Moos

Alan, perhaps he had cards made up and only realised afterwards that there was a mistake... perhaps he's just moved and doesn't yet know his number well... perhaps he was flustered by her radiant French chic and stumbled but was unwilling to admit his error in his manly pride. What we're discussing here is your basic date movie end-of-the-first-reel Plot Device enabling Boy to lose Girl through a series of unfortunate misunderstandings involving pratfalls and some Shakespearean cross-dressing* so that when the lovers are finally triumphantly reunited at the end, it will feel all the more poignant. *My thanks to M.Palaeologus for the phrasing

Can I join in by whingeing about a well-known Lordship Lane business who can't spell its own products in the many hand-lettered signs outside the shop? What does it say about you if you can't be bothered to get that right?

Sheesh. Is it just me, or is Tarot the person whose very presence at a party makes everyone start to look for their coats? Talk about cold water. *turns out the lights*

Pickle! Still, I must admit I could fancy Caesar from Asterix. And don't get Mockney Piers started on cartoon women.

Can I just check, in case you are bad with spelling as well as numbers - is that Rothchild or Rothschild? Is this a re-run of The Student Prince?

Dearest huncamunca, the most innocent of questions I do assure you... and most satisfactorily answered, many thanks. Besides, it made Mockers type a symbolic poo-filled 10,000th post, which I thought most apt. After all, what are we all doing here if not talking shite? If we wanted to say something sensible we'd be on the economist, or badscience, or some political forum or other. Or the Cats Protection League, you know the sort of thing.

Dammit! I was querying an apparent tautology and now I just look like some kind of weirdo with a sideways bottom.

24 posts, and no-one is commenting on the sit-down poo?

Very good advice from alieh (hee hee, my phone keeps trying to change your name to 'alien'). The magic 4 month mark when they change so much anyway is a good time to gently start implementing routine. But feeling trapped in the house because you have to put bubs down for a million naps is No Fun. When Twosling was super-tiny I spent almost all my time out and about, partly because we had builders in the house and partly because it was great to be free to do what I liked. Not so easy these days.

True, I don't know whether they'd recommend it for such a little one. We started when Twosling was just under 5 months. I do think compromise is the answer if routine is what you're after. (If not, just go with the flow.) But at the moment if I've had a frazzly day and Twosling hasn't settled well for a nap I might sling him or buggy him for the next. And though we don't co-sleep / feed to sleep any more, if he wakes early in the morning (say around 6), I'll bring him into our bed to have a feed and a snooze and remind myself how lovely it is to sleep with his little head under my arm. I like the idea that you don't have to solemnly follow one approach alone.

Our sleep clinic lady (Millpond) recommended using a method called gradual retreat to get a baby to learn to settle without the dreaded leaving to cry. It works in stages over a minimum of 33 nights, and it got my little bean who only ever went to sleep on the breast or bottle or dummy to learn to settle himself. Each stage is a minimum of 3 nights, or more if you need - I think they say no more than 5, but not sure as we stuck to 3. Each time once the baby is in deep sleep you wait for 10 minutes to be sure he's settled, and you do it each time he wakes in the night. Stage 1 - rock awake baby to deep sleep in your arms then put in bed Stage 2 - sit with baby in your arms but not rocking, till deeply asleep then put him in bed Stage 3 - put awake baby in bed, and cuddle with arms around until he is deeply asleep (v. uncomfortable, btw!) Stage 4 - stroke baby until asleep Stage 5 - gently pat baby until asleep Stage 6 - hold baby's hand or foot until asleep Stage 7 - sit next to baby till asleep Stages 8-11 basically gradually sitting further away until you're out of sight. Anyway, long-winded response to sb's comment - now if I'm trying to settle Twosling for his naps I'll start with putting him down with a kiss and a cuddle and then immediately leave the room. Sometimes he settles, sometimes he cries. If he cries, I go back in and depending on how upset he is either cuddle him in bed with my cheek on his till he calms down, or gently stroke his head with my other hand on his tummy, and as he settles gradually withdraw my touch. So it's like a sort of mini-reprisal of the stages. It works sometimes. And sometimes he's having none of it, and yells his head off until I give up and get him up, and we just tick off another day and start again in the morning. Don't know if that's useful at all! Haven't cracked naps yet. But working on it..

You didn't say how long you've been doing it for, but I was told it will take 2 or more likely 3 weeks of consistent putting the baby down at the same time every day, and eventually they get used to it. We'll see!! :) We're not there yet either..

bobbly, goodness knows I'm not defending Tarot's trolling nonsense but his comment refers to another thread. You will find if you read it that the vast majority of posters find gollies and the term golliwog to be racist.

Perhaps try combining methods? Stick to trying to get her used to sleeping at home for one nap/day - either the first one of the day, which I have found to be the easiest one where the babies are tiredest (weirdly) and most suggestible, or the key middle-of-the-day one, which will be the one that hangs around for years. I wouldn't give up, unless you want to be like me and doing nap training at 6 months, but don't kill yourself putting her down in the cot all day. Best of luck!

My golf-mad dad certainly thought so. All respects to him.

Could you incorporate some of your other thematic dislikes into this thread for our amusement? Cats in Italian restaurants in Whitstable, for example? Royalist pasta-loving coastal moggies? But I don't want to be too prescriptive. Art must have its freedom.

"Isn't it interesting how other people have made different life choices from mine. Still, live and let live, eh? How petty it would be of me to try to "correct" their ways of living their lives."

*buys 2 tickets to Paris for self and TedMax* *fights off annaj, RosieH, PGC and other groupies*

You can't quite sing it to the tune of 'Take Good Care Of My Baby". But almost.

Tarot Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > At every opportunity Hughnot throws in the race > card,or the religous one ,he was pointed out to me > in a pub actually > by someone from this forum. > In his., forties,No;one haircut,jeans and sports > jacket and jeans,glasses and asian looking. > Seemed a pleasant enough person at the time. > I cant understand why people come here to > live,when they despise Englishmen so much. This is splendid. Not only an Indian, but an Immigrant, and an Anglophobic one to boot!

Check references carefully, visit the sites and talk to the owners. Have a tight contract with payment based on percentage of work completed, with holdbacks, as Huguenot suggested.

Bunny19 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Oooo mrs Patterson.............. out of order imo

Jeremy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > "We live in Peckham - not East Dulwich, not > 'Bellenden Village'... Peckham". I thought we weren't targeting them?! "I rather like Radio 2. Or Classic FM when we have visitors - it's just that bit more elegant"

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrreeggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

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