
redjam
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Everything posted by redjam
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Horniman Gardens has got a good slope.
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Huge queues at Peckhamplex - allow wait time before your film
redjam replied to flocker spotter's topic in The Lounge
I saw that enormous queue on Saturday night; it was unbelievable. Why was it so busy that particular night? -
I believe 390 for Kingsdale and 180 (up from 120 last year) at Charter ED. Happy to be corrected if anyone knows better.
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As Coach Beth says, there is a huge amount of movement on waiting lists over the summer each year, so try not to worry if you don't get one of your preferred choices immediately. Also bear in mind that Charter ED are taking more kids this year and also Kingsdale is taking in another bumper crop of Year 7s. So that will alleviate the pressure. Definitely don't turn down any place offered - there is no tactical advantage and if the worst came to the worst you'd end up with nothing. Good luck for Thursday, everyone! The usual nail-biting time...
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Brick House bakery & caf? commit business suicide...
redjam replied to tarafitness's topic in The Family Room Discussion
Don't know the ins and outs of this as I wasn't there and I agree that on face value it doesn't seem like a very clever move to ask a mum to leave just because her baby was crying for a short while. But it's OTT to say that the Brick House's response 'compared babies to dogs' and I think getting on a high horse because they said they were happy to allow breastfeeding is a bit ridiculous. Maybe they could have phrased it better but that seems to be wilfully taking offence where none was meant. I hate these things where everyone just piles in on Twitter/Instagram to slag off an independent business and the hysteria gets whipped up amongst a load of people who weren't there when the incident happened. The Brick House may well have done a silly thing but surely the best way to deal with that is to complain to the manager direct and have it out with him/her in private? I'm old-fashioned like that... -
Has anyone done a basement conversion (plus extending it)
redjam replied to muffins78's topic in The Lounge
We are thinking about just doing a very basic refurb on our basement - rubbing down the walls and treating them with varnish so they don't crumble away, fitting some new stairs, putting in new lights and moving some of the pipes that hang down low etc. So we wouldn't be able to use it as a proper room as it would still have a very low ceiling but it would be a more useful space that could be accessed much more easily (as opposed to the deathtrap it is now). We were given a rough quote of ?3k for this. We're now wondering about going a bit further and taking down the internal (non-load-bearing) wall along one side so we can use the recesses under the living room floorboards as storage (we've got a typical Victorian coal cellar - long and thin, extending under the front hallway). Anyone else done this??? -
Your daughter sounds bright and sensible, Shamos; I'm sure she'll get something soon as she's clearly got a good attitude. How horrible that these places have taken advantage of her. Hope it doesn't put her off and that she finds a good job soon.
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Would second the Coal Rooms. Literally had one of the most delicious meals of my life there. Though you do have to practically step over lots of homeless people on the way out (it's right in the station) which makes you feel a bit wretched when you're stuffed to the gills with beautiful food...
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That's amazing! Thanks for sharing.
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Wtd: recommendations for non-fiction books for 13yr old boys
redjam replied to Cora's topic in The Family Room Discussion
Gerald Durrell is a great idea. Also I loved James Herriott at that age. As for memoirs - what is he into? Loads of sports star/comedian/musician autobiographies out there. For history maybe something like one of the Forgotten Voices series about the first and second world wars - lots of moving personal stories to dip in and out of. For general inspirational memoir how about something like Malala Yousafzai's I Am Malala, Barack Obama's Dreams from My Father, or Nelson Mandela's Long Walk to Freedom? On a completely different note, This Is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay is a recent bestseller that gives an insight into life as a junior doctor - very funny and quite rude! And for a fascinating overview of the whole of human civilisation, Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari is brilliant and not hard (though it makes you feel intelligent if you read it!). -
There is/was one in Dulwich Park near the kids' playground - don't know if it's still working. I'd love to know if there's one in Peckham Rye as I don't like carrying bottles around when I go for a run but sometimes just fancy a quick drink of water midway through. I've never noticed one on my usual route but haven't properly investigated - anyone know? Not convinced there's so much of a need for one in the centre of ED. I can't think I've ever got so thirsty on a local shopping trip that I'm forced to buy bottled water. But in general it would be a great thing if there were more of them in the city centre and in parks. Really positive to see that this is being picked up as an issue at last (can't believe it's taken so long).
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Result! Well done you. Definitely worth shopping around and kicking up a bit of a fuss if need be. These companies rely on our inertia.
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Wtd: recommendations for non-fiction books for 13yr old boys
redjam replied to Cora's topic in The Family Room Discussion
Tim Peake has just recently published a book called Ask an Astronaut which is not specifically aimed at kids though there's a lot in it that kids would enjoy (including the perennial favourite: 'how do you go to the loo in space?'). I'm not particularly sciencey but I thought it was fascinating and very easy to dip in and out of. -
North Cross Road - Kerbside Intervention
redjam replied to graceduncanual's topic in General ED Issues / Gossip
I agree with Mick Mac - I'd like to see the end of NCR fully pedestrianised. I live on one of the roads off it so it would affect me negatively in terms of driving/parking but I think it would benefit the overall area so I'd absolutely support it. I also think the area round the back of Londis (with all the bins) needs prettifying/hiding in some way as it's such an ugly first impression of the street as you come into it. I don't see the point of charging stations on the pavement or much in the way of other street furniture as the pavements already get crowded at weekends, especially with all the buggies round here - it would just create more pinch points (I'm a bit baffled by the idea of suggesting charging points when most people who visit NCR live locally anyway). I'm not sure what you mean by making the street more 'child-friendly' but certainly pedestrianising the end would make it easier to navigate with prams and young children. Nxjen - yes, I remember that consultation too - it's a shame it wasn't followed up. -
Ours is ?230 for a 4-bed family terraced house, insured with Sainsburys Bank. Covers subsidence, rebuild cost, personal possessions including cycles and laptop outside the home etc. Single article limit of ?2k (I don't have expensive jewellery or anything like that so I can't think of anything in the house that costs more than that). I know all this as it was just up for renewal so the letter is sitting right here on my desk! Our house insurance used to cost a lot more as we did that thing of just staying with the same company and accepting that our premium crept up and up each year. Then a few years ago I gripped it and shopped around and saved about ?350/yr by swapping policies. So far Sainsburys have been good to deal with, though (touching wood frantically) I've not had to claim yet. Definitely worth shopping around though as the previous poster says, you do have to compare like-for-like. I also saved a fortune by gripping my gas/electricity supply and swapping from NPower to a company I'd never heard of (Flow), which has been absolutely fine and again well worth doing. God, though, it's boring being a grown-up, isn't it?
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I assumed it was a Chinese takeaway.
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Dry January, anyone? I'm looking for a buddy to keep up morale...
redjam replied to Tosca's topic in The Lounge
I think one drink night/week is very sensible - and certainly more of a long-term proposition than complete abstinence. But I'm killing two birds with one stone here - if I swear off alcohol for most of the month, I also limit my nights out, which benefits my pitiful post-Christmas bank balance as well as my liver! And as you say, the other main benefit is it 'resets' your system - it gets you out the habit of mindlessly pouring a glass of wine in the evening when you're at home and don't really need it. That's got to be a good thing. -
Fill your diary: book some events; plan a holiday; arrange a night out with old friends. Buy a book you've always wanted to read. Wrap up warm and take a walk in the park when the sun comes out, however briefly. Buy a new item of clothing/get a haircut. Keep away from the news/social media for a bit. All trite solutions, I know, but they work for me if I'm feeling down. (Personally self-help books make me feel worse but maybe that's just me.) Hope you feel better soon x
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Dry January, anyone? I'm looking for a buddy to keep up morale...
redjam replied to Tosca's topic in The Lounge
How are you doing, Tosca? Did you get through the second weekend? I reckon I'm on the home straight as I've only got one more weekend to get through (I will definitely drink the final weekend as I've got a lovely birthday meal planned - though ironically I know I will suffer from a worse-than-usual hangover afterwards now I've lost all my tolerance). It's been fine for me actually - mainly if I'm honest because I haven't been out much. Though I've had a couple of wavers at my 'weak time' (just after wrestling the kids to bed) when a glass of cold, crisp white wine never seemed more inviting... -
Dry January, anyone? I'm looking for a buddy to keep up morale...
redjam replied to Tosca's topic in The Lounge
I did Dry January last year, but sort of by mistake - I didn't fancy a drink in the first week as I'd overdone it on NYE, then in the second week I got a heavy cold and cancelled all social nights out (and again didn't really fancy alcohol), by which point I was already on around 20 January so I thought I might as well keep going till my birthday, which is the end of Jan. Although I'd not really set off to do it at the start, I did feel better for a month off (slept better, more energy etc), and interestingly for the rest of last year I felt like I cut down a lot on alcohol as a result, as I'd got out of the habit of automatically pouring a glass or two of wine when at home midweek. I was also more conscious of how even just a couple of glasses affects my sleep. So I'm taking the same approach this year - I'm aiming to cut it out in January (at least until my birthday) but I'm not going to beat myself up if I fail. But I do want to reset my habits again after the booze levels inevitably crept up over Christmas. Anyway, good luck Tosca - I'm off to the cinema tonight, and plan to be on the elderflower! -
Don't think people are generally uncaring round here, lavender27; there are often posts on here thanking people after someone has been picked up and helped after a fall. However, I do have a bugbear about those long extendable leads, especially when they're on small dogs. Twice while running in Peckham Rye I've nearly come a cropper when a dog owner was standing on one side of the path chatting to a friend and not paying any attention, and their dog was right over the other side of the path on a long lead. I don't think owners realise that when the leads are thin and black they're virtually invisible, like a tripwire. If I hadn't managed to pull up just in time in both cases, I'd have gone absolutely flying and taken the dog with me. That said, yesterday while I was running along that narrow path by the old cafe (near the building works), a man stood to one side and made his dog sit at his feet as I ran past. I was impressed - both by his courtesy and his control over his dog. So there are 'good' dog owners too. Sorry to hear about your partner's fall, OP.
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Just an update on the headteacher situation on Heber, for anyone interested ... It was just announced yesterday that Ms Rosenberg - who is the current acting head, was the previous co-head with Mr Block and has been at the school for thirteen years - has now agreed to take on the permanent headteacher role. This is really excellent news for the school - I think that's the outcome everyone wanted!
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Breastfeeding in public (surely there cannot still be an issue...)
redjam replied to malumbu's topic in The Lounge
Oh, and I forgot to add, expressing milk into a bottle is the devil's work. I'm sure there are some women who manage it merrily; I have never met one. For me it would involve a miserable and painful 30 minutes on my own to produce maybe a quarter of a bottle - which was then a faff to store and reheat at the right temperature. So again, not a solution that works for everyone. -
Breastfeeding in public (surely there cannot still be an issue...)
redjam replied to malumbu's topic in The Lounge
I don't really understand the fruit aisle example. For a start, I have literally never seen a woman breastfeed in the middle of a supermarket aisle. But if she did, it wouldn't bother me in the slightest. Why would it? Some of the views on here are breathtaking. Some facts: 1) Women have the 'breast is best' message drummed into them constantly from health visitors, medical professionals etc. 2) As other posters have said, you really can't just switch newborn babies back and forth from breast to bottle. You can when they're older, but not the first three months or so. Some babies will never accept a bottle. 3) Newborn babies need feeding every three hours or so. Night and day. It can take up to an hour to breastfeed. Very difficult to plan trips out in that small 'window', especially as babies do not always conform to schedules. 4) Most restaurants and bars do not have a room set aside for breastfeeding. In fact I would go so far as to say I have never seen such a room in any bar or restaurant I have ever been in. The most you can hope for is a chair by the communal sinks in posher establishments. The more likely scenario is that if you wanted to take yourself off to a 'private' area it would mean you were sitting for 45 minutes in a grim loo cubicle while your food got cold outside and your companion sat alone. 5) I have never met a woman who was 'exhibitionist' about breastfeeding. Though I would say that many of us (not all) get into a bit of a baby bubble and stop feeling self-conscious about it. I certainly got to the point where I could answer the door to a surprised postman with a baby latched on and not even think twice about it. That's because - surprise - feeding your hungry baby is an entirely natural behaviour. What would the anti-public-bf have mothers do? Stay inside for first six months of their baby's life? Because if you go out with a baby, there will inevitably be a time when you get 'caught short' and you are forced to feed in public. It's no one's ideal situation. But it's either that or you are literally trapped at home 24 hours a day for months on end.
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