ed neighbour

Good to hear from you Lolly - there seems to be a lot of interest - do send a PM if you think you can help - hope to have more news soon!

Hi Megan - have PM'd you - good luck with organising your week!

Hi Steve - Yes, I've used Freecycle Lambeth for years (most recently having three sets of people collect items this weekend!) It's great - such a good idea - happy freecycling!

Hi Peckham Rose, and others - Thanks for your enthusiasm! I agree with you that there are lots of possibilities that would benefit many in the community, as well as spreading the community spirit itself - but also issues / difficulties to be considered - Hence call for anyone with experience in this area to get in touch, please. If admin would consider a separate section, in principle at least, it would be great to hear from you too - but I think that the various issues need careful consideration first. Do get in touch if you feel you can help / advise - thanks all!

Thanks JMT - that sounds interesting. I have PM'd you! I think that the idea has both problems and possibilities associated with it = anyone else with any personal experience of being a member of such a scheme, or who would possibly be interested in joining?

Thanis for this, Help-Ma-Boab - so, mixed feelings! I'd looked at the schemes recommended already, but they don't seem very active in this area - any other views on this, or thoughts about how it could work as a simple system?

Does anybody know of a local skills swop / exchange scheme - or would anybody be interested in starting one??

My children are both grown up now, but I remember clearly how draining this is. Alice's comment (above) reminds me of what solved it with my oldest daughter - I eventually told her that she was going to be responsible for getting dressed for nursery... we didn't have an argument about it, I just explained to her that we needed to leave the house on time, and she was old enough to get herself ready (with shoes help when requested!) I explained that from the next day, I would give her a 20 minute warning, and show her the clock - also showing her what time we had to leave. She could see the time passing, and we left on time for school. She only got taken in her pj's that once and had to wear the yucky 'spare' clothes at nursery - there was no discussion about it from me, because it was her decision - and it never happened again - I think it's about the child understanding that they are responsible for their actions, and they will have to bear the consequences - good luck!

Does Josie make curtains as well as blinds? Thanks!

Lots of gardeners recommended in trades section.

We've just used this service at Stanstead, and it was great :-)