sglanzer

Hi all, We're looking for musicians of any genre who would be on for playing at a local street party on the afternoon of 1 June. I'm afraid we have no budget to pay - but perhaps it could be good performance practice for someone? And we will be raising money for the excellent Sydenham Garden, which offers gardening and craft programmes and similar to people with severe mental health problems and other vulnerable people. I'd be delighted to hear from anyone who might be up for this! Thank you

Where would be the best place locally for a 9 year old beginner to try out hockey when the new school year starts? Thanks v much for any suggestions!

There's a young Estonian chamber choir singing a range of English and Estonian choral works and some Estonian folk music in St Augustine's One Tree Hill today (Sunday) at 3pm. Estonia has a fantastic choral tradition and they've apparently been sounding very lovely in rehearsal, so I think well worth popping in if you happen to be free this afternoon and able to head over to SE23. Donations invited. Here are the details: https://www.facebook.com/events/768859629881776/

Hi does anyone know of a shop with a printer that will be open this morning? We've run out of toner and urgently need to print some documents. Any suggestions gratefully received (SE22/23/15) Thanks!

Dear all, For a festive start to the Christmas holiday period a short bus ride from East Dulwich, do come along for some high quality carol singing with a good choir in the forecourt at Forest Hill station, 1130am this Saturday 19th Dec (with permission of London Overground)! Lots of family favourites and song sheets available so you can join in, and some choral carols to listen to too. We will be collecting for MQ, a new charity that does great work funding much-needed research on improving treatment for mental health problems (http://www.joinmq.org). https://www.facebook.com/events/496013720570985/

Sounds really good - are you doing another?

Hi I'm trying to start planning summer holiday activities/childcare, and am just wondering if anyone knows of any activity camps or days that are focused on nature and the outdoors? My 7 year old son is happiest when covered in mud climbing trees/finding bugs/pond dipping etc. I seem to remember seeing some posters about a nature explorers week last summer that looked really good, but searching on the internet has not been fruitful. Very grateful for any leads!

Probably much too late, we've realised we are doing far too much catering over the Christmas period, and would rather like to go out on the 25th. Anyone aware of anywhere that might still have a table for a nice Christmas lunch?

I think Doopo Doopo from Forest Hill had a stall, but it's mostly food. I'd think potentially quite a bit of room to expand up there by the bandstand if all goes well.

I was most impressed by the new farmers' market in Horniman Gardens this morning. Week one and they already had really good and reasonably priced fruit and veg, nice meat, bread and cheese stalls and some very appealing specialist stalls for cake, muffins pasta etc. One of the stallholders said it's on Saturday mornings weekly until at least Christmas to see how it goes - let's hope it get lots of local support and flourishes!

My 6 year old son (about to start year 2) would like to develop his singing skills. I'd be very grateful for any recommendations for good children's choirs/singing groups covering that age group, or for singing teachers who like working with young beginners. Something that doesn't happen on Saturday am would be particularly good, and a some connection with a classical choral tradition would be great. Any suggestions very gratefully received.

We walk to Fairlawn every day and feel a bit sorry for the few kids in posh private school blazers whom we see being shipped away by car, never having the opportunity to get to know the cheery, plainclothes throng of local kids whom we'll always meet up with on the way to school. Fairlawn is at the centre of a very congenial community, which seems to us to be worth a lot. Things are still settling following the arrival of the new Exec Head and head of school, but it seems very likely to remain a very strong school, and may well get still better.

Hi Does anyone know of anywhere local where I might have a chance of getting my nearly 6 year old into swimming lessons after half term? I'd been hoping to get him in at the new Forest Hill pool but this seems hopeless and it sounds like quite a few other options are full up now too, except for Crystal Palace which is the one place he's really taken against. He can just about swim a width in a sort of doggy paddle type stroke. Suggestions for anywhere within 3 miles or so gratefully received! Thank you

Yes, another vote for Scamps. My son, who is generally not very enthusiastic at all about organised extra-curricular activities in any form, really believes that the main priority of the organisers is for all the children to have lots of fun. I've been delighted to find some childcare that he actually enjoys.

As a resident of the Tewkesbury Lodge Hill and recently joined member of the residents' association, I think this raises very important issues about who the TLRA are actually representing and how. Many of the people living on the hill are members of the Association, probably mostly because it gives access to a very good Nov 5 display, but they do not appear to have made any attempts to consult the membership, most of whom are, I suspect, very much in sympathy with the nursery. The hill is full of families with kids who would I'm sure wish to see this kind of scarce and high quality provision flourish. So it seems really important to me that those of us who are members of the TLRA and whose views are allegedly represented by them should follow Michael's advice above and write to them objecting to the course they have followed and also questioning how they have they have decided on this without any local consultation. Email lists, local forums etc. should make it easy to consult local people about important decisions - they don't appear to attempt to do this.

Pharmacies won't do under 16s in general, even though there's no reason to think it's unsafe and it's national policy in some countries. Various private clinics in central London will do them - e.g. we were for various reasons keen for all the family to have a jab and got it done at Baker St Medical Centre (http://www.bakerstreet.org.uk/). Not cheap and a hassle obviously, but under ?20, flexible about appointment times and happy with any age.

Zebra Paint, where you get to colour in lots of pictures with your finger, is a hit with my 4 year old son, and I think would be manageable and go down well with smaller kids too. Androidify, in which it's easy to create little figures with different clothes, faces etc. also would I think work for younger kids. He's also unduly keen on Angry Birds and Monkey Blast, but you probably need to be over 3 to be able to cope with those without help.

I may well be too late for this, but am just wondering if anyone knows of any good summer playschemes or similar in S London where it might be feasible to drop off a 4 year old (just about to start reception) for a few hours on a couple of days in the next few weeks? I just looked at the Dulwich College mini-scamps but it's full up for the days I'm thinking of and I'm wondering if there might be an alternative. Many thanks for any suggestions!

I think you'll find a few views around on a variety of threads. Also from a Buds parent - I think it's absolutely fine for small children. Not remarkably well organised, no remarkable educational programme going on, but warm staff, a friendly atmosphere, lots of greenery - I was a bit doubtful at first as my son had been at a more highly structured nursery, but to be honest, I think space, freedom and warmth are probably what pre-schoolers need, the children do really seem happy to be there, especially now it's summer and they can run around outside or go into Cox's Walk next door.

Hi pablogrande have sent you a message re a meet-up on 15 June which hopefully you will receive. Would be great to see you then or another time soon, and indeed anyone else who is interested.

Have heard from a couple of people - anyone else who has a child starting at Fairlawn in Sept and would like to increase the number of familiar faces they see when they start, do get in touch, hoping to have a small meet-up after half-term sometime.

My son has just scraped into the Fairlawn reception catchment area. Much rejoicing in our house, but the only downside is that he goes to nursery in Dulwich and doesn't know any other children who will be in his year. I'd love to increase the number of familiar faces when he starts school, so it would be lovely to hear from anyone who would be interested in an informal Fairlawn class of '11 meet-up or two in the coming months. Do let me know on this thread or by pm if you would be interested. thank you! PS I know it's an SE23 school, but we're very close to the SE22 border and I'm afraid people seem just as hooked on this forum as over the border...

Another vote for Babur in Brockley Rise (www.babur.info)- one of the best Indian restaurants in London, great delivery too. Not quite in East Dulwich, but can't be more than a mile from the SE22 border and no question it's worth the extra distance.

I would have thought the one Lewisham school worth looking at for people at the bottom of Lordship Lane is Horniman. From the streets at the bottom of Lordship Lane to Horniman School is only 5-10 mins walk. They have a bulge class this year, meaning double the normal numbers. In Lewisham, they are squeezed between popular Fairlawn and Eliot Bank schools, so that I would have thought the catchment area for their bulge class will be quite big - even last year they had a pretty large catchment area. Fairlawn is indeed probably too popular and too far away for ED residents.

According to the schools,Horniman and Goose Green have bulge classes though presumably these have filled up now too.