intexasatthe moment

Do you know of any instances where Southwark have taken action ?

I think most people think it's perfectly fine to use their forecourt to park on and don't realise that driving across a pavement without a dropped kerb is illegal . Or they do know but are aware that no action will be taken .

Can't help ,but wanted to offer heartfelt commiserations . You must be gutted .What a horrible Christmas for you .

Over a 1000 views since last night . Everyone's Christmas as relaxing as mine ?

Only a couple more hours to go .Fingers crossed .

Can't all forumites get busy texting different combinations and see how we get on ??? Keeping everything crossed for you Willard .

Inclined to agree . Have noticed a new fashion for a scaffolding pole barrier to be placed in the road to reserve space . I do understand that builders need deliveries and skips, but reserving space needs to consider neighbours parking .And not left in place for days when there is no building activity . Builders don't own strips of the road anymore than car owners .

Well done PeckhamRose .I never know what to do in such circumstances apart from smiling sympathetically at the child . But I think it's good that the boy heard someone saying that he was actually being good and well behaved .And that you named what was happening to him. Well put rahrahrah.

In difficulties with Christmas present purchases . Panic Saturday indeed . Why couldn't my mother have had 5 girls as opposed to 4 boys and one girl? Sigh .

Butchers up at The Plough will reserve you a turkey that you can pick up on Christmas Eve ,or before .Not sure of their organic/free rangeness .

Many elderly people ( talking late 80's ,90's ,not your 70 year olds ) find cassettes an easier/more familar format to use than CDs .They appreciate recorded fiction and classic songs ,music etc . But I'm not sure how you'd locate them ...sorry ,not very helpful !

You're not alone Sean .It's all a mystery to me as well so I'm watching eagerly to see if anyone knows !

Or chippy even .

Sounds too simple and good an idea to be feasible .

NewWave - I don't know which branch of Boots you use but the pharmacy bit in Peckham is indescribably bad . And not just with Boots ,many times I've been piggy in the middle with the pharmacy blaming the surgery and vice versa . I now use Krystals in Nunhead .Fantastic service and carries lots of stock . and I'm with Sue on this one .

What time did it happen ? Was Blue Brick open ? Hope you're ok .

" Many children seem unable to cycle in a straight predictable line." well the sensible thing to do surely would be ,as I've suggested , learn how to do this ,and how to brake and signal ,off road . Dulwich Park has wide tarmaced roads with virtually no vehicles . If a cyclist can't cycle in a straight line they shouldn't be on a pavement .What will happen if they wobble into a road and into traffic ? Or hit an elderly person on the pavement ?

Though why this is being discussed on this thread beats me . Unless it's an attempt to get JB to organise ( more ? )cycling training for children . Which would be fantastic .

I've cycled from 4 years of age and my feeling is that children shouldn't cycle on pavements .Which are ,in any case ,tricky for novices as they have many obstacles ,dropped curbs ,leaves ,tree roots ,wheelie bins and curbs at intersections. Proficiency with bike control should be learnt off road ( and off pavement ) and cycling lessons on roads undertaken with trainers ,on quiet roads . I also think joggers are a pain on pavements - they're for pedestrians ,walking .Even talking to someone they bump into !Even if they impede the progress of joggers. Shocking as that may seem . Not for dodging runners . Go on shoot me .

I must say it would seem sensible ,given that there is a crossing patrol there,that the times were extended to cover Charter School times .

I can see why this has been moved to the Family section but sometimes it makes me sad that education isn't seen as being of interest to everyone . I guess it's inevitable that people are only interested in stuff when it directly affects them . By which time ,in the case of education ,it's often a question of "do I really wish my child to be involved in making a point/testing the system/trying to change things ?" Children having to sit multiple banding tests within the same LA should be one of the things that a Schools Admission Forum looks at and strives to ensure doesn't happen . Sadly it's no longer compulsary for local authorities to have such Forums .And Southwark doesn't seem to have one .At least as far as I can tell . So schools can carry on ,after all,they're "well within their rights " and we all know about these tests in advance so .....mmm,what ? If you don't want your child sitting multiple tests apply to schools that don't have them ? Spoilt for choice . And after all they're not exams assessing knowledge ,only grading exercises . So no need for anxiety . And they ensure that schools have a mix of abilities don't they ? In Harris's case the tests are designed to reflect the national spread of abilities as opposed to that of the cohort applying and Kingsdale's are part of an admissions policy so opaque that I doubt it meets the Schools Admissions Code so that's all good isn't it ? Apologies to OP for such a negative response ,hopefully someone else can offer you more practical support .

I had no idea ,we have cats and I'm shocked to learn this . So sorry you lost your cat and many thanks for taking the time to raise this .

I see this guy a lot waiting and getting on buses . He looks eccentric with the hair but apart from that he just goes quietly about his business . Never seen any peculiar behaviour . Guess the "undercover" police weren't very discreet or protecting their cover .I hope they were police and not impersonaters persecuting a vulnerable member of the public .

Well done Rob and James . Fingers crossed .How absurd that so much effort was necessary .