Bumpkin

You can park on Ferndale Road if you go away from Brixton High St 100m or so and quite a lot of Streets leading off it.

Having said we had a great time, it definitely was much more limited than going as an adult. Our 2 yr old who would eat nearly anything at home really didn't like the food and was far too hot to do anything other than sleep / swim in shaded swimming pool in the heat of the day, have had easier holidays with him in the Algarve / Turkey. It was great and we were visiting a friend, but think it would be easier when they are a bit older as they get better at dealing with extreme heat. However Christmas should be a cooler period than when we went.

We went with our Son when he was 2 and had a great time. Went in May which on reflection was a bit hot for a 2 yr old, lots of long naps over lunchtime and in the swimming pool in the heat of the day. Mr B has a very good friend over there, a local woman who owns a taxi company in Bangkok, speaks excellent English and is an ex nurse. She organised our whole trip and I'd trust her to sort out any problem you could come across. Let me know if you'd like her details.

My cheaper window was from scenic and there is a big difference in the look in my opinion.

I love our bespoke windows - Murray did a fab job. I got another small window replaced by a cheaper company and it looks a lot cheaper.. I'd spend the money if you can afford it.

Have also completed, thanks

I've just had a bespoke bookcase made by Nerris and some other shelves fitted. I was very happy with his work, he did a great job, was very reasonably priced, friendly and left everything tidy and clean.

Article in the Guardian today pointed out that foxes eat a lot of rats and if they were culled there would be an increase in those instead.. Be careful what you meddle with.

oops, meant to pm

I had acupuncture to induce labour as was already several days over. Did make me laugh that when I asked if it was effective, I was told that 'the baby nearly always arrives within a few days'. Well yes.. No idea if it makes much difference, but Dan is very nice.

We have an unloved, concrete covered courtyard and I'd love to turn it into a feature, get a new surface, add some plants. Can anyone offer to come and quote or recommend anyone to help? Thanks

I told my 4 yr old that if he managed 10 times wiping himself and no poo left when I check then I would buy him a book that he really wanted. 5 times in and he's not even asking me to check now..

We need a bookcase for my son's room and would love a corner type thing that would have to be made especially. Would anyone be able to do this?

oh dear, my son was one of the 30! The other half of reception is going tomorrow, I was going to offer to go with them as it's my day off but was told in no uncertain terms by my son not to come.. I can mention to the teachers if you like in the morning.

That area totally needs a tube line or some other form of extra transport - I lived there around 15 years ago before all the new developments and you could barely squeeze onto the trains from Queens Town Road or Battersea Park during rush hour. It must be impossible now. If you lived there you would be 100% behind this. It's not just for rich people, it's a very diverse area with a lot of council flats as well as the new builds by the river.

We bought our flat without estate agents. Was very simple, didn't need them at all.

I had a non hormonal copper coil fitted 4 years ago as I was breastfeeding at the time and didn't want the hormonal one. Having always had light periods before (partly due to being on the pill for years), I wasn't too concerned about them getting heavier, however they were very heavy to start with and much closer together and I had much worse pmt. Also, I had around 3 or 4 times mid month where I had really severe pain which I thought was kidneys, but the dr told me was likely to be a ovarian cyst bursting and I've never had that before, a friend of mine had the same so I guess it's linked (didn't last long, but was very bad at the time). After a couple of years, it all settled down and my periods are pretty much back to normal, not painful and not that heavy and I haven't had the severe pain in ages. For me, I think it was worth going through the early painful period, but I was starting from a very easy base.

Have also pm'd you

Being well past this, all I can say is if at 10 months she's sleeping 12 hrs at night time I wouldn't care what she did during the day!!! I wouldn't worry too much about timing of naps in the day - can she nap in the buggy so that you can get out with her? They change routine quite rapidly over the first 18 months and get more into the longer lunchtime nap once they are walking in my experience.

We had a male nanny from when my son was 13 months and I was absolutely thrilled with him. He was great at playing all types of games with my son but was equally good at the softer skills I wanted in a nanny. One big plus was that I got the feeling he didn't stand around chatting with the other female nannies much, but actively played with my son and the other boy we shared with when they were out. Our manny was very much in demand and I had several friends trying to lure him away from us, so if your husband is any good with children I'm sure you would have a market in ED, good luck!

or just sit them on your lap or on your partners lap.. we never took highchairs camping.

depends on child, but mine freaked out at his 1st b'day party even though was just NCT friends + 1 other. Had to carry him around the whole time otherwise he cried! So I wouldn't worry about going too overboard.

Oops, should prob have posted this under classified section, anyone know how to move?

As our son is starting school this September, we no longer need our fantastic nanny. We've known L for 3 years now and she's brilliant at looking after all ages of children. She takes our son and his friend out twice a day come rain or shine to loads of different places around Dulwich including a huge range of parks, soft play, libraries, play groups, 1 o'clock clubs. She really takes care to understand all the children she looks after and ensures that they get the right stimulation, rest, nourishment and care so they can grow to be happy, healthy children. She's never had a sick day in all the time we've had her and is extremely reliable and organised. She's ideally looking for 2 days work from mid September, probably Tuesday / Wednesday but worth having a chat if you need different days. If you're interested, let me know and I'll pass on your details.

I've had a nanny share for 3 years now with 6 different families and would highly recommend. We've had 6 different shares due to children going to nursery or moving house so there is a hassle factor of having to find a new share, sometimes at relatively short notice, however we've met 6 really lovely families and made some good friends along the way. I would ensure that you have some slack to be able to pay full whack for short periods of time if you need to if your share pulls out. As people are only required to give their nanny 1 month notice, you don't really need to look too far in advance unless you're starting in September when children will be moving up to school / nursery. Prob 3 months max, however there's no harm in starting earlier. I found my nanny and all my shares via the forum - tried a couple of nanny websites and got nothing and cost me money. Haven't got strong tips on interviewing, we went with the first nanny we interviewed as our son loved him straight away although we did interview a couple of others. Our nanny was already with a family so that was a factor in deciding as it's important to feel you can work well with the other family. I would always ask the family you are looking to share with how long they want to have a nanny for as I nearly didn't with one family and they let slip they only needed it for 3 months. The thing that I loved was on the days at my house, not having to rush my son out of the house and him being settled at home when I got back. He was able to nap in his bed and have home cooked food. He had another child to play with and we got to know the families pretty well. He was taken out twice a day to the park, softplay or play groups, so got all the interaction with other children that he would get at nursery but in smaller more manageable chunks when he was only little. Potential benefits from nursery is that you don't have to bother providing food and you don't have to worry about the share ending or the nanny being off sick (although mine never was in 3 yrs). However I see these as very small hassles compared to not having to have sent my shy child to nursery before I felt he was ready. He was never ever clingy when I left him with his nanny but took best part of a year to start enjoying nursery when he was 3 (we still have the share 2 days a week and nursery another 2 days). Regarding Money, the nannies quote the pay that they expect to get and you need to pay tax on top which can be quite significant. There are various nanny tax companies that for a small fee will sort this out for you and provide payslips. On top of that you need to provide food for the children and nanny and pay for any extras e.g. busses, play groups. Good luck with it!