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And now 4 way lights on lordship lane and two sets of lights at top of college road as well as the extensive junction works at top of Fountain drive. No one is observing the keep clear boxes on the village roundabout outside the Barclays either in their haste to join the queue backed up from the village junction works so its nigh on impossible at busy times to enter or exit Burbage road from there. I cant believe they have closed Burbage road at Half Moon Lane. They are adding a zebra crossing and pedestrian raised platform apparently. Another two weeks for that closure I think. Its crazy and no planning has been done at all!

Apart from easier to clean I hate the induction hob we have now. Much preferred Gas. Its Ikea though I think so may just be a rubbish hob.

hi simon at amigosmagic.co.uk did a party for me a couple of years ago that had a range from 3-5 year olds and they loved it although with any entertainment i think the younger ones - 2/3 yr olds - may not have the attention span for the whole show but we found simon to include games to move around as well as sitting down times and the spinning plates and balloon sword fight had everyone up and joining in.

sorry but this really gets my goat up. It's a family friendly pizza chain and at 4.30pm in the afternoon it's entirely reasonable to expect to go in there and there be children present. Yes I totally agree that us parents have a responsibility to teach our children manners etc and how to behave in public places but they only learn how to behave by being exposed to these experiences. Children - in my experience - are not always quiet and complacent and particularly not when we want/need them to be but they have a right to be out in public as do you as do the 'couple' in question. I completely appreciate that not everyone wants to be next to a table with kids on it but thats the chance you take eating at a family friendly restaurant during the hours its reasonably expected kids may be in there. I also totally agree that not everyone wants to 'hear' others kids and again, our parental responsibility is to encourage them to reign it in whilst in this kind of environment but they are little humans and they have no volume control and being a little loud is sometimes part and parcel and its the 'couples' intolerance that needs addressing not your decision to eat at a restaurant you regularly go to! (in my opinion). I have 3 kids and have and do regularly come across plenty of this kind of thing. the 'helpful' comments from strangers, the tuts and stares when someone does not feel my children are acting appropriately and the downright rude, intolerant comments such as the ones you were subjected to. That was blatant bullying in my book and I am afraid i would not have left for love nor money. I may have asked to move to a table as far away from the rude couple - for my sake not theirs - but I would not have left. People seem to have very rosy views of how things were 'in their day'. They also have no idea how they acted and what their parents had to put up with when they were young and they also forget the behaviours of their own children (if they are parents of course) Dining in an informal, family friendly restaurant comes with the side order of some noise and if that's not their bag then they have the choice of finding a restaurant that is not as welcoming to the younger members of society. Those of us with kids have to go where we are welcome and accommodated for so stick with the Pizza's and don't let rude people make you feel you shouldn't be there. sorry. rant over.

Does anyone know?

Another thumbs up for Bessemer. I have a daughter who transitioned from nursery to Reception and is now yr1. She benefited hugely from their excellent teaching and prep, did lots of interesting nursery activities and again praise for the outdoor space and freeflow. I have a son in nursery at the moment on his 2nd academic term as he is a sep baby he has had a very nurturing and stimulating time their and they have great resources (inc balance bikes) and have had interesting trips and workshops.

Wooly - there should be a number for Southwark you can ring and they will tell you where you are on any waiting lists. We were on the list for our no.1 choice school 3 years ago, we started at 29th on the list and we were offered a place at our first choice two weeks before the september term started. There is movement on the lists so its worth holding out if you are keen. I was also told at the time that although not ideal, if we had not had secured a place before term started there is a bit more movement by end of september when families just dont take up spaces they had been allocated but dont inform the borough they won't be needing it. good luck.

thanks everyone, it was masonry wall not plasterboard i believe, i think the plugs were not big enough and maybe screws not long enough looking at your above advice... thanks again

We are not a very accomplished diy family and a few days ago we fitted a coat hook rail onto internal hall wall. It's a plinth style one. 3 holes, rawl plugs and screwed to wall. Seemed very sturdy. 5 days later and it's just fallen off the wall, screws and plugs still attached to it. Anyone shed some diy light on what we did wrong and how to re attach so it stays? Thankyou !!!!!

If the children are not taught to respect the flowers/parks etc then it's not their fault, they are just being kids. It's the parents/ careers that need to show more respect for their surroundings and teach the kids how to behave. I'm a parent of 3 young children so understand that it can be hard to reign in inquisitive little people but Its up to us as the adults to ensure they understand why we don't pick them etc. I don't appreciate comments referring to children as 'brats' though, lets show and teach them respect and community spirit or the problem just perpetuates as they grow older and become parents!.

Very worrying as I had no knowledge of this till I saw this post and my children's school, as far as I am aware, have sent no communication to parents today. We should always be vigilant of course but always good to know if there's been a specific incident.

Thank you!

I'm looking for a site where you can take any general (not diy) household waste that isn't accepted by the 'Reuse and Recycle Centres' that most refuse sites now seem to be. As most also require proof of residency it needs to be in Southwark but i just can't find any that take general waste. help!

If you can please pm me Thanks

Popped in today to get lunch with little one and it was appaling. Uninterested staff, menu virtually non existent and only food on offer was fried, play area gone, just awful and to top it off a sign saying from october half term only cash accepted. If its in its transition of ownership it should probably close until it can offer a half decent service

Hi we find that we have to virtually make our little boy have a wee before bedtime and that helped massively. But I also read in a Parenting book that boys brains just dont click yet to recognise they need a wee when asleep so it can be a physiological thing that his body just isn't ready yet. Good Luck

We did a superhero party for one of our daughters parties. Everyone was asked to come in fancy dress and my mother in law also made us a few cheap capes for anyone that didnt have fancy dress. We had Mr Amigo for the entertainment and the kids loved him. Also we made a photo booth area using a clothes rail and a plastic 'cityscape' backdrop i found cheap on eBay and the kids had their pictures taken infront of that and we made some props on sticks like speech bubbles saying kapow etc for them to hold up.

Hi Interested if anyones done this to know if your national rail ticket has to be to a station close to the zoo to qualify or if it just needs to be a nat rail ticket purchased on day but can be to any central london station ie to Victoria. 2 adults and 3 kids (over 3yrs) going so trying to save a bit on ticket prices Thx

anyone know of anywhere over Surrey Quays/Canada Water thats a nice place to eat with kids? or very near by that you can park at/near at weekends? thx in advance

Hi I've been a SAHP for 7 years now and although two out of the three are at school and my youngest is 15hours nursery we have always filled our time with park trips or just a walk out and I've never done any playgroups etc up until school/free nursery. I used to post on the Forum for Parents at home with babies or toddlers etc just asking if anyone wanted to meet up in the park and post a time/place to meet and there was always several other turn up looking for another adult to chat to and playmates for their little ones. xx

This is indeed becoming a very real problem with health implications. This area is a regular walk through route for children heading to Bessemer Grange, Charters Schools etc and it needs addressing now.

Hi I have 3 with almost identical gaps as yours. It's a challenge but as with everything in life you find a way that works for you. Logistics of getting 3 that age around on your own can be a challenge but depends how adventurous you are etc. I didnt go far in the first few months of no.3 arriving. I learn't to make sure that no's 1 & 2 had something to occupy them when i needed to feed baby etc and somethings could only be achieved when hubby was around to help also. We have no outside support from family and couldnt afford babysitters so like Medusa our bedtime routine was quite strict - and still is as far as possible - and you do spend a lot of time doing laundry etc. Ive tried to make sure toys and craft things are easily accessible so they can all access them without me always having to help and now they are at nursery/school age i try to prep as much the night before as possible such as school clothes and bags and lunch boxes etc. We've never done the playgroup type things as most of the time they didnt suit all 3 ages groups so was best to make our own fun in the park or home in the garden. Do batch cooking where possible so you've always got a bolognese sauce or the like in the freezer for quick meals and dont beat yourself up about trying to cook everything from scratch. sometimes toast and a yoghurt wont kill them for dinner!. Most of all try to enjoy it. It is hard and even now mine are 3, 5 and 7 the challenges just change they dont go away but life gets a bit easier as they all become more independent and out of nappies and can feed themselves and all that and in my experience having them close in age is now much better as they like similar things. Be prepared though for everything being mostly geared up for a family of 4 not 5 and the expense of 3 of everything!!! Good Luck xx

When both my daughters started we received the paperwork early June so may be after the half term but just call the office and they will be glad to confirm.

Hi Im finding it hard to find information on websites of local schools as to what they charge for additional top up hours over and above the 3/4 yrar old 15 free hours. Does anyone know what places like Goodrich, Goose Green, Dulwich Village charge for their extra hours? Thanks

Hi Renata The Sibling column shows 0 for the majority of schools but we know thats incorrect so is the other info correct? And when a school has 90 spaces and nearly 300 applications how can they 'all be offered'?