catgirl

Just to clarify a few points: The terms were not explained to me when I accepted the credit note. If I'd been told that it was 14 or even 30 days only then I would have pushed for a refund as I would know it was unlikely that I'd even get back to the shop within that time let alone get back and find something I wanted to buy. I wasn't offered a refund - you said that the jacket would have to be sent back to the manufacturer and they would then decide if faulty or not, it was not your product to authorise a refund. As I said before, I was happy to re spend the money in there to support a local business so didn't argue the point. I didn't receive an electronic receipt - you may have offered one but I never accept these in shops as I get enough spam email as it is. New Wave - she told me that it was common in retail that credit notes only lasted 14 - 30 days! I did say that this was rubbish and most were 6 - 12 months but she insisted that this wasn't the case. I do understand that small businesses don't have the same financial stability / clout to accept credit a long time after the original money was spent but then an expiry date does need to be written on the credit note so that it's clear. I don't want to damage a local business which I'm sure is run in very good faith and with a lot of hard work. I don't know when I'll next be near the shop but will message you my number Katie, thanks for the offer.

I bought a jacket in Mac and Miller and after one wear loads of the threads at the bottom at come unravelled and were sticking out so I took it back and was given a credit note for the ?49. The next time I went past the shop had closed and then reopened a few weeks or so later. I've been in a couple of times but not seen anything I particularly wanted and as the credit note had no expiry date on it I wasn't in a hurry. I went in today, found a couple of things and went to use the credit note but was told they couldn't take it as it was given by the pop up not the shop. I pointed out that the pop up closed a few days after the credit note was given to me and she said in any case the credit notes are only valid for 14 days. I said that the credit note didn't say that and had it had an expiry date on it I would have made sure I used it by then. Anyway, they refused to honour it, leaving me basically having thrown ?49 down the drain. What is even more galling is that I think I was entitled to money back rather than credit note initially as the jacket was clearly faulty but I didn't push for that as I wanted to support a local independent business. If they are going to have such ridiculously short terms for a credit note (2 weeks, really?!) then this needs to be clearly stated on the credit note and pointed out to the customer when the note is issued, neither of which happened in my case. They could have even offered me half the amount or something as a gesture but no I was just offered 20% off what I wanted to buy - ie. asking me to spend more money in there having wasted the ?49 credit note.

my parents have a national art pass which gives free entry to loads of museums, galleries and stately homes and big discounts off others. Dulwich picture gallery is one of the free ones (50% off special exhibitions)but loads of others in and around London as well. They have been on various tours of churches, areas of London etc. as well which I also think was through their art pass.

Has anyone used anyone other than shutterly fabulous to make window shutters? We want some for front room bay window. Shutterly fabulous have quoted but I thought were really expensive and now they have lost the quote and twice not called back when they said they would so am not impressed. Any other recommendations most welcome. Thanks.

What did you find? I'm having the same problem! Why do all the clubs stop this week when the holiday runs for another week?

Thanks for all the replies, think have PM'd everyone back. Have found someone now.

Wondered if anybody free to do a days gardening for us in the next week. Basically weeding and tidying up back garden and driveway. Please pm me. Thanks.

Another thing that can be very useful is keeping a diary. When he has a meltdown, write it down and note what the meltdown was about and also any other factors: - was he hungry / tired / just left school / just about to go to school / been at friends house / been watching TV etc etc. I know things don't always follow a pattern but there often is some common denominator. As a parent you have such an emotional response when your child is being challenging that you don't see anything but what is in the moment but if you note things down and look at them afterwards it can be quite enlightening. My son is 7 and has a lot of anxiety issues which can lead to very difficult behaviour and meltdowns. Learning to understand his needs and what leads to or causes the meltdowns has enabled us to put things in place to help avoid them. e.g. he hates to be taken by surprise and needs everything mapped out for him so we are now very careful to give him advance warning of everything and have timetables etc written out. It sounds basic but actually took us ages to realise that this was something that he needed. But has made a big difference to our lives. Another interesting read is 'the explosive child' by RW Greene. It's very American and cites extreme examples but I think the underlying message is very useful. He says that children intrinsically want to do well, be good and please people and when they don't do this it's usually because they can't rather than because they won't. ie they are lacking in the skills to enable them to respond well to the situation they are in. His answer is to have a collaborative approach - rather than - you will do this because I say so - which just makes things worse for these kind of children, his suggestion is to evaluate what your child has problems doing and discuss with them how they could deal with those situations better in future. We didn't follow through his whole program which is quite detailed and involved but I did find it very enlightening to view my son's behaviour as him finding things difficult rather than him being difficult.

That's reminded me that around that age mine all loved 'painting' things outside. Get a bowl of water and a big paintbrush (the kind you paint walls with) and put them in the garden and let them 'paint' the shed, garden furniture etc. hours of fun!

That country kids place in France says prices 'start from' 8850 euro a week for a family of 4!!!! (yes I realise it's all inclusive but still!) We stayed here a few years ago in one of the suites and it was lovely. https://www.clubpollentia.com/ Only one bedroom but the living room has sofa beds (and both living room and bedroom open onto the terrace) - if your 20 mo is still in a cot then they have really long curtains with blackout lining that isn't attached to the main bit of the curtain - we had a 14 mo at the time and she slept in her travel cot next to the window with the blackout bit between the window and her cot and the other part of the curtain draped over the cot to make a kind of tent so she was in our bedroom but we could still have the lights on etc when she was asleep. The suites are in groups of 4 around the grounds so doesn't feel at all claustrophobic as I find lots of hotels do. Also means you can sit on the terrace and children can bumble around on the lawn in front of you. Beautiful views of the mountains too. They have a lovely pool and also an indoor pool in case weather bad. We didn't use the kids club but had a look at it - is one separate baby room and one for older children - both looked brand new when we were there in 2012 and all the staff were really friendly. There is also a lovely little playground and splash park. Hotel is very popular with cyclists which meant (at least when we were there in May) that it was really empty during the day and pool almost deserted until about 4pm as everyone was off cycling around the island! Also meant that the buffet had loads of healthy options as well as more junky stuff. Only downside was that it was about 2 miles outside POllensa so quite a long walk or a drive to get into town - this didn't bother us but I know would not suit everyone.

ah found one now - look at holidaydropoff.com - it's at dulwich college and is a sporty one

Did you find anything? I'm also I need of something for a couple of days but nobody seems to run them in half terms, not sure why?

So the whole of Underhill from Barry road to Lordship Lane will be closed for that entire time?

Thanks ourview, yes I had ruled out going back to the supplier as they have a strong business relationship with the builders who f***** up the instal but hadn't thought of going to the actual manufacturer and asking for recommended fitters - good idea, thanks!

hi We had some bi fold doors installed recently as part of some building work but we are not happy with the instal and for various reasons don't want the original people back to rectify. We would like them re-installed properly (ie flush with the floor and not letting in draught) and any related making good. We also have a window that is above the newly built wall that is now far more draughty than before so I think also needs some kind of re sealing / adjusting. thanks

We usually put them on a shelf for a bit and then they go into the lego box and get dismantled and come back in numerous combinations with other kits. In fact it's great as they get to do the follow the instructions bit and then use their imagination with it afterwards. I love the fantastic things my son has made from a combination of basic bricks and different parts from specific kits.

There's a small park with a playground just over the road from the entrance to the sports club. Or walk up the hill and over to Ruskin park which has a great playground

I saw them about 9.50am today in Barry road. Wierd.

snowboarder - not sure about the huttopia ones but certainly the castels sites all have mobile homes / chalets which have bathrooms in. As katgod said, is much cheaper to book directly with the campsite and stay in their own accommodation rather than through eurocamp / keycamp. Having said that, the eurocamp / keycamp websites are quite useful for finding camp sites in the fist place. Eurocamp website shows at a glance the size of the campsite and what is available at each one. We tend to go for the medium / small ones rather than the huge full on ones. It's a brilliant holiday for children and adults - it's great to be outside all the time and playground, pool, shop etc all in one place. We take bikes too so the children can cycle around the campsite and we do some longer family bike rides too. We normally do 2 weeks and do a week in 2 different campsites because we like a bit of variety. Only disadvantage of this is that you have to pack / unpack twice!

Oh yes. Battleships is another good one and connect 4.

Re board games. He and 3 year old both like tummy ache and can play without adult input which is a bonus! He loves othello at the moment which was a 6th birthday present. Also twister, operation and Yahtzee, (none strictly board games I realise). We also have a few orchard games which I think are pretty tedious but they seem to like. Pop to the shops, walk the plank and some football one. We also have a children's charades which the children all really enjoy and cards have pictires for non readers so is easy.

Some non minecraft ideas from things my 6 year old boy enjoys: magic tricks (already mentioned) and also silly pocket money jokes (chewing gum that snaps on your finger comes out every day, yawn) Microscope - our was from science museum shop This art set from john lewis was a big hit for xmas last year along with a few art pads / notebooks http://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-art-case/p231303496 ball and basketball hoop (from decathlon) stunt scooter he loves games at the moment - snap, uno, various board games, boppit etc. And again already mentioned but lego kits - spends hours doing them and then makes other fab creative things out of the various bits from different kits plus his basic lego set - lego rules! Books - has got really into easy quiz books over the last year as well as reading books

The Spin doctor is (unsurprisingly) a great source of knowledge on good buys for washing machines etc. He also sometimes has second hand ones to sell.

Our Renault grand scenic has 3 proper seats in the back so can fit 3 car seats or 2 car seats and an adult. Also 2 pop up seats in the back which have been brilliant for day trips with extra children etc. I'd really recommend it as lots of space but doesn't feel massive to drive.

Apologies. Original post deleted as was rude and uncalled for.