intexasatthe moment

Another vote here for depression/anxiety in the elderly as a subject matter - how can it be treated ?,medication so complicated in this age group ,recognition by person suffering so fraught ,travel issues for attending appointments so difficult .

well at least 5 ,plus an ambulance ,plus police tape just east of Camberwell Grove on Peckham Rd . anyone know why ?

but isn't ceramic smooth and non - grippy ??? ( must look on line ?

Dishandthespoon - I was a bit surprised myself ,especially since at the other extreme I have had a car towed away when perfectly legally parked and it took months ,me submitting photographs ,and finally the involvement of the police to get my money back .( and no apology for the wedding I missed because my car was gone or the damage caused to car when it was towed ) with the fallen of the windscreen ticket I sent them a photocopy of it ,so they knew I'd paid for parking at the time they were fining me for( legitimately I think as the regs say something about ticket being correctly displayed )

It is worth appealing - I've done so 3 times Lewisham - parking ticket fallen from window on to floor and therefore not on display Southwark - parking ticket displayed on road side of car rather than kerbside Southwark - fined when I was almost 100% sure I'd extended my telephone paid parking fee to cover the period in question but had deleted the texts by then and been sucessful ,no bureacracy ,no paying any fine first .

Delivered meals on wheels ready to eat aren't rare in Southwark . Although I understand that current Appetito staff are loosing their jobs because a different firm will be providing the service and bringing existing staff .

Have seen them in Asada . Not sure if still in stock . http://your.asda.com/2010/11/30/walking-on-ice-the-special-shoe-accessory-that-gives-you-extra-grip

Jeremy - that appetito menu must be for frozen meals for clients to heat up themseves . It's a great deal more varied than that delivered ready to eat .

Thanks for letting us know . My mother is in that area and had a similar bogus caller - it was 18 months ago but very similar description and story .

What kind of bins have you got now ?

Can I ask which end of Bellenden ? Worried about my elderly mum who lives in that area .

There's quite a lot of anxiety about smart meters ( see here http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/other_subjects/a1327330-Anyone-having-a-gas-leccy-meter-replaced-with-a-Smart-Meter-Something-you-need-to-know ). Whether that anxiety is justified or not I don't know .

Personally ,as an ex nursery worker ,I would suggest something other than chocolates or similar fattening food . Smellies ,flowers ( my favourite ) ,planted bulb ,pretty tree decoration .

This is silly I know ,but I miss my bike so badly . Talk about you dont know what you miss till it's gone which sure gives my age away . I tried to put my loss behind me and bought a massively expensive Trek hybrid from Balfe's ,tried to ignore how ugly the big fat tubes and cluttered handle bars were ....but could not ignore the leaden ride . Thought it was just me but now I'm engaged on the search for a second hand mixtie ( small frame ) 531 tubing I realise that what the frame is made of affects the ride . Oh ,how could I have been so stupid ,why didn't I keep my lovely Revell 1970's bike ( had from new for 40 years ) inside . I had no idea how special it was ,just loved to ride it . And will be a pig to replace as it was small . Keep your bikes indoors .

Poor you ,you must be exhausted . Semolina was always a fall back in our house .

and buying sugar for it in Poundland Peckham today ? If so you must be the kind person who helped my elderly mum who was looking for the Nationwide building society . I don't know if you read the EDF ,but in case you do - thank you ,it's such kindnesses that make life easier .

Annette :)-D womanofdulwich - thanks ,will try that ( have to google first ,have vague idea ) we can use thick Gordon Brown type pens .

Ok - dined out last year for the first time as elderly mother can't manage the stairs to my flat to " enjoy " our usual Xmas day . Was thrilled by reduction in shopping ,planning etc that dining out entailed . But ....felt the need for something to fill the silences ,jolly us along . So this year I'm thinking musical crackers ,boggle . The social mix is not ideal - 19 year old son ,me and partner ,91 year old mother ( visually impaired ,no social skills ,patronising and always sure she's right ). Any suggestions for table top party games to while away the time ,or ( we can always dream ) help us be festive ?

When I've been without internet access ,in extremis ,I've used other methods available to me - library ,internet cafes . But no internet access and no phone contact seem odd to me .

It can be a very time consuming process handing things in to the police . The last time I tried I gave up after half an hour of waiting to see someone at the counter and simply left the bag ( prescription drugs of many kinds ) on the seat and left .

Oh thank goodness . And thank goodness for the kind sensible Turkish cafe people . The care home must be beside themselves - if it's the one I think it is ,they are really excellent and caring . I bet arrangements for that fire exit to be alarmed will be in hand sharpish .

Please ,lets not let this thread get distracted and distorted into another of Hugenot's sparring contests . Just asking like .

Ah ,I see . Yes ,I have a feeling ( having used them with my mother in a wheelchair ) that the bendy buses do provide better space for wheelchairs and pushchairs than the double deckers . Though I've always avoided peak times when the wheelchair is involved . But have often seen people with pushchairs having to wait for another bendy bus at busy times so think this happens less because of design of bus and more a feature of rush hour .

In my view everything in life is " political " , no need to get hot and bothered and treat the description as an accusation or criticism . And no need for people to "defend " themselves against a perceived insult .

first mate - yes patronising and paternalistic . Blaming the council for conniving to delay weather dependent work when the weather has been wet and listening, if rather late, to locals about Grove Vale isn't very fair or likely to encourage them to listen again. Leaving aside my view that the argument is being misrepresented in the first half of this sentence ,it's the last bit that gets me . " encourage them to listen again " if the kiddies are, in our view , disrepectful we'll stop listening to them. Why does Southwark need encouraging to listen ? Aren't they elected ? Aren't they supposed to be listening ? IME local authorities do what they like ,after they've spent money pretending to consult ,so good on all of you who are exposing this and trying to achieve a wider consultation .