Growlybear

Could anyone give me an idea of their hourly charge please?

We've finally had our broadband fixed after two weeks with no service whatsoever. Despite having been told repeatedly by the idiots in the overseas call centre for almost two weeks that our loss of service was caused by the area fault, the engineer confirmed that it had nothing whatsoever to do with that, and we had lost our broadband because of an old connection which had become faulty. This could have been put right within a couple of days, but instead took two weeks. To say I'm a bit cross is an understatement!

We've had occasional mice over the years and my cats only ever managed to catch one of them. I bought of the ultrasonic plug in deterrents about a year ago, and haven't seen a sign of a mouse since.

Be warned about cancelling your account! I did that on Monday, and they immediately cancelled my voicemail. The only way i could get it working again was to cancel the cancellation! And it's still not working properly!

I've had no broadband for just over two weeks now. I had a text this morning to say that the fault had been fixed, but it hasn't. I have spent over four hours on the phone to Virgin today as I've also lost my voicemail service. I have been told so many different things by different departments today, and am losing the will to live. However, an engineer is finally being sent on Monday, supposedly to fix my broadband. I'll believe it when I see it.

Thank you, but the area check number has confirmed that there are problems with my connection for the last week, and hasn't changed. The text messages I am getting from Virgin also confirm this. I spent over an hour on the phone to different departments from Virginmedia yesterday, all of whom confirmed that the fault is not due to be fixed until the 28th. However, each of the previous dates has gone by without the fault being rectified and I've got little confidence that my broadband will be restored by Friday.

I?m in Wood Vale.

I?ve now been without broadband for almost a week. Despite being told that it would be fixed by 4pm today it isn?t and will now apparently be working by Friday afternoon. I?ve now told virgin to cancel my contract.

We?ve now been without internet access since Tuesday lunchtime. Despite receiving a text to say that the fault was fixed on Wednesday, it isn?t and I?m now being told it will be the 25th. So far virgin are giving me a refund of the princely sum of ?3.14 per day. I work from home and this is really disastrous as mobile phone coverage is really bad in my part of the road. I would change everything to sky but I don?t want surface mounted wiring from the dish to the router/tv box.

Of all the parties I organised for my daughter when she was at primary school, and of all the ones she attended, by far the most popular, and the ones which were remembered, were the parties at home with traditional games like pass the parcel, pin the tail on the donkey, and treasure hunts, most of which could be held outside if the weather is OK. There seemed to be an endless round of pirate gym parties, soft play, bouncy castles, swimming, pottery painting, and other events, with parents all trying to outdo each other with how much they had spent and how elaborate and grown up the party was, but in my experience without fail, the parties which were most talked about on Monday were the ones at home with lots of games. While they're still young, I really don't think children care at all about having parties in expensive venues. So long as there are games to keep them occupied, their closest friends are there, and they have their favourite food with an exciting cake, I think they are happy.

peckham_ryu Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > There?s no solution to this, is there? People who > feel entitled to park where they want to will just > go ahead. Sainsbury?s could do without the hassle > of confronting them. > > For the ladies who park in parents? spaces because > of disability: sorry, I do not understand why you > don?t just park in a disabled bay instead. You > clearly feel it?s disability that?s affecting you, > so use those spaces. Also, getting a blue badge > has nothing to do with cuts - the form is a pain > to complete, it always has been. Even the > Government recommends you get the Citizens Advice > to help you fill it out. But ultimately, you?re > either eligible, or you?re not. It's not always that simple. I don't know about the number of spaces at this branch of Sainsburys, but my mother can only walk a very short distance unassisted, which is why she has a blue badge, and there have been several occasions recently when I have taken her shopping at her local Morrisons to find that all of the disabled bays have been full. We have driven round and round the car park each time trying to find a vacant space near enough to the shop, and in desperation I parked in a mother and baby space a couple of months ago because this was the only space that was close enough for her to be able to get from the car to the store. Whilst I was trying to help my mother from the car to the shop, I was subjected to a tirade of abuse from an apparently fit and healthy woman in her 20s with a baby for using the space. It was very obvious that my mother is in a bad way and finds it extremely hard to walk, but when I tried to explain that all of the disabled bays were occupied (not all of them by people displaying blue badges) she continued with her rant. I'm still a little bewildered by her obvious sense of outrage and clear belief that having a baby for some reason made her more needy that a 91 year old with very serious and obvious walking difficulties.

Without knowing what your daughter did, it's hard to comment on whether the school has acted fairly. For example, if significant new evidence has come to light, there could be reasons why the school would impose a further sanction, although this would be unusual. You should have been informed of your right to make representations to the Governing Body about the exclusion, and the letter from the Headteacher informing you of the exclusion should have set out the details for his/her decision. If you feel that this was unreasonable, you should contact the Clerk to the Governing Body to ask for arrangements to be made for the Governing Body to consider any written representations you might wish to make. The fact that you believe the school may not have excluded any other pupils for the past two or three years is irrelevant.

In all the years that the pay and display parking bays have been in operation on the other side of the road, I've never yet not been able to get a parking space at any time of the day or night. Was there not a vacant space when the OP stopped at the station?

I couldn't agree more. I used the post office for the first time yesterday since it had changed hands and was so disappointed with the changes. I'll be using the post office in Honor Oak in future.

I used to take my daughter to Hewitts Farm, just outside Orpington. They had a huge selection of fruit and vegetables to pick.

This is a well known scam which has been doing the rounds for ages. I've had several calls over the years.

I haven't seen anyone 'cussing out' the OP. Yes, it's not pleasant when things get spilled or dog crap in public areas, but I'm at a bit of a loss to understand why anyone would seem to think that someone else would have liability for damage to their shoes if they didn't notice a huge white paint spill and trod in it!

Did you not notice that you were stepping into paint? If it is a 'huge white paint spill' as you described, surely it was a bit obvious?

Yes that would be about right. At the time my daughter was offered the place, the maximum scholarship was for 33% off the fees. A girl in her class was offered a place at Alleyn's with a full bursary, which as Townleygreen said is awarded on the basis of low income, rather than academic ability. Mick Mac Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Growlybear Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > My daughter went to Dulwich Hamlet and was > offered > > the maximum scholarship to Alleyn's > > For the OP's benefit (and my curiosity) I have > checked and I think this is ?4k per child per year > max deduction from fees.

brockwell_mummy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Thank you so much for your response. Well done to > your daughter! Did you have to engage with lots of > additional tutoring to do it? Was she top of her > class beforehand? How is she finding Alleyns now? > My son would be at Corpus Christi school in > Brixton n- not sure if she had any classmates that > came from there? We turned down the place at Alleyn's because my daughter was offered a place at Newstead Wood, where she had a superb education which I don't think could possibly have been better at any of the local public schools, and we were pleased to be able to keep her in the state sector. She had about four sessions with a private tutor before taking the entrance exams, which I don't think was particularly valuable, but took lots of practice test papers beforehand. Dulwich Hamlet also recognised that many of their children went on to public or selective schools and prepared them fairly well. My daughter had done Kumon maths for about five years, which really suited her and also helped to prepare her for the more traditional entrance exams; however, the Newstead test at the time was much harder than any of the other exams but was designed to not give an unfair advantage to children who had been tutored extensively. Because the school has a large catchment area, she was the only child who went there from her school, but that was the case with a large proportion of the girls who went there.

My daughter went to Dulwich Hamlet and was offered the maximum scholarship to Alleyn's and Old Palace, as well as being offered places at Aske's, Prendergast, and Newstead Wood. At least five children from my daughter's classes got places at Alleyn's, JAGS, or Dulwich College, and I knew of several more from the other two classes in her year group who were offered public school places. The standard of education at Dulwich Hamlet was certainly good enough to equip children for the public school entrance exams, and I'm sure many other schools prepare their children just as well.

I needed to see a GP quite urgently yesterday. I rang at 8.00 a.m., held on for less than ten minutes, and after explaining why I needed to be seen on the same day, was given an appointment the same morning. After I had seen the doctor, I was able to book a follow up appointment for two weeks time. The receptionist was extremely helpful and courteous as always. Having seen the service my mother and my mother in law get from their doctors, I have always felt very privileged to be a patient at this practice.

Individual schools in Lewisham have different policies with lunches. Some will only let you change between packed lunches and school lunches on a half termly basis, whereas others will let you change on a weekly basis, and a few will let you change from day to day. However, it's really difficult for schools to plan for the number of meals if they have children switching between school meals and packed lunches on a daily basis.

St Olave's and Newstead Wood in Orpington are the two Bromley grammar schools, and are both a fairly easy journey. The PTA organise a coach service from Crystal Palace with several pick up points on the way, but it's a straightforward train journey from West Dulwich, Sydenham Hill, or Penge East.

My closest friend has never had a credit or debit card, and she is 59. She always uses cash, or pays large bills, such as car servicing, by cheque. I've always used cards to pay for the vast majority of things, and don't generally like carrying much cash, but I would never expect a shop to accept a card payment for less than ?5.