Pugwash

I am a social worker and most of my client group are 'elderly'. Having worked in many Inner and Outer London Boroughs - you do get a variety of situations presented to you. Many social services departments have differing eligibility criterias and can offer different solutions for people with Dementia. Choice, I am afraid, comes more with where you live rather than your income.

Care Homes need to be registered with the Care Quality Commission for 'dementia care'. Staff have to undertake various training courses in caring for those with dementia. The Elms in Barry Road, is able to take those sufering from Dementia. If you are a private or council tenant, you may be recommended by social services to one of the 2 extra care sheltered housing units in Southwark - Lime Trees House or Lew Evans House. Both take people with dementia and provide carers to assist ( not overnight care) Dulwich Mead in Half Moon Lane is a private sheltered housing unit(owner occupiers) they did have a number of people living there with dementia, but they do not provide carers so residents will need to organise this themselves. Most Anchor Care Homes are registered for Dementia. Lakeside Nursing Home in Crysatal Palace is one of he best homes around for people with severe dementia/Alzheimers

Post Box Youth Club based Weds and Fridays at East Dulwich Community Centre, Darrell Road. SE 22. On Tuesdays at the same site Woodcraft Folk.

Advise you to contact the Autistic Society or similiar - many Educational Psychologists will not have the full knowledge of a child this young with autism. Clinical Psychologist would be better.

Paul enjoys the limelight. He has always wanted to be a journalist and now that he is unemployed, seeking out camera crews gives him something else to do. Although Paul has been active in campaigns like The Maudsley Emergency Clinic/Felix Post Unit, Save Dulwich Hospital, and is on various committees, he has not been involved (or have a family member involved) in the BA Cabin Crew Dispute/Parliament Green protest/other high profile media interests. Paul is a well known ED figure and although genuine in his beliefs - he does tend to lean towards 'negative' campaigns - Have you ever seen Paul at a joyful event - saying how wonderful this is, have you seen him smile or laugh? Has he waved a flag at a sporting event. Paul needs to be wary - he is drawing attention to himself and there will be someone in 'authority' who will be questioning that if he is clever enough to get the media attention - why has he not managed to secure employment or training?

According to the Southwark News this week, Southwark expect to lose ?76 million in Government subsidies over next 4 years. Peter John is asking ways of doing things/providing services more efficiently to manage this reduced budget. Anyone got any ideas as to how this could be achieved/what could be changed?

Who remembers the grocery store on the corner of Goddrich and CP Road opp. The Castle PH and the Hardware shop on the other corner? There is so much about the war years and it would be good to get pictures and stories post 1945. I was a child in the 60s when the first Black family in the street moved next door to us. I grew up knowing the eldest boy and his little brother, there is a photo somewhere of us both cutting his birthday cake together and I recall a speech by a family member along the lines that friendship transends race and colour. Even though we both moved to other roads in ED - 40 years on I am still in touch with the older members of the family. I recall with fondness, my neighbour teaching me Caibbean cookery and how to get the best yams in Choumert Road market.

Southwark Council were forced to reinburse a large number of insurance companies many years ago when it was proved that the tree roots in Barry Road were actually causing subsidence. Since this area has a high subsidence risk, it is cheaper for Southwark (and other councils) to keep the trees trimmed every so often

I suggest that someone gets in touch with Cllr. Lewis Robinson and also Tessa Jowell MP to highlight this dangerous crossing. You could also contact Val. Shawcross and Caroline Pigeon to get them to put pressure on Boris.

Started working life as a clerk, then did residential child care, then admin work -various promotions. My then boss heard me discussing psychology with another colleague and asked about my academic career and was surprised that I had not been to uni. She got me on day release at Birkbeck College to do a Diploma in Urban Community Studies ( paid for by the firm) In the meantime, I did lots of voluntary work Gingerbread, Residents Association, Political Party, Community Centre, Disability groups.Worked as a casual market researcher in social policy for a few months. Took redundancy and fulfilled a life long ambition - a degree followed by a post graduate professional diploma ( funded in part from my redundancy pay). More voluntary work including trustee in a counselling organisation. running workshops, mentoring individuals etc. My voluntary work was instrumental in getting a post graduate diploma at Goldsmiths, as well as the fact that I had and still am, caring for 2 disabled relatives, my grandchildren (during holidays I help out etc). I work as a social worker with adults - despite the stress and paperwork, onc of the most interesting/frustrating/rewarding/no 2 days the same/heart breaking (at times)- but love the work.

I heard that Rye Oaks Primary School (Peckham/Nunhead) has an autistic unit - they were advertising for staff in the SLP this week.

Prior to my recent surgery at Kings, I had to attend for number of pre op test i.e. heart, blood etc.The nurse in the o/p section, whilst I was waiting to see my consultant, went down with the necessary paperwork to the Blood Test section and collected my 'number'. This was at 10.30 am, I saw my consultant (after an hour's wait) went to the heart clinic for tests, went to the Blood test - number cuurently calling was 60 before mine. Went for lunch, came back to blood tests, waited 45 mins before being seen - time 2.45 pm. 4 hours after I was checked in at Kings Blood Tests I was seen. Dulwich is used by all the GPs in this part of the borough and GPs in Lambeth (Herne Hill/NOrwood area). At one time, if you went in around 11am you were usually seen within an hour. I believe the current hours are 7.30 - 3.30 pm but they change the hours every so often. When I worked in Dulwich Hospital - I used to nip in around 11.30 am and be out within 20 mins but that was 4-5 years ago. I now work at Kings - and you are expected to get blood tests done during your lunch breaks!!!

Does Mum keep the other half of her prescription? This will show the GP's name.

My other half used to deliver the free Southwark Sparrow newsleter a long time ago ( during the reign of the last Southwark Labour Council) we were hard up having been given the option of having no job or being forced to down grade with a ?2000 pa drop in salary. Since other half has a disability - a job was more esential than the pay. Southwark Sparrow paid around 2 pence a copy delivered and if there were any subsequent leaflets/flyers in with the paper, he got ?1.00 per 100 sheets. He would spend several hours each weekend delivering to Burbage and Stradella Road, and another couple of roads off Half Moon Lane. He usually made about ?20 per weekend - which we put towards our grocery bills. OK it was about 10 years ago or such, you could argue that Southwark Labour Council were paying rubbish 'wages' but in fact this was contracted out to local agents who then employed casual deliverers. You got a free delivery bag though! We have delivered leadlets for our political parties and local residents associations for many years and not received payment.

Having done telling in one of ED's Polling Stations on Thursday - the number of people who turned up between 9.30 -9.50 pm who said they were out/watching TV/in the pub - then remembered they had to vote before 10 pm was surprising. I liked the one where the mother turned up to vote and then complained outside she could not vote on her daughter's behalf as she was not back from work. The daughter had phoned her to say that she could not vote on line - could Mum do it for her!

Great to have the LD back for East Dulwich. Robin C.H. was a pretty good councillor for a Tory, hopefully equally affective as a LD.

The Gardens - Dr Fryer and Dr.Tran seen regularly,my other half sees Dr. Cliffe. The 2 nurses at the surgery are brilliant. It took us almost 2 years to get registerd with The Gardens after our old GP died and we did not like the other partner at the practice who started writing the prescription before you opened your mouth!

I attended the Barry Area Residents Association (BARA) Hustings on 20th April, three labour candidates for East Dulwich Ward turned up along with a band of obvious labour supporters plus Jonathan Mitchell LD. The organisers informed me that they had written to each party in March giving them the date of the hustings and wrote to each candidate individually once the lists were published for the East Dulwich Ward. They had anticipated one from each party to turn up. The Greens and Torys did not even bother to reply to the second letter ( the Torys had acknowledged the first letter) and since one of the Greens lived in the same road as the Community Centre, one of the BARA committee went along to their house to check if they were coming to the meeting. he did not get a reply. This gives an indication to the voting public, I feel, that the Greens and Blues are only 'paper' candidates and have no real interest in the local community otherwise one of them would have represented their team on the evening. This suggests that there is a 2 horse race in ED Ward with Labour and LD the only real contenders. Whilst the 3 labour candidates ably answered questions from the floor, it appears that for 2 of them it was their first hustings. It was clear that a number of 'labour plants' were in the audience asking specific questions. One chap used the question session as a means to do a 'labour party broadcast' and was shouted down by a number of people present who felt he was hogging the meeting. The number of questions from the floor were directed only at Jonathan, to the extent that the chair had to request that questions were fielded to all candidates. Jonathan clearly stood his ground even though at a disadvantage with 3 Labour candidates on stage. I have not seen or been canvassed by the Greens or Blues, in fact nobody has seen these teams going around the ward. We have got the usual literature from all parties and I gather Kemi, the Parliamentary candidate has been seen at various hustings.

Does the 184 still run or is it now 484? to Goose Green then walk for about 10 mins. Or bus down to Camberwell Green then either a 185,176 or 40 from outside McDonalds to Whately Road (East Dulwich Police Station) and walk a few yards.

If anyone wants to see local council candidates in action - go along at 8 pm Tuesday 20th to the East Dulwich Community Centre where reps from all the parties standing for local election in East Dulwich Ward have been invited to be 'grilled by their electorate'.

cat suits

Although I do not have a BUPA scheme - I pay into the Benenden Health Care Scheme, which allows you to access a private consultation if there is either a too long a wait for NHS appointment or there is no local consultant. I used it for a very painful lump on my finger which prevented me holding a cup/pen etc. There was a 6 month wait for NHS but after contacting the Benenden, they found one of their Consultants working at Kings - I was seen in 3 days, given an injection and further appointement plus all tests. Suspected base cell carcinoma. Consultant refered me to another team at Kings under NHS and I was operated on with 2-3 months.

Bumping up

James, Thanks for the reply re Pensioner's Forum - I will print it off to give to friend.

Not sure if there is another thread on the Forum about this. What do people feel about the idea put forward by Southwark labour party,that if they gain control of the council, that they wish to join with Lambeth to provide services to residents who live on these borough boundaries. Since the LDs lost control in Lambeth,Labour Party seem to have made a bigger hash of managing the borough ( see their housing scandels and massive rent rises) Do we really want to see part of our borough managed by council officers in this borough?. What ever you think about Southwark Council's management, it is generally better than that of Lambeth. On another note - Southwark's PCT ( or NHS Southwark) are proposing to join forces with Guys and St. Thomas Trust, Kings College Hospital and I believe Lewisham - to provide joint health care services.