Bellenden Belle

Hope he's done his homework and taken into account the possible cuts on the horizon...means testing child benefit could mean a cut of ?1750 for a two-child middle income family. The hand giveth and the hand taketh away.... MrBen Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Like it or not tho..a huge majority are... a > lifelong Labour voter I know went Tory this time > round. But his reasons were pretty simple...he's > the so called hard working squeezed middle...on a > joint household income of ?50k with no disposable > at the end of the month. He has a young family and > had calculated that a Conservative government > would give him an extra 1500 quid a year. Enough > to let him take his family on holiday for the > first time. You'd be living in lala land if you > didn't think that dynamic influenced Thursdays > result.

Just wanted to give a heads up that Theatre-Rites are bringing their show Rubbish to the Dulwich Festival tomorrow afternoon. Brilliant, imaginative theatre, I saw it at the Albany last year. Hope people don't mind these recommendations, I just think it's a rare opportunity to see really lovely children's theatre locally. http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/apr/18/rubbish-review-puppetry-kids-theatre-rites-southbank-centre

Saw Force Majeure last week - loved the cinema and the cosy sofas. I'm short - 5ft 1 - and had difficulty with the subtitles suggesting the tiers are slightly lacking.

I haven't been but have read very positive things on the Penge Tourist Board (a Facebook group). They seem to support the arts and don't have the strict disciplinarian ethos that Harris schools are often associated with. We'll be looking at primaries in Penge next year and am looking forward to visiting Harris.

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,1339737,1339752#msg-1339752

Also - unicorn theatre is just along the side of More London's terrific water feature. Terrific fun. Bring some spare clothes so you don't end up with a small child dripping wet and an emergency dash to Baby Gap!

They have a programme aimed at children from XS to L! I get quite sad when I see shows my little one is too old for now! Hard to believe... But yes, they have a very good programme for older children/ young people which is a very hard group to cater for (particularly boys).

This is a bit like lamenting La Moulin closing. The sad truth is that it was a very dated restaurant. Vegetarian food has moved on considerably and yet Food for Thought remained as worthy and sadly to my humble taste buds as bland as ever. There are brilliant veggie places in London (Mildred's being just one example) - I think we should applaud Food for Thought for being one of the forerunners and then celebrate all the fabulous options that have followed.

I see a lot of children's theatre with my little boy and if I'm honest a lot of it is mediocre (though I'm more critical than my three year old). But occasionally I see something so wonderful I think it's worth sharing. The Velveteen Rabbit at the Unicorn Theatre is one of the most beautiful and moving pieces I have seen in a long time. Steal a child if you need an excuse but please go if you can. https://www.unicorntheatre.com/whatson/21/the-velveteen-rabbit

Sanity Girl - do you know if I can get wifi at the Langham?

Okay so I have kind of double booked myself and so will be around oxford street/ regent street at 4.30 when I need to participate in a conference call. Any suggestions of where I could go where I won't look a total prat and where I can give the impression that I'm in a working environment rather than a busy starbucks?

Wink by Phoebe Eclair-Powell at Theatre503 is an extraordinary debut. Really worth a visit - the guardian thought so too :-) http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/mar/18/wink-review-theatre-503-london-phoebe-eclair-powell

Brilliant guys - I didn't realise the 10 day max rule referred to Keep In touch days rather than general working. That solves the problem perfectly!

I have two jobs. A PAYE job that is paying me statutory maternity pay and a freelance one day a week position which isn't. Am I allowed to use my keep in touch days to work in my freelance role - a company that will Struggle a lot more without me (and who happen to pay a much higher daily rate as it's freelance) Any thoughts on anything I should be aware of?

Thanks to everyone for the advice. Really useful and I think I will just play it by ear and perhaps start by providing meals - after all the little one will only be a year so easy to do that without causing offence. Monkey - I am seriously envious of your childhood foodie memories - I think I'd be thrilled with that for me!

Happypuppy's second ever post.... Don't feed the trolls.

1 out of 5.

Yes - that's my gut feeling too. it'll be four days from a year old - That's a fair few meals.

So I'm curently researching childminders for no.2. I did a nursery for my first and whilst there were niggles I never worries about food. It so happened that a childminder who I think is fantastic in terms of activities was able to provide a days cover for number 1. I guess it was a good chance to see what it was like before committing. I love the fact they went to a nature park, saw lots of animals and rolled in mud. These are the things that don't often happen in nurseries. BUT - he got beans on toast for lunch and then baked potato with cheese for dinner. I would have been fine with either of those if the other meal had had protein and veg. How important are meals? We've always done an evening meal anyway but would people be hugely put off by this? Even though the rest of the offering might be good?

Yes, similar requirements but again three hours. And I think that's the minimum to expect that much to be done. I would only add that many cleaners nowadays come in pairs and trying to stay in the house whilst they are there would be a complete nightmare. If you really feel it's necessary perhaps just do it the first couple of times.

I imagine change in t&cs is the introduction of zero-hour contracts. Lots of arts organisations have them and whilst I think they are grim, I imagine DPG is struggling with cuts to funding like many.

Nope - Perfectly legal. https://www.gov.uk/apprenticeships-guide/pay-and-conditions Sue Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Surely they can't bring in people on a wage of > ?2.73 an hour? > > That must be illegal, surely. > > Have I missed something?

Thank you for your kind words. We have indeed written to the nursery this morning so will look forward to the response. Believe it or not, I'm not at all against my son indulging in a bit of song and dance. I was absolutely delighted when my son and I began dancing on a daily basis to 'Happy' - much to the annoyance of my other half who is even more curmudgeonly than me. And Baby Belle used to have a whole routine to Do-Rei-Me. I think if the theme had been Popular Musicals circa 1960-1990 I would have been thrilled! Altogether now...."Food Glorious Food, hot sausage and mustard...." ladyruskin Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Bellenden Bell, I think your points are valid and > alloquently put. Have you written to the nursery > expressing your dismay? Our nursery has themes > none of which are linked to commercial brands, and > I would strongly object if there were to begin > doing so. > > For what it's worth, my son knows all the words to > 'Let it go' and is Frozen obsessed but he hasn't > got it from home or watching it at nursery. The > sad fact is, that Frozen is a huge craze amongst > young children at the moment, so he'll have learnt > the words from his friends at nursery or > elsewhere. That's part of growing up I suppose - > I'd much rather he sang along to the music that I > like :) That doesn't mean nurseries/schools > should latch on to the idea for themes though! >

As Otta has perfectly summarised - whilst I can't speak for the sector as a whole - no I don't believe some of the nursery staff I've encountered are particularly experienced or highly educated. But that is no reflection on their ability to do a great job - I've actually visited nurseries where the staff have qualifications coming out their ears but the nursery itself has lacked the warmth of where I send my son. But what I would hope is that senior members of staff would design and oversee the activities. And of course I don't want my child to be hot housed! Mooncake - absolutely agree about no computers or tv. Loving the idea of a Japanese soundtrack though - I'm actually quite partial to a singalong, as is Toddler Belle (must stop calling him Baby Belle.)

Thanks for the clarification Saffron. As to your question of what I object to.... I think children nowadays are bombarded by brands - everything has a tv or film character attached to it. And with that comes a remarkably small frame of reference. Children are fed narratives that they swallow whole, rather than giving them the chance to use their imaginations and create their own worlds and stories. Resorting to referencing a Disney film for a week is just so reductive. I would love the nursery to have a snow or winter-themed week. They could build toboggans out of cardboard boxes and decide where they were going to. They could explore which animals lived in cold climates. They could listen to books with a snow theme. They could even make those snow-covered pyramids which have desiccated coconut on them which I was always partial to growing up :-) There would be absolutely no need for two bloody princesses in branded costumes or any excuse to show clips of a film that so many children are already obsessed with. They'd be no need for parents to have to try and track down princess costumes (and whatever the male equivalent is.) I also would like to see the nursery choosing themes based around books rather than films. My son used to go to a brilliant speech and therapy group that took a single book and then did crafts and other activities based around the themes and images in the book for around ten sessions. It meant the children grew to know and love the book which they read at the end of each session. Baby Belle was delighted when we got our own copy of the book for home. And I just think that education - nursery or otherwise - should be free from commercialism. I don't want my son's education sponsored by Disney.