citizenED

Whilst we were trying to sort out our working arrangements after baby No.2 we approached MrsED's workplace several times asking for reduced hours. Her employers dragged their feet. Then we did a bit of research into family friendly hours and found a proforma on a website (I think it was one of the unions, but can't find it now) which we filled in and mailed to them. Hey presto, couple of weeks later they agreed to her request ofr family friendly hours. Can't find the form we used, but have a poke about on the Web. You could start here.

That's 4.45 quintillion dollars, Ted. Just to put you in the picture.

Bit further afield, there's some good ones over in Wimbledon - bit busy at the moment though.

Sorry, Quids, me and my lot can't do the afternoon session. I'll be there for the evening though.

Of course you could ask the same of any other art form; cinema, music etc. There might be a bit of a dip in the perceived quality of published novels at the moment but I'd still say it is important for writers to reflect our times through the vehicle of the novel. You can take all the non-fiction tomes you like but nothing sums up the spirit of the times like a fictional narrative. So, in answer, yes, the world does need its new lifeblood of novels.

Keef said, "I find moderation very hard, if I go to the pub early, I will be there til closing, so I try to think about getting there an hour later, so I start drinking later. If I'm having a drink indoors, I will again empty the fridge, so just have to buy a few, which is annoying, is it's cheaper to buy in bulk, but if it's there, I will drink it." You forgot the "My name is Keef..." at the front of that sentence.;-)

It is very intersting to read about everyone's work/life balance predicaments and solutions. It is somewhat reassuring to realise that we are not the only ones seemingly struggling to get the mix right. After child no.1, MrsED took nine months off and then we used a childminder for a couple of days a week as she got back to work, having a job in the health sector which meant shift work. We thought we could get by on the mix of my regular day-time hours (in education, thus long holidays!) and her shifts but it became increasingly apparent that her working when I was not, ie weekends and holidays, was not doing much for the sanity or our realtionship. And then, that whole plan became totally untenable when child no.2 came along. How crazy that we never saw the practical implications of having two to care for. Wow. Needing two incomes to survive led us down the path of having an au pair - the idea of which I would never have entertained in my previous life - an arrangement that has largely worked well and has now put us in the position where we can pursue MrsED's dream of trying to work for herself. The problem is shifting from paid employment to full self employment which is a conjuring trick with its own set of issues yet to be overcome. As has been intimated, it is all the juggling that I feel uncomfortable with. I like to take a good deal of responsibilty for the care of our two (and education is a good career in that respect) but balancing a full time job with running a household leaves you with the feeling that you are less of super-parent, but a failing jack-of-all-trades much in need of a glass of Chablis each evening!

Yes, there is the Bread of Life cafe, and there is also the Plough Cafe up this end, but come on, neither are what everybody means when they say that its nice to have a cafe up this end of the lane.

I've left my car unlocked with the key in the ignition overnight. My car was there in the morning. My initial reaction was to think how lucky I was, but on reflection I doubt that it was luck. Quite simply there are not hordes of car thieves trailing through East Dulwich trying all the car doors every evening.

"Thus allowing people to enjoy the glorious summer afternoons with their children and get horribly drunk." Should there be a then inserted somewhere in that sentence, dear Michael? If so, then I agree with the idea in theory, only it didn't quite pan out like that at the Herne and, though I cannot vouch for others, it won't be happening like that at the Rye with me since I am now unavailable for the afternoon slot because an event that I had assumed was an evening do actually transpires to be in the afternoon and so instead of attending the Forum drinks with my family in the day I will be at said event and will now be coming to the drinks in the evening as I had initially not expected to; so could get horribly drunk sans offspring. Voila

Yes, this is something to look forward to. Quite a surprise that a nice cafe hasn't opened up at that junction before now. I wish it all the best.

"A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing" And that is precisely what we get with all the "incidents" threads - a load of conjecture, suggestion, intimation, guesswork and basic prejudice masquerading as fact. Its a fertile ground for anyone wanting to stir things up. Some people are suggesting that it's good to have a heads-up about what is going on in our area but you have to ask yourself whether the information you are getting is accurate. I suggest that all these threads merge together to create a skewed picture. It's a bit like when "Eastenders" producers claim that it is an accurate piece of social realism. Rather its a distillation of all the worst bits of life. Fun, gossipy and exciting maybe, but far from realism. There is often the feeling that this board is a forum for a bunch of good people who all know each other and we are just passing info amongst friends. It's not. It's a public place, open to everyone. We don't know who is writing and we don't know who is readiing. If you see a crime - call the police, text your mates and if you must use the forum, pm your friends.

And as if by magic, and just to prove Sean's point, at this moment there are four such threads topping the ED gossip section.

Hey Andystar, leave my mum out of this.

All this technical stuff is beyond me. I can only just cope with regular typinf.

Welcome to you Jimmybob to the ever burgeoning Forum. Hope you settle in quickly. PS there's already a jimbob, jim-the-chin and jim1964. You're in good company.

No, if the likes of theBeard were in power we'd be in a far more dangerous and scary place. He sees the world in terms of them and us, when the world is actually a many-faceted place.

Great post, Northlondoner. I pretty much agree with everything you say.

The serious point of reporting suspected crime on a public forum needs special attention. A separate section for such threads has been ruled out. I think everyone should resist the temption to do it. If you witness/experience or suspect a crime, phone the police, then text your mates. Posting it on the forum is not the same as texting/phoning your friends. If you have to use the forum, use the pm facility

Fair point Moos, but the problem is labelling someone a criminal when there is no evidence that a crime has been committed. On that "dodgy blokes" thread someone said that they might have simply been having a look around the area and that may have indeed been the case yet the impression is of yet another unsettling incident having taken place in our area.

I don't think we need to have a crime section. Admin should just delete every thread that reports a crime or any other allegation of suspicious activity.

Cameron obviously. You wouldn't hit Brown because it's just not on to hit a man when he's already down; Cameron's dander is always so perkily up that its just too tempting to give the guy a slap. Ant or Dec?

Sean, can you clarify; this week or last week? Not seen either of those but could go down on the Lovefilm list in the CitED household. I had the misfortune of seeing "No Country for Old Men" at the weekend. Well made, brilliantly acted, some fabulous photography and as morose as buggary - but oh how unrealistically distressing. There were more murdered people than living ones. Left me with a distinctly unpleasant taste in my mouth.

Flask for hot drinks: four years down the line and still haven't learnt. Doh! Put "me time" on hold until 2030. That's the year, not the hour.

Do I find it annoying: HellNoHellYes