womanofdulwich

i completely agree PEckham Rose, Whitstable is closest but Thanet nicer. However there is a lovely strip of shingle at WHitstable and you can be surrounded by kite surfers and that is quite exciting. They look a bit like the milk tray man when they are all lycred up and land on the beach in front of you;-)

we went to whitstable last sunday . m20, a289 to the a2 to whitstable. took 1 hr 20 mins.

the cycle track at herne hill have some brilliant courses

That is economic poverty. I am not talking just economic poverty.

Lordship Lovely, did you form a bond with the project you worked on? is it long lasting or more a tick box move on thing ( sorry, I don't mean it quite as cruelly as that- but is it just an eye opener, or more of a long term involvement? raising awareness etc? Did you feel you were being exploited at all - or even that you were exploiting others? or maybe one can't tell? I cannot help thinking my own children have a bit of an easy life here, whilst there is poverty a few miles away that they are not really exposed to and/or dismissive of. I would prefer them to spend time here understanding how our society does not work and appreciate what they have, but that is not the sexy travel to Africa etc. In these days of green lifestyles/ airmiles etc I am confused as to what message we are giving out.

Jeremy- in answer to your question- not my children- but friends have asked on behalf of their children. I am just not sure what this all leads to. They only ask for money when they are doing something which is "volunteering" usually to a third world country. At one time it was they worked hard and went off travelling. Now there is a growing trend to go on projects and I am not sure who benefits from them. I was wondering how much of this money really helps and who it helps? I wonder if the projects they are involved in could be done by people who live there any way and someone is lining their pockets along the way? If the post gap children come back and have some life long commitment to raise awareness to wherever they were then that would make sense. I am sorry I don't think I made myself clear to begin with. It is not the affording the money so much as what actually happens to it that I am unsure of.

Thanks Steve T. I am so pleased your daughter worked beforehand to do this-this is what I thought a gap year used to be. What did she think about it? would she recommend it? A long time ago you could do VSO when you graduated ( or maybe before). Now there are a lot of Gap Year companies that come into schools selling their wares ( Pay to volunteer at hospitals, zoos etc). I would be particularly interested to know about these.Which is what my first post was really angling at.

Perhaps some of you are unaware of the ?2k plus companies that take children to third world countries. Perhaps you have never been approached by these teenagers and their parents. I think the tone of some of these posts are completely uncalled for. It is not a criticism I just don't know how good these "experiences" are.

What is this all about? Why are children/parents spending ?2K plus together to go to other countries ? what do the children get out of? what do the countries get out of it? and is someone in the middle making a heck of a lot of money out of it? I an genuinely unsure about this. I am often asked to give these children money to do this but I am not sure what it goes to? Would it be more beneficial if these children did something in this country- kids and co etc ( may be they do not have the skills needed)?What does everyone else think ? especially if you have been yourself. Do you develop a relationship with wherever you were and continue to go there / raise money/awareness?

a little bit off but we went from herne hill/elephant to farringdon, then the tube round to paddington and then train. less than 1.5 hours.( 8.47 from herne hill etc etc)

Lucky us have been offered free use of a villa here- but with 2 teenage boys not sure what actually "is happening". All lovely beaches but lots of travel blurb about "unspoilt" might mean boring to some.If any one has been I would appreciate some feedback on whether a week would be the maximum of if we could spin it out for longer?( especially as free). Thanks

ditto- all it takes is a loss of concentration- distraction-doorbell etc. ALways use straps on buggies and highchairs.

and breatfeeding outside is not easy when you have 4 layers on!!!

is this the third fire we have had under railway arches in this area? it is becoming a lame excuse for being late into work.anyone know why?

I don't know how old your child is, but really I do not think you should have to pay for anything extra unless , for example you are at a state school and trying to make the leap into the private school system. I think a few short sessions a week ,parent and child,should fill the gap. If you are very concerned may be go and see the head teacher. But they can be very defensive.

we have also used abc au pairs in se22 who are good at keeping au pairs in touch with each other. maybe called ,linka too.

try dulwich village shop windows i think i have seen a few their advertising their wares.

i recently stepped down as a trustee of an alms house. it means a meeting 4 evenings pa and going to collect rents one months in four or five. collecting rents means you go and see the ladies and chat a bit make sure they are ok. you need to have some energy to get things done-and improve things. it can be satisfying you can make a difference. do you fancy giving it a whirl? a good way to decide if you like that sort of thing? PM if you are interested.

I think you are much better of buying a suitable book from smiths etc and sitting down and having some fun sessions together. Schools do not teach maths as we were taught- and you can make it fun whereas kumon has a repetitive system that means going back to basics and can be boring. Some children love it though. I think paper is much better than a pc-you can go on to games- and money- shops etc depending on age.ELC or similar used to have a good range. Never rely on the school to do everything. YOu know your child better than they do.

I think the point it that this is traditionally the time that people like to move into family houses- schools etc. There is little on the market and something nice stands out. Good agents recognise this. They are acting for the vendor to get the best price. Vendors hate the messing around and lots of viewings. Sealed bits cuts to the chase. I think you can still put the offer subject to survey etc. Values are back to their 2007 levels and if you want a family house for the medium to long term it does not matter if you pay slightly over the odds to get what you want. Moving house is such a big personal as well as financial investment. Good luck.

ALice that is soooo interesting- who to believe?

Has anyone just watched this? What did you think of the editing/direction. I just felt so embarrassed to be English. Most of then appeared pretty workshy. I have always felt pretty liberal but at the end of the program I came away feeling everyone should work- no matter -and get their wages topped up with benefits if needed, but the longer you don't work it appeared you lose all concept of what work entails. :(

I cant understand that it was announced as winning design. Don't they have to get planning consent too? It is brutal.

In a perfect world newcomer you are right. but i left home as soon as i could as i could not stand my parents views on everything. I still find more than 48 hours enough. My father hates London and will not come here- despite offers to collect him etc. There is no way he would live here. There is no way I will drag my family to live in Norfolk.( other than 4 weekends a year) I do not think he would be happy living with us - if it came to it- nor would he expect it. If my family were the kind that came and helped when their grandchildren were young and we were in and out of each others lives then I would feel more obliged, but they did not. I think it all depends on the family and in 2010 it is wrong to think we are all close families that can live together. If you can that is great , but we all have different families and relationships with parents/children. Newcomer says "however badly they have treated you". I think you are unrealistic.

Always have a small amount of cash on you - about 20p. if you say you have none you will not be believed and will have to take your shoes off etc. Make sure you have a ?5 to ?10 crap phone. esp good if it has an unusual charger so they cant charge it up. make sure your phone has no more than ?10 credit on it. have a crap watch have shoes you can run in. be aware of where you are at all times- know shortcuts- nearest safe place etc be able to run be able to read body language- notice if others are crossing the road towards you never use earphones as they blunt your senses. walk with friends as much as you can. have a crap bike or one that looks crap. I could add other comments about the profile of the offenders but suffice to say for boys it is almost always teenage boys-usually not wearing an obvious school uniform, and maybe wearing scarf/ hood.