QueenMab

I saw that too. A beautiful send-off. I'm sorry for your loss, pat.

It's hardly a mix of "arrogance, sloth and self-entitlement" to ask a public representative on a public forum why a traffic system which costs thousands to implement isn't working properly. Anyone?

" that's a 'job' which is basically unpaid and frequently unappreciated" Well fair enough, but he's put himself up for the job nevertheless. As it stands, it would just be nice to have someone say, "I'm sorry about your near-death experience, I'll see what I can to do make sure this never happens again", rather than "here's 50+ pages of impenetrable local council reporting, only of tangential relevance to your situation, crack on".

To be honest I'm not interested in reading through 50 pages of local council guff about this: that's your job Mr Barber. What I want is some kind of assurance that a dangerous junction next to 2 schools is going to be made safer for everyone. Can you provide that assurance?

Yep. I was nearly taken out by a coach this evening turning left out of Townley into East Dulwich Grove. I was waiting in the ADVANCE STOP BOX, waiting to go straight ahead and the coach managed to come up behind me and turn right across me. I managed to get off my bike and out of the way just in time but it was incredibly close. If the promised advanced filter cycle lights actually worked, this could never have happened. It really is only a matter of find before someone is killed or seriously injured at this junction. Why aren't the advance filter lights in operation? Who do wec need to contact to get this implemented?

I'm a cyclist who takes a child on a bike but I've seen this chap and he is indeed a liability. I've seen him have a near accident once already after once of his dogs got frightened by traffic and nearly got entangled in the bike . Cycling along with two dogs on leads is idiotic at the best of times, with a child on the back, it's lunacy. Not sure there's anything anyone can do about it though I'm afraid.

Bonaome, all I can say is that I cross that junction almost EVERY DAY, from Green Dale over to Townley Rd, and I never feel completely safe doing so when there is oncoming traffic. Are you disputing the number of near misses I've had? Do we have to wait for a fatality before what we already know is "proved", i.e. it is dangerous? I've been cycling in London for 15 years and I am pretty much fearless, but it's obvious to me this this junction is poorly designed and needlessly dangerous. It simply needs to be safe for EVERYONE. I do also wonder why Alleyns and JAGS can't be asked to find room on their ample acreage for the excessive number of coaches lining Townley Road each day, it makes that road slow and unsafe for everyone at critical times. It also doesn't strike me as the safest place to have kids boarding and alighting coaches either.

I'd just like to add another informed voice to say that as both a motorist and cyclist who uses this junction on an almost daily basis, as it stands this junction is is INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS for cyclists. (It's dangerous for motorists too but you're probably only going to get a dented car or whiplash, rather than knocked to the ground and killed). Please believe me, it really is only a matter of time before someone is killed or seriously injured here. I've lost count of the number of times I've nearly been hit by traffic turning right from Townley Road, both on a bike and in a car. The problem is that cyclists and cars going straight ahead from Green Dale (which is itself a major cycle route up to Denmark Hill) have priority, but right-turning vehicles coming from Townley Road very often simply do not see cyclists (or motorists) coming the other way, and hence turn right across their path. Many drivers in fact assume they actually have right of way over traffic coming the other way and will shout aggressively at you, having narrowly avoided hitting you. A No Right Turn is a good solution from this point of view. An advance signal for cyclists going over would definitely help as it would avoid cyclists waiting at the junction from entering into conflict with traffic. HOWEVER, this does not help cyclists who are not already waiting but following the flow of traffic coming down from Green Dale and across the junction, so it might reduce but not entirely avoid the likelihood of an accident. Genuinely, my only concern with this junction is that it be made safer for everyone. As it stands it really isn't. Hopefully Southwark can come up with a solution which prioritises safety whilst causing the minimum of disruption.

They might want a living wage to do so, mind. Which might explain the apparent delay. EDmummy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I'd pay staff to work 24/7 to get it ready before > Christmas to see that Louisa 😉

My car wing mirror got clipped today (Fiesta Zetec). The whole unit has come to pieces, although all the pieces are intact. This has happened before and I managed to piece it together again, but this time I don't seem to be able to reassemble it. It would be crazy to take it to a garage to get it done as they will probably charge me a fortune for a 2 minute job, also I need it fixed this afternoon. Does anyone have any advice or experience with this?

I went to look at First Steps having been recommended it by a friend. Logistically it didn't work for us, but I went to view it a month or so ago and I thought it was lovely, would have no qualms sending my little lad there.

Another vote for Roz. She's frankly performed miracles with me and my partner. I went to her on the basis of a recommendation here and would heartily recommend her as a couples counsellor to anyone else experiencing relationship problems. If she can help us, she can probably help anyone.

Dulwich Fusion has improved since the summer but it's still badly ventilated and changing rooms are getting tatty despite being newly fitted not long ago. Also their pilates classes are oversubscribed, making them not worthwhile. I'm thinking of letting my membership lapse and going elsewhere.

Going eastwards along East Dulwich Grove (away from Lordship Lane) is pretty grim purely due to the lack of space and proximity to parked cars and the buses going up and down. I always feel harassed or hemmed in by drivers who feel they ought to be bombing along there but who are unable to do so as there is not quite enough space to get past a bicycle. I did see a consultation being circulated about this a while ago but I don't know if the proposed measures will go ahead. I agree about the bottom of Denmark Hill, it's awful and that route made more inconvenient still now with cycle path being close on the Caldecot Rd cut-through. I'm also annoyed about the lack of cycling route provision at St Agnes Place, which is the short cut/safe route between Camberwell New Rd and Kennington Park Rd, avoiding the Oval junction.

It's OK, I just discovered that amazon.fr have all the Mini Micros in a range of lovely colours and at the same price as UK plus free delivery, so I got one in orange. HURRAY.

That one is nice ChiefJeff, but is still definitely pink.

Believe me I have scoured the internet looking for alternative colours available for sale in the UK and available before Christmas and there are NONE, not even on their own website. The bigger Micro scooters come in other colours, but not the Mini, which is the one suitable for my son. Occasionally you might see a special edition available for around the ?100 mark but frankly that is an insane price to pay for a scooter.

OK so this is driving me mental now. I can only find Micro Mini scooters in blue or pink (or lilac, which is still pink,as far as I'm concerned). I want to get my son one for Christmas but I hate the blue for boys thing and I don't want to buy him a pink one either for the purposes of making a reverse gender stereotype statement. So.... can anyone suggest sturdy alternatives to the Micro Mini that come in colours other than flipping pink or blue?

No you're not going on, belle! I have found this thread so helpful in crystallising in my mind that yes certain activities are just not going to work for my son and now I don't feel bad about not doing more of that kind of thing and much less of a failure for not doing so either. I feel I've taken control a lot more just by acknowledging that this is just the kind of child he is and instead trying to think of activities which he will get the most out of. I will definitely check out Gymboree. I think when I looked at it before it seemed quite pricey but I reckon a couple of quality activities each week might be well worth it. Oh and belle I updated the Nature Play page to say that I took my buggy with me to the woods a few times and just left it at the top of Cox's Walk (if you have a small bike lock type if thing you can chain it to railings), then you can walk from there. Also, have you heard of the London Sling Library? They have slings you can go and try and borrow to find one that suits you.

For anyone wondering about using a buggy, I used to use mine (McLaren) to get from home and go up Cox's Walk and then just chained it to the railings at the railway bridge to continue the rest of the journey on foot/carrying. Actually mostly I didn't chain it, just left it the other side of the fence. I figured there wouldn't be many people wanting to thieve a crusty old buggy from the middle of the woods.

Oh I love this discussion! I feel like I'm not going mad after all. Knomeister I completely share your experience of having the child that has to race for the exit in any given location. Even baby yoga seemed to be a nightmare as he wouldn't just lie still on his mat playing with toys like other kids. Like an idiot I've been taking him to a toddler dance and music class (Diddi Dance) which I find totally exhausting, as he rarely stays still long enough to sit in a circle, join in with sensible activities, he's constantly trying to run out the door, open cupboards, run around wildly. My friend remarked that she was exhausted just watching me. I have to say repeated attendance has resulted in a mild improvement in 'joining in' skills but it still feels bloody infuriating when you compare his behaviour with that of the other kids around him. My favourite thing is Nature Play on Thursday mornings in the woods, which is brilliant because its unstructured and 'child-led play' so there's no-one trying to get them to join in with group activities. I can't say it is relaxing, he does do lots of racing around, and I tend not to be one of the mums sitting on picnic blankets chatting but I have met a couple of other mums with high energy kids and he can be persuaded to race around with them, so we get to help each other out chasing around with them. We have also been exoerenting with training then to "stop!" when you call them to, with very limited success, but we are hoping a group effort may eventually reap rewards.

Ah yes. I was very pleased to read that, thanks for that link. I am also that parent who watches other children sitting obediently in their parents' laps and wondering how this miracle can be achieved and what I'm doing wrong. I've decided that activities like library story time are a tiresome waste of time for us (he reads plenty at home). I am now focussing on activities for 2year olds that are not excessively structured and which enable maximum racing around wildly. I must say a recent beach holiday was joyous, no roads, nothing sharp to collide with and acres of space for racing around with no requirement for me to provide any kind of input other than to just keep an eye on him. But yes, he does sleep well at night, which is a blessing.

DO you mean normal bikes or balance bikes, etta?

I was going to get our 2-year-old a balance bike for his birthday and wondered if there was anywhere nearby where you can go and try them out? I was going to order online but thought that if there was somewhere nearby where we could try various models that might be better (and more fun).

I would second that advice. I went to a wedding with my baby and just found a dress which looked fabulous. Then I fed in the loos with dress hitched up. As it was only for one day it was fine. Often with do's in hotels there will be a room free where you can go and feed rather than the loo.