ryedalema

Saffron - you're right I'm not sure her teacher is helping much, but I don't think she's part of the problem either. I think she's just not skilled particularly to help or has the time with 29 other demands on her attention. There is a pastoral care lady that she is supposed to see once a week to talk about stuff - but this lady keeps being ill or unable to keep her appointments. So my daughter keeps getting really excited about seeing her, and then upset when she doesn't show :( So you think a trip to the docs is the next step? And yes - you're absolutely right about it being good that she can talk about it...I'm glad she's not bottling it all up inside.

Thank you all - and for the PMs too. As you say - I'm hoping this will pass and not be a 'thing', but she's using such grown up language, it's almost as if she knows how to speak 'in therapy'. The food thing knocked me for 6, but thankfully she hasn't followed through on that one yet. I'll keep a close eye on this... Oh and we have spoken to her teacher about it...not sure that's helped though.

Hi all Our eldest daughter has been talking about 'feeling rubbish' and that she's 'not good at anything'. She also, which worried me most, said she doesn't want to eat her meals because she feels she doesn't feel normal and that she doesn't have any friends (which i'm sure isn't true). Is this normal? I'm not quite sure what to do about this one...

Try these guys... http://www.sweetsuccess.uk.com/ Absolutely gorgeous cakes...and of course they deliver!

Does anyone know if there are any local Brownie troups in or near se22? I have no idea what age they start, but I had such a lot of fun being one when i was a kidlet - i'd love eldest monster to have a go. She's nearly six, do you think that's too young? All advice really welcome! Thanks as always edf-ers :) x

I'll be sad to see it go too... I agree that the food was 'patchy' (well actually pretty rubbish) and we haven't had spectacular grown-up-only evenings there. But as a place where parents can have a relatively trouble free conversation with each other while the kids play safely, it was/is wonderful! But I also agree that the kids should be watched a little more - the number of times ours have been bitten/scratched/pushed off the slide etc...grrrrr. And that wasn't by Dad in this instance :))

Oh if only :( We have loads of stuff to pass on, and have sold plenty on the EDF before...but our lifestyles are such that we need someone to just take the whole lot off our hands and sort it for us. When you think what's involved: - taking all the photos - writing all the descriptions - answering all the qs - waiting in for people to view (and possible no-shows).... having someone do the whole thing for you at 10% ish commission is very attractive :)

A friend told me that some people make a good few bob going round to people's houses and sorting out things for selling on Ebay. Then do all the admin stuff for you for a small commission. So you basically get a spring cleansed home and extra cash, while someone does your legwork for you. Does anyone around here do this? Or know anyone that does? Our house could do with a right old going over. All advice really welcome. x

Doesn't currently say - but have asked the question... Their twitter handle is @thepatch2 btw.

I'll tweet it too (@cjbassham is anyone's interested) but I don't think I have many local followers who might want to pledge...anyone do any better on this?

Have you seen this? Looks like things are progressing! http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/masterchef-keri-puts-the-good-life-on-pubs-menu-8566946.html?origin=internalSearch

I think wait a week and all will become clear - obviously there's some internal unravelling/negotiating going on and I'm happy to watch from afar in the hope that it all sorts itself out (as long as it doesn't take too long!). As Cora said there's no harm in pledging cos you don't pay unless Patch is/are successful - and I'm particularly interested in both the science of their urban kitchen garden and the community outreach work being thought through. Would love my kids to better understand where their food comes from and get more involved in how it gets from garden/smoke house/dairy/field etc to plate :)

Love the idea and am about to pledge...just two qs (for now). Does anyone know which primary schools they are working with? (My eldest is at Goodrich and would love her to experience this). What happens if they don't acquire ?17,500 by April 11?

Have thought about booking my relatives in there on a few occasions and then decided against it as it just looks cr*p! Haven't ventured past the front door though so could (ahem) be pleasantly surprised. Have used Victoria Inn (good but sometimes noisy), Actress (sadly not any more) Air BnB (disastrous as key left with us didn't work but that's just a sample of one) and Peckham Lodge (surprisingly good!) Oh and Marmora Man's place - which was absolutely fab! Would bite the arm off someone developing a decent BnB near here....let me know if anyone hears of one!

Ah great advice, thank you for this..I think I will do both. Coman - will PM you and arrange a meet.

Hi all Can you recommend a great accountant that can help me set up as a self employee, working from home. Having been PAYE for the last 15 years I've been offered full time freelance work and need to know what I need to do to make the most of my money. - How I set myself up - What I need to set aside for the taxman +NI - what I can claim for etc. Can you suggest anyone? Really appreciate this x

Ah thanks for this - what are the steering and weight like on box trikes? My OH thinks they'll be too wobbly and heavy for me (oh him of little faith!)

Ewww - have had lots of off-putting conversations with my OH about this- this Trikidoo is 32kg (without kids) apparently. Does anyone know a better way to get to kids around locally by bike? Combinations of bike seats on a bike or a lighter custom bike or trailer etc? They are getting too big for our trailer and are not quite old enough to ride by themselves on our roads.... They are 3 AND 5.5 and I need to be able to get up Greendale so DEF need gears :)

What do you guys think is the best option for ferrying a 3 and 5.5 year old around by bike? I'd like to be able to do the school run without getting the car out (or relying on the p13) and would like to get the bike out and get a bit of exercise. We've had back of bike seats and currently have a trailer - but it's getting a bit squeezy and I need to be able to get up Greendale (which is roughly the same steepness as DK hill). I quite like what Helena Bonham Carter does (attached) but it does still look quite heavy, even without the kids. Does anyone have any fab alternatives?

Debra Whelan teaches adults and children Irish Dancing at the Albrighton Community Centre (opposite Sainsbury's on Dog Kennel Hill) [email protected]

Goodrich's last tweet said call the school in the morning...nothing on the website :(

I'd love to get involved - can cook, decorate cakes, sew and alter clothes...and being vertically challenged would love help with DIY type stuff. Count me in :)

Mmm yes - a second for Joanna's, especially if you can get the special little room/booth. We had Mothers' day there last year with our 3 and 5 year olds - went perfectly...staff attentive, food delicious (and for the kids too), mummy (me) gloriously soused!

I love that airport...so many places to relax (if you can!) Don't suppose you are still there, but there's a lovely spa next to the jungle bit. If your OH could take the little ones for a bit......

You poor thing - our oldest fell out of her top bunk (and Buggie treated her :) ) a few years ago and we received a similar visit from an HV to ensure our house was 'kid proof'. They suggested we move the kitchen!!! And I've been on the receiving end of bad/inaccurate notes. I applied for life insurance a couple of years ago and through the process found out that I had: - mental illness issues - septicaemia - something else that I can't remember... I've never had any of these. I asked my Doctor (at DMC) about these at the time and they said that they'd recently swapped over filing systems and had brought in someone to data input - with drop down bars for the list of conditions! They thought that might have been the cause of the mistakes. I was (of course) livid, but would recommend that anyone request their notes and make sure they are accurate...it has loads of implications. Imagine if you were unconscious and they had to rely on your notes to decide a treatment path!!!!