womanofdulwich

I should clarify not an equity partner an associate partner- no equity involved. I do not think they owed me a living. I made the decision.I worked full time for 2 years. I have never been an equity partner-but surely your share of equity can be split to reflect the hours you put in- say 80% of what a full time person would have for 4 days a week ? At the time it did not sound wrong Huquenot, it was the way it was and if I wanted to make it up a level ( through that glass ceiling)there was no alternative. I think nowadays it might be easier to work less than full time-and be a partner? a lot is covered by the phrase " works from home one day a week". I think this applies for a lot of men as well as women.

You are probably right, it is a generational thing. When i finally made it to being a partner at the age of 35 I was the only woman under 55- and the other 2 women were 55-60 had no children - and the condition to be made a partner was that i had to work full time. I don't think either of the other women were particularly helpful and the most sympathetic person was a immediate superior whose wife had had a baby about the same time as me. Maybe if you are 30 now there are more supportive women at management level.

Some women are just plain bitches though..............

I am not so sure. I think some woman have had a tough time of being a working mother- or not a mother at all( career choice)I think quite often they have a less sympathetic ear than a man who is a father.

This is one of the hardest things and if you can get someone else- partner or friend it is best as they cannot smell your milk. we used own milk in bottles to start off with - to minimise the change- but really staying calm is a help ( on so easy to say it now).

i think you have to think of the wear and tear on yourself. my friend had 5 children and had hip replacements by 35 yrs old. plus her uterus dropping etc. And you can get 3 in the back of most cars, which is very important.

i think you can but it can "weep" . if you are using fondant type icing i think you can drip it in but hard to get a consistent colour. i think butter icing is the way to go - or glace icing.

maybe they are filming it for someone that cant be there? That is the only excusable reason.

Lorraine Chase in Sainsburys Dog Kennel Hill.

You tend to get charity shops where there are a lot of vacant shops-something do do with the rent (I think). Take it as a sign that ED is thriving.

My answer to question 8 is that for women who do not work but claim beneifts other than child allowance you could take some beneifts away to force them to work but theymight just go on to have more children to stay in that circle ( and I am sure a small number do ). But if you withdrew benefits you would be hurting the children too. When my children were small I would go into school on my days off for the odd morning to help children read. Perhaps the mothers that dont work dont have the skills to do this though? Its a shame that life is so compartmentalised and there cannot be a community type answer.

especially when the week before boss had changed BCA to ABC....

1. Do you want to work (for money, outside the home)? yes because i want money to buy nice things. 2. Do you feel that all women including mothers ought to work for money outside the home? only if they need money and it is financially viable- no point working for money if you have 3 children under 5 years old unless you are on Nicola Horlicks type salary. 3. Do we tend towards health, teaching, social or people oriented types of work because we prefer it or because that is the main option available to us? Most of these jobs are public sector and they are more accommodating for women to work child friendly/flexible hours. 4. Do you think men and women are suited to doing the same types of jobs? There is a tendency but that is all. 5. The unequal representation of women at higher levels of the workforce ? is this a result of unjust discrimination? no because woman generally see their role as mothers and sacrifice their careers to be at home with children. A lot of women do not want the higher level jobs as they have enough to manage out of the workplace. 6. Do you see motherhood as a problem which makes it difficult for you to work? Not a problem a privilege. It is up to each mother to see what works best for her.Being a mother is work, just unpaid. It is not a problem just that you cannot expect everyone else to change to what suits you as a mother, especially as your needs continually change until your children leave home. 7. Do you think the problem of motherhood can be easily fixed by paid childcare subsidised if necessary by the state? There is not a problem with motherhood, cheaper good quality childcare would assist many to work but a lot of women do not want to work. However if women do not do some work once their children are at school they get out of the habit and find they lose their skills and confidence to do so. However working outside of school hours is a huge problem for many parents. 8. Do you think it is up to the state to sort out such matters?Not to sort out such matters as such but they could help enormously by encouraging more women to do some kind of work within school hours once their children are at school. They could force schools to have before and after school care schemes and holiday play schemes. They could withdraw some benefits but this would be very hard and mean that some women had even more children. Many women do not work for 12 -18 years and it is very find for them to find work which is purposeful.

It is illegal to employ an au pair for sole care of babies- or at least if you look at au pair agency web sites - such as "au pair world - it is"-if you think about it they are often 17-19 year olds that have lived at home and now often coming abroad for the first time to improve their english. They have no first aid training they will not know about swimming lessons, one o clock clubs etc etc. If you have to use a nursery and need "wrap around care" then an au pair can help ( as some nurseries keep shorter hours than a working day if you have to travel into the city). Try Simply Childcare website or give them a ring they are terribly helpful. You are not too late at all. Or below for definition of au au pair linkpairs

I think it should be a flat sum and I would ask your nanny what she thinks.If your children sleep through the night and really she is doing a normal babysit and staying on then I think the extra hours of say 12pm to 9am would not be so much more. But if your nanny is leaving her own family /partner behind then may be she would like more. If her partner is staying and you are getting them a takeaway even better.

sorry i think my comments were to siobhamleighhunt not pecan pie. Nothing wrong with tiring them out to keep them quiet though!;-)

my son was also challenging when younger. we did not eat out or go on holiday other than to family or self catering for first 7 years. he was strong and independent. he is 14 now and very capable and has been for the last 3 years motivated,leadership skills good all rounder. His older brother was compliant and I had never smacked him- only threatened. youngest positively relished a smack so that was no good as a tactic. he loved a good set to, and wore me out- but we got there in the end and he is generally a lovely young man that I am proud of. But boy did he put me through it and mean I had to change my parenting pattern and challenge the way i had been raised. he started doing lots of physical things from early age- especially competitive sport which was really good wore him out. i played tennis with him, ball games, cycling, setting out obstacle courses in the garden etc just to wear him out. Team sports were not so good when he was younger but he loved one on one. I am sure this is not a difficulty as such, just a challenge compared to your expectations based on your experience to date. She will go far- much easier to see her as very clever and needing to be challenged than as a problem!!(tu)

a person from overseas can legally do longer than official au pair hours , you just have to pay more. people still call them au pairs but they are often untrained childcarers.they will have no first aid or training in nutrition etc - but what mother does have? they are a cheap alternative.

I think Robert Elms strikes a chord with a lot of us of a certain age that benefitted from a state education and free university ( often being the first in our family). We came out being educated in life as well as academia. We might feel comfortable /uncomfortable in some social spheres ( like the sch! comment, and sometimes our parents attitudes) but we are basically ok and know who we are and where we came from. We love life and what it throws at us and we generalyy LOVE London.

Generally positive, but if not through an agency ( who will/should put them in touch with others) then try really hard to find them some friends. I am having a real problem finding local lessons for mine as she arrived mid term, and lessons are one way of meeting people. She has had to pay ?37 a week for 3 morning sessions in oxford street.PLus fares that takes a pot out of her pay. Try and make it clear when she is "off duty".

Strongly advise against some of the metal ones. it is really noisy to be on the bottom bunk if the person on the top bunk turns over.

when making spag bol etc i finely cut veg into that and lentils, chick peas etc. you could do a similar dish with quorn which i have done for vegetarians but I know some vegetarian think quorn is too "meatish"

try the simply childcare web site asap.advertise there and search too. term time only would suit a lot of carers.Good luck.

i parked on a street near the seafront for free last weekend, and as it was so cold there was plenty of parking.

if you banned private schools some people would band together and home educate/tutor at home etc. The affluent and most determined will always find a way.