Monkey

Hope your dog makes a smooth recovery. He should see a vet ASAP. There is a 24hr vet in streatham. This should also be reported to the police. The dog owner might have done his best under the circumstances but he's not in control of his dog, who should have been on a lead. Good luck.

I've just had an IKEA kitchen installed. It looks good but the process has been utterly painful. One of the problems is that IKEA doesn't have a good handle on their deliveries. In the words of my husband, "I wouldn't recommend IKEA to anyone who has a job". Expect delays, deliveries coming on the wrong days, and IKEA treating your place as a warehouse, taking weeks to come and collect items you want to return. I also wouldn't recommend their quartz worktops. The supplier is terrible. Their guys managed to leave a tap open, flooding my downstairs neighbours as a result. And the work was shoddy. They had to come back and re-install. The compensation process was tortuous and I ended up falling out with IKEA over it. So, all in all, while I'm happy with the end result, it's been painful, time-consuming and I'm resolute never to set foot in an IKEA store ever again. Go to Howdens instead.

I agree with DaveR when he says that teachers are always claiming that disaster is looming. It was already like that when I was at school in France thirty years ago. I am, however, horrified at the speed things are being taught in y2 this year. One day it's reading the time, the next it's fractions, then it's geometry. There is zero time for consolidation. My daughter is supposedly doing well, but we have to do everything at home again, and again. All this for these sodding SATS. This is crazy.

My husband had a very poor experience of the county court system recently. His father, a lawyer, says he would never advise anyone to go in front of a county court. How much money are you trying to recoup?

And again today southern can't be arsed to run the 753 to London Bridge. No announcement, no apology. So going via Canada Water on a train that was also delayed.

"Felt like a ghost practice" -- exactly how I would have described DMC Crystal Palace Road before I left. I went once when there were just two GPs working.

Sue Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I was pretty gobsmacked this morning when I phoned > DMC for an appointment (for something not urgent) > expecting to wait weeks, and got one for Monday > morning. > > Credit where credit's due, I think that's pretty > damn good. > > And I just got a text reminder, as well! Amazing. And it's only taken a CQC investigation and a three-year campaign on the forum.

Transport used to be good. I've been working in Moorgate for seven years. Until the work started at London Brisge, I was always on time for nursery pick up without rushing. Now, I really, really struggle and have to leave work at 4.50pm. Good thing husband now works from home. It's a real problem. Not sure what we can do. I tried to engage with Southern but it's like talking to a brick wall. I find them obstructive and objectionable. I remember reading that the service would soon be run by Transport for London. Could make things better ...or worse!

Just a word of warning on IKEA Quartz worktops, which I previously talked about on this thread. They just aren't worth the money. The company which fits them is appalling. First of all, they left a tap open after fitting mine and flooded my neighbours. And second, it's badly fitted: the joint looks bad and I even saw a chip on one side. Really not worth it.

Biggest mistake you could make is to use IKEA as your kitchen provider. Just used them and they've been by far the most useless and horrible company I've ever dealt with.

Signed here too. All my thoughts and love to Faye's parents.

Hi - long shot but if you're French (or speak French), there's Medicare in Kensington. I hear Dr Sophie Batut is very good. My friend takes her children to her and speaks highly of her.

Any recent feedback from gymnastics at Fairlawn? I'm looking for a small club where my daughter will get some attention and be taught properly. Thank you.

Yes, about time. I do worry that in the meantime, southern's service will get worse.

I must say they've always been absolutely fine with me. And the doctors have always been great. Knowing the doctors who run this surgery, they won't be best pleased to read this and will want to address the issue quickly.

I love The Peckham Peculiar and can't wait for the first issue of The Dulwich Diverter. Best of luck!

Work is starting on our kitchen next week and we chose quartz. Like you, the wooden worktop we inherited put us off wood for ever. We looked at acrylic but after seeing a nanny put a hot pan on our current worktop without hesitation (all the kitchens she works in are "heat treated" apparently) we thought the only thing that would survive the onslaught from childminders and our accident prone in-laws was quartz.

Transport (trains) used to be absolutely fine until the work started at London Bridge and Southern started using it as an excuse to provide an appalling service. If my husband was still working in the City, I don't know how we would be picking up from school (Goodrich) at 6.00pm. claphamMover Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Uh oh. We - family of 3 - are thinking of moving > to East Dulwich from Clapham and have been worried > the transport into the City isn't great. Is this > is new phenomenon or something recent?!! We have > been spoiled living next to a tube station but > can't afford the hefty price tags of houses around > here and you get much bigger gardens it seems in > ED. Does anyone cycle down to Herne Hill station > and use the Thameslink? Or is that just too much > effort?

Yes, you're right. Sorry, it's the 1750 that's cancelled today. Fury has impaired my senses!

And it is starting again-- the 1810 from LB to ED has not run once this week, which means no trains to ed between 1750 and 1828. I have queried it and will be posting the reply on this thread.

It's more common than I thought among young children. A year 6 came in with a knife at a Lewisham school where a friend worked. A charity I did a brief stint at took kids on a day trip to Westminster and a 10-year-old had felt the need to bring in a knife because he was leaving his borough. I'm not saying knives are everywhere but I'm starting to think they're more present than I initially thought among young children.

I'd be delighted to help!

Drewd, try The Gardens. They have shrinked their catchment area - details on their website - but well worth a try. I moved there from DMC and it's soooooo much better (they pick up their phones for a start!)

I agree there is a good range now in movies and also books (I lose count of the number of books my daughter has read which feature strong female characters: the worst princess, Maisie Hitchins, Ottoline to name just a few) and toys (Goldieblox, also check out the cool range of construction toys aimed at girls at Just Williams) We're definitely moving in the right direction. Looking back, there were few strong fictional female characters when I grew up and I spent my time playing with Barbies. But I had a strong-minded mother who never gave me long speeches on feminism but demonstrated it every day in her actions, her way of being, and I think it's had a bigger influence on me than anything else. Personally, what doesn't sit well with me is more what happens in real life: fathers "giving away" their daughters on their wedding day, the tradition - that my in-laws are so attached to - that parents should pay for their daughter's wedding, the constant references to working mums - what about the working dads?!...

No - not from what I can see. We are key stage 1.