Pickle

We use Ben Dean for Ukelele lessons, but he is also a guitar teacher. Good fun, and he organises concerts for the kids to play in a couple of times a year which are great (primarily because they're held in pubs, so parents can enjoy a drink while watching!). Details here: http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?30,1568154,1568154#msg-1568154

They help with absolute beginners too, he would get a one on one lesson.

Maybe I'm late to the party, but I recently found out about Cycle Confident, who run cycling lessons which are funded by TFL, and completely free. My eldest two children spent 2 hours in Peckham Rye park yesterday with an instructor, who took them through basic cycle maintenance, safety, signalling etc. One of my children suffered a severe head injury and skull fracture last year (not from cycling!), which has left his confidence shaken when it comes to bikes/scooters or anything that he feels poses a risk of banging his head. After the session he was much happier about riding and controlling his bike, which was great to see. There are a variety of options available, all bookable online here: http://www.cycleconfident.com

Could you book a black cab? That way baby can be strapped into the buggy and then restrained by a seatbelt in the same way a wheelchair is. That's how we used to do it for trips to Heathrow when our children were smaller.

Is it linked to a church/religious group?

I'm tempted to send a photo of my pet Cecil the lion...

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?30,1633063 Can't believe this one has gone unnoticed...

Hope he feels better soon, it's horrible when they're off colour for an extended period of time.

It's snarled up all the way up Kirkdale, along Sydenham Hill towards Crystal Palace and beyond.

Ours were supplied and fitted by: http://www.foldingslidingdoors.com/fsdsite/index.html I recently contacted them for a couple of minor maintenance issues (the doors have been in place for about 5 years now) and was really impressed with their after sales service.

How about the Sainsburys car park? If you went, say 9am on Sunday morning, it would be pretty quiet down the end by the nursery?

Agree with the above. If anything, I find they help heat the room, as even the weakest winter sun coming through them gives lovely warmth.

AJ Farmers is the shop I would miss the most if it went. Great range of stock and nice people running it.

Nice to hear positive stories from other 3/4 child families! On the life getting back to normal point - I found this happened a lot sooner after my 3rd child than with the others. I love my running/exercise, and it became even more important to me when I had #3, as the time to myself was such a treat! In the early days I would go out for a long walk with the baby, leaving my partner with the others... you quickly realise that the baby is the easy job 😉 Being organised helps. I've got the kids uniforms, PE kit, books etc all laid out ready for tomorrow morning - the more you can do in advance, the better. Anyway, good luck x

Hi Strawbs! As you know, I've got 3. Ages now are nearly 9, 7.5 and 4 (today!) - so when number 3 arrived the others were nearly 5 and 3.5. I was 38 when I had my third baby. Hand on heart, I haven't found it hard. Eldest was in reception, middle child half days at school nursery, and after such a small gap between my first two (just under 17 months) I found having just one baby at home in the mornings was lovely. I was far more chilled out than with the others too - I think with the first two I felt the easiest way to deal with a small gap was to get out to playgroups etc every day, whereas with one winter born baby I relished the opportunity to cosy up inside and watch TV :) Now they're all at school, youngest half days, and it makes me realise just how quickly the years pass by. Logistics can sometimes be tricky, for example two of mine spent 2 years on Monday afternoons sitting outside a ballet class, and there are often occasions where two kids need to be in different places at the same time, but you just adapt. Where possible we combine activities, so all 3 have swimming lessons at the same time. The washing pile is never ending, that's probably the biggest thing I notice. And as they get older, suddenly you find the food bill increasing. The house is noisy, and I fight a battle against clutter every day (for another 11.5 months until we move to our new life on the other side of the world!). I wouldn't change it, best decision we could have made. Must add though, a supportive partner makes a huge difference, so make sure you're both on the same page (which I'm sure you are).

Thanks for this - it's David Walliams and Michael Mupurgo, two of our favourites, so I've booked some tickets!

Not just American recipes. All of my NZ and Australian cookbooks use the cup measurement. Farmers on Lordship Lane stock cup measures, sets of teaspoons/tablespoons etc.

I agree with the 7pm rule, it's fair enough and standard in pretty much every pub based restaurant in the area from what I've seen. Places like GBK, curry houses etc (restaurants, not pubs) are fine with kids/babies being there in the evenings.

Hi Tibbs We've lived on Upland Rd for 9.5 years. In the first few years we used to get quite a significant amount of water in periods of heavy rain, but this stopped happening about 5 or 6 years ago and our cellar is now quite dry. Feel free to pm me for our address - if we live close by and you are affected but we aren't, maybe it needs looked into further in your property?

My 9 year old loves David Walliams books, and also the Lemony Snicket series - I haven't read any of the Lemony Snicket ones but they certainly hold his attention in the same way as the Walliams books. I watched the TV version of Gangsta Granny with my kids yesterday, very clever and entertaining (and sad!).

The use of "notwithstanding" confuses this a little. Generally I would take this to mean that the probationary period is a separate situation (and usually there would be a specific separate notice period assigned to the probation), and once this is up, the standard notice period applies. Is there a separate clause in the contract relating to the probationary period?

It's a good idea - I would do it in reverse, making the amounts progressively smaller.

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,1612768,1612768#msg-1612768 There's a thread set up for summer babies, as yet unused.

I had a cameleon for my first child, now nearly 9, and loved it. BUT It quickly became obvious that for collapsing for the car/air travel/buses etc it wasn't practical so we, like everyone else we knew, ended up with an umbrella fold McLaren which we used for these times. The cameleon was brilliant for local walks etc though. I don't know anything about the other model you mention, I'm a bit out of touch with the new models now :) For our third child (now nearly 4) I went for a Bee, and it was brilliant. No need for a second small buggy as it was light and easy to fold. It did us 3.5 years, came overseas with us many times, and still had heaps of life left in it when we sold it 6 months ago. I think you need to work out what your primary use will be, and take it from there. Something that breaks into two pieces to fold quickly becomes a nuisance if you're having to do it a lot. Good luck x

My husband wears pink shirts to work, but I remember him being a bit funny years ago about our son (then around 2) pushing a pink dolls buggy round the park :)