bawdy-nan

battersea childrens zoo highly recommended as is Mudchute Farm (extremely nice cafe!) http://www.mudchute.org/

I've taken mine away lots and love it. Its not always very very cheap but the advantage is, of course, that you can cook (or sometimes children eat free when adults eat) and that there are no things to break. There's usually a games room of some kind and the staff can usually advise on nearby walks etc and they provide all bed linen (so you can often arrive by train). There's a really odd one near Stonehenge (Cholderton) which is on a children's farm and you get free entry (animals, playground etc). There's a gorgeous one in the Peak District (Hartington Hall) where you can walk out from the hostel and its very lovely - open fires lovely lounge area and gardens. We've also stayed a littel futher afield - in Snowdonia (Snowden Ranger by a lake and at the start of the Snowden Ranger path); a lovely one in the Wye Valley at the end of a lane and right by the river and the ones in Beer and near Stratford on Avon are lovely too. I really want to go to the one at Boggle Hole and the one that's right in the Devil's Punchbowl. I'd recommend getting membership (worth looking at getting it for Scottish YHA as that seems to be cheaper but you get the same discount as with the English / Welsh membership)and the breakfasts are very good too.

Hello James I can see that your postbag is bulging at the moment. I did email a little while ago but haven't heard anything back from you yet. That may be because its not absolutely your area, so apologies for raising it again here. I am trying to find out who, at Southwark Council, I can raise the matter of consistent violation of road markings etc by the foundation school coaches. I realise that this is something that comes up over and over and over again and that the schools are reluctant to obey the rules, despite causing danger to their own pupils as well as pupils from other schools, but I feel that I really would like to try and follow it up. I am especially concerned with the coaches dropping off at Dulwich Prep on Alleyn Park Road. They often (always?) ppark on the yellow zig zag lines and block the cycle path feeder from Hunts Slip Road causing children to have to come right out into the road and get around the bus. I've been in touch with the school, the person that organises the coaches and the driver but whilst I've had an acknowledgement of the unsatisfactory situation I have the impression that nothing will change and I'm reluctant to leave it at that. I know that this isn't your geographical area but you are my local representative and I'd welcome a point in the right direction. Is there a particular department I can contact? Is it a matter for the police (seems a bit extreme)? Many thanks

I think the coaches and parking has been brought into this because of the public statements of the jags and Alleyns heads regarding their vehement support of the changes because of their overwhelming support for safe ways of getting to school and safe cycling. One of the major dangers to children trying to get to school, especially by bike, is the illegal parking of the school coaches. So , it may be the hypocrisy that has drawn out the comments . If the schools were genuinely interested in the safety of children I. the local community and at their schools they have it within their power to make a huge impact.

Charles Notice - the coaches park on double yellow lines and on zig zag lines requiring cars and cyclists (many of them children also trying to get to school) to pull out around them into oncoming traffic, negotiating crossing islands and pedestrians. Queen Mab - I can see absolutely how crossing from Greendale into traffic turning right (which often doesn't "expect" there to be oncoming cycles) is precarious and dangerous. But. Is banning a right turn the answer? Or the best answer? I think doing so would have terrible knock on effects at the equally precarious junctions in the village and the other end of Townley Road. Wouldn't a proper cycle lane with crossing work well there (like CS 3, for example)?

Then of course there is the odd but marvellous Grimble at Christmas by Clement Freud http://www.amazon.co.uk/Grimble-at-Christmas-Clement-Freud/dp/0224083686

We had exactly the same experience and I was pretty disgusted at the time. Have to say the attitude displayed by the EXTRAORDINARILY named "Markydesade" is breathtakingly bad. If this really is the person with responsibility for running a scout/cub/group (or is from the school or the church) I wouldn't let my children near them - not so much for the "tongue in cheek" reference to sexual violence as much as the utter arrogance and self-regard displayed in their posts.

The safety of pupils should be important but focussing on the safety of Jags and Alleyns at that junction will have a knock on effect of forcing traffic to Calton ave/Woodwarde/Court Lane /Dulwuch Village junction which is already very busy and dangerous at school in/out time for the Hamlet /Infants and also forcing traffic to the Townley Road /Ll junction (and the new Harris). One might also suggest to Alleyns and Jags that if their concern for Road Safety is so intense they might pay some attention to where their coaches park on Townley. Currently it's s horror for cyclists especially at the time when children are most likely to be cycling to school.

Massively and enduringly popular toy for my son's 1st birthday (in a house where his older sister already had toys) was a red wooden bus with lots of people to put in and out. And that was it - 1 present and a stocking with bits and bobs.

Couldn't the dangers to cyclists be addressed by phased lighting? Either a cyclists go light or the lights from Greendale operating separately? Might delay the traffic a little but better than the proposal, surely?

Hard to see what this is for ... is it to try and make landlords behave more responsibly or is it to do with the tenants (ie the anti-social behaviour angle"

mr green's in the village always has a good supply

I think the forum is at its best when it isn't just an internal digital opinion roundabout; when it is about sharing real world information. Through the forum I've been able to borrow things, give things away, find someone to look after my kids, get help with information about schools, health service and council stuff, stumbled across a gig or an event I didn't know about, etc etc etc. I've seen people supported and helped out and the opportunities for collective endeavour are great too - setting up schools, setting up a food coop, organising all kinds of events etc.

don't even to use main roads at the roundabout as you can come up from upper ground

yes, keane and vintage slumber and I think the situation has got worse, or rather, got complicated, by the addition of Sainsburys which means there are more cars pulling in and out to park, turning into Crystal Palace and Landells and also people crossing the roads ... I suppose people that know the area are more likley to account of these factors but its a very busy through road too (which is why, I think, the 20 mile an hour restriction ends at a certain point on the Lane ...)

Well, we (me and my daughter) just nearly got mown down by a car turning right into Woodwarde Road from Enyella, not indicating and travelling extremely fast. When I "remonstrated" the driver stopped and started shouting at me, getting out of the car to accuse me of racism, suggesting that I felt I had some kind of entitlement (I do, I'd rather not be killed) and urging me to "remember slavery". Not quite sure what that adds to the debate other than, yes crossing the road is indeed hazardous.

For little ones: The Jolly Christmas Postman http://bit.ly/1uxHJ8K Otherwise: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe The Children of the Green Knowe The Box of Delights all christmassy and good "read out loud" bedtime books

you could see if you could buddy up with someone the first time you try ...

I do it lazily and it takes me under 40 mins ....I go - down crystal palace onto adys, nutbrook, maxted, bellenden, chadwick, lyndhurst way, cross over Peckham Road onto Kelly Avenue, Commercial Way, Chandler Way, across Burgess Park to Portland Street to Brandon Street, Content Street, Rodney Road, Rodney Place, pavement cycle path to crossing to Meadow Row, Rockingham Street, Southwark Bridge Road, Gt Suffolk Street, Webber St, Cornwall Road, Upper Ground, up onto Waterloo Bridge and over it to Lancaster Place, cross onto the cycle cut through to Wellington Street and you're there.

Hello Resham I don't think you've addressed my earlier questions. Would you mind answering them please. Also, I notice that you haven't stated your position on the Harris primary school - can you let us know what your position on that it. The other two prospective candidates (that I know about) and the current MP have made their positions known (in this forum and elsewhere). On the council tax issue it sounds like you feel very passionately about this. I wonder whether your heart would be in national politics when it seems to lie very much with the local issues. You might be in a stronger position to fight for the things that appear to matter to you if you sought election at local council level. Do you have any experience of being an elected representative? Edited to say - that was a genuine question, re experience of being an elected representative. But when I looked you up to see whether you'd done work in local councils etc, I see, via your linkedin page that you've worked mostly as a researcher and campaigner (in some worthwhile areas) but also I see who your most recent MP employer was. Bad luck and terrible timing.

Adults! Please stop this revealing to the youth of today that we actually behave like deranged teens. Some of us are doing our DAMNEDEST to pretend to our teenifying offspring that we have the upper hand / moral authority / sense of perspective / dignity / self-respect / even handedness / clear headed / far sighted / deep rooted voice of reason. I can only hope that poor Megmeg forgets her ill-fated dalliance with adult social media and returns to the calmer shores of twinstergabchat or whatever the young people have these days.

Done and been to a fair few of these and they are very popular indeed. Agree not to do too many and also just go with the flow a bit. One of the best (worst for mess) is where you divide the party into teams of 3 or 4, provide everyone with a loo roll and get them to "wrap" one of their number as a mummy. Judge best wrapped, wrst wrapped, scariest etc then have them break out and make a mess with the mess. Its utterly ridiculous but this is astonishingly popular. Dance like a ..... (e dog, chicken, your mum etc etc), musical farts (like musical bumps but when you sit donw you have to make a farting noise - really stupid but very very funny) Treasure hunt and clues very good too. We did one once where each of the clues was a kind of challenge / game which they had to complete to get the next clue. For a queiter time drawn consequences is very good fun. Agree with the apple bobbing and that one where you have to out your face in a massive bowl of flour / rice krsipies. I suppose the thing to realise is that it will get a bit messy - but that's the fun. Ah - didn't read to the end and got drifted off into a reverie of party games ...

Grinling Gibbons was a aculptor of decorative wood carvings - usually working in limewood. He created the extraordinary carvings at Hampton Court that were partitially destroyed by fire and then restored by the equally extraordinary David Esterly http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01r9q6r https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=grinling+gibbons&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=643&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=ijJqVLS9A87ksASt0YGQBA&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ

I went today for early tea with the kids. We got there about 6 ish and had to wait 5 minutes for a table. Really good value easy eating: friendly staff, fun to watch the pizzas being made, nice wine, nice pizzas (hardly any choice, hurray), nice homemade style lemondade. All in all for 3 (3 pizzas, extra toppings, salad, 2 glasses of wine and two lemonades it was under 35 quid which is a bargain and it was a nice, good treat. We could have easily made do with two pizzas between 3 of us (we had some left).

Yes, it is a secondary school. Free schools meals are only available to a very small demographic which often excludes families on very low incomes (receipt of working tax credit for example means you can't access fsm). I raised it because of the extremely powerful report from the childrens society which raised it too. Worth reading... https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/At%20What%20Cost%20Exposing%20the%20impact%20of%20poverty%20on%20school%20life%20-%20Full%20Report.pdf Evidence to the report suggests 700,000 children living in poverty not eligible for free school meals. I don't have the stats for Southwark but as the borough has relatively high rates of poverty this is relevant.