Elfy

Ah hindsight is a marvellous thing. I won't park in them in the future too. I may have got it mixed up with something else in my head. The fact it said 1 hour on it certainly confused me. Anyway...it's done now. Just waiting to hear from Southwark. edcam Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I've never understood the rules of loading bays, > so I've never parked in one. It's unwise to guess > at these things. > >

I'm certainly not planning on spending ?30k in legal fees! So far the appeal is all online. I'm not planning on going to court. The charity shop kindly provided a goods receipt for me, so I've forwarded that to Southwark. I do think there's a problem with the t and cs on the sign but if I don't get anywhere with the receipt of goods, I will probably just pay the fine. Re the 20 minutes, they only waited 5 minutes to see if I was loading or not.

Update - the council have responded to my appeal. The fine still stands unless I can prove with a delivery note or receipt of goods note from the charity shop. I've been in there to ask and they've given me the head office to call as they've never had to do such a thing before. Fingers crossed they are amenable to issuing a backdated receipt of goods. Otherwise I'm ?65 down. An expensive trip to the chazza! As an aside, I checked the sign and there is no mention of commercial or non-commercial goods 'loading'. I also think the fact they've written 1 hour on the sign is almost a trick. On nowhere on the sign does it mention the 5 minutes they actually give you. Do we have to check each Borough's parking rules online before we park? It's almost as if it's a money making scheme...

I have appealed. It's actually quite easy to do. I'm sure you're all on the edges of your seat about this one, so will let you know how it goes....

It doesn't state the rules on the sign. Are we just meant to know the rules?

I've just been given a parking ticket in the Loading Bay on Shawbury Road. The parking sign says: Loading Only 8.30 - 6.30 1 hour. I had parked the car in order to take some things to the charity shop. The ticket says they waited 5 mins. I was probably parked there for about 20 mins. Can I appeal this ticket? Does taking things to a charity shop not count as 'Loading'. It really annoys me. Why put 1 hour on the sign if actually it means you have to be in your car or not leave it for more than 5 mins. Anyone appealed a parking ticket like this?

I live in West Dulwich and last year I nearly stepped on a hedgehog on my neighbour's doorstep. We're near to some playing fields where there are some overgrown brambles, etc... perhaps they live there? I've also heard owls and woodpeckers. And there are LOADS of foxes. Although there are LOADS of foxes everywhere aren't there?

We live pretty close to Kingsdale (walking distance) and we are not in Southwark. This year out of an intake of 90 at my son's primary school, less than 10 got into Kingsdale of which some are siblings. So I'm not sure they are taking kids who live closer... I suspect the intake has gone down massively as there was a bulge class in previous years, and now there are loads of siblings.

Maybe Lambeth is different to Southwark? Us Lambeth residents (literally on the border) have to either upload scanned copies of various documents or send them in. Council tax, utility bills, driving licence, proof of address for child... quite a few docs. https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/school-admissions/proof-of-address-and-date-of-birth-documents

I just called them and actually managed to speak to someone. She said 5-7 days..but fingers crossed it comes sooner than that. I also had to get a signed letter from the doctor re my son living at our address. I suppose there are people who try and scam the system but they could just check their records and see we have lived in our address for 8 years. Now to decide which schools we want...

Hi all, it's that time of year again... we are in the process of applying for schools for our son. And although we haven't left it to the VERY last minute, we have hit a problem. According to the Lambeth website one piece of documentation we need to provide is our council tax bill. We only get one a year and I think it went in the bin. (Not much forward planning here...) We've lived in our house for 8 years and I can get a screenshot of our council tax account from the Lambeth website... but not sure if this will be sufficient. My husband called them and they said a utility bill, driving licence, etc would be an OK substitute...but this is not what it says on the website and we have no evidence in writing that someone from Lambeth said this would be OK. The alternative is to get an affadavit from a solicitor (for payment). Has anyone got any experience of this? Seems a hell of a lot of hoops to jump through!

Hi, I sent you a PM.

He is read ALL the Percy Jacksons many times. I will check out Bartimaeus. He did enjoy Michelle Paver's books.. and he's read Lord of the Rings. Not sure if he's tried the Chrestomanci series so will take a look. The London Eye Mystery and Chaos Walking trilogy sound interesting... he's read The Hunger Games. He also really enjoyed Wonder and A Monster Calls. They brought a tear to the eye! Thanks for all your suggestions! It is hard reaching that sweet spot where the books have enough interest.. yet aren't completely unsuitable. There are some good YA titles too.

Thanks all. He's read a few Majorie Blackman. I might try and find some more. We are regulars in the charity shops and I agree, it's a great way of finding some cheap books. Never heard of the Cherub series...will check that out. I fear he won't try the Classics but I may try getting one on the Kindle and see how we go.

My son is a voracious reader but can be quite picky about what he reads.. for example he won't go near the Philip Pulman books. This can be quite frustrating but we try and persevere and provide him with loads to read. He's read the Harry Potter series and Percy Jackon about 5 times. He's moved onto some adult books: Animal Farm, The Da Vinci Code, The Curious Incident of Dog in the Night Time. Has anyone got any suggestions of adult or YA books that are suitable for a 10 year old? I remember reading loads of Dick Francis when I was younger. I was hoping there's a gentle series of WhoDunnits that will keep him occupied for a while (the summer?!)

As Elle78 said - I know someone who part owns a property due to an inheritance and now wants to buy a place with their girlfriend. The part ownership means that the stamp duty on the second property is 3% higher. Doesn't sound a lot but when you're buying somewhere for ???? (which let's face it, most of London is), it makes it a lot more expensive. So many things to consider.... I can see why you want to talk to someone!!

My son goes to Rosendale in West Dulwich/ Herne Hill. It's a great school; has high standards without putting pressure on the kids. Take a look at the website for more info, each class has a blog and there are blogs for other things, including the forest school and various after school clubs. Gives you a good idea about what the school is about. http://www.rosendale.cc/school-life/class-blogs/

Rosendale 2nd December 4-6pm St Francesca Cabrini 3rd December 11am-2pm Goodrich 3rd December 2-5pm Harris ED 10th December 11am-1pm DVIS 10th December 12-2.30pm Fairlawn 10th December 12-3pm Bessemer Grange 10th December 12-4pm Heber 11th December 12-3pm Hollydale 14th December 3.30-5pm

Urban Explorer is pretty good - http://www.urbanexplorer.com/ Also there's this Facebook group that has a few good ideas - https://www.facebook.com/groups/littlebirdcommunity/

If you have a business and need a little help with your social media: setting it up, strategy, campaigns or day-to-day management; I'd be happy to assist. I offer a free audit of your current channels and some pointers on how to improve them. My rates are also very competitive and reflect that I'm just starting out as a freelancer too. Get in touch! Here's my website: http://www.springsocial.uk/ Or PM me on here. Thanks Lucy

Are they taking over at Brockwell too? I'm a member there and have always been allowed to use the gym at East Dulwich as they are both Fusion. I'm not sure if Brockwell is in Lambeth or Southwark...

No we don't want this for our kids. It's so depressing. See also this: https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-views/one-primary-teachers-open-letter-government-standards-expected-are It appears schools and teachers are being set up to fail. I suspect ultimately so all schools have to become academies or free schools.

I'd second Nelly's. They have really good staff retention and are very caring. My son's 'key worker' still works there and my son is 8 now. You may get lucky getting a place as some children leave aged 3 to go to school nurseries or private schools. My son started at 3. He'd been to 2 nurseries previously (one went bust and we moved house) and it was by far the best we've experienced. Good luck!

Thanks for posting the mindfulness link. My son is nearly 8 but I often think he would benefit from a bit of mindfulness. He sounds quite similar to your boy (but older obviously)...he's grown out of crying fits (thank goodness) but often 'over reacts' to situations that arise in everyday life - friendships especially. He's confident and outgoing but will storm off in a mood if things don't go his way, often leaving his friends bemused. I'm going to check out the mindfulness - if it helps him pause and think before (over) reacting, this would be a massive help. This parenting lark, eh?

I'd absolutely recommend Nelly's too. My son attended a few nurseries (first one went bust and then we moved house), Nelly's was by far the best. Their facilities are good, the staff genuinely care and the staff retention was great. He had the same 'key worker' for his whole time there. Believe me, this is unusual. If you can get in to Nelly's, go for it.