JS33

I also have a skinny daughter and so far the best for us have been from John Lewis (M&S fit possibly better, but she claimed they were itchy and would only wear them inside out).

Apologies if I'm somehow missing something obvious, but unfortunately I haven't been able to find a hard copy of the right edition at a reasonable price. Amazon is selling something called the "Rare Text of 1901" for a mere 350 quid -- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dracula-The-Rare-Text-1901/dp/1551350009. Has anyone else managed to find a normal version of the right edition?

We got an Early Rider for our daughter when she was three, mostly b/c my husband fell in love with how it looked. It did the job -- she rode it for a year and a half and this summer graduated to a proper pedal bike almost instantly, but in retrospect I think we should have gotten a lighter metal bike (I didn't know about the Decathlon ones, but Strider and Islabike both do them, although I'm sure they're much more expensive). I'd say the most important factors are fit, in that you want one she can use for a while and weight, bc you will probably end up carrying it more than you would like. I'm not convinced this is something that's worth spending more money on, as long as the bike works reasonably well, because balance bikes just aren't that complicated, and would instead recommend saving your money for a Islabike or Frog as a first pedal bike, bc they are so much lighter and easier to use. I've now had several friends who have gotten rid of cheap, heavy first bikes that their children wouldn't use and shelled out for a second, more expensive lighter one. We bought a secondhand Islabike, although they unfortunately don't sell for much less used.

I haven't used them or gone to any of their parties, but found out about Whippersnappers' party packages when I was researching my daughter's party and also considering a disco -- http://whippersnappers.org/child-youth-services/birthday-parties/birthady-parties-over-5s/. I've heard their Dulwich Park location is a bit small for a party, but think the space at Brockwell Lido is much bigger.

And I'll be a bit late but will get there eventually.

This may be one of those things everyone else in the area already knows, but after living in the area for years, I've only just discovered the fresh bread from Barry's Food, next door to what used to be Homemade. I picked up a loaf a week and a half ago and it was so good that we've just bought our third one since then. So far we've had the rectangular flattish one (I'm sure there's an official name for the shape but don't know it) and the seeded loaf and both were fantastic.

Mulberry Centre at Myatt's Field (where the One O'Clock club is) is a lovely space if you were planning to have quite a large party. Some toys inside, a separate baby room, use of kitchen and a fenced outdoor space with some ride-on toys. It's a adjacent to what I think is one of the best playgrounds in the area, although it might be a little advanced for two year olds. Good if there were going to be any older siblings, though. Nothing special to entertain adults, unfortunately, but at least there is enough space so the noise wouldn't be too maddening!

Argh, I'm so sorry but I'm suddenly minus childcare and will need to miss tonight's meeting. I'd even read the book, too, and had been looking forward to the discussion because I found it a bit baffling. .. .

I saw this thread while looking for a Kodaly-based music class for my daughter a year ago, although we weren't able to find anything convenient/age appropriate at the time. I'm reviving the thread now because I've been speaking with a teacher in the ED area who is considering setting up one or more small classes for children in the Reception/Year 1 age range. Here is a link to her classified post, in case anyone else is interested. http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?25,1168315,1168315#msg-1168315

My daughter and I would love to come as well. I can't remember where I read/heard this, but I'm fairly certain they're staying through lunch the first week, with pickup straight after.

Question for dog owners, and apologies if this has already been discussed on the thread, but how useful are designated dog area in parks? There is a fairly large fenced area at Myatt's Field specifically for dogs to run off lead and socialise with one another, and I often see people and their animals there. I know they're popular elsewhere, but don't know if people here would go for them. Would such areas reduce the need to walk dogs around the rest of the park?

Two in the under-5s playground at Chumleigh Gardens (part of Burgess Park), and there is also a lovely, partly-covered one called "Bananas at the Beach" inside the Sure Start centre there. Not sure what hours the Sure Start one is available -- I used to be able to get in most weekday mornings a couple years ago -- it's a bit of a hidden gem, because no one knows it there, so it tends to be empty even when the under-5s area is heaving.

Another recommendation for Gary Vu. We've had him over twice for various jobs and have been very pleased both times. He's been very quick to respond/come by, done excellent work and been a pleasure to work with.

I'm also allergic to a lot of suncreams, including some of those for sensitive skin (get a bad, oozy rash) and now only use non-chemical sunblocks where the only active ingredient is titanium dioxide and/or zinc oxide. It is easy to find formulations up to SPF 20/30, although I've also been able to find ones going up to 50 and 60 with some effort. One thing I've learned is that I need to make sure everyone I'm likely to come into contact with also uses that suncream, because I've gotten a rash even after touching someone else who was wearing normal suncream, so both my husband and daughter use it as well, even though they aren't themselves allergic. Good luck!

I am hoping to cut down an old Ikea table and a few wooden stools to make them child-sized, but only have a dull handsaw and limited DIY skills, which pretty much guarantees that it will take me forever to make 20 uneven cuts. Does anyone have a suitable electrical saw for the job and time to help me do it? (It would be a bonus if you also happen to have a sanding belt, although I can do the finishing by hand at home if necessary.) I would be happy to bring all the legs to you, and to pay a reasonable amount. I don't know how much that would be, though, so please PM me if you might be able to help, and let me know what amount you think is fair. The timing on this is very flexible, and to be honest I still need to make the trip to Ikea for the stools, so there's no rush.

Although I don't doubt that some have had bad experiences, I just wanted to put in another good word for LLC. I was there just last week looking for something extremely inexpensive and found the staff very friendly and helpful. They actually spent quite a bit of time and effort helping me figure out what would work best for me, which I very much appreciated.

I had this problem recently and discovered that part of the problem was that the bleach was running off before it could do its work. I ended up soaking bits of cut up cotton pads (we had loads of left over from baby days), in bleach and put it down over the stains for a few hours, which cleared it up. I think it would also work with toilet roll, if you don't have any cotton wool handy. Good luck!

[Re-sent as PM]

Sorry, not directly responsive to pilsbury's question, but I wanted to post information about a new football class starting in the area, which is a 10 am Saturday class for 3.5-5 year olds at the East Dulwich Community Centre on Darrell Road. We did a course with Coach Denzil at his previous location in Catford and thought it was terrific -- he's very engaging and easily kept the children's attention, the exercises are more challenging than the ones at several younger toddler football classes we'd tried, he plans to keep the classes fairly small, and now there's the bonus that he's shifted the class into this area. He was very well-regarded as a coach when he taught at Little Kickers a couple of years ago (we learned of him through a rec from a friend with a child in that class), but has now branched out to teach on his own. You can reach him at [email protected]. He is currently evaluating the level of interest in classes for both younger (2.5-3 y.o.) and older (5-7 y.o.) children, and may be starting those classes in the next few weeks if there is enough interest, so please get in touch with him if you would be interested in either of those.

Bought ours at the shop in Push Studios, behind the butchers'.

Thanks very much for the responses! I've now heard the same thing about the seat making it more difficult to cycle from a few people. Does anyone know if there's anywhere around where I'd be able to test out a few different seats? I've now been to several of the closer by shope (BC Bikes, Brixton Cycles, Evans in Clapham and the shop a few doors down), but each seems to carry just one or two types of seat, and there didn't seem to be any way of trying them out.

My nearly four-year-old daughter will be attending a school a ways away from us and I am considering taking her to/from with a bicycle, since our public transport options aren't very good and we don't have a car. Any advice on what sort of kit to use? I'd like to get a fairly simple/lightweight bike but haven't purchased a bicycle in over 20 years so don't know what I might want, and am completely flummoxed as to what to put her in -- front seat, back seat, trailer, front basket-thing. A very short part of the trip will be on a road with heavy traffic, but I should be able to use sidestreets for the rest. One consideration is that, especially if the equipment is expensive, I'd like to be able to use it for the next few years, if possible. Also, I'm curious what people do to keep dry-ish when it rains? Slickers for everyone?

Although this is in the short flight category, I'll put in a plug for the Channel Islands, since I think it may well be only about 4 hours door to door. We've been twice, including Jubilee weekend with a 3 year old, and have loved it both times. We stayed at the Waves on Guernsey this last trip -- they're little flats right on the beach (although it's the windier beach on the west side of the island). We were lucky enough to get good weather, so were able to enjoy the beautiful beaches on Guernsey and Herm, a short ferry ride away, booked a sitter so we could have dinner out two nights, and generally had a lovely time. Someday I'd like to go to Jersey to visit the animal park, although think I'll probably always have a special fondness for Guernsey.

There is a meeting (possibly more than one) over the summer. I'm glad to hear that this sort of thing is discussed then -- I wasn't sure if it would be out of line to use the sessions to attempt to make friends.

Our 3.5 year old daughter will be starting nursery at Rosemead in September -- anyone else going too, and interested in meeting up over the summer? Ours can be a bit shy in larger groups, so we were thinking it would be nice if she could get to know a few of her future classmates in a smaller setting ahead of time. Also, we are trying to sort out afterschool care for her and considering either a nanny-share or childminder based in East Dulwich, if anyone else is in the same situation?