ryedalema

Saw Robert Glenister (Hustle etc) in Sainsbury's car park on Friday....

Really pleased that the kids knew that there would be a safe place to go and help available at the Adventure Playground. Our children love it there and the staff are amazing. DKHAP is a treasure for ED!

I made one for my daughter's 5th birthday... Did normal sponge but had about six layers in the end for height with thin layer of buttercream between each (note the thinner the layer of filling the less likely the cake is to 'move'). Then I carved it into a skirt shape and thinly buttercreamed the whole outside. Put in the fridge for approx 20 mins Used an apple corer to get a hole all the way down the middle (you don't need a much bigger hole than this). Bought a Barbie/Sindy with a moulded top (ie you can use the their top half as is and remove their lower clothes) Popped 'Madam Barbie' through the hole - so she's covered to waist height. Fondant iced the outside and decorated with flowers etc- AND GLITTERED. Job's a good-un! :)

Hiya - I'll be in the same position in December and decided to invite the whole class. We decided that we could do the entertainment, and the food and venue (Albrighton ?50 for two hours inc bouncy castle) so making big savings there. Ours will stack up the big numbers too, with class + nursery and family friends..... Try Ebay for party bag fillers...much much cheaper than Amazon or Sainsburys. Oh, and one of our friends had a treasure chest at the end with gift wrapped ? shop presents...that worked really well too.

Hi Hpsaucey So am I talking about the same one then...the 'Dulwich Woods' campsite is the Scout hut and surrounds? x

Hi EDFers Does anyone have contact info for the campsite in Dulwich woods? We've never been, but have heard great things and would like to organise something for next year.... Thanks loads in advance

The south circular is cordoned off at the traffic lights where it joins LL... I hope the people involved will all be ok.

Yeah possibly so...but given that nothing was on show (in a locked boot) and I only put my work kit in there at 4am...then discovered it missing at 6.30am...i think we've a right to feel that that's not too risky a way to behave. But as you say....clearly not.

Hi Edfers Just wanted to impart a psa (public service announcement for those not of my generation)...our car got broken into last night on the corner of Ryedale and Cornflower Terrace. Various things nicked but nothing they could make a great deal of money from. Thankfully the car's not damaged... but just keep your eyes open and valuables safe. Best regds....

Hi avablue Just wanted to reiterate..she is nuts and a terrible employer.Great nannies are really difficult to find, you'd easily get another employ if you wanted one, before starting your new career. Perhaps if you signed on with an agency (I assume you are not with one right now) they'll give you a bit of employment support for this type of thing. And one last thing - I'd keep a diary on her!If things get awkward, you might need this. Poor dog, poor child...poor you!

So...we have our youngest starting Goodrich reception in September, and have friends' kids going into the other two classes too. As far as I can gather (and this is only my deductions so not by any means gospel)... Normal school starts Sept 2nd Reception starts the week after and have 1/2 days (1.10 pick up) for the first week. Class 20 start on Monday 8th Class 21 start on Tuesday 9th Class 22 start on Wednesday 10th. For the first week there's no breakfast or after school club either. Hopefully someone can verify or otherwise....

The playground/sand pit opposite the Hornimann is definitely worth a try...gets very busy on sunny days though...176 and 186 go there (I think)..

We did the same thing, but with a babysitter. We were lucky enough to find a babysitter who was a swimming coach, and they combined the two with a few sessions at Peckham Pulse hydro pool, which as you know is REALLY warm and shallow. Now our 6 year old has swimming lessons at Dulwich College..which doesn't have a shallow end. It's a bit of a different tactic but she's come on really quickly by not being able to touch the bottom. Once she had confidence in the water not being able to touch the bottom has 'taken the stabilisers off' and she's becoming quite a strong swimmer. Hope this is helpful..

We stay local too to save travel time and maximise the date (ahem drinking) time. We love Toasted - and just let the management choose the wines for us (yum!) Alternatively the Flying Pig is quite a fun night.. We then stagger home giggling like kids...so not a particularly cerebral experience :)

Sweetgirl.. this has been awful for you. I just wanted to offer some solace that both of my girls had to move nursery when they were 2ish (for location reasons though, nothing about nursery performance) and while it seemed a massive upheaval at the time and I was very anxious about their happiness, they instantly adjusted and made new friends. A good nursery will be very supportive of this change for them. Our thoughts are with you x

I've been following this thread and wanted to add my condolences that this awful incident happened. I feel for all the other parents who have children there - both in terms of being worried for their childrens' welfare, and also if they have to find alternative childcare provision as a result. I know it's not easy finding alternative childcare at short notice...especially in ED where we have such a concentration of pre-schoolers. Sadly I think if there is a tv item on this nursery, it'll be difficult for this nursery to survive. My thoughts with everyone involved...and I totally agree with Otta, the children will have 'social' worlds wrenched apart...what a sad state of affairs.

Our 4 and (nearly) 7 year old both go to bed at 7pm, max 7.30pm including weekends. We keep later nights for treats. We've been aware recently though that (at least for our 7 year old) she comes home asking about programmes that are later than her bedtime, but that are talked about in the school yard. We don't currently watch any reality TV (urg) but caved last year to watch Strictly so that she could share with her friends. Her other pals seem to watch the gamut - X Factor, The Voice, BGT, Pointless(!) so I'm considering whether to 'cave' again and let her stay up later to watch one or some of these. Her friends must go to bed aroud 9-9.30 to watch that little lot though, and she seems to need her sleep so don't really want to do this. Hmmm....social peer pressure vs parental 'we know best'.

Deleted cos I'm an idiot and thinking of scooters (which aren't allowed) not buggies...

Hi Norfolkvillas, I've been reading this thread and my heart went out to you with your last comment. I have one child going into year 3 at Goodrich next year and one starting in reception there too. I work full time so am rarely on the school gates, so I think I can empathise with your need to feel in touch with the school while not being 'as present' as others might. I see the headteacher most days when I drop my oldest off at breakfast club (8am) and the school admin office is great at passing on any messages to the head or the class teacher when necessary, and ensuring timely replies. There is also pastoral care on site should any child need it. It's called sunshine corner and is there to make sure the child feels comfortable with any non-curricular school life stuff - a lovely thing I think. There's also an extremely active PTA called FOG (Friends of Goodrich), with a parental representative in each class who makes sure parents know what's going on at all times, and the usual run of social activities for kids and parents - fairs, fun runs, pub quizzes, film nights, Goodrich Rocks (disco) etc etc. Oh, and they are on Twitter and you get a regular feed of tweets about school trips, events. updates on there too. Also, if like me, you'd want to make use of the breakfast club and afterschool club (Gumboots) then I can vouch for both of them as being extremely professionally run and caring/active clubs where the children can run about, or relax and read or take part in activities or do their homework. Gumboots has just expanded to be take care of Heber too - so is now on three sites (Darrell road looking after St. Johns and St. Clements children, Heber and Goodrich) so they must be doing something right. I didn't meet the head during our school tour, but then that was because our oldest started while the previous head was in post...but I can tell you that since the new head started, we've seen him almost every day. Hope that helps and all the very best with your decision x

I was going to say Hall Place too (in Bexley) and Discover in Stratford is fab. Try www.dayoutwiththekids.co.uk for inspiration. My girls love dressing up so I'll be keeping an eye out for inspiration too.

Hi Abigail - is this offer still available? I'd love to find out more details and have a chat with you. Could you let me know? Many thanks Cx

It's easiest if you cook two square cakes and put them next to each other (you can use buttercream to 'stick' them together), then: - draw a whale on some thin card - cut it out - put it on top of the cakes - using a sharp knife (as deep as the cake) cut vertically all around. The buttercream/icing on top will hide any rough edges. It's not very difficult to do and much easier than a mould (IMO). Hope that helps x

I love a bit (well ok a lot!!) of glitter! See you soon and looking forward to it. Cx

Hi there - if you expose any area of cake to the air it will get hard quite quickly..so I'd suggest your options could be: - get individually iced cakes (much the best option) - use iced cup cakes (if they are fully covered in icing on top they should be fine (as the rest is airtight to the casing) - use sellophane to cover both sides of the sliced cake (if you go near a patisserie valerie, that's what they do). Hope that helps x

I'm loving this thread...have been working full time since both of mine were 5 months and my OH works full time and is away a lot (as am I) so agree with loads of these, and have a couple of adds: - definitely have a stash of cards, and also have a present box. Whenever I see promising gifts I buy a couple and keep them for the right birthday party - Ocado (and its app) is fab, as is Amazon - We have a family google calendar and 'invite' it to work meetings that affect school runs and family time - We also have a set 15 minutes at the start of the working day on a fortnightly basis when we compare calendars manually to check we haven't missed anything - pay forward play dates whenever you have the chance...it'll help if you need to call upon someone in an emergency - don't feel guilty..I perpetually feel guilty that I'm not doing my best at work, or at home - find special time in each week with each member of the family (including the OH) And very good luck to you! It can work!!!