Growlybear

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.

If the item had been described as coming from a smoke free home and arrived smelling of smoke, then it would be 'not as described', but if this isn't mentioned in the item description then how can it be 'not as described'? Many parents smoke, and if it's going to be an issue for a buyer who wants to make sure an item doesn't smell of smoke, then the onus is on them to check this before they bid and enter into a legally binding contract.

I think you may find it difficult to return the item if the description didn't state that it was from a smoke free home. The onus is on the buyer to ask questions if something like this is important, and particularly if I'm buying an expensive item, I always check with the seller if s/he is a smoker before bidding. You may find that the seller is reasonable and will accept a return, although if you told them in your email that the item 'stinks' that may just have put their back up a bit!

I completely disagree. We've been to Egypt five times in July and August, including Abu Simbel, and although it was very hot, because of the extremely low humidity, we have always found it very bearable. I find 45 degrees in Egypt far more pleasant than 30 degrees in somewhere such as Greece or Thailand where humidity is much higher.

How about Egypt? There is so much to see and do in Luxor, and it's an easy day trip from there to see the pyramids in Cairo. I can't think of many more exciting places you could take a 12 year old than inside one of the pyramids.

dbboy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > That may well be the case and perhaps the Practice > is trying to improve and provide a more coherent > service to the patients, although the inspection > was undertaken six months ago. > > Clearly from the CQC inspection being put in > Special Measures cannot have been done lightly and > it is done to force the practice to take radical > steps for improvements which CQC can then measure > when they next inspect and which should be about > NOW. I've been with the practice for over 40 years, and have always found the service to be excellent. I have always, without exception, been able to get a same day appointment if I really needed one, and I don't believe that my most recent experience has anything to do with the surgery having taking 'radical steps for improvement' - same day appointments have always been available for those who need them, as opposed to those who just expect to be able to see a doctor immediately for a non urgent complaint. I don't see what more the surgery can do - they offer early morning, evening, and Saturday morning appointments, and most times when I look online there are appointments available, albeit a couple of weeks ahead.

Well yet again I had a really positive experience of the practice last month. I wasn't too well over Christmas, and rang to see if I could get a same day appointment on 27 December. After explaining my problem to one of the helpful and friendly reception staff, I was given an appointment to see the duty doctor that morning - at 8.20, just 20 minutes after my call. I was seen on time, and as always was treated with courtesy and professionalism from the doctor and the reception staff. I don't think you can really get much better than that. I've always been able to get a same day appointment if it has been really necessary, and if it wasn't urgent, then of course I'm happy to wait my turn for a routine appointment like everyone else.

My daughter went through a long period of waking in the night and coming into our bed when she was about 3. People told me that I should be getting her to stay in her own bed, and I persevered for a while. Then I thought seriously about whether it mattered if she came in with us in the night, and really couldn't think of any reason why I should make her sleep alone if she didn't want to. I decided it really wasn't worth the stress to her or me trying to get her to go back to her own bed at 3 in the morning when she could just go back to sleep in our bed. I assumed that she would start sleeping the night in her own bed when she was ready, which of course she did eventually. I think it's too easy to listen to what other people think you should be doing with different milestones; I got myself so stressed with people offering their opinions about what my daughter should be doing when, and once I learnt to ignore them and stop making comparisons with other people's children, life was much easier!

If you put them in a tied up bin bag in your green bin, how will anyone know if there's pain left in them?

I'm confused. Is this application not just to open the type of hostel that backpackers use throughout the world? There is a busy travellers' hostel in Deptford which I think would be a similar distance from central London, and which is used by backpackers rather than providing accommodation for workers. Transport from East Dulwich to central London is good - so much better than it used to be when we moved here is the 1970s, and I'm sure being located out of the centre of London would be a much more affordable option for tourists on a tight budget. I'm not sure why people are suggesting that it will provide long term accommodation or are questioning the legality of the space in the rooms. The application is for backpacker dormitory accommodation - why do people immediately read something sinister into it?

Does it not just mean that the husband will pay the wife ?1,000 per month (?500 per child) in advance by standing order until the children reach the age of 21, get full time jobs, or the court makes a new order which supercedes this one?

I'm so very sad to hear that Dr McColl has passed away. She was a truly caring and compassionate doctor who will be greatly missed by all who had the privilege of knowing her. I will never forget her kindness and support for me when I was going through cancer treatment and she really did make a huge difference to how I got through my illness. My very deepest condolences to her family.

Wouldn't it have been more effective to have spoken to the people when you were in the park rather than post on a forum which they may not even know exists?

I was driving down Wood Vale at about 5.30 this evening, and was alarmed to see a young boy of about 7 or 8 crossing the road alone by the roundabout at the junction of Wood Vale and Langton Rise by the shops. There was no sign of any adult with him. He didn't pause or look to see whether any traffic was coming as he crossed from the bottom of Langton Rise to the refuge in the middle of the road, and ambled slowly across while the car in front of me had to brake sharply to avoid hitting him. He then carried on across the other half of the road, again oblivious to the car that had stopped to avoid him. The boy didn't acknowledge either car, and carried on without a care in the world, completely unaware of how easily he could have been injured. The little boy was blond, with a grey sweatshirt, and if anyone has any idea who this little boy might be, please suggest to his parents that, if they are going to let such a young child out on his own, at least teach him some road sense. Next time he might not be so lucky.

However wrong it is for someone to try to steal your bike, are you sure you're allowed to publish CCTV footage like this on the internet?

I've had a couple of bulky collections recently and both were collected on time. I know that the website and the recorded telephone messages say there is no telephone access to the bulky collection service, but you can get through to the general refuse customer service section, and I'm sure they wouldn't refuse to speak to you about a missed collection, particularly if your email hasn't been answered.

I gave my daughter a mobile phone when she started secondary school and was travelling to and from Orpington on her own. Mobile phones were banned from her primary school anyway, and I can't think of any reason why a primary aged child would need a mobile phone. At my daughter's secondary school, anyone caught using their phone during lessons, or whose phone rang or beeped, had it confiscated, and it was only returned when their parents went into school to collect it. As the school had a very wide catchment area, this involved a long journey for a significant proportion of parents!

My husband was excused from jury service when I was heavily pregnant. He was self employed at the time and our baby was due a couple of weeks after his jury duty was due to start. It was the third time he had been called for jury service and he hasn't been called since.

I'm often amazed by the attitude of some of the staff in charity shops when I take in donations. Last week, I struggled into the Sue Ryder shop in Forest Hill with a box and two bags, which I took to the desk. The young woman behind the desk stared at me and said nothing. I told her that I had some items to donate, and she continued to stare at me, and didn't say so much as thank you or acknowledge that I had brought a number of items for the shop to sell. I've often encountered indifference when I take things to charity shops, but I've never had anyone who was quite as rude as this woman. I told her it would have been nice to have had my donations acknowledged, but she was still staring at me in complete silence when I walked out of the shop. If I hadn't found it so difficult to carry the stuff that I was donating, I would have taken it away, and taken it to the charity shop opposite the station. I have donated substantial amounts to this branch of Sue Ryder over the last couple of years, but will never set foot in there again. When I can, I also take things to the AldLife charity shop in Dartmouth Road, who are always charming and appreciative, but usually find it impossible to park close enough to carry my items.

Regardless of the rights or wrongs of the way in which the couple spoke to you in Pizza Express, I do think it is quite offensive to refer to them as an 'old aged' couple! Not having been present at the time, I'm not qualified to comment on how unreasonable they were being, but the acoustics in that branch of Pizza Express are dreadful, and sounds can get magnified greatly. You didn't say in your opening sentence exactly what the 'old aged' couple asked you to tell your son, but you said that he was 'loudly sharing his delight' at his stickers - perhaps this really was loud enough to disturb other customers who wanted to enjoy their meal in peace and that was why they then asked you to quieten your son? Having said that, if the couple later referred to your son as 'that thing', then I agree that is totally offensive and unacceptable. I also think most people who know that branch of Pizza Express would be aware that there tend to be relatively large numbers of young children in the restaurant, and may be better off eating elsewhere if they find noisy children disturbing - this is one of the reasons why I avoid the Dulwich branch of Pizza Express!

Regardless of the legality issues, I think there are very few 15 year olds who do not drink to a greater or lesser extent when they socialise, and also a large proportion who experiment with drugs and sex. I found it difficult when my daughter was in her teens, and saw how a number of her friends rebelled when their parents took a very hard line. If a teenager wants to drink, take drugs, or have sex, they will always find a way of doing this, and will always have friends or acquaintances whose parents don't supervise them closely. We tried to take a moderate approach with our daughter and allowed her diluted wine with meals from her early teens etc, tried to keep on top of the friends she was mixing with once she started going out alone, and talked very openly about the consequences of drink, drugs, and sex. But we were also realistic and realised that, short of keeping her at home 24 hours a day, we could never have stopped her completely from doing things that we would not have wanted her to do - I also think it was also easy to forget how we behaved as teens. I'm sure that if we had imposed very strict sanctions when we found that she had been drinking, smoking etc, and been unrealistic about how a large proportion of teenagers behave, she would have rebelled far more. We found the teenage years were fairly awful at times, and I wouldn't like to go through them again.

I haven't had any experience of the AA but have used the RAC for the last five years and they've been brilliant. I've had to call them out about six times in total, and on each occasion they have arrived far quicker than the estimated time, and their mechanics have been outstanding.

Dbrskh Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > We've got a few home bits to pick up and we were sent to Old > Kent Road...This is not the kind of shopping I had > in mind...ugh. How rude! Surely I'm not the only one to find this a really offensive comment?

10.40 isn't exactly late at night?!

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