alieh

We had exactly this dilemma and found a good option this summer. Most of the other children were Dutch, German or Italian but most of them spoke English. It was called Belmonte Vacanze in Tuscany. Close to Pisa and Florence but we flew to Bologna as it was much cheaper

Thanks! Geography will probably be a pretty important consideration because our nanny doesn't drive. In terms of cost, we hadn't worked it out exactly. A sole charge full-time nanny usually costs around ?14-?15/hour including taxes. I imagined this arrangement coming in a bit less due to the limitations on hours. So perhaps in the region of ?12/hour? We could also be a bit flexible, if there were occasional days when care needed to extend beyond those hours as our nanny could probably juggle our 3 (school age) plus one other in a pinch. And similarly for occasional extra hours in school holidays.

The Devonshire Road Nature Reserve has a well-priced room. Harris Girls has a big gym with bouncy castle included for ?120 I think. Most church halls still come to around ?100 in my experience, and gets very pricey if you add entertainment on top of that.

We are trying to find ways that we can keep our AMAZING nanny on from September 2018 when all 3 of our children will be in school full-time. Our nanny has been with us for over 4 years and is seriously the best nanny out there - other parents and teachers at our children's school comment on how amazing she is. I am wondering if anyone would theoretically be interested in a nanny-share from 10:00 to 14:30 Mon-Fri during term-time? Could be at our house or yours, if it was easy enough for our nanny to then collect our children from school by 15:20 (we live near Dulwich Library and our children's school is near Honor Oak). Keen to understand if there is any market out there for this kind of arrangement!

Andrew came on very short notice to help with a bunch of jobs just before we moved into a new house - assembling Ikea units, hanging shelves, fitting a small worktop and cupboards in the kitchen. He has all the right tools, figured out what was needed, and sorted it all out with very little oversight needed. Highly recommend! His number is 07446280549.

Fairlawn Christmas Fair is Saturday December 2nd, 12-3 pm. Attaching the flyer! All welcome!

Seconding the recommendation from Anna M! This is a great activity for girls and boys from 5 and up.

Pizza Express at 4:30 pm, they should have known there would be loads of kids! Not like it's a Michelin-starred establishment. Incredibly rude of them. It's hard not to feel embarrassed, but in future I would try to ignore. I've had somewhat similar experiences with older people and I just smile in a sickly sweet way and say "Yes, funny how much times have changed since you were young!"

I'd like to recommend Sylvain and his team as amazing landscape gardeners. I'm including the before and after pics of our major back garden renovation, which they did all of. They tackled our very challenging project - on a huge hill, clay soil, etc. - with ease and show up every day and on time. They have some availability in the fall/winter, so do get in touch if you need hard landscaping or other garden renovation work. You can reach Sylvain on 07545 233 110.

Our friend Joyce is looking to build up her book of cleaning work again, having had to take some time off in recent years for health reasons. She is lovely and can do cleaning work, other housekeeping chores, and also has lots of experience as a carer/companion. Her number is 07939297412 (Joyce).

Just to add to the high recommendations for Dave from "Down the Drain". He came today on short notice, assessed that there wasn't a problem we needed to worry about, and didn't charge us a penny for his time. Plus left us his card for our housesitters in case a problem arises while we're away. Much appreciated!

There are some "big box" stores not too far in Sydenham (Bell Green). A big B&Q, Next, Currys, etc. I do a lot of shopping online however!

Help! Exactly the same age. Exactly the same problem. It's making me very cross and I ended up shouting last night. She hasn't napped at all for months, meaning she's now down to 10 or 10.5 hours sleep overnight and that's it. Still wakes up early, 6 or even earlier.

Adding to the recommendation for Nicholas from Nicholas Driving Academy. I passed my test the first time after a few months of lessons with Nick. He is very relaxed and easy going but really knows his stuff. He always shows up bang on time, very reliable. http://www.nicholasdrivingacademy.co.uk/our_driving_school.asp

I can recommend Nicholas Driving Academy. I just passed on my first go after a few months of lessons with Nick. http://www.nicholasdrivingacademy.co.uk/