plus my family live abroad and just having one child has really curbed how often I go due to cost and how much palaver it involves. Having another child fills me with concern as to how we would cope financially and practically as we have no support here and everything we do involves having to pay someone, no family nearby to just 'drop' them off to for a few hours. All seem shallow reasons when I type them but reasons none the less. I come from a very large family and I feel so guilty for making my son a only child and I'm the worlds worst at making decisions so I don't know whether I will ever really get around to having another and time is ticking along, 40 next year so good luck Bea with whatever decision you make, I know how tricky it is!

I've had it done at Optical Express in Bluewater last year, can't recommend and praise the procedure enough, I've now got better than 20/20 vision and it's been 14 months since I've had it done, ocassional dry eyes but otherwise no side effects. I investigated lots of places and was very pleased with Optical Express, there after care was great too.

Festival Hall has a massive area for your little one to run around in with a nice cafe with lots of comfy sofa areas scattered around and sometimes free music concerts on

My little boy is 17 months also and I have the same dramas with the food throwing, it drives me mad, my husband is much more patient with it and our little boy eats better for him which I find so frustrating, he most likely picks up on my frustration which is the reason why, breakfast is fine, it's never a drama but lunch and dinner normally results in the bowl being flung off the high chair, if I try feed him he refuses and if I leave him to it, it ends up on the floor. Some days he will happily eat everything, next day it's nothing. Plus, he's not very good with finger food, don't think he likes the messy feel so if it won't go on a fork or spoon he's not interested. Arrrgghh :-)

Yep Sanne, they are exactly the ones! I did try the MAM 6+ ones a couple of months back, but might try them again and double check the teat. I've got quite a collection of different dummies now! Because like you pointed out under the rim looks pretty unhygenic to me! Also, thanks alot for the tips on brushing, I actually done the AAAAH bit tonight and he found it hilarious so it's a good start :-) and I got the brush in for a very quick brush!

I also used Verona Hall as my midwife and it's definitely worth talking to her as I was very nervous about my whole care throughout my pregnancy and the birth, I had heard too many horror stories and it was just wonderful having someone dedicated to me, I instantly relaxed. As for the birth, best laid plans and all that, I ended up in Kings having a c-section but Verona was with us every step of the way and for 6 weeks after, so Vangough if you feel it's not right at Kings and it's making your whole experience stressful, it's at least worth a call.

Slight deviation but mumum's comment re brushing teeth prompted me...my little boy is 17 months old and has 16 of his teeth, brushing his teeth is sometimes no more than him sucking the toothpaste off the brush but I feel like at least it's in his mouth and it's part of his bed time routine so hopefully the bristles are doing some work whilst in his mouth but it's not brushing exactly! Should I be more strict at this stage? But I find it very difficult to explain/reason with a 17 month old on how to brush properly, just curious as to what other mum's do. I'm also having the same issue with dummy's and what's even more disgusting is he will only sleep with one type of dummy which Tommy Tippee no longer do so it's been the same dummy since he was tiny, I boil it too but I dread to think what germs lurk but to try him with any others always results in major tears.

I agree with all of the above, my little boy is 16 months old and was never a small baby, 10?lbs when born but he still fits comfortably in the Bee even with a bulky winter coat. I didn't bother with the newborn cocoon either, the footmuff and extra blankets if needed were sufficient. The only downfall I find on public transport is that the body of the Bee is quite short, so getting on trains (easier when getting off as can go out backwards), I nearly always need help or have to lift it up as the body is short so the wheels don't reach the bottom step, similar on the bus, but it's certaintly not enough of a drawback for me to not recommend it. I sourced the extras like the bag, parasol etc from ebay and got them very reasonably priced in comparison to new in the shops and they were in very good condition. The footmuff etc all wash very well. We had a problem with the brakes too but without prompting, customer services sent us the extra bit to secure them so very impressed with the after sales service. Hope this helps.

http://www.newstatesman.com/society/2009/10/buggy-moms-women-coffee Must be a hot topic at the minute..!

I know the 1993 Rose, she was representing the UK and was from the Midlands at that time, she was a judge last and this year at and is having a ball over there this week :-)

Ah that's cool the London Rose got it, I've got a friend of mine judging this week, she's a ex-Rose. Thanks for the tip re Gerry Ryan show too, even though I do find he likes the sound of his own voice a little bit too much at times :-)

For some bizarre reason you can't view RTE (Irish channels) on the internet player, you can only view it if in Northern or the Republic of Ireland, kind of defeats the purpose, shame as was hoping to catch the Rose of Tralee this week! :-)