Justasking

Hi all, Our lovely au pair has had to return home due to a family emergency so we are desperately trying to find a replacement asap. Has anyone had any experience with au pair agencies? We've always used Aupair World but we've found that tends to take a bit longer. Appreciate any advice! Thanks. C.

Hi all, I can only find old threads on this topic. What's the going rate for an au pair in south east London? It would be the standard before and after school situation with an evening babysitting a week. What else did you pay for? We're considering buying a monthly zone 1-4 travel card (we are in SE20) so she can get into town and actually experience London / see friends. Clearly we've left it very very late as we're looking for someone from September... Thank you. C.

Hi there - our council (Bromley) offered to train up our son's class teaching assistant on visual impaired issues. It was only a week long course but great opportunity. Maybe that could be a possibility? The TA was delighted to do it (skills development for her) and is now following the class to Year 1.

Will send a pm.

Can anyone recommend a courier company to return a pair of radiators to soak.com? Thanks.

I can recommend Bornholm, an island between Sweden and Denmark (belonging to Denmark). Enough to do but contained, stunning.

You're a friendly bunch of trolls, aren't you. People are so keen to judge other parents' choices when you know nothing about the OP's situation. Nor is it your choice to make.

We used https://www.neverlandparties.co.uk for a pirate party. Alvin /Captain John was great. He kept 28 5-year-olds enthralled for an hour. It's was less than ?200, worth it.

Jumping on this thread - any tips for Koh Samet? We're heading out there in April with a 5 year old and a 3 year old. Thanks!

My son went last year before starting reception. He absolutely loved it. Very caring, fun, quality staff. And a nice alternative to the more sports oriented holiday clubs.

We're planning a pirate party for my son's 5th birthday. Any recommendations for entertainers? How much will such a person cost? Is it with it? Any other ideas that you've seen around that you can share? We will definitely be diy'ing the food and decorations and party bags. Thanks!

Resuscitating this thread - any other warnings / suggestions? We're going for an l-shaped loft conversion. We've seen examples of one company's work which we're happy with, discounted quite a few companies. The quotes came in at 45-50k - now we're wondering what extra spend we can expect. Thanks for sharing your experiences!

Thank so much, everyone!

Saturday bump- hoping more people around!

I know it's been asked before but before I commit a large amount of money... Has anyone used either Taylored Lofts or Outlook lofts? Their prices are similar, at the higher end but both came across better than the others. Thanks.