crescent

Can anyone advise me? My DH has just hit a traffic island (hi-vis bollard is missing), and broken our front wheel - and we need the car Friday morning... We'd know where to get a tyre from - but a wheel? Am at a loss...Any tips/ advice, so gratefully received...

I live in Sydenham Hill area- a kind of lost area ont he edge of Sydenham, Forest Hill, East Dulwich. I agree with the other poster: while Sydenham High street isn't a destination in the same was as Lordship Lane, you do get more bang for your buck on terms of housing, and you can easily walk/ grab a bus/ drive to all the great things on your doorstep: Crystal Palace Park, Horniman Museum, beckenham and the Odeon cinema and Minor Injuries Unit is not far! Re schools- really, choice is an illusion, but most of local primaries are OK- but these things chcan change quickly. A couple years ago, Haseltine (sorry Haseltine) was the school everyone seemed t want to avoid... But now It is in federation with Fairlawn (uber outstanding school in se23), and word on the street seems much better (for what it is worth). If you are Catholic, I have friends who have been very happy with St Philip of Neri. Check out the local sydenham forum too for more feedback.

I have a 9 year old, 7 year old and 8 month old... And it is wonderful! I could not have done the 4,2 and baby...and did not mean to have such a big gap, but finances, jobs and a miscarriage got in the way. But -- so far-- the gap is lovely. The big ones are at school, so time to enjoy a baby, but with the structure of a school day. And the older 2 dote on her (so far!), and it's been the best 8 months... Good luck with whatever you decide.

We did this Jan 2012 for my (then) 8 year old, and he and his friends LOVED. It was at the climbing wall at crystal palace sports centre - which is always a joy to deal with. Avoid CP sports centre, google CP climbing g wall and contact them directly. There was no 'food' option, so as we are relatively local, we climbed them took them home to feed and do cake. Have fun!

Thanks everyone, esp appreciate the offers of coming over to see how it looks 'in real life' :o)

I was 2 days 'late' with DC3 in July, and was being pressed into an induction. So I walked back from Kings to the Horniman, went and had my first acupuncture ever from the lovely Dan, made my long suffering husband take me for a curry, drank 1/2 litre of pineapple juice...so exhausted myself I had to have a nap, and woke up with contractions every 3 minutes! So who knows which bit worked...but I wish I'd done them a week earlier! Dan and his colleagues were all lovely and supportive, and how one wishes all medical professionals would be. I'd heartily recommend it.

DC3 is 7 months old, and my older children are 7 and 9, and we've been looking forward to when DC3 is 9 months old (recommended min age for bike seats) when we can cycle on the school run again. I'd seen a rear-mounted bike seat at Decathlon and assumed we'd go with that... but then doing some research, I've seen front-mounted ones, and I 've had misty recollections of growing up in '80s Netherlands, and mums would have little kids on the bike - toddler/ baby in the front, older child on the back. The 2 front runners are the bobike mini and the weeride. Does anyone have any experience of these, or even any front-fitting bike seats for babies? I'd love to hear some pros and cons...

I have discovered this charity recently, as I have a lot of baby related stuff to give away after third - and final! - child :) http://www.leeoasis.org.uk/ They are very local and will pick up.

Sadly, it's true. The school have texted parents to say the incident has been dealt with, and children reminded how to react. As the school said: we all need to be vigilant.

Probably a bit far if you are in E Dulwich proper, but Sydenham Tennis Club on Lawrie Park Road SE26 is lovely: my son and a few of his friends have lessons there. It's very close to Crystal Palace Park.

Have had Mirena coil for few months now, after DC3 (previously on pill). Notice nothing at all - not any moodier than before :-). Did not find it painful after insertion - bit of bleeding now and then for a few weeks afterwards that I did not like at all, and was all set to have it out...but by 6 weeks, all fine, and would say try it - like the contraceptive pill, suits some people and not others.

Hi Helen - There's a lovely local-ish charity (Lee, near Blackheath) called Lee Oasis. I donated my moses basket, breast feeding pillow, unused nappied and lots of baby clothes recently - and they came and picked up. Their website says: "We re-home donated furniture, household items and baby equipment free to families leaving hostels and disadvantaged people of all ages around Lee, SE12 and surrounding areas. We receive referrals from resettlement hostels, supported housing services, health visitors, women's refuges, refugee workers, Connexions and the drug intervention program DIP." http://www.leeoasis.org.uk/ The mobile contact works better than the email address listed.

Hi - a year ago my poor son slipped on a wet marble floor, knocked out 2 baby teeth and chipped a chunk of his adult front tooth. :o( Kings put on a temporary 'build up' which lasted for weeks: and our dentist put on a permanent one that should last 6 months plus...it lasted a day. 2nd time it lasted 2 months. 3rd time 4 days. I have lost faith with this dentist, my poor son is really upset, and I'd love any recommendations for a good dentist for this sort of thing. Would be sooooo grateful. Thanks.

Thanks all, appreciate it.

As usual, we're booking half term at the last minute. We've decided we fancy a week in York, as central as we can get. We have an 8 and 6 year old, and a 12 week old...so essentially still a family of 4! Has anyone stayed in an apartment/ townhouse the can recommend? Any help gratefully received.

Hi - wonder if anyone has any experience/ tips for me? Sorry, it's a long one... I am planning to go up to Manchester with my kids to spend a week with my parents. It's even rainier there than it is here, so I really would like the pram/ raincover option as well as my sling. However, coming back we would be on the train. Which I have done many times with 2 kids and a Maclaren...but not with a Bugaboo w/ carrycot. Which is big, hassle to fold up, limited luggage room etc etc. So I thought I'd try and book it into the Guard's van like a bike. 3 phone calls, 1 hour later, the answer is 'no'. I can chance taking it on carriage and putting it in wheelchair space, but - naturally - wheelchair users have priority, and so if a wheelchair user comes on, I would need to move the pram. "To where?" I asked. Virgin trains are really parsimonious with luggage space! The only advice was to try and speak to the station I am travelling from (Manchester Piccadilly) - they might have advice. I feel unaccountably cross that they make it so difficult to travel with a pushchair, esp as I am not insisting on having it with me, would be happy to have it in the 'hold' so to speak. So - I guess I'm asking - has anyone else done this with a non-umbrella folding pram and lots of luggage? :o) Any advice/ tips? Thanks!

Have you done a search on the forum on this topic - some useful feedback the last time someone considered a move to BR3. We moved to our current location of Sydenham Hill from Penge in 2006 - and were trying to move to Beckenham :o). At the time, all my NCT group were there, and spent life at various baby/ toddler activities, M&S and Waitrose (I'm such a stereotype, sigh) so it seemed the natural direction to move. Good primary schools also factored heavily. However, house prices reflect all of this...so we ended up going for semi-detached in SE26 rather than smaller terraced in BR3. And a few of my NCT group have since moved to West Wickham and Hayes - good primary schools AND state secondaries. The Park Langley schools have quite small catchment areas, and the surrounding house prices reflect their strategic positions! Re your questions: 1. Roads around Kelsey Park are lovely, e.g. Manor Road. And near Beckenham Spa, like Cedars Road etc. But best thing might be to look at catchment areas for schools you like, and work around them... 2. It's very similar to EDF, very Nappy Valley, cafes full of Phil&Teds, Bugaboos and conversations about school catchments :o) 3. Lots of playgroups: church halls, beckenham spa has soft play, see above. 4. Re schools - controversial of course, but to get an idea, you could look under Bromley borough schools at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-16188584. Balgowan, Clare House and St Marys (Roman Catholic) are all very popular. Can be looked up on OFSTED website. 5. Ease of adjustment? Think everyone is different - you can always drive the 20-25 minutes up the road for a reviving cup of coffee on Lordship Lane... Hope this helped a bit. Good luck with the move.

Wow, Cazbee, that is fabulous! Kudos to yr dad.

Eliot Bank School Association (EBSA) would like to send a warm welcome to all new parents and pupils allocated a place at Eliot Bank Primary School in September 2012. We look forward to seeing you at the school's welcome meeting and at the start of term in September. EBSA and the new school work together to raise valuable funds: this year we have raised money for some new playground equipment. Next year we will be targeting the school's green space - the new 'secret garden' and the school pond. In the meantime, if you would like to see what EBSA is up to, you might like to join our mailing list. Please email [email protected] The school's newsletters can also be accessed on the school website www.eliotbankprimaryschool.co.uk We'd love to see you at our school summer fair which will be on Saturday 23 June from 11 am- 2 pm, and the next Open Morning at Eliot Bank is on 3 July 2012. We look forward to meeting you all, and welcome again! Eliot Bank School Association

My slightly under-confident 8 year old son has expressed an interest in cricket, so I'm looking for a cricket club near by. We had a slightly disappointing experience last summer where he and a couple of friends went on a couple of 'cricket coaching days', where the coaches pretty much ignored kids who were new to cricket, and concentrated on the "good ones" in my son's words. I am not looking for him to represent GB in the under 10s...and he is a state school kid with limited experience of cricket, so a little concerned that a cricket club with lot of prep school pupils with more experience may dent his confidence even more. (Checks self for inverted snobbery :o). ) I guess I'm looking for somewhere fairly relaxed, where they welcome beginners. Does anyone have any recommendations? I understand there is one across from the Harvester pub on Dulwich College...anyone have any experience? Many thanks.

Ditto - have looked into one-off deep clean services and think 'ouch, will live in squalor for bit longer'... So also watching with interest.

Activity village is a brilliant resource - goes thru festivals throughout the year - Martin Luther King Day, St patricks day, Hannukah, Divali, Christmas - it's great. And...it's free! http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/ And there are many others of course - I'm just a faithful follower of this one now :o)

I am reading this thread with an increasing amount of dread... and my oldest is only in Y3! Do I have to consider moving out of London? I live in the southern most of tip of Southwark: while I pay council tax to Southwark, my kids are at a Lewisham primary, and our allocated GPs is Paxton Green - officially Lambeth I believe? Our closest secondary school by a country mile is Kingsdale - 0.64 miles as crow flies. But this school operates a lottery as admissions criteria, not distance. However, someone who lives 3 streets away from Charter or ED Harris boys gets 2 bites of the cherry: they have as much chance of getting into Kingsdale as we do - but also have a chance of getting into Charter/ ED Harris - while we don't have a hope as we're so far away. Oh, I know life isn't fair, and it's all an illusion of choice...but it does seem like we are particularly poorly served down this corner of the borough - our closest school doesn't work on distance and we don't have any other choices. Feel trapped at this stage: can't afford private, don't want to move lout of London, and fail to see how it makes sense that a kid in Stockwell (for example!) gets into Kingsdale but local neighbourhood kids can't...

Interested in the NCT sale - what time does it start? (NCT membership lapsed, so think I might get let in an hour after evveryone else :o) )

We have torn/stained (bad cat...) carpets upstairs and really need to replace all of them. As we were in Bluewater yesterday we got a quote at John Lewis. Ouch. I do love good ole' JL, their service even includes moving all the furniture, but unless the lottery comes up, we're stuck. Many moons ago we had our kitchen and bathroom floors done by the carpet place on Lordship lane, but weren't cheap, and work not great... Any other recommendations? Thank you!