Pickle

Congratulations! I've got three, but not quite such a small gap (5 years between first and third, but just under 17 months between the first two). You will be fine. It will be busy, but in some ways having all three at home while your new baby is tiny makes things "easier", as you won't have to worry about school runs or being anywhere on time! I managed with just the support of my partner, we have no family close by at all. In the blink of an eye they'll be off to school, so enjoy the time when they're all at home with you x

Mine was a 1976 Toyota Starlet, in a fetching shade of orange. I loved it, got it just as I was leaving secondary school and starting uni (lived in NZ, a car was necessary).

My partner has just been through this too. GP fobbed him off, saying there was nothing that can be done and to just wait it out. After weeks of misery he went private, to find that in one appointment it was almost cured.

I enjoy heading towards Brockley/Nunhead on my runs, more so than towards Dulwich Park. Go along Wood Vale, then along Brenchley Gardens. Once you're at the end of Brenchley there are lots of options, some short (cut back along towards Peckham Rye Park via Inverton/Borland/Stuart Rds, for example). Longer options include heading along Saint Norbert Rd, and looping round, or taking the cycle path towards Brockley. You can follow cycle routes all the way back round to Forest Hill, it's quite a nice run. Good luck!

Thanks Saffron. The cub doesn't actually have fleas (as far as I'm aware), that's just the name my charming children gave it!

"Fleas" and "Stinky". They're very cute, have kept us entertained for a few weeks now, but we are starting to realise that our little garden residents are a pain - poo everywhere, they're digging holes, and they are not scared of us at all. Anyone with experience? Two babies plus a sizeable Mum, who, as far as we can work out, sleep under our decking. I try to go out and scare them away any time I see them (which is frequently), but they hide for all of 10 seconds then resume their little foxy activities. They are very very tame, I can almost touch them, and am wary of leaving the back door open as I think they would come inside. We are going to try and lift some decking boards tomorrow to see if we can find the den. Has anyone tried using the deterrent sprays available?

Ah, not the type of festival I thought it was!

When was it on?! I ran around the rye in Saturday, and spent a chunk of time there on Sunday, and didn't see anything!

Also might be worth considering cubs if you can't find a suitable Brownie pack? My son and daughter both attend a pack on College Rd, session is 6:30 - 8pm. A great mixture of indoor and outdoor activities, lots of badge opportunities, and a nice mix of boys and girls.

?25 per half day session top up for Goodrich. Children take a packed lunch.

I (admittedly 4.5 years ago now) had the cocoon, as the carrycot wasn't an option at that time. I don't remember any fiddling round with straps? The cocoon was strapped into the buggy, and I left those straps done up all the time, they weren't round the baby. Anyway, baby used to fall asleep on the school run and I used to transfer her to her cot when I got home, so it was never an issue for us. It's only a few months, then you move to using the buggy by itself anyway.

We will aim for 3pm too then, see you there. I've met Convex before, for others we will be with three kids (my eldest son and middle daughter look like twins). Also have a blonde haired 4 year old girl. Chances are we all know each other anyway!

Great, we will come along. 2:30pm?

It's the big car wash where they use jet washers.

Thanks Renata

Is distance skewed by the siblings that get places? Or are these figures adjusted to take them out of the distance equation?

Happy to add my recommendation for Lee. We used him recently for a few small, but fiddly jobs. He turned up on time, came up with a good workable solution to a broken tap that we didn't want to completely replace, and was great at communicating what was going on. Would definitely call on him again.

There are a number of local primary schools that offer nursery spaces (St Anthony's, Goodrich, Heber, Goose Green and probably others too), and all provide 15 hours free a week. Many also offer a top up option, meaning your child can stay for a full school day rather than just the 3 hours.

I have a photo somewhere of our cat cowering in the corner while a battle scarred, street savvy, South London mouse stands guard. Not all cats are useful in the fight against mice!

Seabag, the Nunhead one do a really good job. With others, I get it washed then do the detailing myself, but it's not necessary after a visit to the Evelina Rd car wash. I'm a fan of shiny cars!

They don't do a very good job these days, which is a shame. I now use the one in Nunhead, under the railway arches in Evelina Road, they are extremely thorough and do a great job. They have an area you can sit in, you get offered tea/coffee and if you have kids with you they get a sweet.

Sounds good - or if the weather looks nice, perhaps Peckham Rye park? Either near the cafe, or in the picnic area? Let's see what the forecast looks like nearer the time.

I think we are free on Sun 15th (in the afternoon), would be good to meet up.

Mick Mac Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Fair play to you Pickle. > However if you have so many offers over asking > price it suggests the asking price was "wrong". > But the main thing is that you were happy. Your > buyers will have really appreciated your > reasonable stance I'd imagine. As it stood we made a pretty hefty capital gain in just 3 years, and it helped us into a bigger property for a small additional outlay. The couple that bought from us have done similar, and also managed to stay in the area, I like that I still see them around, happy ending. Interestingly, the same house recently sold again, having changed hands for the third time since we owned it. Sale price 125% higher than 10 years ago (standard 2 up, 2 down), and over ?250k more than we paid for our much larger house. I would hate to be a first time buyer in this market!

Years ago when we sold our 2 bed in SE22 (2005/6ish) it went to sealed bids, with a ridiculous number of bids received. Some of them were so wildly above asking price I don't think finance would have been granted. As it was, we went with a couple we liked, who had offered asking price. The estate agent thought we were crazy. For us, they were buyers in a good position, nice people, and a sensible price meant it all went through smoothly with no renegotiations needed. Not all vendors are money grabbers.