Pugwash

The Children and Young People Centre ( Michael Rutter Centre) at the Maudsley may be able to give some advice

There was a TimeBank in ED but it does not appear to have run for about a year - it was lead by one of the Housing Associations in ED and met at the Community Centre

Although I may moan and get down about hubby, I would much rather be with him than without him. We did have a trial seperation many years ago when his illness cost him yet another job ( he has had around 40 jobs since his late teens) but we saw each other every day and I worried too much about him being on his own. Our 30 year plus marriage I think has survived that long as we each have our own interests and groups of friends plus joint interests. I go and do my community work thing when he is down so have some company and respite from the depression. Is there sufficient interest for a one off social meeting for all EDF bipolar carers/sufferers, just to exchange views etc. I am very connected with the ED Community Centre and could possibly get some meeting space

My hubby when not in a depression, is thoughtful,helpful, fun to be with (most of the time) very interested in Art and Music. Delivers leaflets for Dulwich Picture Gallery and attends many of their events, goes to Poetry reading groups, helps with our residents association and community centre, helps out at a hospice shop, walks a friend's dog, swims and goes to the gym. He tries when he is 'normal - high' to keep himself occupied, but I have to watch him as he can easily wake up one day in a deep depression and then rarely get out of bed for 3 - 6 months and lose a stone in a week from not eating. Those periods are the worse - long periods of silence, being on my own - I tend to work late until 7.30 or 8 pm and go into work at weekend so that I am doing something constructive and stop myself from getting low as well with the pressure We both have a odd sense of humour and do much bantering. I am lucky that I am rarely off sick from work and I have been told that I am a positive influence on my colleagues as I can see situations from a carers point of view and can emphasise with many of my clients

As long as they still have a disabled loo downstairs

I had a case this week where a lady fell in Penge, LAS were going to take her to Mayday A & E, son kicked up a fuss so LAS took her to Kings.If this happens to people in Lewisham - they are more likely argue for a Kings or St. Thomas's A & E rather than PRoyal or QE. Many people when taken to A & E at Kings are often admitted for overnight stay in Observation or Clinical Decision Wards for further assessment - some are returned home others admitted. Unless there is some arrangements made a Lewisham patient could come to Kings, stay on Obs or CDU, and admitted. It could be that once patient assessed as needing further in patient stay, a lewisham resident from Blackheath, would be transferred back to Lewisham Hospital. I gather from the paper today that over the festive period, mums in labour were sent to QE and PR as Lewisham and Kings maternity Units were full. There is a danger that medical information readilly available at one hospital would not be so easily accessed at another.

As part of my job, I am required to assess Southwark residents who find themselves in non Southwark Hospitals. From camberwell by ordinary car during the day it can take upto an hour to get to QE Hospital in Woolwich (so around 30 - 45 mins from lewisham borders). Due to the poor transport links to QE most people arrive by car. To find a parking space it took me over an hour as my 'official hospital badge' at the time did not allow me to park anywhere not a KCH site, so had to join the wait with others People living near the Lewisham end of Southwark i.e Forest Hill Road/Brenchley Gardens, Woodvale, Sydenham Hill usually get taken to Lewisham A & E rather than Kings and admitted to Lewisham Hospital. Under the new system they would go either to Kings, Bromley or Woolwich. Kings was on Red Alert last week and trying to discharge people quickly from the wards to free up beds - with more people arriving via A & E Kings could be overloaded

I have been informed that ED police station has now been sold off. Currently housing CID officers whilst Walworth PS is being refurbished, and also the Safer neighbourhood team. Once these teams have moved on. the place will close down. The CID officer who informed me stated that he thought that a property developer had purchased site

Just to add to previous post, I was a part of a research programme run by the Institute of Psychaitry some years ago, and our cohort group were carers/parents/siblings of people with severe mental health problems. We met weekly for so many weeks and had discussions with medical personnel, pharmacists, social workers and Community Psychiatric Nurses. The parents in the group found it very hard to discuss their 'child's illness' and saw it as a stain on their child rearing practices. At the end of the 12 weeks, we all had to feed back what we had gained from the group, I said that I felt a fraud in many ways as my husband had always been open about his illness and I had a choice whether to accept him and the black dog or reject them both. I had made the decision to accept him, but they (the parents) had no choice when their child was involved. Both my husband and I have always been open about his illness, my employer knows my situation and I work flexi hours. It helps that I am in a health and social care job, and deal with many people with complex health/mental health needs. Sometimes as a carer, I cannot stand my husband, and think how much easier life would be without the worry and stress, but I have to remember that it is the illness that I cannot stand, not the man.

My husband has bi polar and was diagnosed 40 plus years ago. Fortunately has never been sectioned and rarely goes off his medication. However, he did lose his job after having several periods of depression over the past 5 years and was medically retired at age 58. Applied for ESA but got turned down as his occupational pension was ?2 higher than the amount allowed to earn.Also he was assessed as being fit to work full time! he is very involved in the BiPolar Support Groups - the nearest to ED meets in Beckenham. According to the 'Pendulum' the journal of Bipolar UK - there is a Northern Ireland support group - more details from www.bipolaruk.org.uk or ring 01270 230260. If your brother is in Eire - I am sure the BiPolar UK folk can give you and alternative organisation in that region. When I was working at the Maudsley - we frequently had medics from Ireland who trained at the Institute of Psychiatry and went home to head up CMHT. Dr. Nick Stafford is one of the leading lights in the Bi Polar movement, if you want more reading material It may ne necessary for your brother to seriously consider whether his daughter presents a risk to herself or others i.e. risk of suicide, putting herself into dangerous situations. She may need a Mental capacity assessment to determine whether she has the capacity to understand her medical condition and to refuse treatment. The last resort is being sectioned - not something that can be done lightly but in some cases the only means of making someone safe. SANE is another organisation that can offer advice and support as well as MIND. My husband over the past 10 years has had several sessions of CBT and although they helped initially for a short time, he was not able to sustain his motivation and quickly went back into deep depressions. What is interesting from this thread, is the number of ED residents who have Bi polar. My in laws both had mental health problems - Mother in law was bi polar and so was her uncle, father in law was a depressive. My husband's daughter by his first marriage is bi polar but refuses to seek medical help.

have you contacted the CASSEL Centre in Forest Hill - this is a counselling and social work centre and has many years experience with counselling/psychotherapy/social work students. Number is in phone book. Ask to speak to Christine. she is the executive manager.

Check what was in the Discharge letter which she should have got a copy of when she left the ward. GP should also have same copy but get a photocopy of your mother's to give to surgery

The next Give and Take Day will be held at the East Dulwich Community Centre on Sat. 16th February - look out for the adverts with times etc.

Lots of people off with Norovirus and another flu type bug, I heard that at least half of the workforce in our community based office were ill last week.

Pot hole by cycle lane at lights outside the Plough Pub - quite a big one.

Grandson number 1 was not communicating at 2 years of age and this was picked up by Health visitor although his mother did not think anything wrong, I had suspected something when he was around one, but he appeared to hear things ( I did very basic things like drop something behind him to see his reaction, called his name, rang bells etc). Hubby thought I was imagining things when I stated that grandson did not babble, hubby himself did not talk until he was 2 and then spoke both English and Polish. Grandson was diagnosed with language delay and since there was a year's wait for a Speech and lanaguage Therapist, was enrolled part time in a special needs nursery where he picked up some speech. Later diagnosed with mild learning disabilities and speech delay and was given extra help during most of his schooling. His younger brother, now 3, also rarely speaks and has been diagnosed with language delay ( the middle 2 children had no problems). What has been noticeable that his mother rarely converses with him, she talks around him and at him but not with him.

I also deliver leaflets for the local Resident's Association and ignore the Junk Mail signs as these leaflets give informative information about local events/planning applications/social events/workshops. My recycling blue bag is right by the door, any estates agents/virgin media/pizza leaflets go straight in the bag

Andrew Brock

I was at home last week during the day and the bell went - I opened the door and the chap there looked a bit surprised and asked me if he could wash my car. I said no and he moved on. Did not go to my neighbours - I wondred whether he was sussing the joint. Youngish (20s) olive skinned fellow in jogging pants looked either Eastern Euopean or light skinned asian

My Mum when she was diagnosed as having renal failure and needed 3 times weekly dialysis, to a certian extent gave up and nothing we did seem to please her. We were all aware how frail she became physically and how tired she was, but she was mentally alert most of the time but hated to be with others outside her home environment. She complained of being lonely, we visited every week at weekends and took her shopping and had tea with her. Grandchildren and great Grandchildren, phoned weekly and visited every 2 - 3 weeks. Mum was included in all family events - birthdays, meals out, festive seasons etc yet nothing satisfied her. She disliked meeting people her own age as she thought them either boring or 'too noisy' Some Day Centres are open at Weekends - Fred Francis in LL takes people with dementia but your Mum would need a Needs Assessment from a Social Worker to check whether she meets the eligibility criteria for attendance. However, saying that, most day centres are used to prevent a breakdown in caring ( does your father care for your Mum full time?) The East Dulwich Community Centre is used most weekends (Saturdays - dance classes followed by a Saturday school) but is genrally available for hire from around 5.30 - 10 pm. Sundays at the centre are pretty full, but there is generally a 2 - 3 hour slot late afternoon. If there is sufficient need for carers and their elderly relatives to meet socially, maybe once a month or so, I am sure that the Centre Management Committee or the Barry Area Resident's Association maybe able to lay something on. I work professionally with mainly elderly people and their carers, so am aware of the isolation/anxiety/need for support. If enough people contact me either via a PM or through the Forum, I am happy to see if something can be arranged for the New Year. The only thing the Centre would not be able to do is organise transport. Centre is fully wheelchair accessible, has a hearing loop system and disabled loos.

fantastic photos

A shop where you could purchase toasters, microwaves, computer accessories, hoovers etc instead of having to go to large outlets of sainsburys/homebase. Clothes shop selling reasonable price clothing for those of us who are size 18 plus,

With my younngest I went back to work when she was 4 months old having secured a workplace nursery place, I went back to the same organisation but to a Human Resource Manager post at the same grade as my previious education post. Later got promotion and travelled to Bow each Day. When my daughter was 5 years old, I took redundancy and went to Uni for 3 years, then did a postgraduate professional diploma and qualified as a social worker in 1995

Having been a life time East Dulwich Resident I have mixed views. In the late 70s and early 80's research by the then GLC found that Alleyn Ward (pre runner to ED Ward) had a high number of people over 65 living in sub standard housing without indoor bathrooms and toilets, Thhe GLC put in ?millions to create the Area Improvement and Modernization Programme (AIM) The first energy proficient houses were developed in Whately Road ( they became HQ to AIM) and local residents representing every street in the ward and the different tenures (i.e. private rented, council, HA, owners)met every couple of months to plan how they wanted ED to look. Every single house was surveyed and grants given for work - guttering, roofing, central heating, bathrooms, pointing etc and for around 3 years ED was being spruced up. What was even more significant was that a sense of community was emerging as neighbours, who had never spoken, talked about the work being done to their homes, different ages communicates and mixed. ED always had a high 'immigrant' population - people from the Caribbean, Asia, Turkey and Greece - houses having been fairly cheap to buy (Landells Road sold for ?10,500 and you could buy a 4 bed house in Barry Road for under ?17,000) but many found themselves isolated from the indiginous population. A vibrant multi cultural and multi aged community began to emerge and 3 Residents Associations were formed - the Pellatt Area (PARA) North Cross Area (NARA) and Barry Area (BARA) with high numbers of residents in each association each having a senior citizens group. The Alleyn Community Centre ( now ED Community Centre) was obtained from Southwark Council and opening 7 days a week for community events and activities. Unfortunately, the community spirit to some extent has now been lost, 2 residents association ceased to exsist as people prefered to remain at home and just see their friends or watch TV and were not interested in forming committees and doing voluntary work. Only the BARA remains - and that struggles at times to reinvent the community spirit. From a poor shopping area - LL has become, to a certain extent, 'overpriced' (?5 for a loaf of bread, ?4.50 for a pot of tea) a reflection to some extent of it's residents. With the debate over Iceland/M & S/Waitrose it is clear that many prefer the higher price market ( agree there are some quality goods at reasonable prices). The good has been the number of restaurants suiting all tastes and pockets - Indian Mischief, Blue Brick Cafe, Swardish, Emily's fish shop and the fact early closing days are virtually non existent. This may reflect current economic state but as a worker, I do appreciate to be able to shop on Sundays. Statutory services such as GP surgeries, schools etc have failed to keep up with the population growth. As I approach retirement, I would like to downsize but still keep my ED roots, but the house prices are so high that I would only gain around ?40.000 by selling my current home and purchasing one half the size. We have a good GP and would want to keep within The Gardens catchment area as both hubby and I have disabilities. I would hazard to guess that in 10 years time ED will begin to be less prosperous as families move out to more affordable areas with a variety of schooling opportunities - just as the Clapham crowd moved over to ED

I agree with James that some council officers make bad decisions and do not check their facts. Many years ago, the Dulwich Medical Centre wanted to expand to a neighbouring community facility and made enquiries to Southwark Council. Officers there informed DMC that the premises were used for a few hours in the morning by around 20 children, and since it was council owned premises, they felt that DMC had a good chance of being able to purchase the site.A petition was drawn up with over 2 ( or was it 3) thousand names on it from local people who wanted to retain that facility. What the council officer did not check was that this was a vibrant community centre used by over 500 people a week from 9 am - late night 6/7 days a week. The then leader of the council was asked questions in the Town Hall and it transpired that the council officer was more moved by the possible sale of a valuable piece of land,than to checking out facts. They had visited the centre whilst the morning playgroup was in session and decided that a play group was an insignificant user of the premises and could easily be disbanded or find alternative premises.