katgod

ha. often though the first 6 months with baby were a bit like Freshers Week at Uni, " Hi I am Katgod, i used to work at X co, I live at y, my baby is Z weeks old and sleeps A hours per night and I am mixed feeding, you seem like a reasobable non freaky or judgmental type WILL YOU BE MY FRIEND??" glad you made contact

Molly may I ask where you got your Swift from? I haven't seen it in anyof the shops I have been in so far. Your reviews on here are making me think it could be just the job for us too. Thanks

one of the posts says there are no warnings about time spent in car seats - there are it just seems that most people ignore them. Certainly on the Mothercare web site it says 2 hours max. But I see so many people wheeling their babies in the maxi cosi on bugaboo wheels, especially at Blue water, where you know they must have driven there and then gone shopping and then driven home making for surely much longer than 2 hours in the car seat. The sliong story is terribly sad, had a weep when read it, just an awful thing to happen to anyone's baby.

I haven't decided yet (with Lanes and don't have to decide til it actually happens) but my Mum is similarly not keen - she's not said as much but has made a few comments about 'mess' and 'upsetting the children' - i have older children who sleep through anything and would be out in the day. Really you should prepare for this being the first of many issues on which there will be differeing views. Weaning at 6 months will likely also be viewed sceptically, as will feeding on demand, insisting on using a car seat for every single trip even if it is only 5 minutes, buying any sort of specialist equipment (baby can sleep in a drawer/that's what elbows are for (re bath thermometer), and anything different to how it was when you were brought up. If you are lucky your own mother will be ok, but Mothers in law and elderly aunties will also put their views forward. Prepare to grow a thick skin as well as a bump!

Think it has confused aims - on one hand targetting particular groups, young mums, those with drug/alcohol issues, SEN, economic deprivation etc etc, but on the other supposedly being open to all. The 'wrong' people have been attending - those who do not fall into any of the target groups but who do want/need some help/support/comfort. I posted on the other thread about this. I think I specifically excluded any racial comment from my post. It was me that made the point that just because you are not obviously disdavantaged or live in a particular postcode does not mean that you are not in need of support. I have no stats to say that many of the people who live here do not have family support nearby. It is based on my observations of the parents I see at school at nursery etc, very few of whom were brought up in SE22. Grandparents live anything from 1.5 to 6 hours away. My point, which I think is the one that the poster above was referring too is that economically stable families in SE22 without any obvious problems might be lonely and need a bit of help too. Provided no one in greater need is being excluded, then I don't see why we can't join in Sure Start activities too. As I said in my other post, a the soft play sessions it was made clear to me that if someone else more target came along I would have to leave. But that never happened. So I think there is room for everyone. And also from the Leapers thread it seems a well used facility is now not well used because of the narrowing of the admittance criteria.

childminder - works at their own home, is inspected and registered with Ofsted and with Southwark. List can be got from the council Children's department. Can only take one child under one, will be a mix of other children there too probably. Homely environment, your child will have to fit in with the others, and will go on school runs and drop offs with the minder and the other children. Prices vary wildly. Nanny works at your house, or the home of the people you share with. Can be OFsted registered but doesn't have to be. If your employer offers childcare vouchers in lieu of part of your salary then you need an Ofsted registered nanny to pay her (usually a her) with the vouchers. All registered child minders could take childcare vouchers, some may prefer not to tho. Depending on whether you share or not you either have one-on one care for your child, or a modified form of the childminder experience. Simply Childcare, EDF and Gumtree seem like good sources. Could be that you havethe nanny exclusively 3 days, and another family has her 2 days, or she looks after 2 or 3 children from 2 families at the same time. Nursery - not many options for under ones in SE22, all registered and ofsted inspected, again prices vary wildly. You may be able to get a place at a nursery near your workplace, or if working in hospital have a creche similar there. You may get lucky with nusery as often they prefer you now with cash ready than holding a place for someone who won't pay anything til 6 months' time. You have to do what works best for you. I've done all 3 options over the years. They are all running a business and every family has different needs and priorities for their child. keep an open mind and get on the phone to Southwark! Good luck

My son went there 4 years ago. had someone posted really negative stuff on here then I would have been on here too, defending it to the hilt. the childcare choices people make are, as someone above said, extremely personal. Criticism cuts to the bone. It feels like you are saying "you are a bad mother making terrible choices for your children". It may not be meant like that but that is how it seems. I'm not a first time poster. None of my children attend there now. I do tend to reply by PM to those seeking advice on nurseries as i would hate anyone to be upset by my opinion on their childcare choice. everyone is trying to do their best. admittedly Asquith were pretty stupid to try a fake post.

Article on this very topic from today's Times newspaper: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/rachel_sylvester/article7063095.ece I hope the link works, it is the first time I have tried to do a link on the EDF>>>>

it's a while since I've been, but when I went to the Sure Start soft play sessions at Peckham Pulse it was always made clear to me that if someone more 'target' came along then I would have to leave. My experience was that those sessions and Leapers (which i went to a couple of times back in 2007/08), and Tiny Gym in Camberwell are always full of families from SE22 and not much used by their supposed target audience. It's a shame if a resource ends up under used due to a change in the rules. I would have been happy to pay or leave soft play if someone else who needed it more turned up - but they never did. Somehow the publicity and info about these groups reaches some groups but not others. However, I don't think the powers that be realise that many of the incoming 'middle class' (for want of a better term) mums in SE22 don't have their family close by. The local, often more 'working class' (again, for want of better term, and no offence intended, and certainly no race implications as it is a non-class specific phenomenon) have their family close by in many cases and have no need to meet strangers and drink weak coffee in a mug on a plate (see I did go to Leapers!) and angst over baby issues. They go round to their own mum's and get their advice and a decent cuppa there. I suspect that Mellors' experinec will be a common one and that it will be under used, and ultimately closed.

set of stacking cups and set of stacking boats. All fancy wheel and chute type bath toys end up broken and mouldy in our house. Still haappy with the stacking cups (have different shaped and sized holes in) now way past babay stage.

Thanks all. Wow am going to have to get up super early. Following the lead above re the DLR being closed have found that Bank should be open again by end January, so maybe it will go back to being 'normally bad' by Feb.

Finding the grills down, reduced entry thing too much at moment. Any suggestions how early or how late I need to travel to get onto the tube without being stuck in the Vauklts and then queuing to get through the ticket barriers? I usually get there about 8.55, tried an earlier train today and it was no different. I have heard it is bad at 8.30. What about 8.15? Any suggestions welcome. Thanks

thanks. any one know someone who can come and try to retune it so we can watch DVDS?

Since retuning the TV as advised by the message that kept pooping on screen, the "blank" channel that I watch DVDs on has disappeared. It used to be analogue channel 6. I can get the sound for DVDs but no picture if I am on "AV1". Does anyone know how to get the DVD channel back please? Any advice welcome. It is something of an emergency as I have 3 episodes of series 7 of The Shield left and was planning on watching in big screen luxury rather than laptop tiny screen. Many thanks

Was standard at the time these pools built I think. Greenwich Baths are the same - instead of turning one pool into a gym like Dulwich, they have one as a leisure pool with slides and one as a training pool. so the them and us attitude sometimes exhibited on this forum nothing new!

re using postcodes to work this out - I haven't used the app referred to above, but postcode areas can be quite big, and the critical distances being measured in these cases are small. I live about a 5-6 minute walk from Heber (and my child goes there) but my postcode is exactly the same as the school's. So maybe an old fashioned tape measure/straight edge on the A_Z would be better. Lots of the Goodrich appeals this year were siblings whose parents had not realised/had forgotten the need to apply for subsequent children.

I think the idea of mixed ability classes referred to above could be misleading. Many (most?) comprehensives will stream children by ability, and teach in ability groups. So if you are good at science you may be in top set, and if poor at French in a lower set for that subject. Mixed ability teaching is likely only in smaller schools that don't have the range of ability to stream. Also many comprehensives have intake bands - not Charter or Kingsdale so far as I know, but others in the area do - so 20% of the intake will be in the highest ability band, 20% in the lowest, with similar bands in the middle. So the school gets a broad spectrum of ability.

this is the maessage from the Church. Came through mid afternoon. Nothing yet from nursery management. Dear Parents, On behalf of the Trustee I would like to say how much we regret having to post that notice to you this morning. It was a drastic but very important (legal) step that we were instructed to take, if there was another and more gentler way, we would have taken it. We are also aware of the shock,stress and other emotions that must have touched you as you read the notice. We are concerned about the welfare and wellbeing of the children and have researched all avenues of how to rescue the situation, we have contacted and continue to seek advise from the appropriate government, insurance, charity and legal authorities. Having spoken to some of the parents we are getting an understanding of what the parents wish to happen. The best interest of the children is at the centre of our motivation. There is a way to proceed with out any further hurt or discomfort, but it will need the full cooperation of everyone involved. Therefore we are calling a meeting on this Thursday evening at 6.30 pm at New Life Assembly Church, Upland Road East Dulwich, SE22 0DA and are inviting you all to come along, this will give you the opportunity to express your thoughts, ask questions and enable us to explain why we had to draw your attention to the situation in the way we did. We would also share with you the possible solution that could be comparable to all concern. To get an idea of numbers attending please respond by e-mail, also if I have missed any parent from this e-mail please inform them of the meeting. Kind Regards Marie St-Hilaire on behalf of The New Life Assembly Trustees

any news - are the trains running? anyone with a garden backing onto the line able to help. The TfL pages say it willaffect services until 5pm - bu if there is a problem I need to know sooner so can plan alternative route. Thanks all.

intriguing post!

Yep 40 starts by grove vale pub. Bit odd there are lots of people standing outside cafe nero waiting for buses that just are not coming-i am sure they must be able to see the 40s lined up outside the texaco garage. Anyway the 40 I got on did not stop til King's, so no chanceof getting on at station. 12s on a strange route too, they are running up and down lship lane empty and "not in service" maybe the 40 route has been changed to avoid congestion on lship lane with all the 12s?

Thanks for that. logged on to TFL, followed the rail live update link, and shock - Southern web site not running. Great that they can't run a web site or a train service. ThHis is one of the things I loved about the EDF - I get the info I need straight away.

is there anywhere online we can see these plans? these meetings are always at a crappy time to get to. Why don't they have them during the afternoon and evening so a wider group can participate?

Have had bad experience in there too. They say they close at 5 - went in 4.45 and got the rolling eyes, "bloody customers" type attitude. asked if they were open or not - if they'd said not we would have left, but they said they were open. So I ordered an ice cream and a coffee, and was treated as if had asked for a full roast dinner - surely 15 minutes is enough time to scoopp some icecream and brew some coffee? Other customers in there complained about dishes being removed before they'd finished etc, and it all got quite heated. Seems to me that if you want to go home at 5, then you need to close at 4.45 to allow tidying up time. Probably an owner decision and staff not being paid past 5, even though tidying up etc needed. So they get upset customers who go elsewhere. bit more thought from the owner could easily over come this problem. Shame as it is a handy location. do not agree thast village is snobby - people in the deli and bag shop very friendly, also book shop has great service.

Hello all, taking my Forum life in my hands entering this debate, but jumping journo asked for feedback and some people don't seem fully up to speed (kel). Will admit straight up that am new to the topic, but did attend the latest round of discussions. 1. it has been decreed that the new school will be an academy and academies have private sponsors. Ours is Lord Harris, of carpets and other academy fame. 2. it has been decreed by southwark that the site on the edge of the rye is the site. 3. it has been decreed that there will be a 950 pupil school on the site. These do not seem negotiable. I'm not saying that it's right, but that is the decision made. The latest round of discussion meetings were as a result of the almighty fuss kicked up over the last set of designs submitted. Variously described as ugly, unsuitable generally sh*t. So they (Harris Inc.) have sacked the architects and got a new guy on board and held the meetings to try to understand what would be acceptable to locals. So KKel the "mess up" was the terrible previous design. And now they are trying to find an acceptable proposal. The latest round of meetings revealed that broadly the school should be at the southern end of the site (away from Friern Road) with the building close to the road so the playground backs onto the houses rather than the building looming over the local streets. For my part it seemd a genuine attempt to find an acceptable design. It was made clear that the meetings were not to discuss the suitablity of the site generally, the size of the school or the philosophical/political/educational pros and cons of the project - it was just about building design. As a new comer to the process I found some fellow attendees very entrenched and unwilling to accept that there was a new chapter opening. They kept harking back to battles previously fought, or battles that the organisers had made perfectly clear were not for fighting that night. There was a lot of arguing total non points and some of the attendees were pretty irritating. I'd urge anyone reading this to try to attend the next round of meetings - some new blood is needed based on my experience. I have no wish to dismiss the great work done by locals in getting the last lot of designs binned, and in no way condone some of the tactics/decisions made by Southwark/Harris on the issue. But at a design meeting, fight clever and fight on design, not the rest of the issues. (Ducks for cover and regrets posting?)