alieh

I share your pain! Two that are working well for us: The Ikea Karlstad sofa in the Sivik Dark Grey color. I'm assuming they still do it. It is like a dark grey denim almost (hard to describe) but it copes very well with both kids and cats. You can buy two covers and switch if you want to wash them (just wash in the machine at home). We've had other covers for this same sofa but this one has been by far the best. The other sofa we have is a leather one from Darlings of Chelsea in an aged leather. The fact that the leather is aged means that cat scratch marks don't show as much and stains sort of blend in. We've had this one for 7 years or so - it has had serious abuse including a major pen disaster by my eldest son when he was two. I was able to use a leather cleaning and recolouring product (kind of like shoe polish) to mostly bring it back from that disaster. It does look aged and beaten up, so if you want something pristine this is probably not a good choice but it is very sturdy and comfortable and has lasted well.

I have the Polti Vaparetto Evolution I think. If you just want it for floors, this is more than you need to spend but the other attachments are so great. I use the upholstery cleaner attachment all the time (perfect for cleaning upholstered dining chairs after messy kid meals). It also has a full steam iron attachent, which is great for big things like bedding or curtains. I also use the window squeegie attachent on bathroom glass and tiles. There is a grout cleaner attachment if you can be bothered. I have asthma/allergies and it is great for steam cleaning mattresses, carpets, etc. I haven't yet tried it on the oven but think it would be great for that.

Just wondering if you should change the title a bit to be about "things to do in ED for older children and teenagers" or something like that? Because I assumed it would be someone looking for a house swap from your title.

Great idea as we are doing the same with a family with similar aged children! All I could think of was the skate park in Peckham Rye park and maybe the adventure playground there? The cinema in Peckham near Peckham Rye station? I started to wonder what pre-teens/teenagers do on weekends in East Dulwich actually as I realised I don't often see many of them around?!

We paid ?50/day in SE22 but that was about 3 years ago and I wouldn't be surprised if it would be closer to what you're looking at now. I am having trouble remembering but I don't think we paid for holidays or sick pay in our case.

What about just those horseshoe shaped pillows that people use on planes? Would something like that work? I love mine!

Also just to check....is she in the process of dropping her lunchtime nap? That nap transition was a nightmare for us! I had to do tons of complicated maneouvring to make sure he wasn't too overtired but also not losing out on night sleep due to too much napping (but mostly he refused to nap anyway, even when knackered). Had to employ super early bedtimes for a while, plus 2-3 forced naps per week in the buggy. If it is a nap dropping issue you might find you need to be closer to home for those tired/meltdown points so she can flop on the sofa and watch TV or something around lunchtime if used to sleeping and same at the end of the day. For a while we were having to do dinner at 4:30/5:00 and sometimes lights out by 6:15! He would then sleep a good long night, which would help him get through the next day. Maybe not relevant but just in case - no tantrum techniques work in our house when overtiredness is the problem!

Oh hang on...mine is a steam cleaner rather than mop I think. Has loads of attachments. For the mop function you clip a cloth onto the floor cleaner attachment and then just wash the cloth when done. So much nicer than slogging a bucket full or dirty soapy water!

I totally love mine! It is a Polti something or other. It has a bunch of different attachments for upholstery, glass squeegie, etc. I don't find the floors very wet after use with this one and do use it on wood and laminate floors.

kamath, it seems they don't allow that now if they ever did. We moved into rental near the deadline for primary school admissions this year (not with the intention of moving back to our old house, that just happened to be the time we moved!) and we had to show proof that we no longer still owned our old house. Had to get proof from our solicitor that the sale completed. I am really surprised that people would know 100% that they weren't taking up a spot and wouldn't inform the council. That does seem very inconsiderate! But I can see there being a large number of people who are unlikely to take up their spot (i.e. planning to move, etc.) but want to hold onto it just to be sure or in case things fall through. Hopefully the Judith Kerr situation is resolved soon and that will help! I would think people planning to go private will have had to pay some hefty fees already to hold their spot so will be pretty sure they don't need a state primary school spot?

Have to agree that if cost is the main factor, a marquee may not be the best option. It seems cheaper at first - free venue! But then all the little bits really do add up.

I think limiting the length of the event would make a huge difference. When you have people there for 8 or 10 hours they need several rounds of food/snacks and loads of drinks! Could you do cash bar, at least for part of the evening? That's lots of kids so they should be cheaper to keep fed and watered! The extra bits to do with marquee and furniture can really add up - chair covers, flowers, centre-pieces, etc. We spent a bunch of time in advance making very inexpensive decorations using branches, etc. from the forest, didn't bother with flowers, etc. But did go for chair covers, etc. One thing I wouldn't scrimp on is paying to have someone sort the clean up for you. I wish we had done this! The caterers cleared up all of their equipment, etc. at the end of the evening but we had to do loads of clean up the next day.....bottles, cigarette butts, etc. It depends on how casual you want it to feel - I think if people are all dressed up in fancy frocks, suits, etc. then you probably have to spend a bit more to make the feel of the event fit that formality. We went with super casual, so could be easier for the decor to also be casual. But 8-10 hours of great quality food and booze still cost a bomb!

I would have said "no way" until I planned a wedding. Nothing super flash, a marquee at my parents house, bare feet and no proper wedding outfits....but we wanted nice food and open bar and a live band. With a hundred or so guests drinking and eating from about 4 pm to the early hours that adds up very quickly! Add in a tricky site logistically, so need for transport (in our case boats and buses!) and it was not a cheap day! But very memorable and special for us.

The bakery on Lordship Lane with the blue awning a bit further up from the co-op seems to have a big list of cakes with different shapes/images. Not sure about lead time. Sorry can't remember the name of the shop!

I think the "extras" can make all the difference - some kind of flooring or solid surface if the site is likely to be muddy/boggy in wet weather and heating (I have seriously frozen at a number of outdoor "summer" weddings before), for example. Also we paid a bit extra to have the poles draped with fabric on the insides which made it look much cozier and more special - originally I had said not to bother with that but once I saw it put up I decided it was worth a bit extra! We were lucky to have sunny weather on our day but I did worry a bit about whether the marquee could have coped with heavy rain - but I'm sure the companies can advise on that.

I have an old Maclaren that I've been meaning to sell. I can't remember what kind it is but the seat reclines nearly flat. If you're interested in taking a look, let me know and I'll dig it out of the shed.

I'm doing the same - great thread! There is this thread on Mumsnet that looks super useful too....http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/a1554664-The-MN-lessons-learnt-kitchen-thread From my last kitchen I would say full-height pull out pantry (they have them at Ikea in many widths) even if you can only fit a narrow one are an absolute must. I've also previously done Ikea carcasses and custom doors - you can't beat the internal fittings in Ikea kitchens for the price! I'm torn about tile/concrete floor this time. Love the idea of underfloor heating but we have tile floors in our current rental and I spend all my time trying to get the kids off the tile floors and over to the wood while they're carrying or drinking anything. So many things have broken in the few months we've been there! We don't seem to have much luck confining them to plastic dinnerware only. So thinking I will stick with wood floors and no underfloor heating, which I what we've always had previously.

We went to one of the Landal parks in the Netherlands in Easter and thought it was great and excellent value for money. They look very similar to Centre Parcs (but haven't been to those so can't compare). It was less than half the cost of the same time at one of the UK Centre Parcs for the weekend we looked at. The facilities were really good and the indoor waterpark was totally amazing - the bungalow accomodation were nothing fancy but very clean and tidy and had everything you need. They have parks in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. We went to Het Vennenbos at Easter and are booked to go to Hoog Vaals in October at half term. We took the Eurostar to Brussels and then rented a car.

I think it is probably Katharine/Katie Fisher you are thinking of? She is amazing! If her contact details haven't changed they are 020 8662 0184 / 07949 176776. She couldn't do our actual operation as it was a complex posterior tongue tie situation but was a huge support before and after - with my first son we had the operation done through the NHS but with my second son I couldn't take the extra weeks of agony and we did it privately at Kings. If I remember correctly, Katie helped get the appointment. We have health insurance and were able to claim through this. I would call Katie in the first instance and she will help you navigate.

We just had a brilliant weekend in Broadstairs last weekend. So easy to get to on the train. The beach is amazing! We stayed in a lovely self-catering house for 3 nights, but there were a couple of decent looking hotels. Can't remember the names but am sure they will come up in Trip Adviser.

I just posted a thread in the Classifieds for a friend who is doing a great deal right now on newborn sessions. Here is my thread, which includes details of her introductory offer plus a link to her portfolio, etc.: http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?25,1098077

Interesting! I knew you could defer until January but didn't realise for later birthdays you could delay until April. Hope that gives you the reassurance to go for it Little h!

That sounds amazing! We have been tempted by this too but the timing hasn't worked out and I got a bit twisted into knots with the school situation. You can't defer a school place, that much I know. So you would have to be prepared to take whatever school in the borough might have places in Year 1 on your return and go on a waiting list for your nearest school I think. The only other consideration is whether you would have enough money to get by even if you can't find work - if not, it might be quite an added stress to try to secure paid work for such a short time. Go for it I say!

I agree that the whole thing is ridiculous! Catchment areas are crazy and a lottery system does make sense, but I think it is reasonable that people should be allocated a school within less than a mile, say. But within those bounds, sure a lottery system would be fine. In the meantime I still need to find a house within a mile of my son's school. Off topic sorry!

I wonder why Southwark/Lewisham don't arrange some kind of bus transport if there are areas with lots of people and schools near-ish by but a nightmare to get to. Couldn't they do a couple of pick ups to take children to Langbourne? By public transit this location is a nightmare from East Dulwich and too far to walk but maybe people would be fine with it if there was bus transportation from a very convenient location? This is what they do in Canada to match supply and demand for local schools. Sympathy for everyone - what a stressful process. We have been frantically measuring catchment distances for probably two years now. We are very fortunate to have gotten our first choice but were only 94 m so were really hoping it would be okay! If we hadn't got this, the next option would have been miles away and impossible to get to on public transit 4 times/day.