Pugwash

Thanks for the posting. It is good to get a positive response.

My husband is a volunteer at the Hospice Shop - the amount of donations can be overwhelming and all bags have to be carefully sorted as some people bring in broken/dirty/torn items in black bags and just dump them at the counter. Staff have fallen over the bags and injured themselves, and there is also the question of health and safety to both the public and staff/volunteers - should a fire break out it would quickly spread . When we cleared out my mother's flat, the Sydenham branch told us they could not accept anymore stuff as they were overwhelmed - we ended up spreading the load by visiting 6 other charity shops.

Hopefully the child's parents have made an official 'complaint' in writing to both the head and chair of governors. The pen knife carrying child may be imitating something he/she has seen in their own environment or on TV etc and does not understand the seriousness of their actions. It may well be an older child 10 plus - and if this case would be aware of the situation as if I recall 10 years of age means that they are deemed to know legally right from wrong. It is essential that your nephew is not put into a situation where he is afraid to go to school as this could have long lasting consequences. Parents should try and get an appointment with the head if not during the holidays (many heads work during this time to catch up on paperwork) at least within the first couple of days of the new term. I would also talk to your neighbourhood police team if there is no police liaison officer attached to school, for advice.

Yes I remember that row, Charter kids could walk the short cuts via Greendale to get to the Denmark Hill estate but this was not considered as a safe walking route by Charter. I know of a family who sold their house just off Barry Road, to rent a property near Charter to get their daughter into the school. Both parents had good jobs and were able to afford the rental costs for around a year and kept the house sale money intact to use to purchase another house in different area after the daughter had started at Charter. Never heard whether daughter got into Charter and where they ended up moving to.

I am aware of the 'all inclusive' retirement accommodation McCarthy and Stone are one of the providers of these properties. You can use their care services but as these are private carers/agency the cost is quite high and could amount to a couple of hundred pounds a week. Assuming that the charge is around ?15 per hour and that you need 4 hours care/shopping/domestic/cooking etc per day (?60). Southwark owned Extra Sheltered Housing has on site carers which are paid for and costs are based on user's income and savings. Hyde Housing Extra SHU's also operate on same principle. If Dulwich Mead has their own in house care agency it is understandable that they would not want social services input unless the person requiring care is on limited weekly income. A few years ago, residents in a leasehold block of flats wanted to have the lease of one of their residents, terminated as she had set fire to her flat by falling asleep whilst smoking and under the influence of drink. They asked social services/psychiatric services to deem that this lady to lack capacity and to section her. The lady was deemed to have full capacity and there were no grounds for her to be sectioned. I often wondered what happened with the leaseholders application to the freeholder re this. I talked to a lawyer friend about this time re this case and he advised that it would have to be an extreme case for a leaseholder's lease to be evoked. So I assume that in the case of Hanover - they could not evict.

Thanks - will pass this info onto relative - she does not have a computer. Did hear from an old work colleague who had some past dealings with a lady in the Unit (who I believe has since died) that social services had arranged for their carers to go into this lady, but the warden/manager refused them entry and told the resident that she had to arrange private carers and had to go through her. I gather social services made a formal complaint to Hanover re the interference and attitude of the warden. As stated this was around 3 years ago.

Relative viewed a property there some years ago but did not have all her questions answered by the then warden/manager, whom she felt was rather evasive. Hanover Housing failed also to answer her questions and subsequently became difficult to contact as they did not return her phone calls. Bearing in mind that things do change over a period of time, and my relative getting older, she is considering retirement properties again and would like to remain in the Dulwich/Herne Hill area. IF information she has is correct, the same warden/manager is still in post.

I am posting this on behalf of an elderly relative in relation to Dulwich Mead Sheltered Housing. Hanover Housing own the freehold and appear to be going down the leaseholders route rather than their former private rented route (some years previously). Relative has been given contradictory information - that all leaseholders/residents have to be 'independent' and should they require carers in the future, this could invalidate their leasehold status. Contradiction appears to be that many residents at Dulwich Mead have carers either via Southwark Social Services or private carers arranged by the warden/manager. That should the resident have mobility problems and cannot get to the intercom to let in carers, key safes are not permitted nor are carers, (or even relatives) are not allowed keys. Hanover Housing do not appear to want to confirm or deny this information and are very difficult to contact. Whilst my relative is physically and mentally able and does not need care, she is aware that sometime in the future her needs may change physically, or she may develop dementia - and will require carers to enable her to live a reasonably 'independent life' and to remain in her own home. There is also the role of the warden/manager - who appears to be available weekdays only and is not on site. Again conflicting reports as to the duties of this person, and whether they extend to purchasing private care packages. There does not appear to be a property available to purchase at the moment, so before showing an interest in purchasing and going on a waiting list, my relative wants to be assured that this unit is suitable for her current and future needs. She has visited in the past this building and likes the layout etc. If she purchases a one bedroom flat, she understands that there is a guest room available for short stay visitors, (for a fee per night). She has received both good and bad reports of this unit and does not know how accurately these reports are bearing in mind people have different expectations of what a sheltered housing unit can provide. Also has anyone any concerns about the fabric and maintenance of the flats/building.

Not every one has email or on line accounts. What about parcels?

Some time ago a work colleague watched in amazement as a couple of men angle ground the wheel clamp but on their car.

I suggest you make yourselves known to the local Alzheimer's Group as they are often asked about private carers. You obviously have a DSB and references.

OFSTED Results are not always indicative of a 'good all round school' as they do not include certain aspects. My daughter, many years ago viewed a 'Very Good' school for her then young daughter. having been taken around the school by the head, she decided not to put her daughter's name down. When I asked why - she explained that the school was too quiet, and although children were set round in groups at tables, there was no interaction with each other and this was apparent throughout the infant section - she acknowledged that they were all polite - saying good morning to head and herself. As she worked with special needs young adults, she asked out of curiosity what their SEN provision was and support. She was horrified to hear that the head had confirmed that they had an autistic child but he looked 'normal' and was well behaved so he did not stand out. Admittedly my grand daughter is now 18 so we are talking 12 plus years ago - she ended up going to a school which was rated good but needed some minor improvements. She was considered to be bright and eventually went on to achieve As and A* in 9 GCSEs.

The decision to inherit share at 25 years was our choice, and agreed with by both our solicitor and the finance/stockbroker company. The eldest grandchild is now 22 and is slowly growing in maturity so hopefully when 25 will be 'mature'. He has indicated that he wants some of the money reinvested but we will see if this is still his idea when 25. We also sought advice from an independent accountant to check tax situation.

We did a trust fund for 4 of the grandchildren as we had inherited some substantial stocks and shares and due to the complexity of cashing them in, we were advised to transfer them into a trust Fund which is managed by the finance fund/stockbrokers who had set up the original portfolio. Since the grandchildren cannot inherit until they are 25, the trustees have a bank account where the interest from the portfolio is transferred on a regular basis which trustees can access to pay for school trips and essentials. William Bailey solicitors drew up the Trust Fund at a very reasonable cost.

If you are the only person occupying a home you can get 25% off your council tax. Surrey Council were going to put up their CT by 17% !! We are luckier than most re Southwark Council. Bromley only provide open top bins for recycling waste and not wheelie bins, in fact in some parts of the borough they do not provide any form of wheelie bin and their CT is quite high. They charge per item for bulky refuse collection to a maximum number of items per annum. West Sussex do not in general provide recycling bins - it literally down to the individual district councils.

I assume that Lyndhurst school has your Caldecot Road address with possible emergency contact being your parents? As far as I recall, Caldecot Road is SE5 and comes under Lambeth. You may actually be nearer Charter 1 as they originally went as far as Denmark Hill one year - not sure if this is still the case. Popular schools will ask for proof of address i.e. utility bill, tenancy agreement and some have asked for 2 years worth of proof as many parents are using a different address just to get into school of choice.

I went to a meeting where Vincent Cable was guest speaker. He was quite entertaining.

We live in Barry Road and both our daughters went to Sydenham School from St. Anthony's - however this was many years ago.

My eldest daughter went with them in the 1980s and enjoyed it.

I have heard of popular schools asking for at least 2 years council tax bills and utility bills to establish genuine residency.

The idea was a national scheme I believe ( I suppose an extension of the existing NI scheme) and contributions graded according to income bands. Not really a 'private medical scheme' as all workers would be enrolled into it.

When I was studying Social Policy for my degree many moons ago, the Welfare State was set up to address the chronic health needs of the country and was originally based, if I recall, on the German system. The aim was that raising the status of people's health over a generation, would then see the gradual introduction of an insurance based system. The idea being once that people achieved a high standard of health and were able to work, they could afford to pay insurance via their employers/insurance schemes which would cover medical expenses. This is certainly the norm in most European countries.

Gumboots After School club collect from St. Johns and also run a 4 week summer holiday club based at the East Dulwich Community Centre. if I remember correctly it runs from 8 - 6 pm.

The Gardens area doe not extend to Queens Road.

The sticker thing re toilets - I believe was launched by Southwark some years ago - not sure whether it got off the ground. A number of pubs and cafes clearly state that the use of toilets are for customers only. Also in some cafes, you need to be able to access stairs/steps to get to loos, not ideal for those with mobility difficulties or with young children in tow.