Growlybear

I've had my Kindle for about 2 years and I love it. I particularly like the way that if I want to continue reading a book on my iPhone or iPad, it automatically takes me to the exact point I was up to on my Kindle. Like other posters, I like having it linked with my Amazon account. There are so many free books on offer that I don't think I've paid for a book for over a year- it's made me read loads of books that I quite probably wouldn't have tried if I'd had to pay for them.

I have spent the last year being treated for breast cancer and I would just love this person to knock on my door. I can think of a few choice things I would like to say to him.

I don't think it's necessary to spend loads on a steam mop. I bought a Holme steam mop from Asda a few months ago when they were on special offer at ?20 (reduced from the normal price of ?30) and it's brilliant.

I don't see why it should offend the other child's mother if you decide not to let your daughter go. I suppose it would be impractical to let her go to the party but not go trick or treating? I do agree with you in hating trick or treating, and it's one of the few things that I always refused to let my daughter do.

I am a little puzzled that, by supporting my daughter in choosing what she felt was the best education, I am being labelled as pathetic. It was nothing to do with me or my husband that we had a child who was particularly bright, but I think we had a responsibility to support her in achieving as much as she wanted to. We moved her from her infants school because the school did not provide differentiated work and she was getting really bored. We were lucky enough to get a place in a really outstanding junior school where she, along with every other child, had their individual needs met and nurtured, regardless of how academically able they were, and every child was encouraged to achieve to the best of their ability. We looked at most of the local secondary schools, state and public; my daughter didn't like Sydenham, Waverley, Haberdashers', or Prendergast, and SHE didn't think that they would challenge and stretch her enough. We applied to Newstead Wood because we lived in their catchment area (which has since been slightly reduced) and my daughter found the general atmosphere really stimulating when we looked round the school. She sat the entrance exam, got a place, and wanted to accept that place in preference to all the other offers she had received. A 10 mile journey to school with extremely easy connections, was hardly arduous. I have not said that what was the best education for my daughter would necessarily be the best for anyone else's child - every child is an individual with different needs. Personally, I believe that my daughter made the right choice FOR HER, and I don't think that she would have been as motivated or achieved as well at most other schools. She had only one chance at getting the right education for her and thankfully she made the right choice. Supporting her in choosing to attend a secondary school that anyone in the catchment area can apply for is, I believe, good parenting rather than pathetic.

Sorry, but I interpreted your responses towards my posts in this thread as being somewhat aggressive. I was clearly wrong. :)

The OP asked for people's experiences, and I gave mine. I can't see anywhere where I've suggested that every child is the same.

I agree, LondonMix. The decision my daughter made was right for her - she was given complete freedom of choice becasue we wanted her to be happy at school, and it had nothing whatsoever to do with us 'making her travel miles away every day just so she could live out our ambitions'.

Pugwash Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Places like Newstead Woods are very over > subscribed - my grandaughter sat the entry examin > and family were warned that only 100 pupls would > be accepted and they would need to have a pass > rate of 97 - 100%. Over a thousand pupils sat the > exan with my grandaughter, and they took the > highest 100. The vast majority of which had had > private lessons for over 2 years. Granddaughter > was 135 in exam ranking. A friend's daughter got > accept this September and lives in Catford. > Work Colleagues inform me that their children have > applied to Bromley and Bexley Schools as do not > want their children to go to Lewisham Schools - > one child has sat 6 exams for different school. The Year 7 intake at Newstead Wood has been 135 for a number years, not 100, but is being increased to 160 for 2013/14. Unless things have changed dramatically since my daughter was there, most girls did not have private tutoring to prepare them for the exam - the school actively discouraged this on the basis that it is very hard to prepare for the type of entrance tests that the children sit.

We gave our daughter complete freedom to decide which secondary school she went to, and would have supported her decision whichever school she had chosen. She was offered places at Haberdashers', Prendergast, Alleyn's, Old Palace, and Graveney, but was adamant from Year 5 that she wanted to go to Newstead Wood, and made her decision in the knowledge that she would have a long journey, for up to seven years. If she had wanted to go to a local school, she would have done so, but she chose the school that felt right for her, and never had any regrets. I would have been a bit anxious about her travelling on the train from Year 7, and the school coach gave us an easy and convenient alternative until we were satisfied that she was OK using the train. On reflection, there were so many girls catching the train from West Dulwich and Penge East that I think she would have been fine from the outset, but I didn't realise just how many girls commuted from this far away.

My daughter commuted from West Dulwich to Newstead Wood for six years without a problem. For the first year she used the coach service which the PTA arranged from Crystal Palace to the school gates of Newstead Wood and St Olave's, but that was much less reliable (and much more expensive) than the train. The children built up friendship groups on the coach and train, and it was an enjoyable social part of their day. We never found the journey to Orpington an issue at all, and it would have been worth commuting twice the distance for the quality of education that she had. When we were looking at secondary schools, we really couldn't find a local state school that we were prepared to send our daughter to, and although we were tempted by Alleyn's, even with the maximum scholarship the fees would still have made a significant impact on our standard of living, and I don't believe that the education she would have had at Alleyn's would have been any better than Newstead Wood. The drive to Orpington for parents' evenings wasn't onerous - it's a maximum of 45 minutes door to door. And although the school takes children from a wide catchment area, this means that there are so many feeder primary schools that very few girls join the school with pre-formed friendship groups, which makes it much better for everyone to fit in and find new friends. We never found weekend activities a problem - a couple of trips to Bromley, Orpington, or Blackheath in a week really wasn't an issue. I know of a number of boys and girls who have commuted from Forest Hill to Wallington Grammar, and also children who have travelled to the Bexley grammar schools, and Dartford Grammar and none of them have had any regrets.

I can't recommend the Forest Hill Road Group Practice highly enough. Dr McColl is particularly wonderful, but all the doctors there are excellent. I've been with the practice for about 35 years, and have never had any complaints, but since I had a serious illness last year, the treatment I've had from everyone there has been absolutely amazing.

In answer to the OP's question about whether Dulwich Hamlet Junior School really is that good - I would say definitely it is. I transferred my daughter from another local school where we were very unhappy with the standards of teaching and discipline, and couldn't believe the difference. She had a brilliant education at Dulwich Hamlet, and I don't think she could possibly have had a better education if we had paid a fortune to send her to one of the local private schools.

I can't imagine that any school would contact parents to tell them that their child had fallen and grazed their knee. If they did that for every minor accident, the office staff would never be able to get any other work done!

We've eaten at Na Pura several times recently and have been very impressed. Although it's fairly basic, the restaurant has always been spotlessly clean when we've been, and the service has been very friendly and helpful. Most imporantly, the food is wonderful; it's cooked to order so there is inevitably a bit of a wait for some things. I'm sure it can be a bit unnerving to have a dog running up to your table whilst you're eating, but I'm not sure what more the owner could have done than apologise? Contacting the Council to make a formal complaint seems a bit extreme!

I thought that all the remaining K2 phone boxes in London had now been listed, so presumably this one couldn't be removed or sold?

The use of 'would of' etc. really irritates me. My daughter's grammar and punctuation was excellent from a very early age, and I can still remember the look on her face when she showed me a correction that her class teacher had made to a piece of work in her English book at the end of Year 2. The teacher had actually crossed through 'I would have...' and written by the side 'I would of...'. I started looking for another school the next day.

I don't think a wait of a few days is unusual for a routine appointment, but when I've needed to see a doctor urgently, and have explained the reason why to the receptionists, they have always managed to fit me in the same day. I've had a serious illness over the last few months, and everyone at the surgery has been really superb and the level of care I've had couldn't possibly be better.

Whilst I'm not remotely interested in the Olympic Games, and can't wait for it to be over, I can understand that the majority of Londoners don't share my view and will be watching some of the sporting events. But I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would want to stand in the street to watch someone running past carrying an Olympic torch.

I don't understand parents who let their primary age daughters dress like those girls in the photos and wear make up - at 10 or 11 I think it's totally inappropriate. But I am far more disturbed to see that their school is clearly promoting this by publishing the photo on their website for anyone to see. parkview Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > "she said she was thinking of going as a cow" - > that made me laugh, gwod - congratulations on your > down to earth daughter. Otherwise I agree with the > sentiment here - I saw this photo recently in a > newspaper and it just makes me feel sad: > > http://www.castlefortjmischool.co.uk/2011/07/prom/ > prom-2011-020-copy/

Whilst I haven't got any complaints with the service provided by the vets at Lordship Lane, I will happily pay more to go to the new practice, just to avoid the Receptionist at LL, who must be the most unhelpful, rudest woman I have ever encountered in this sort of job. If my cats didn't get so traumatised by the car journey, I would have gone elsewhere years ago.

I agree Caroline, but I don't think it's as weird as taking the pictures in the first place (unless of course you were involved in the accident in some way and needed photographic evidence). Caroline_S Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Am I the only one to think it's a bit weird to ask > for photos of a horrible sounding crash to be > posted, let alone post them and look at them? > Takes rubber necking to a whole new level. > Fortunately the driver sounds as though he was > okay, but what if he wasn't? Would you post photos > then?

Do people seriously pay to sit on the top floor of the multistorey car park in Peckham for a drink?

We aren't religious and so did not ask anyone to act as godparents with Growly jnr because we didn't think it was appropriate. We made sure that our wills made it clear who we would want to look after her if anything should happen to us.

I've been with Forest Hill Road Group Practice for about 35 years now, and have always found that they provide a superb service. Since I was diagnosed with a serious illness in the autumn, I couldn't have been treated better. I've never found it difficult to get through on the phone, whatever time of day I ring, and always manage to speak to someone within a couple of minutes, even at peak times. Although there can be a couple of weeks wait to see a particular doctor, especially the more popular part time GPs, I have always, without exception, been able to see a doctor the same day if I need to. I find the reception staff really sympathetic and helpful, especially the delightful young dark haired man who really has gone out of his way to help me on more than one occasion. I have also found that if I need telephone advice, one of the GPs rings me back promptly. I think it's a brilliant practice and nothing would make me consider changing.