Pugwash

In appreciation of her secondary school art teacher, who was also her form tutor, when she left for a promotion, my daughter discovered which artist Ms. B liked and went to IKEA to get various prints by this artist and had some of them framed. Was very pleased when Ms. B. hugged her and was delighted with the present. Having met the teacher over the years, I was aware that this was the teacher who had drawn out my very shy daughter and encouraged her love of art and music, and that they shared a similiar sense of humour. She had also arranged for the Art Appreciation school trip to the South of France, and it was whilst on this trip that my daughter had discovered her teacher's faviourite artist.

Huibby and I are both only children, now that all his family are dead, he only has our family. Both of us had daughters from our first relationships and another daughter (No 3) from ours. The age difference between is 13 years and 11 years. Our daughter is very close to the sister 13 years her senior andthey text each other weekly. This daughter also has 2 children who adore their aunt. Daughter No1.'s partner comes from a large family - grew up with mother and step father and 3 siblings. He also has 3 half siblings from his step father's first marriage, plus loads of cousins. All meet up/in touch regularly and there is always children around to play. Neither hubby or I wanted to have one child and are glad we had a second child, albeit many years apart. Daughter No2 has 4 children from 1 - 16 years, but is also not close to her half sisters on her mother's side,or her half sister on Dad's side, nor her husband's family, but the children always have lots of friends to play with. I guess it is also about personality - you may only have one child but you actively encourage that child to have lots of friends round to play, have sleep overs etc. The child may have loads of cousins etc and a good social and support network.

At this stage I would also suggest that we talk to the Safer Neighbourhood Police Team as the last thing we would want is someone to report suspicious actions. Sgt.Duncan Jackson or PC. Adrian Crust - I would think Adrian is the best choice as he is also aware of the Neighbourhood Watch Co Ordinators in the various streets who may also want to get on board

I think if a Dulwich Emergency Group could be formed who could spring into action as and when required to do odd shopping and snow clearance for those housebound - could also include mums with very young babies. If perhaps if someone could plot responses according to street then it would be a simple matter to say that x lives in landells and it is known that there are 2 people in Landells who may need assistance then a 'match' could be made. I would be willing to give a hand - work fulltime but happy to do what I can at weekends. Just a word of warning, there are still some people out there who would do anything to gain the trust of vulnerable people, so caution and common sense is needed when offering help. If you purchase anything on behalf of someone - always keep the receipts. Older people are usually apprehensive about strangers who offer to help, so be sensitive to this.

I did started my degree course at South Bank Poly and then transfered over to East London Poly. By the time I completed my degree both had become universities. I had a friend who did a degree in Politics at Portsmouth Poly but did his MA Politics at a London Uni. From what I recall - there were in the 60s/70s/80s and some of the 90s, three levels of post 16 education - FE Colleges which offered vocational, BTEC,NVQ, GCSE and A level courses. The pOlys offered degrees courses and Higher National Diploms and limited vocational courses (SouthBank Poly had diplomas in sugar craft and bakery)and then there were the Unis. I would say a degree course whether taken at a Poly or a Uni would cost the same.

I suppose it boils down to what each has to offer you. For instance - I have been with my employer for almost 16 years - it is within 3 miles of my home, I work flexi hours, good holidays, great colleagues. Building could be a bit more comfortable, free parking permit, good salary although I could earn upto another ?3k elsewhere. Good training opportunities (generally but current cutbacks in training budget) I have never worked from 9 - 5 as have been a carer to various family members over the past 35 years - flexability in starting and finishing times is worth more to me than salary, and also working on own initiative. Have days when I can travel anywhere in London or elsewhere as part of the job. My worse nightmare of a job would be a boring office, working in some financial institution, doing the same things each day, being supervised the whole time, everyone competing for promotion or recognition, meeting the same people every day. A friend was once headhunted by a very large corporation, she had to pass 3 lots of interviews and was offered the position as a regional manager at a salary in excess of ?10k more than she was earning plus a company car. An opportunity to develope new ideas, and shape new policy. After much soul searching, she turned the job down as she realised that when office based, the journey to work would take a minimum of 90 mins each way by car. Three days a week she would be visiting other premises as far as Wiltshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex and not getting home until late evening. Her children were all teenagers. Company increased their salary offer by another couple of thousands and were very surprised when she turned them down. She realised that she would have a better quality of life by sticking to her current employer.

I would rather the Lib Dems be in a coalition with the Torys as they can water down some of the more drastic policies that a Tory government would have introduced. My eldest daughter is 36 and only paid off her student loan a couple of years ago as despite being a graduate at 22- never earnt enough to repay her student loan.Was forced to take out another loan to get shot of the student loan which was bugging her for over 12 years. Youngest daughter, graduated 3 years ago with a student loan of ?15,000, only earns ?14,000 a year for 38 hour week. Eldest daughter did not have to pay tuition fees, and we paid youngest daughter's tuition fees for 4 years. I would find it difficult to help out with fees that were ?6 - ?9k. I feel that anyone earning below ?15K should have an interest free repayment on their loans (tuition fees and student loans). That graduates who earn more than say ?25k pa should pay a highter rate of interest, with a lower rate of those earning between ?15 - ?25k. The more you earn - the higher the rate of interest until loan is cleared. Whilst I do not agree with the increased fees, there needs to be a common sense approach as the country cannot subsidise every thing. I groan when I hear of youngsters going off to uni to study 'media'/ business studies but they have no clear cut idea of a career at the end of the day. Rather than increasing the fees, I would look at the courses on offer and reduce the places available. In the 60/70s I wanted to undertake a degree but the course I wanted suddenly asked for much higher and more A levels. I found out later that there were too many people graduating from this course and not enough jobs available in this field. This was a way of preventing unemployment from this area of study. Needless to say, I did not go to uni then, but went for a degree and post grad professional qualification when I was 40, I used my redundancy money to back up the grant I got for the period. Getting back to the subject - most of the reforms will not take affect for another 3/4 years and it is possible that the economy maybe stronger then. Agree with other writers - Tories could not govern without help, Labour was too unpopular, a further election would have had to be called if a coalition government could not have been formed. I think most grass roots LDs would agree that the future success of the party will depend on the LD not allowing the Tories to get all their own way. Paddy Ashdown in his day considered an alliance with Labour, and was lead to believe that this was possible by Tony Blair. Hopefully more people will support the move to have PR. And whilst they are about electoral reform - why can't we hold elections over the weekend - save ?thousands by not closing schools, community halls etc and parents having to take days off to care for school age kids.

Also to remember that neighbours who normally have carers coming into them to assist with personal care, shopping and meal prep, may need help as many carers are finding it difficult to get to all their clients due to the weather. Check whether neighbours have sufficient food for a few days and whether they would like help in heating up meals. Social services depts have begun to compile lists of all those elderly people who live alone without family and friends and who are fully reliant on their carers for activities of daily living. If you know someone who falls into this category, let social services know, or better still check on your neighbour daily (at least)

My Grandson is due to have grommets, daughter advised - no swimming for at least 6 weeks after op, then ear plugs to be worn at all times

Was he green fingered? Many of the older people I have worked with have access to window boxes and containers in their care home - flowers, tomatoes, herbs, veggies. Competition between all the residents who had the best display etc?

I did an evening class many years ago and did basket making - still have the tray and work box I made. Needs very little space for storage of materials

If I remember correctly as it was many years ago, we were offered about ?2000 but friends advised due to the cost of land at the time ( it was the time that mortgages were sky high and land prices had risen) that ?5000 was more appropriate

The introduction of CPZ in various parts of Southwark, especially in the Half Moon Lane area, has made life difficult for us workers who have to travel about the borough for our job. This had lead to my employer having to provide all essential users parking permits which cover the whole of Southwark 's roads and council estates. District Nurses and care workers have difficulty in getting to elderly/disabled/ill clients and now have to apply for medical exception permits I worked in Lambeth many years ago where there were CPZ in every street in one particular area (about 12 - 14 streets in all) each street had a different permit zone. If you could not park in your street in Zone A, you could not nip round the corner to park as that was Zone B and so on. There was uproar by local residents especially those who were elderly or had young children. Us workers used to drive part way, and get a bus or walk the rest of the way - added considerably to the time we were able to visit people and the number of people we could see in the day. I try never to use my car in the Lordship Lane area, the only exception is that when I book into my garage for a service, I take the car down the night before - around 7.30 - 8.30, park, return the next morning with the keys - otherwise would not be anywhere near the garage.

Many thanks for your good wishes. The police officer (robbery squad) did not think this was a trend - not heard of anyone been blocked in before and someone grabbing from car. One of the Sainsbury's staff could give a description of the car but could not catch sight of the registration. The call came through whilst the police were at my house that CCTV had picked up something. One of the Sainsbury's Customer Relation staff phoned me last night to check if I was OK and could they do anything to help me. Nice touch I thought, also offered that if I felt nervous of going into the car park alone in the future, just speak to customer service desk staff and they will get a staff member to accompany me. Replacement cards still have not arrived, so the 2 days I had booked off to do some shopping are wasted.

As a grandmother of 2 and step grandmother of 4, my role with my daughter and step daughter has been different. My daughter had her first child almost 12 years ago, at that time I was working Mon- Weds only and offered to care for my g/daughter one day a week. My daughter obtained a one day a week job with Lewisham Council as a Drop in Centre worker for people with learning difficulties. I would go to her flat in Crystal Palace in the morning and care for baby until 6 pm. As baby got older, I collected her and came back to Dulwich for the day. When she was 2.5 years she was enrolled in a part time nursery to get her used to other children. I remember only to well how fatigued you get with interrupted nights and have always offered to both daughter and step daughter, my services if they wanted a decent night sleep or to kip during the day. Step daughter in Essex, did not want help with any of her kids (1 year - 16 years) in the early stages, but now that they are older, the 9.13.16 year old have stayed with us for a few nights to give their parents a break. I have no problem with getting up in the night to the kids, changing nappies etc, bottle feeding, laundry etc. I frequently baby sit - but daughter always checks first if I am free and does not always assume I will drop everything. During the October half term we took her 11 year old and 6 year old away for 4 nights. Now I am working full time, I check with my daughter if she needs me during the holiday times to childmind ( she has gone back to college to study for a professional qualification) and I arrange time off to help her. I am not naturally good with children, especially with boisterous games etc, but do cooking and art with the kids and take them out and about. I would never charge for caring for my granchildren, but I am not always on tap for care. Obviously try to help out in an emergency. Like most parents, I want my grown up kids to be happy as this reflects on the grandchildren. My mother and father in law only baby sat once in 10 years, they lived nearer than my mum who loved having her grandaughters to stay (or to come here to care for them)

Thanks for comments - my asthma is pretty well controlled - only need to use the pump in very smokey or polluted atmospheres. Not to worried about the phone as only a very cheap Nokia with only ?3 credit on it - it is the personal stuff and my work's diary.

Just to let all readers know of a 'new trend' in robbery. I was at Sainsbury's DKH last night around 8.30 pm- had put most of my shopping into the boot as this was stuff I was taking to an event today and could leave overnight. Had put my black work satchel/briefcase on the back seat of the car, and my handbag in the foot well behind the driver's seat. Got into the car turned on the ignition and noticed in my rear window that a light coloured car had pulled up behind me blocking me in. Thinking it was someone waiting to reverse into a space, I waited then noticed a man walk close by the car, he opened the back door and grabbed my handbag. Jumped out of my car and caught him getting into the stationary car, yelled at him and punched him and tried to get my bag back, also trying to prevent him driving off by grabbing the steering wheel.My reaction must have spooked him as he suddenly shot off with the driver's door open throwing me off balance and onto the tarmac. Slight graze on forehead and a bruised knee, however whilst I was lying on the ground, loads of shoppers and staff came upto help me up, including one staff member who had seen the car but could not get sight of the number plate. Security also arrived and within 2- 3 minutes 2 unmarked police cars drove up, followed by 2 uniformed officers. Cannot praise Sainsbury's staff and the police enough - very efficient, kind, and the speed which help was summoned - fantastic. One police officer drove me home in my car whilst his colleague followed. They think it was an opportunist thief - a light skinned black male in his 40s, driving what they believed to be a grey/silver/metallic fiesta. It was not till I got home that I realised that my black work bag had also been taken. Because of it's shape, the police reckoned that the thief thought it contained a lap top. Cancelled all my cards and cheque book - annoying as I need to travel out of London next week for a funeral and distance means that we have to stay overnight, also means that hubby (just been medically retired due to ill health) will have to meet all expenses out of his account for the next week. Apart from an umbrella and odds and ends, nothing of value in work bag - but has my work diary with all my mileages, appointments, training sessions etc. Please look out for a brown leather handbag on a long strap, which contains a brown purse and red card holder ( cards include Southwark Library Card, E11 card, Nectar,usual credit cards), driving licence, asthma pumps,freedom pass. Black work bag has Social Work Solutions written on it, and contains a red week by week sherwood diary which has my work address in it. Also if anyone has had a similiar experience let me or the police know as this could be a new trend in robbery. I usually activate the door locks when travelling at night but my attention was distracted by the car blocking me in before I could do this.

One of our neighbours offered to buy a section of the garden - we declined as would mean that the garden would be much shorter than the other gardens on our side of the road and would look odd. Would have meant knocking down and rebuilding 2 boundary walls, notrifying Land Registry and possibly have had to do something with the house deeds ( house was under a mortgage at the time) For the sake of losing about 6 feet - it was not worth the bother

Dulwich Hospital for Blood tests will be a thinjg of the past soon - only Kings will provide this service ( see last week's local paper)

I too use this junctions - crashes have been more frequent since they extended the pavements at these junction to prevent parking. Coming from the CPR end of underhill and looking right - you have to edge out by at least half a car length. Same coming from the Henslowe Road side looking right as the railing and lights obsure vision. The Barry Area Resident's Association also campaigned some months ago about this junction - which resulted in James getting the yellow lines painted. We did say to him at the time we had doubts about the effectiveness. James et al. once you have had your 'site meeting' would it not be a good idea to hold a meeting at the East Dulwich Community Centre to discuss findings etc with local residents - BARA would be happy to set this up for one evening.

I use trhe middle lane mainly for overtaking, I am a confident driver with 40 years experience and tend do do around 65 in the inside lane. The only time I use the middle lane for longer periods is when I know that the motorway divides ahead and it is usually safer to get in the correct lane some distance before the division. I then tend to increase my speed until the division is completed and then I make my way back to the inner lane. I get very frustrated that when you are driving down Barry Road ( which I do on a daily basis), knowing the poor visability at the various junctions, that some prat decides that my 25 -30 mph is too slow and overtakes me, forcing 2 bendy 12s coming in opposite directions to brake suddenly and narrowly advoids crashing into other cars.

James, The Community Councils are extremely important to local residents, are they going to be maintained by the labour administration? If not how can the people of Southwark get their views across?

i rarely go to the market - I find the majority of the goods too expensive and although I have a good income, I am reluctant to purchase some of the goods as I do not feel they are good value for money. I was in the market a couple of weeks ago and felt peckish - some of the food stalls are reasonable price but since I cannot eat bread/dough products could not indulge - the hot dogs and mother dumpling stall looked good. Found it difficult to walk up NXR on the pavement with all the prams and people congregating to chat, would be difficult to take my mother there in her wheelchair.

I live on Barry Road and frequently have to drive down as far as Upland to get to work if I cannot turn right at my house to go via LL. Twice in this past week have been driving down between 20 -25 mph as could see people about to cross at the pedestrian crossing, and also bendy 12's on both sides of road when some pratt decides to overtake me, one bendy 12 and swerves in front of another car as misjudges the distance of the on coming 12.

Bumping up - still looking for information from anyone who attended either a Coronation or Silver Jubillee Party in East Dulwich. Also your stories about other street parties in ED from 1945. The Celebrating East Dulwich Event will be held at the East Dulwich Community Centre on Sat 16th Oct. 4 - 8 pm Free entrance .