cathy p j

Hi semester, I held LPAs for both of my parents at the same time, and they had a joint current bank account with HSBC. There weren?t any problems with me operating the joint account as attorney for each of them. I also opened a new joint savings account for them, also with HSBC. The only bank I had a bad experience with was Santander, where they each had cash ISAs. Santander were so difficult to deal with as an attorney that I closed those accounts and transferred them elsewhere. I hope you have no problems dealing with the banks.

Hi Mustard It was Zacin cream, which is 0.025% Capsaicin (manufactured by Cephalon). I asked my GP to prescribe it for me as research carried out by Arthritis Research UK had demonstrated that it was effective for pain relief in OA, and I was keen to reduce, or stop, the oral painkillers that I was taking. I applied it exactly as directed (applied 4 times daily, small amount of cream rubbed in so no longer visible, at least 4 hours between applications, no bandages, and only applied more than one hour before / after a shower) but after applying the cream I experienced burning pain which got worse and worse so that it kept me awake all night, I couldn't wear trousers or anything that covered my knees, and I suffered the most severe pain when having a shower some 8 or 9 hours after applying capsaicin. I persevered for about a week, hoping that things would improve, but the burning sensation was actually worse than the pain of the OA, so after a week I abandoned it. Cathy

I really feel for your Dad. I suffer from severe OA and it is very difficult to find anything that really helps with the pain. I am quite a lot younger than your Dad and I've had surgery to replace both knee joints in the last 3 years, but I still have bad OA in my fingers and surgery isn't an option for this. In my experience it is very important to try and keep the affected joints moving. This is hard when it is so painful, but I have found that the less you exercise the affected joints, the more painful it is when you do move them. I find exercises that strengthen the leg muscles, which can be done sitting down, helps to reduce pain in the knees. A physiotherapist would be able to advise on this. In terms of medication, the best relief I got was from taking anti-inflammatory medication (such as Naproxen) in addition to Co-Dydramol (paracetamol and dihydrocodeine). I did try Capsaicin cream, as recommended by Mustard, but I couldn't tolerate it and suffered the most terrible burning sensation when I applied it, so I abandoned it. I haven't tried TENS for OA pain, but I did have a good result using a TENS machine for severe back pain (I also have scoliosis as well as OA) so it might be worth a go. Heat also helps my pain, so maybe a heat pad would be something that your Dad could try? I do hope that your Dad is able to find something that gives him pain relief - OA is a horrid condition. Cathy

We also received a document from Southwark council on Saturday, saying that there is a proposal for a cycle hangar to be installed in our road in Nunhead, almost outside our house, with the consequent loss of a parking space. The document refers to the council website for more information, but I can't find any further information about it there. If anyone can let me have more details, I would be very grateful. Thanks, Cathy

It is possible to influence the style of new residential developments in Southwark without having a Neighbourhood Development Plan. This has been achieved at least twice to my knowledge with new housing on Ivydale Road, Nunhead. In both cases the original plans were for blocks of flats that were totally out of keeping with the neighbouring Victorian / Edwardian houses. Local residents responded to the planning consultation to object to the design, and the plans were changed, with the new properties built very much in line with the properties in the surrounding streets. I'm not saying this could be achieved every time, but it is certainly possible. Cathy

Pickle, I think we have also had the same problem this week. On Tuesday evening my laptop wouldn't connect wirelessly to our HP printer, although it had worked perfectly for the past few years, and was definitely working fine the previous day. We spent a frustrating 4 hours on Tuesday evening trying to sort out the problem, and finally got it working after reloading the printer software and turning everything off and then on again. However, this eventual success was short lived, as it failed to print again the following day! We now seem to have it working again, after repeating the "power everything down then start it all up again" exercise, but I am not very confident that the problem is solved. Like you, we also have a BT Infinity Home Hub, so I now wondering if that could be the source of the problem? Cathy

We've lived in our house for more than 30 years, and we always used to tip the bin men, post man and the milkman as we knew them all and saw them regularly. We haven't tipped the bin men or post man for many years, but we still tip our milkman every Christmas, he has been delivering our milk and other items reliably for more than 23 years now (he's only the second milkman to do this round in 32 years!). Cathy

Hi Louise There is a workshop called "Art with Glass" at Crystal Palace that specialises in stained glass. A neighbour had a damaged panel in her front door replaced by them recently, but I don't know the cost. Maybe worth giving them a call? Their number is 020 8771 6845. Cathy

nunhead_man Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > So car centered :-( > > You could easily cycle to there from ED with an > item or so in your panniers How very true. I would love to be able to cycle anywhere really, but sadly my disability prevents this and also prevents me being able to walk very far, so driving is my only real option these days. Cathy

Hi intexasatthemoment, I don't think you need to phone Pecan before dropping off a food donation. I have visited many times over recent months without any prior arrangement, at different times of the day, and left bags of food for the foodbank. They are really grateful for any donations. The only problem I have is that parking is pretty impossible outside their premises, so I normally park in Morrisons and then walk through the bus station and across the road, which limits what I can carry to two carrier bags. Cathy

Hi, I have recent experience of knee surgery. I would say the most important advice is to check what support your father will be offered both before and after the surgery. I have had knee replacement operations on both knees carried out at Lewisham Hospital in the past couple of years, and their "before" and "after" care was fantastic! Before the surgery, I was visited at home by an occupational therapist from the hospital. She went round the whole house, checking how I would manage when discharged, and what practical help I would benefit from. She arranged delivery before my admission of equipment such as raised toilet seat, chair raisers for my armchair, bath seat (as we don't have a walk-in shower), commode for the bedroom (as we have many steps between bedroom and the only toilet), a "perching stool" for the kitchen to enable me to sit/lean and free both hands from my crutches to make a drink or sandwich etc, and they also fixed a grab handle to enable me to get down the steep step into my kitchen. She offered additional things including a bed raiser, and an extra commode for downstairs, which I didn't feel I needed at the time. The "after care" was really excellent. Lewisham Hospital provide a specialist community-based team that support patients who have undergone knee or hip replacement surgery once they come home. They have specialist orthopaedic nurses, physiotherapists and support workers. They visited me in hospital to introduce themselves, and started visiting me at home on the morning after my discharge, and came almost daily for some time, infact as long as you want them to. A big bonus was that the nurse practitioner was able to prescribe medication, so I didn't even have to get my GP to prescribe strong painkillers once those supplied by the hospital had run out! A second big bonus was that physiotherapy was provided at home, so I didn't need to go to the hospital for physiotherapy appointments! It was also great to be able to phone them with any small queries, and know that they were there to support you. I'm not sure what you mean by home help, I didn't need any help with household things as my husband was able to manage, so I am not sure how easy it would be to get social services to help out? I hope that is helpful and I hope your father's operation goes well. Cathy

Alan The bowls green was open earlier today when I was walking through the park at about noon. I didn't notice any signs about opening times, sorry. I think it is managed by the same people who run the cafe on Peckham Rye, maybe you could contact them to check? Cathy

I have lived in Nunhead for more than 30 years and used Nunhead station almost daily for most of that time, although less so in the past 4 years since retiring. I think it is safer now than in the past due to much better lighting in the "tunnel", but if I were coming home alone really late at night then I would probably take the bus rather than the train. Personally I don't think Nunhead is any less safe than any other part of London. Maybe I have just been lucky, but I have never had any problems relating to my personal safety in Nunhead or around the station .

EastDulwichSE22 - We do have a regular order of milk, bread, and other items, but we change it / add to it quite frequently simply by leaving a note out for the milkman. Scotlander - you could certainly talk to a milkman if you see one in the street. Alternatively you could call the Dairy Crest depot in Gap Road, Wimbledon, on 0845 606 3606 - they cover our area (we live in Nunhead) and also seem to cover most of S E London now.

We use Dairy Crest too, and have rarely had any problems for the 30 years that we have lived in the area. We have only had two milkmen in all that time (the present milkman has been delivering our milk for nearly 20 years). I would say the only time that we have experienced any difficulties is when our regular milkman is away, and someone else covers his round, but even then things rarely go wrong. We have never used the "Milk&More" website, but continue to pay our milkman in cash every two weeks, and if we need to change our order we just leave a note out or tell him.

I do sympathise with you. I have been caring for my very elderly parents (mother now 90, father 93) at a distance over the past few years. They live 150 miles away in Staffordshire (3-4 hours drive) with no family nearby, so the only option for me has been to stay for several days at a time. As their situation slowly deteriorated, I have been down the social services route and found it helpful in most respects, although I agree that things can move slowly unless there is a crisis. Social services offered residential respite care for my father several times a year to give my mother a break, and specialist social workers were very helpful in offering practical help with my mother's hearing and sight impairment. My father had a crisis in August while I was away for a few days, and social services were brilliant - carers in place immediately, equipment delivered the same day, key safe placed outside house to ensure access for key workers, GP and district nurse called in. Unfortunately he is no longer able to be cared for at home, and he is now in a nursing home in Staffordshire, so my current worry is whether my mother can stay at home on her own, where she is lonely and miserable, or whether she might be better moving into the same care home as my father. This is a real dilemma for the family. One important issue is whether your elderly relative has capacity to make their own decisions. If they do, then social services will want to ensure that they are in agreement with any decisions made on their behalf. Another piece of advice, if you haven't already done it and assuming your relative still has the mental capacity to give consent, is to obtain a Lasting Power of Attorney to enable you or another relative or friend to manage their affairs. This has proved invaluable for me when dealing with various agencies. Cathy

Tom, I'm really sorry to hear this, very worrying. I am glad your friend was not physically harmed. What time did this happen last night, and was this near the Kelvington Road end of Athenlay or the "church" end of the road? I will keep a look out for the laptop bag and the books as I live in the area. Cathy

I had the same problem at this junction last Thursday lunchtime. I was waiting to turn left from Colyton Road into FHR and the lights were stuck on red for absolutely ages, whilst the lights controlling traffic on FHR and Dunstan's Road changed frequently. As I don't use this junction very often, and am not familiar with the traffic light sequencing, I was not confident enough to try and jump the red light. Eventually I crept forward nearer to the junction and waited a moment, thinking I would have to make a move, when the lights suddenly changed to green. I wondered if there was a camera or something that registered whether vehicles are waiting at the lights at Colyton Road, and it was only activated when I was actually right on top of the junction, having already crossed the line? Whatever the problem, I hope it is sorted out soon. Cathy

I would second Exmouth. You can get there by train (change at Exeter St Davids) and it is fairly flat once there. As previously stated the long promenade is totally flat and there are cafes along the seafront for breaks. There aren't many galleries or museums but it is a short train (or bus) ride into Exeter, and if you get off the train at Exeter Central station (rather than St David's) then you are right next door to the award-winning Royal Albert Museum, and a short walk to the excellent shopping centre and the Cathedral. Exeter also has a couple of theatres (easy taxi from the train / bus station). There is a wonderful, unique National Trust property, A La Ronde, on the outskirts of Exmouth (short taxi ride from the sea-front / station / hotel) which is well worth a visit. Trains from Exmouth to Exeter go along the very scenic River Exe estuary, and you can get off at Topsham (lots of lovely small shops, craft shops, museum, cafes etc) and beyond Exeter you can go to Dawlish and Teignmouth for a day out (or just for the ride!) without changing trains. Buses run along the coast from Exmouth to Budleigh Salterton and Sidmouth as well, both fairly flat once you get there. I do hope they have a lovely time wherever they decide to go!

There is another way. We are celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary today. After living together for 16 years, we finally got married at Southwark Registry Office on 16th May 1998 at 3 weeks' notice, on cup-final day (it seems that not many people want to get married on that day!) We invited a few very close friends to join us at the ceremony and afterwards we all drank champagne in our back garden and ate lovely food that we had prepared and cooked ourselves. I didn't keep a record of what we spent, but it was very little. I know that this wouldn't work for everyone, but it suited us, and a surprising number of friends were very envious of our "bravery". Of course the difficult task was phonong our respective families the next day to explain what we had done...............and they were all really happy for us!