alaska721

We are just about to extend into our side return and wondered if anyone had any experience of Culmax, IQ Glass or Fineline Aluminium for patio doors or glass roof? A friend of ours who is an architect has told us to avoid IQ Glass and I've read very negative reviews of Culmax on the Nappy Valley forum. I can't seem to find anything on Fineline Aluminium except that they are very expensive.

My husband parks on Gubyon Avenue when he does the Herne Hill school run. Restrictions on surrounding streets apply between 12pm-2pm.

I just wanted to recommend Fernando. I now live in Crofton Park (SE4) and he came out to my house yesterday to sort out our front and rear gardens which were an absolute mess. He totally transformed them and I couldn't believe my eyes when I got back from work. Unfortunately I never got to meet him but my husband was home and he said he was an absolute pleasure to deal with.

Regarding the comments about the head of HHS. I have to say I have found her to be very approachable and friendly. She is proud of her teachers and the children. The HHS school website (Parent Zone) provides a comprehensive list of teachers' qualifications and the leavers' destination section shows where most kids move on to (stats show Rosemead is not the main destination). Personally I would be disappointed if HHS didn't push and challenge my child. Most parents at this school want their kids to go on to one of the foundation schools. If they weren't challenged they would be woefully underprepared for the likes of Alleyn's, JAGS etc.

My daughter currently attends Herne Hill and is in one of the kindergarten classes having joined in the nursery. Moving her to Herne Hill (from the Villa) was one of the best decisions we made and she absolutely loves it. My husband's exact words when he picks up her up every day are, "She's giddy with excitement!". Her class is a mixture of boisterous and spirited types along with shy and more reserved children but they all seem to get along. My child's class has one main teacher with three teaching assistants at any one time so all children get a lot of support and attention. When we picked HH we were heavily influenced by the fact it is the main feeder of the Dulwich foundation school at 7+ and also its amazing ISI report. We accept that she will have to do 7+ exams in year 2 but we're so pleased with HH that we even avoided putting her through the 4+ as we want her to stay at HH. I understand your worries about the school appearing cramped; it isn't a huge space. At the moment with the extension work taking place, it does appear particularly cramped but hopefully once the work has been completed it will open up again. Also, last year's reception intake was bigger than usual due to so many of the kindergarten kids staying on and not moving to the Dulwich foundation schools. The headmistress has assured parents that they will offer reception places sparingly to outside children until they get confirmation of how many kindergarten kids will definitely stay on.

One venue I have considered for a child's party is the Vauxhall City Farm (easily accessible on the 185 bus from East Dulwich). I haven't booked anything yet as I am still looking at other venues but they've sent me all their details. It looks like they can accommodate 15-20 children and they can do a Meet the Animals session. You can also use their events rooms which has a kitchen.

When I lived in Camberwell I sent my daughter to the Villa nursery and she absolutely thrived there. As mentioned before they only take children from two onwards and you would need to register your child ASAP. I registered my daughter as soon as she was born and she got a place at the nursery shortly after she turned two.

I visited the Whippersnappers grotto with my three year old on December 7th. I have to agree with Bellenden Belle - I found it very disappointing and it all seemed rather disorganised. The introductory session with the author was really cramped and not really engaging for my three year old. When we entered the arts and craft tent, none of the elves were ready and we had to wait for them. Also the sign in the room where the kids decorated their biscuits had a typo. "Clasroom" instead of classroom. They acknowledged they got it wrong and laughed it off. Santa, on the other hand, was fantastic and convincing. However the family photo that was taken with the Santa was awful. I probably won't book here next year.

If you are going to the Center Parcs at Longleat there is a Waitrose in nearby Warminster with plenty of parking. We stocked up on groceries and booze there several times.

I know you said Herne Hill School wasn't an option for you but I do think they are particularly good at preparing children for the 7+ entrance (of course I'm totally biased as my LO is there!). I've just received their Year 2 destinations information for Sept 2014 entry which hasn't been posted on their website and it goes as follows: Alleyn's = 10 acceptances (15 offers), Dulwich College = 6 acceptances (10 offers), Dulwich Prep = 6 acceptances (13 offers) and JAPS = 3 acceptances (7 offers). There are offers for other independents but I only included the main Dulwich schools. When I was looking for a pre-prep for my LO I do remember being underwhelmed by the ISI inspection report of Ducks whereas Herne Hill's report was outstanding in every aspect. Of course there are more to schools than their inspection reports but you should go with your gut feeling and what you think is best for your LO.

I don't have personal experience of Ducks (my daughter is currently at HH) but I do know that reception places at Alleyn's are oversubscribed. A friend of mine applied for a reception place at Alleyn's for a September 2014 start for her daughter (so she did the assessment in January of this year). There were approximately 200 applicants for the 18 places at reception (split: 9 places for boys and 9 places for girls). Unfortunately she didn't get in although she was offered a place at JAPS.

I've just enrolled my three year old daughter on a "Gruffalo" singing/dancing workshop run by Freedom Academy: http://www.freedomacademy.co.uk/holiday-workshops They also run an Aliens Love Underpants workshop.

My daughter's nursery does a "Forest School" day every couple of weeks where the children spend the whole day in the woodland area at the back of the school. Even if it's wet they go out there (in waterproofs) and can get very muddy. My daughter loves it especially when they come across bugs, frogs, snails etc.

My daughter attended the Villa and absolutely thrived there. It's a fantastic setting with caring staff and a great manager. As your child approaches two years old it's worth contacting them to remind them you are on the waiting list and are still interested in taking up a place should one arise. My daughter got a place sooner than expected which I suspect was due to the several telephone calls made and emails I sent in the months before she turned two.

I recently moved from Camberwell to the Crofton Park area of Brockley and I absolutely love the area. You definitely get more for your money in SE4 but prices are getting ridiculous round here too. There's definitely an overspill coming from Dulwich (I was initially looking to move to East Dulwich myself) and open days seem to be the norm at house viewings. The area, which seems to be full of young families, has plenty of green space (Blythe Hill, Hilly Fields, Ladywell) and has plenty of decent primary schools (although my daughter goes to school in Herne Hill at the moment). For entertainment the Jam Circus is a fantastic bar with good food, pub quiz, live bands etc. During the day it's family friendly but in the evening can get quite busy. I'm lucky where I am because I'm a 5 minute walk from Crofton Park train station and a 10 minute walk from both Honor Oak and Brockley station so I've got quite a choice of different train/overground lines.

I used John Lewis on Oxford Street. I booked an appointment for a sales guy to come to my house. He came with samples and made a lot of useful suggestions. Following our decision to go ahead with using them they sent a surveyor round who measured up. We ended up having three very large fitted wardrobes in the bedrooms and two fitted low cupboards in the sitting room. In the end it cost us ?4.5k including labour which I thought was quite reasonable considering we went for the premium range. A colleague of mine got a quote from Sharps for fitted wardrobes in her bedroom around the same time and they quoted her ?11k!

Another recommendation for Dulwich Childcare (Paula Forbes). We used a babysitter through this agency last night and it was the first time we've ever used an agency - usually we rely on my parents. The babysitter was superb and our 2 year old daughter took to her immediately. It was a pleasure to deal with Paula and we'll definitely contact her again for any future childcare needs.

We recently used Colin Deery to do some work in our garden. Initially we just needed him to repair a fence that had come down but Colin ended up laying a new patio and edging, building a planter, removing a scaffolding pole that had been concreted into the ground and putting up an entirely new fence. We were so happy with the results and will happily recommend Colin. He's a lovely guy to deal with as well as being competitively priced. He also sourced all the materials himself. See picture attached (note the trellis fence on the right-hand side was not put up by Colin) His details are: [email protected] 07754 691541

Thanks for all the helpful information everyone. I'm going to the uniform shop this Saturday. (Anna - my daughter will be attending the morning sessions)

My daughter is due to start at the nursery in Herne Hill School next week on Thurs 24th April. I was supposed to be sent details in the post of the uniform she has to wear but I haven't received anything from them. They did send an information pack but there was absolutely nothing in there about the uniform. Does anyone know what uniform she has to wear for nursery entry and where I can buy it from?

I'm looking for someone who can give me quote on replacing all my garden fences (and possibly sourcing the fences). Both sets of neighbours are happy for me to replace all the fencing (see as I'm paying!) so it would be all the way round, not just one side of the garden. Ideally I'm looking for someone who can be available quite soon.

UPDATE: I just thought I would add an update in case there are any other parents who have their children on the waiting list for the Villa Nursery. My daughter has finally been offered a place to start in July 2013 (so shortly after her second birthday and two years after I registered her on the waiting list). I did have to make a few telephone calls to the Villa to get answer but this was mainly because she was offered a place at Nelly's Nursery (where she had been registered since before birth). The Villa was my preferred choice and I didn't want to accept the offer at Nelly's in case the Villa came through. Anyway, I've been impressed so far. The nursery manager has returned all my calls and seems very professional. I also managed to get the attendance days I wanted (Mondays and Tuesdays). My stay-at-home-husband is looking forward to the two days a week child-free time he is going to get!

Digbina - Just curious as to whether any of the Villa's leavers on the list you have made it into any of the big three independents in Dulwich (JAGS, Alleyn's or Dulwich College)?

Thanks for all the replies. I did contact the Villa yesterday and was told that it's still a bit to soon to know if places will be available in June 2013. I will keep pushing them though and let you know how I get on. rgracieg: I will keep you updated if I hear back from the Villa. It looks like our daughters could be starting around the same time.

Does anyone have experience of the waiting lists for the nurseries at the Villa and Herne Hill schools? I registered my daughter (who is now 20 months old) for both nurseries as soon as she was born. I know the Villa accepts children once they are two years old and Herne Hill take them on when they are almost three years old. I was wondering what the chances would be of her getting a place at either nursery. I've heard their waiting lists are oversubscribed.