east-of-the-Rye

You could look at Camberwell Choir School - it's not a choir, it's not a school but it is in Camberwell: St Giles Church Hall in St Giles Road. It's a community music project with lots of diffent musical activities, singing, drumming, teaching of other instruments. It's a very friendly place - my eldest went there as a toddler, then in junior school and beyond, and now volunteers there. www.camberwellchoirschool.org.uk

Just a quick thought: In case anyone wondered, (which maybe they wouldn't in ED) breastfeeding in churches is definately o.k. English churches, for all their other faults, have always accepted women with babies and that means feeding them - there's a lovely description in Larkrise to Candleford (Flora Thompson) In the 1880's Flora saw "Clark Tom's young wife suckling her baby. She wore a fur tippet on winter and her breast hung like a white heather bell between the soft blackness until it was covered up with a white handkerchief, 'for modesty'."

It was certainly in some kind of trouble in 2001 when we sent our eldest there into Yr 4 having taken it him out of St Mary Magdelen (probably now a great school) which had just imploded under the stress of their rebuilding. I think it might have been in special measures but in any case the Head was having to teach classes as well as do everything else that a Head does. Our younger one started in Reception later that year. We loved the way it welcomed parents, had great music, pushed the brighter children AND managed to keep some kids who would have been excluded elsewhere, and didn't bother with a compulsory uniform (Britain is the ONLY country in Europe that thinks uniforms have anything to do with education.) Intake was a bit variable in some years and finances difficult, so that by the time our youger one was in Yrs 4, 5, and 6, the classes were mixed ages groups Yrs 4 & 5 and Yrs 5 & 6 (2007), which may or may not have been a good thing. But parents stuck with the school, and appreciated the good things, without just concentrating on the SATS results and that's probably why it's a popular school now. I think the Head before last (Karen McBride) was really good, and Ray O'Neill the last one too.

Hi Kimmy we have Junior Church at St Antony with St Silas on the corner of Ivydale Road and Merttins Road SE15 (Nunhead). It's fairly small - usually about 6 - 10 children and 2 adults. The service is at 10.30am and the chiildren start off in the service with their parents then go through to a smaller room. It's a mixture of Bible stories, how can we be good / Christian in our own lives and usually a bit of history, geography and handicraft thrown in. Last week we made scrolls of the type the Apostle Paul would have written having discussed first the lack of computers, mobile and aeroplanes in his day.

Thanks for all your responses: - I should say that the trip is completly optional - the school runs a Year 7 activity trip (to Devon, or the Lakes in recent years) that all children are expected to go on, it's much, much, cheaper and there is help available for families that would find it difficult. My older son's language trip to Spain and Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions to Wales etc (both with the school)have also been reasonable. - The trip is very expensive but actually when I had a look on the web for comparable art-based tours they were also very expensive - it's not a beach holiday. - it's not till next year so the children going will be 14 years up to 18, taking Art GCSE (they've chosen their options)or A-Level - my son in fact agreed that he wasn't very keen to go , so he's not going - and yes, Huggers, it's the same school

My 13 year old, who loves art, has come home with a letter re a school Art Trip to Morocco - looks great: 10 days visiting palaces, castles, roman ruins, souks and the desert, presumably drawing, painting or just being inspired as they go. It's ?1500. Is this normal for secondary school trips? It's a state school and I know they've run trips to China, New York and Kenya before which I guess were also expensive. It's not till next year, so yes we could manage it but as with anything, it's the "opportunity cost" i.e. the money won't be there for something else (help with University - the older one hoping to go next year, my retirement trip to all the places the family won't go...) What do people think?

A Peckham Rye Scout Troop (boys & girls aged 10 ? 14 years old) needs an energetic (male) leader or trainee leader to work with, and complement the other leader and other helpers. Ideally you?ll have been a Scout yourself, but training will be given and the important thing is the enthusiasm to keep the Scouts busy, active and interested. The group meets 6pm ? 8pm on Thursdays in term time on Peckham Rye East, has 2 ? 3 weekend camps per year, (usually with other groups,) as well as other occasional events (night hikes, fundraising). Some planning and preparation of meetings and events is also needed. Scout leaders are CRB checked. This is a hugely rewarding role. If you are interested and want to know more, please respond here, or pm me or telephone Carolyn on 020 7732 2075. p.s. several of the Scouts live in East Dulwich, so I don't think I'm being too cheeky using this website...

a couple of points: - I agree that there was no effort to market what was going on - i went in a few weeks ago looking for activities for a teenager - the member of staff only had an incomplete sheet with some of the classes, clubs etc on it, no contact details and generally a bit vague, - when the tennis courts in Peckham Rye Park were turned into the skate park (not a bad thing in itself,) we were assured we could use the courts at the Sports Centre at the school - the planning application for the work currently taking place at Harris Girls did include demolishing the pool. I wrote in objecting, mentioning of course that it is a sports specialist college, and also that Dulwich Leisure Centre, the nearest place that the girls could go fo lessons, is already busy with school groups. No sensible answer...

Two other grassy spaces very near to Harris Girls and Boys: the Athenley Football ground on the deadend part of Homestall Road (near the entrance to the Reservoir) and the top of the Honor Oak Reservoir itself - a golf course currently occupies part/much of it. If there any possibility of pupils from the school using either of these local green spaces for PE? (or maybe they do already?)

You'll certainly get a few responses to this posting so let me try and get in a few positive comments first: Southwark Living Streets, (a pedestrian pressure group - we meet upstairs on the third Thursday of the month 7pm at the Ship on the corner of Borough High Street and Borough Rd.,) did a "Street Audit" of Lordship Lane about 3 years ago. That is, a number of invidividual (not all members of Living Streets) walked up and down LL noting all the good and the difficult points, and came up with many similar points to you: - In particular, a crossing outside the Co-op would really help shoppers - shopkeepers are quite reasonably worried about the loss of parking if this is installed, but at any given time, there are several estate agents cars parted there, and I'm not sure what they contribute to the local economy - something to improve the East Dulwich Grove / LL junction. - closing the LL end of Northcross Road at least on Saturdays. The LS Street Audit went into the Traffic Department of Southwark, and didn't entirely disappear: I believe that there are plans for a crossing outside the Co-op - I though I'd seen a notice to that effect - I'll check and repost. Apparently a lot of thought was given to the EDG / LL junction, but without a conclusion. I understand that they haven't yet worked out how to put a crossing in without a fairly major impact on the smooth running of the buses and have not yet come up with an idea that will be agreed by Transport for London. As for the crossing by Iceland - I was working in East Dulwich when this change was made and there was no consultation or notice - it just appeared.

I guess it is safer for the water to be shallower, but it's not actually shallow enough for a non-swimming child not to drown. Some reasons to have some deep water: - children's lessons at the pool used to have some time spent on diving - not deep into the water as it never was deeper enough for that, but the shallow type dive. I think extra depth would make that safer in case they get the angle wrong - I think it's good to have some water where you are out of your depth - for learners it means they really can swim, - I just like the feeling of swimming down to the bottom and feeling that i'm really under water, not just touching where I could bend down to any way. O.k. my views seem to be in a minority, and as I said, I'm glad it's repoened.

I went for a swim yesterday. The new facilities are great, the changing rooms and showers so much better, and the cafe looks good though I didn't get a chance to try it. But, what's happened to the depth of the pool? Although there is a notice saying "Deep End" it appears to say that it is only be 1.45m at its deepest point,and I at 1.57m tall could stand up every where. Maybe someone is going to tell me that the pool has one of those moveable floors that some pools have? If so, it's not mentioned in any of the publicity material. I did look at the consultation exhibition and get the regular info updates from the Council, some of which I've just checked, and I don't think there was anything in them about making the pool shallower. I know it might seem a bit early to complain about the place when I like so many others are really pleased to have a local pool again, but it just seems a pity to reduce facilities, if that is what they've done.

I coudn't work out how to toddler-proof the two bikes kept on the fairly wide landing within the flat (nowhere at ground level for them.) I had to rely on just telling him not to touch , and one day found him standing by them, wagging his finger at them saying "don't touch! don't touch!"....

There might be something that they are interested in here: http://www.futureversity.org/

Forgot to add the link: http://www.futureversity.org/

Those of you with children a bit to old for summer play schemes, but in need of something to do, might like to take a look at the Futureversity website. There are lots of courses in Southwark, but not many this year in Lewisham. The courses have different age restrictions depending on what the activity is, from about 8 or 11, right up to 21 for some courses and are mostly half days or short days (so if you're working your child needs to be able to get themself there - the first course my 13 year old has registered for happens to be at Ivydale, his old primary school, so he shouldn't get lost...) I think you are supposed to be able to enroll on the courses on the website, but I couldn't make it work - I phoned the Southwark contact name and he suggested I just email him the course details and he sent my son the confirmation that he is registered.

Had another thought: Camberwell Choir School isn't a choir and isn't a school, (though it is in Camberwell) more a music project. There are a number of groups for children of different ages, the website shows lots of small children playing percussion, but the groups for older children play some great music. My son went there as a toddler, then as a junior school child, and now helps as a volunteer. http://www.camberwellchoirschool.org.uk/

Hi, I got this from an email group at Ivydale School, that I'm still on, even though my boys have left. "The music service is going to be starting an orchestra for grade 5 standard pupils and above in the school holidays starting on 1st and 2nd June during half term - there will be a further 3 day course during the summer holidays. They have provisional permission to run this at St Thomas the Apostle School in Peckham." There was no telephone number given, but the Music Service is, I think run by Southwark Education Department, so you could try them. Or ring St Thomas the Apostle and ask for the contact who is booking their premises at Half Term. My other thought, which you've probably had already, is to ask the music teacher at his school, or his own violin teacher? Good luck.

If you own/rent a home, and it is your actual home, and you come back from holiday to find it squatted, you can call the police and ask them to remove the people who are occupying it. Squatters know this and don't bother with people's homes. If squatters occupy a council/housing association property, which is not currently someone's home, then the owner has to ask them to leave, serve a notice on them warning them that the owner will be asking a court to grant them possession of the property, then go to court. The court is very likely to agree with the landlord, except in very very unusual cases such as when the squatters have been there for years. Then the court and landlord arrange for bailiffs to go round and remove the squatters - they may call the police if they think there will be trouble, but bailiffs I have seen in action usually get people out with a loud voice and physical presence. A number of years ago, the law was changed to allow social landlords to "pre-allocate" a flat/ house to a new tenant before it was actually ready for occuoation. This means that if the place is squatted while repairs are going on, the squatters can be removed very quickly as it counts as someone's home. Most squatters know this so don't bother to occupy places that look like they will soon have a tenant/owner. I don't know what the situation is with places left empty by private landlords.

I was rung (before Christmas?) by a someone doing a telephone survey re services that the "local population" would like to have on the site - she was from the PCT I think, but unfortuately i didn't get any proper details in order to work out who commissioned the survey. She explained that the idea is/was to have a polyclinic on the site and asked me whether I agreed with various ideas e.g. being able to have blood tests there. The first few ideas seemd fine, and would save you having to travel down to Kings. But then she started asking about other services that are often based at local GP's, e.g health visitors. I was about to say, yes, sounds alright, when I thought to ask her, "Would that mean that HV's would no longer be based at GP's" (as at least some of them are) She couldn't answer this, nor any of my other questions about the proposals, so I ended up saying "no" to a lot of what she said, as I could see that if I said yes, it would end up as being part of a consultation report saying something like "90% of the local population want all HV's and baby clinics to be based at the new Dulwich Polyclinic". I haven't heard anything further about the consultation.

You're right, lorraineliyanage, I don't really have a problem with Primark, my boys and I have plenty of clothes from there. I just felt it was unfortunate that the children whose families could afford it could have the comfortable option, whereas the others had to wear buttoned up shirts with collars.

Friends in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic who've visited me here have all expressed amazement at the sight of crowds of children all wearing the same clothes - especially infant school children " do you want them to grow up militarised" - well, maybe a uniform doesn't do that, but everytime some school proclaims that its new uniform has made all the difference to its results, I reflect that the UK is the only country in Europe (excpet I think Russia and Turkey) where uniforms are common. Are our results so much better? My 2 boys went to Ivydale when it didn't have a compulsory uniform (I'm not sure if that is still the case), and to be honest, pretty much wore the same choice of comfortable clothes every day. It may be more difficult with girls. As for uniforms having a democratising effect, my eldest had the first 4 years at St Mary Magdalene, (he's 16 so this is a while ago) we bought the comfortable sweatshirt/polo shirt choice though it was not cheap, and those who couldn't afford it had to make their children wear cheap white Primark shirts and ties. TIES FOR INFANT SCHOOL CHILDREN! what is wrong with this country?

Hi All, Just thought I'd second this - I donated some milk when my (now very skinny) 12 year old was a hugely fat baby. At the mid morming feed, I'd feed him on one side when pumping on the other side and managed to fill a few bottles before stopping to go on holiday and then back to work. I stored them in the freezer, and on one occasion that a nurse from the unit came to collect them, I asked her to come through to the kitchen. It did occur to me later, that having seen the state of the kitchen, she may have decided not to use the milk... but I hope not.

Mother Goose is at Greenwich Theatre - a family ticket is about ?55 which is a little less. I haven't seen their pantomime but their other things are good.

The hall on Nunhead Grove wasn't a Salvation Army one, at least in the recent past. Its last offical use was as an Age Concern run day centre for elderly people - charmingly called the Early Intervention Centre. That moved up to St Anthnoy with St Silas hall, the funding was lost (I think some of its activities moved to Lime Tree House Sheltered Scheme,) and that hall is now where Puddleducks is. But the hall on Nunhead was being squatted I think and used for various alternative-type activities. Pull the Other One was there once. Not sure whether it is still active. http://www.chapelproject.com/