Pugwash

I also had cats when I was pregnant - advise from GP/Health Visitor etc. Get someone else to clean out the litter tray, or if you have to do it, wear disposible gloves. Wash cat bowls etc seperately from family china, and wash hands after each contact with cat/kitten. I would not foster cat out - may ruin a 'good relationship' with her.

With house prices so high, I am aware of a number of young families who have moved into private rented property in East Dulwich over the past 18 months. I believe that many of these families who would normally have moved onto other area when child reached reception class age, have decided to stay in ED. These families statistics would not have featured on any LA data base as the children were unlikely to have been born in Southwark. As a Health and Social Care Worker, I know from colleagues in Kings, especially the Registrars etc - that many now rent in ED and have young children. With 2 large hospitals (KCH and Maudsley)- it is inevitable that a small percentage of staff living in rented accommodation will have primary aged children. As these 2 hospitals have a high reputation, they attract visiting specialists from abroad who come with their families for 2 - 3 years to gain additional experience before returning home. When I worked at the Maudsley I was introduced to many psychaitrists from Eastern Europe, South America etc who were over here with their families and living in ED and whose children were in local schools. Their income did not allow them to pay for private schooling, so were entitled to attend state schools. What I am basically trying to say that statistics can only predict - statistics predicted that lots of people would buy properties in ED, and various blocks of flats were erected which now lay empty as nobody predicted the credit crunch.

Need some help in getting back to work? Come along to the East Dulwich Community Centre on Monday 5th October and get some ideas. Please see attached.

As a 'Old time Mum' my 2 girls were completely different in their homework approaches. The older one - had to be nagged, the younger one - had to be encouraged to stop working as very often spent hours perfecting her essays etc. They got home about 4.30 made themselves a snack, used to watch 'Neighbours' then did some work before evening meal and went back to it after meal. Both had homework each night in their primary school which took them about an hour, so were used to a routine when changed schools. GCSEs - usually had homework for about 3 - 4 hours a night including at least part of a weekend. A levels - about same amount but had more free time during day.

A work colleague and I were ticketed outside our workplace in Camberwell. We were in a Residents Parking area and had permits allowing us to park anywhere in Southwark. All other colleagues with same parking permits were ignored. We appealed, sent photccopies of our permits. Got letter backto say parking fine had been cancelled. View was that the warden did not know that the letters AS meant all Southwark!!

Re Council tax collection. My experience of Southwark Council is that although the councillors are usually pretty on the ball, they are let down by many of the officers who work for Southwark. Some are incompetant, others lazy, some so overworked that they can never catch up. On the whole most southwark employees are good, but those who are agency workers do not always have the same vested interest in the job. Always had a good service from our 3 LibDem Cllrs - best to meet them in person at the East Dulwich Community Centre. Or write rather than email as they get so many emails from various sources it is easy to overlook a couple.

SE22 arrived today but Living South I have not had for over 6 months. A work colleague living in Crystal Palace used to get it as well and pointed out that he had not received a copy at all this year

Sea Cow was originally Gente's menswear. 6 Lordship lane was part of Maudlsley Hospital CMHT it later moved into the old Southwark Libraries double shop ( where it still residing). Granda TV rentals is where locksmith is now. Locksmith used to be where kodack shop is now. Foxtons was orignally DHSS, and before that in the 1960s, Woolies.

St Andews Lodge Hotel in Selsey Sussex. Have a single level annexe of rooms and large garden, very dog friendly. Does B & B only around ?70 a night for double room in high season. Plenty of areas to walk round. Beach can be used outside the main holiday season.

Used carry cots with daughters but moses baskets with grandchildren. Moses baskets as people have said, mobile, convenient etc. Used both carry cot and basket in full size cot as well, as the children were secure and safe in a confined area, but became familiar with the cot environment so when too big for the moses basket etc, settled down happilly in the cot. Must admit after about 2 - 3 months, a pram was more convenient to use downstairs, especially those which allowed the babies to sleep flat.

i agree with an earlier writer re OFSTEAD reports.My daughter who lives in Orpington was very keen to get her daughter into a very good primary school which OFSTEAD had praised to the hilts. When she visited school, hated it. Taken around by the head, each classroom was quiet, children very polite and stood up when she and head entered the classroom, obviously high standard of work on the walls. Daughter asked about special needs support ( although her child did not have special needs, daughter worked with special needs teenagers and was interested in possible support). Head told her that they had only one special needs pupil who was autistic but he had Asperger's Syndrome and looked 'normal' so did not standout to other pupils. Daughter, visited another school, noise of children working happilly in classrooms, equally polite, good standard of work on the walls. same questions asked about special needs provision- totally different answers gave details of special needs catered for and teaching methods. OFSTEAD report average to good. My grandaughter has been at that school for 5 years and her little brother also attends. Grandaughter is one of 6 pupils in her year who are working at first year secondary school level - the teachers are able to cope with all abilities. Daughter extremely glad she was not taken in by the OFSTEAD report of first school. Her questions about special needs provision was motivated by having friends with special needs children whose education needs were only discovered in their first year of primary education. She said to go into a school with 150 children and find it quiet, seemed unnatural.Whereas she would have equally been horrified at a school which had excessive noise bordering on uncontrollable. School 2 had proved to her that children were accepted 'as children' and not 'minature adults'. What I am trying to say in this long rant is that both the parents and child need to feel comfortable in school, obviously good teaching and results are important as is school discipline, but it is the wider emphasis of the school which is more important in some instances. Their standing in the local community - what their near neighbours feel about the behaviour of parents and kids at delivery and collection times, the effectiveness of their PTA ( some schools will not allow PTAs to exsist)how willing are the families to support the school practically and at fund raising events. My youngest went to a very good local school but being a church school, the catchment area was Dulwich, Forest Hill, Nunhead, Peckham and Camberwell. Educational standards were high but when it came to fund raising or attending parents evening, the turnout was poor- with only about a quarter of the parents bothering to turn up - school was just a place where the children could be cared for to allow the parents to get onwith their own lives. I would advise visit the schools you may be interested in, have an individual tour round, make sure you go near a break period so you can judge kids outside the confines of the classroom, go back and take your kids to view andget their responses.

Years ago my youngest went to my work place nursery in Westminster, was 40 - 60 mins bus ride. OK whilst fairly young but coming home at night when she was around 1 was nightmare as she would not sit still. Work had another nursery in Bellenden Road so we transferred there - 20 walk in morning. As a parent - you are entitled to ask for a change in your working hours - it may be possible to go in later to avoid the main crush and finish later. My nursery was open from 7.30 - 6.30 pm

I have never been on strike in all my working life (40 odd years). If it was a question of keeping my job with a 1% pay rise or risking cut backs in staffing for a 3% pay rise, I would accept 1%. To me, my working conditions ( flexible working hours) location and my work colleagues, as well as an interesting and varied job, are more important. It is better to work to rule. refuse to do overtime to cover for staff shortages, etc than to strike.

I have found to get into any event at the Libraries - you have to get in fast. When I looked after my grandaughter- I tried to attend the Dulwich Library events as they are just over the road to me. Most things get booked up in less than 24 hours of being advertised - in the 3/4 years cared for grandaughter in holiday times, never managed to get into a single event.

Many years ago there was a brothel in Plough Lane, us locals thought it was a family house with lots of coming and goings. We had at that time a beat bobby who knew everyone and took time to chat, one conversation arose around the 'family' in Plough Lane and we were astonished to hear it was a brothel which the police had been keeping an eye on for some months. The men frequenting the house were getting noiser and were drawing attention to the property. Police decided to visit and later all occupants moved out. Prostitutes have always lived in the ED community - there was a lady who was always 'obliging' somewhere in the Crystal Palace Road area and whenever there was an election on and local parties were canvessing, there was always one person(usually male) who got lured in to the house. Poor things they were thinking she was interested in their manefesto! She was seen as a lovely lady and really caring for her neighbours. If our gentleman is concerned about the comings and goings of this property and does not wish to talk to the police, may I suggest contacting one of the ward councillors. They may make discreet enquiries as to the ownership of the property (especially if it were council)and find some other way to tackle the problem i.e. environmental if condoms were being left in the street etc.

Having always been a working mum - went back to work after baby No 1 6 weeks after birth, but was lucky to have a relative recently retired who loved having my daughter full time. Baby number 2 was 13 years later, went back to work 5 months after birth but was prepared to take upto a year off but managed to get a place in my workplace nursery in Westminster. When she was about a year old, changed to a different work place nursery in Peckham - I started work later so dropped her off on my way to work ( Westminster then Tower Hamlets), hubby collected as he finished an hour earlier than me. I too was the main breadwinner, hubby has a disability and could be off sick for several months, plus a mortgage. My girls are now 23 and 36 and I am still the main breadwinner with a mortgage. My employers offer flexible working, working from home, compressed hours and job sharing and we have staff working between 8 am - 6 pm on flexible start times. It would be worth looking at the possibility of any of the above ideas of working, parents have the right to request a variation in their working hours if they have young children and employers must consider their request seriously and put in writing if they refuse such request.

When my kids went through this stage - I liquidised fruit and made smoothies, carrots got pureed and put into mashed potatoes, custard got coloured green. Basically nothing was as it seemed! One trick we learnt when the kids were older, is not to serve them certain foods, but made sure on the adults plates this food was very obvious, when they moaned why they could not have the same as us, make a statement that this was not food for chldren, 9/10 they ask for a taster and liked it!

The Barry Area Residents Association are aware of the accidents etc in the road. They have forwarded information on to the local councillors and members are looking at all the 'danger spots' . They are in agreement that the extended pavements restrict clear sightings of the main road. Two of the BARA members sit on the East Dulwich SN Police Committee and will be taking back people's concerns to Sgt. Jackson. Ironically, the raised speed table at Goodrich junction had to be lowered as LT buses refused to go up Barry Road as the speed table was too high. Council were forced to lower it which obviously increased the speed which cars could drive down the road. It was public pressure by local people which got the 2 sets of lights at Underhill and Upland Road junction installed in the first instances. BARA can be contacted either at The East Dulwich Community Centre, Darrell Road. SE 22 9NL or c/o 274 Barry Road, East Dulwich. SE 22 0JT. Constructive ideas will be welcomed by the committee. Meetings are on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 8 pm at East Dulwich Community Centre. Next meeting 8th September. Next General Meeting 13th October in conjunction with the East Dulwich Society.

I tend to use my debit card everywhere, so rarely write cheques unless I send off for something by post or give the kids some money. Last Year my mother, who is in her 80s, wheelchair bound, was taken to Comet to purchase a new fridge freezer. Found one she wanted, got all the paperwork done, went to pay with her cheque book and guarantee card, was refused. Cashier noted that the guarantee card was a debit card, told Mum to key in her number on the pad. Mum did not know what she was talking about - turns out that she had never received a PIN for this card,and never had PIN for any previous cards, infact she did not understand what a PIN was initially. When explained,said she would never remember a PIN number as her memory was too poor. Cashier now getting fidgetty, Mum digs out her purse and slowly counts out her pension money ( which we had collected that day) - other people in shop getting annoyed at the wait, not enough in notes so fiddles around with arthritic fingers for loose change, almost in tears. I only had about a ?5 on me - still cashier refused to take cheque. In the end, with Mum protesting loudly, I decided to pay out of my debit card and told her to repay me at home with a cheque. Whilst I can see the arguement about not accepting cheques, many of the older generation still rely on these to pay for large purchases. I think large stores should be more flexible with the older generation, Mum's card would have guaranteed payment for purchases upto ?100.The appliance was about ?120. The Fair Trade Centre at Christ Church will accept cheques provided backed with a valid debit card.

Have not been up that round for decades - the playing fields on that site ( are they still there?) were part of the Inner London Education Authority's playing fields for local schools. Every week, wind,rain or shine us girls from Friern School would be marched up to Homestall Road, changed in their freezing huts and made to play hockey, and practice our athletics. These were in the days of Games and PE being undertaken in white polo shirts and navy blue knickers ( no short skirts/shorts or joggers then) so consequently there were always lone males hanging around watching us through the railings. As I got older, Homestall Road was lovers lane, with many cars with steamed up windows late on Friday and Saturday Nights. Road was unmade then- gave appearance that you were in the countryside!

Myu husband also saw the cat - it did not have a collar on otherwise he would have checked out if any id. He found a dead cat last year and noted down the id details and then rang up the owner. Turned out it was the owner's mum, cat sitting, and the cat escaped as she opened the street door, she was relieved that the cat had been found. A few days later, hubby opened door and cat's 'mum' was there with loads of cat food as a thank you to our cats! Hubby rang up the environment people twice and got fed up hanging on for over 10 minutes.

Any fire is devestating especially with such loss of life. Southwark has the largest number of council properties in London. It was the Labour Councils who in the 60s.70s, 80s who dreamed of massive/dense housing estates from Elephant and Castle to Chrystal Palace, with massive walkways everywhere - they boasted in the 70s that one day you need not have to step out onto the street- you could reach most parts of Southwark by just using the walkways. Fortunately, the Labour council could not get their dream. I worked on the Camden Estate in the 70s - at the time it was the flagship of Southwark. Within a year of opening, it looked shabby, staff were told always to go across the square in pairs as crime was rife. Younsters started fires under the walkways, where people piled their rubbish. I have to attend many Southwark housing estates as part of my job, rubbish is piled up on balconies, wrought iron grilles have been installed over windows and doors as residents are afraid of burglaries. Water damage where tenants baths/wcs/washing machines have over flowed into flats below, the majority having been repaired by the council many times. I have heard of tenants who have ripped fittings off the walls, including water and central heating pipes - then done a moonlight flit. I have seen fire routes where thoughtless tenants have put out old sofas/TVs/Fridges thus narrowing the escape routes, Yes some of the repairs are down to the council, but many of the conditions on these estate can be put down to the small majority of tenants (legal or otherwise)who have no consideration for others. We do not know the circumstances of this fire and why it travelled so quickly We can only mourn the tragic loss of life.

themaninblack Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I think my earlier point about one side of it not > having any markings is the most serious problem. > The council did the whole red tarmac thing (why?!) > and then saw fit not to repaint the lines. As > someone who has suffered the consequences I'd love > to try and get something done. But how? > > My worst junction award goes to this though - > crossing Friern Road when travelling along > Goodrich Road. My bumper is 3/4 of the way across > the road by the time I can see anything coming. I > turn my radio off and wind down the windows > whenever I cross it so I can try and hear cars > approaching. This doesn't help with cyclists > though, who are after all the most vulnerable road > users. i agree, the Barry Road Residents Association was re formed in the 1990s on the back of so many accidents at this junction and local people got together to get the council to do something about this. Unfortunately, since those days the council have put in these extended pavements, and although fewer crashes, still a dangerous corner as views are restricted. I think BARA will have to have another campaign!

I feel really priviledged to have had a less complicated working mum lifestyle. Daughter number 1 - went back to work after 6 weeks as a relative who had retired a year or so earlier, looked after her all day. When she was on holiday, another relative took over. Daughter No 2. Took 5 months off after birth and was given a work place nursery place - travel with baby to County Hall daily was tiring as buses very crowded and sometimes had to stand. After about a year transferred to work place nursery in Bellenden Road ( now Muslim Women's Centre and Youth Service) hubby and I took turns in taking and collecting her. When I worked in Tower Hamlets, I was able to use my car so I drove each morning and hubby picked up on his push bike. Daughter No.1 now has two kids herself - drops them off at Breakfast Club on way to college at 8 am, partner or she collects from after school club. Holidays - mixture of me, sisters in law and friends and occassional holiday play centre.

The Dulwich Safer Neighbourhood Team are focusing on Barry Road at the moment as there have been a number of 'incidents' Sgt. Jackson and his team would be interested in hearing of any crime committed in East Dulwich no matter how minor it seems. Minor crimes when seen in a wider context can sometimes point to a much bigger picture. All the Dulwich Safer Neighbourhood Police Teams give a public report at the Dulwich Community Council and welcome feedback from local residents. I think our police team are brilliant, and very responsive to local residents concerns. They hold regular Police Meetings with residents and it is the local people who determine the priorities that they wish the police to follow. Unless you report an incident, the Police are unlikely to be able to act.