pilsbury

Just called, they said yes 9am tomorrow, I said was that actually realistic, the guy on the phone said he could only tell me what his systems were telling him :( I asked for comp, he is giving me three days worth of Internet free... Fingers and toes crossed it is fixed as my 3G (on EE) is also massively playing up, so I'm going to be working from a cafe all day tomorrow otherwise! Hope this is helpful

Still no service on Ondine, I also work from home which is nigh on impossible now... Will call later when kids are having tea..

I went to Cravings yesterday at 1.15pm and was v disappointed to find it shut (as i LOVE mexican food) - the sign on the door said its open 1pm-8pm, is this normally true as might try again today?

The only thing I would add to the others - don't underestimate how knackered they will be for the first few weeks/months - my usually lovely little girl turned into a demon child post 3.15pm from september to about november. I think they are concentrating so hard in school in being well behaved and making friends and learning new things etc, that they are just utterly exhausted come the end of the day. So my tip would be - don't arrange too many after-school activities for the first few months, let him/her just do whatever they feel like (some like to run out their stress in the playground, others just want to slob out in front of TV).

My other half took me to The River Cafe under Brooklyn Bridge (on the Brooklyn side) for my 30th, when we'd also just got engaged, & it was gorgeous, with amazing view over to Manhatten...

Apparently this happened on Ondine Road too about 3/4pm on Friday - motorbike mounted pavement and nicked phone...

My family membership runs out at the end of this month (on monday in fact) - i've been told by the gym that they won't do any further annual memberships until april when the "everyone active" are in charge. somewhat ridiculously they are now expecting me to pay just for march DD, which will cost me over ?100!! Or else I don't pay and I lose my kids' places in swim school... crazy! I am waiting for manager to call me back, but wondered if anyone else had this issue?

hi there i would like to get some tax advice from an expert, in particular someone who can help me with working out the most tax-efficient way to deal with IR35 and income from two properties that i let. anyone got any strong recommendations please? thanks!

Ok stuff sacks duly noted. Think we will also take sleeping bag Inners as apparently the bedding on the train isn't always clean... Do I need to take some sort of medical emergency kit (eg clean needles etc)?

Hello - me again! Ok so all flights, trains, boats, hotels booked, jabs done and visas being applied for next week. So exciting! Our itinerary is: 3 days hanoi > 2 days halong bay > 1 day hue > 4 days hoi an > 6 days nha trang (our luxury, relax time bonaome!) > 1 night saigon And we will be getting the train between each destination. I am now thinking about packing as we are hoping to squeeze it all into two rucksacks... a few specific questions - do you think we need mosquito nets? is there any specific strong, but child-friendly, deet you'd recommend? do i need to take a US travel plug as well as a european one? as well as all the obvious stuff is there anything vietnam-specific you'd recommend we'd pack? thanks! ps - telemum i am VERY jealous of your trip and have been following it with interest! i also love mexico and will definitely take the kids there one day soon. i haven't been to san christobel but highly recommend oaxaca and san agustinillo if you get the chance!

Hey - I ended up buying a lovely maroon leather one from urban outfitters - probably not what you're after but check out urban outfitters anyway as they have a good range...

my O/H went to the white horse on friyda night and said it was a really nice mix of old locals and new folks and that the food was delicious

our 2.5 year old boy will be getting (from us and various family members) - dressing up, swimming goggles, remote controlled digger, playmobil pirate ship and accessories, jigsaws, a skateboard and helmet (he is desperate for this, but i expect i will live to regret it!) and an electric toothbrush. i think he'll love the playmobile the best as he is always trying to get into his sisters who won't let him, and also cos he's just started making lots of imaginary stories in his head with "his people" (her playmobil when she's at school ;)) for his 2nd birthday, his best presents were definitely a scooter and a ton of duplo HTH

votes from me also for all saints playgroup on weds mornings (you don't need to be religious at all!), bea's baby bop (bea is just lovely, multiple classes and locations per wk),fri morning rhyme time at nunhead library (less manic than the weds dulwich one) and tues morning singalong at margaret's group in nunhead. i never really got into it but the its a scream (or similar) baby cinema in peckham, brixton etc are supposed to be good and nice if you just want your own space!

Wow, I just wanted to say that you for the wealth of info you've all shared on here, in particular bonaome, that must have taken you ages to write and I'm so very grateful! All so very very helpful. We've pretty much decided on our itinerary now and starts booking a couple of hotels but I might PM you and oioihanoi if I have any further Specific questions if that's ok? Thanks so v much again xx Ps - you might be interested to know that I posted the same Q on mumsnet and just got two responses from unhelpful people telling me not to go there with kids (aka I'm a bad mum!).... Love love love EDF!

SO, we've taken the plunge and booked flight to go to Vietnam over Easter hols (flying into Hanoi and out of Ho Chi Minh, 18 nights in total). We have a vague idea of itinerary, but not booked anything up just yet. I'd love to hear if anyone has experience of travelling with young children in Vietnam. My DD will be almost 5 and DS getting close to 3 by the time we travel. In particular I'd love to hear any must/must-not sees/dos, how many different destinations you think is viable in that time with that age kids, any hotel and resto reccs etc. I'd also love to know how to start introducing them to Vietnamese food (starting that this weekend with a dinner of chicken satay, sticky rice and spring rolls, wish me luck!). Thanks!

another +1 for sistema

BBQ Pit (Hisar) on LL would be good for that I'd imagine

oh cripes, sorry to hear that! is ?72 about normal then?

had it done by J A Powers last time around, but it was quite pricey (?72 for just one applicance (boiler)) - checked online and theses guys can do it for ?40 - https://www.landlord-certificates.co.uk/gas-certificates/ - any local cheap reccs out there? thanks

thankyou - i'd forgotten about the beach, so we had a lovely wander about, some time in the tate and on the beach, lunch at giraffe (along with a trillion other parents), a ride on the carousel and froyo and the SNOG pink double decker bus (froyo was a bit hit!). it wasn't really warm enough for the appearing rooms, but will do that another day - and sadly my kids are too small for the holler exhib (much as i'd love to whizz down the slides myself!!) thanks!

Promised the kids (2 and 4) a day out in town tomorrow. Am thinking just a mooch along south bank and see what takes our fancy, but pls let me know if there's anything specific youd recommend... Thanks!

Hahaha maybe I need to change the thread title to "most thrilling thread for ages" ;)

wow, some rucksack experts out there! thanks! i looked at the whistles ones and yes they are beautiful but i don't think practical enough for my needs eastpak wyoming - i'm afraid i don't like it, don't laugh but its too rucksack-y for me :) the millican ones are nice, but might be a bit too high spec for me not aware of outnet and just had a peek at this gorgeous chloe one http://www.theoutnet.com/en-GB/product/See-by-Chloe/Textured-leather-backpack/599573 but again i don't think its practical enough (thin straps for example) i think i want a canvas type one, with 1 or no pockets on the outside and a couple of pockets/compartments inside....Annoyingly most of the sites don't actually show what they're like inside!

My kids are 4 and 2 now, so I don't quite have to carry the world around with me anymore, but I still always need a store of wipes, toy cars, spare knickers about me (along with the usual handbag guff of keys, wallet, phone, notebook etc). I am using the pram less and less nowadays(hoorah!), so I am looking for a nice backpack to treat myself too - one that doesn't scream mummy, but is also practical should the inevitable happen and it gets apple juice/wee/coffee on it! I like the fjallraven, herschel and sandqvist brands, but anyone out there recommend one over the other? or something else?