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If you can afford one the Panasonic LUMIX DMZ range of tough waterproof cameras might be a good choice. Basically they are good compact digital cameras but water, dust and shock proof. They are not too expensive. It means you have a camera for underwater photos too which might be a boon on hols

We did our loft last year. The neighbours have to register the project with the council, regardless of whether they are applying for planning permission or are working under permitted development. Likely you will get a letter from some private companies offering to act as party wall surveyors for you and advising that you do not simply go with whoever the neighbours propose. These people are ambulance chasers and are best avoided. The neighbours have to write to the named owners of the property (you, in your case) to tell you of the proposed works. There are pro-forma letters for this which will sound a bit stiff and formal, if you know your neighbours. We have known ours for years, so I took the letters round and explained the ludicrously formal letter I was delivering. There doesn't actually have to be a party wall agreement in place, but you have a right to insist on one. You have the right to insist on your own party wall surveyor. You name them, and the neighbours appoint and pay for them. If they want to save money, they can opt to use the surveyor you have nominated. Or they can have their own. Either way they pay all costs. We spoke to the neighbours and agreed together that we'd just use one surveyor and we found someone recommended on the forum. Andrew Karoly http://www.partywalls-london.co.uk/contact_us.html He was really helpful and had loads of advice. For us he recommended a cheaper option than writing a full agreement; he did site surveys both sides, wrote a report and took loads of pictures. Neighbours both sides were happy with this, and it saved us a bit of money. The neighbours each got their own report and we got copies. We do get on well with both sets, which obviously helped, but also both are thinking of doing their own lofts at some point. We were just a loft conversion on PD though. I'm sure both you and the neighbours doing the work would be better off in your case with a full party wall agreement. It does protect them (from spurious claim) as well as you. Whoever you use as a surveyor, it's in your interest to allow them full access to your loft spaces etc. If you refuse, and later detect damage, you'll be in a weaker position to claim it was caused by the build next door. Hope that helps.

We have Had BT Infinity for the last 10 months and it's been excellent. Never gone off. Never been throttled afaict. Also, I did a reccy at the time and it had the best of the routers available with the package. Worth bearing in mind if you're not going to go out and get your own router etc. Before that we had Sky. That too was excellent and the only reason I switched was that I wanted to upgrade to fibre and BT had an offer on. The offer will expire in 2 months when they'll either offer me another deal, or I'll happily switch back to Sky to keep the costs down.

There's also the Paxton at the bottom of Gipsy Hill. Has an outside play area and beach huts into which I believe they have installed heaters.

How old are the kids? When's the gathering? Not knowing those things I would say if the kids can be kept occupied with a colouring book/puzzles any pub round here fine. For a bit more space the Cherry Tree is roomy and welcomes kids before 7pm. The Fox on The Hill has an outdoor play area and usually a few kids in it. And The Plough has a big outside area too which the kids can possibly feel a bit more free in. Nowhere (except the play area of the Fox on the Hill) will welcome rowdy kids running riot. But well behaved kids, aren't a problem anywhere.

Thanks very much for all the ideas

Are there any open mic nights in ED and surrounding areas? Went up to the Plough on Sunday but their usual acoustic night wasn't on, and they didn't know if it would be back. Looked on internets but couldn't find anything locally, so wondered if there were any that others know about?

Try swimming nature - I know they run lessons up at the queen mother on Vauxhall bridge road. But of a schlep but you can get there on the 185 from ED.

You should only need the space of one car as the skips can come off sideways. So just park your car in the spot and leave it there until the skip arrives. That's what we've done in the past plus had a chat with the neighbours - I think last time we had a skip (we've had a few!!) neighbour a few doors down parked outside our place and was happy to move the car when the skip arrived. You should be fine

Feel free to PM.

Have a look at this http://mylittlenomads.com/trip-review-vietnam There are several family adventure tour operators - your kids will not yet be the minimum age / it may not be your ting but it's still worth looking at them for the itineraries and in some cases the hotels they use (download the detailed trip notes). Try: - - http://www.familyadventurecompany.co.uk/tours/good-morning-vietnam-family-holiday - http://www.familiesworldwide.co.uk/holiday/hanoi_to_saigon.html# - https://www.explore.co.uk/holidays/budget-vietnam-coast-tour - http://www.exodus.co.uk/vietnam-holidays/family/chopsticks-coconuts/fiv-84566 (we actually did this at Easter this year - with a bit of independent before and after - and it was fab) You can see that there is, as you'd expect, a fairly well trodden path. As well as the trip above, we've also travelled Vietnam independently, this year's trip being our second time in Viet Nam (you will want to go back, I'm sure). It really does depend on what you're into, obviously, but ... - The Water Puppets in Hanoi are great for little ones - Hanoi itself will captivate for a few days just pottering about the streets and taking a coffee or a beer here and there and getting used to a different place - get a cyclo to take you round for a 'tour' etc etc etc - Ho's mausoleum is a fascinating experience for the grown-ups - maybe not one for the kids, but if there's more than 1 adult you could go in turns whilst the kids play in the park that it's in - If you do one temple sight, I'd do The Temple Of Literature - Halong Bay boat is a must, and do a 2 nighter so you're not too rushed - take them out kayaking in the bay - The hiking options in the country from Hanoi, I wouldn't recommend with your kids at the ages they are, miss it, it's quite hard work. - The Reunification Express is the overnight train. You want first class. No, really you do. It's a great experience for the kids, they will LOVE it. - Hue is just gob smackingly beautiful. As a cultural highlight for grown-ups it's not to be missed. The kids on the other hand might not see the beauty in the temples etc. SO in your case I'd say leave it for the next visit. - Hoi An is astonishingly pretty. You want to stay inside the old town, as otherwise it can be a (albeit very short) schlep in a taxi which whilst very cheap just isn't as convenient as being 'in the action' and being able to walk / pop them in the buggy (which I'm guessing your 3yr might still be in). Near Hoi An there are lovely beaches and nice flat countryside cycling. You can fly from nearby Denang to anywhere else in Vietnam. Nah Trang was great we went to the hots springs (Thap Ba Hot Springs) - great for kids, they can cover themselves from tip to toe in mud and there's volcanically heated bath water temperature swimming! You can also get a boat out from there to Whale Island which is a proper tropical paradise and do snorkelling trips etc. Or you can organise boat trips and snorkelling from Na Trang - a beach resort (much loved by the Russians) and a perfectly good spot to hand out for a few days. - HCMC is where a lot of the Vietnam war stuff is, the war remnants museum and so on. It's harrowing even for the grown-ups but fascinating so you may want to take it in turns if there's two+ adults to do the 'culture sites' while the other(s) stay at the hotel/in the pool. - The Cu CHi tunnels are fascinating but again pretty gory and it's a quite long bus ride out to them from HCMC (2 / 2.5 hours ish). Conversely you can combine that trip (most do) with a trip to the Cao Dai Holy See which is nuttiness on stilts and the kids would probably love the craziness - on the other hand, they also need to be quiet and respectful (to an extent) - The Mekong home-stays are a must. Very simple, but lovely. There's a gazillion organised out of HCMC - I recommend you look at the LP or pop into a traveller cafe. - Dam Sen waterpark was a truly excellent break from the heat/humidity - check the website before you go that it is definitely going to be open when you want to go! Easter is a great time to go. It will be quite hot and humid. I'd try and stay in places with a swimming pool, however small, just so the kids can have a cool-off/dip. With 18 nights I think you could comfortably do Hanoi>Halong Bay>Hoi An>Na Trang>Saigon and possibly a Mekong Delta O/N from there. If I was going to curtail any of that, I'd spend less time in HCMC (unless you really want to see the war museum etc). When we've travelled independently on trips like this, we've stayed in 'reasonable' (i.e. clean but quite cheap) places until the very end of the holiday and then splurged the last few nights somewhere more upmarket. By the end of a couple of weeks we generally find we all want to slow the pace and have a few creature comforts (that we couldn't afford for the whole trip). We don't want to spend the trip in 5* international hotels as for us that defeats the object - the little homely, locally owned places are the best in many ways. But for the last couple of nights we find a big bed, a good buffet breakfast and a proper swimming pool set up nicely for the flight home. The kids won;t really care but it means the grown-ups have a bit of 'luxury' to finish things off. Food - it's not generally spicy at all. In traveller places there'll always be something on the menu the kids can have and spring rolls (both fresh and fried, in a gazillion varieties) are ubiquitous as are fresh fruit and smoothie style drinks and fairly simply grilled meat and fish. The french colonial history means bakeries are fab and pastries are super. I would recommend the Lonely Planet for reliable tour / day trip operators etc and Trip Advisor for hotel selection, but I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that. We stayed in the Lotte Legend in HCMC for our lux bit and it was fabulous. I do hope you have a fantastic time. I'm sure you will. I hope this helps.

The Princess Yaiza is superb, but I'm not sure if it can manage your 2nd bedroom requirement. The Gran Melia Volcan http://www.hotelvolcanlanzarote.com/index.php?lang=en is fantastic too and has rooms with a separate bedroom area. It also has no steps. There's no disco etc at night but if you have a little one with an early bedtime that might be a good thing - it's very quiet. There are no steps so it's very buggy friendly and there's lots and lots of restaurants and cafes all along that stretch which goes along up to the Yaiza and beyond. We used to just pop out with the buggy and sleeping child and find a restaurant on the walkway. I know that it's available through Sovereign if you wanted a package.

Try the Italian place at the bottom of Melbourne Grove

Is Kumon not very good then? Or are they just full?

?118k? Could we employ some people to sweep the streets?

These were recommended to us and have been fantastic, and not too pricey. If you have Apple devices you can set a limit for the volume so the kids can't give themselves permanent tinnitus before they've even got to school. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Urbanz-ZIPCBL-Multi-device-Stereo-Headphone/dp/B004CQRT7A/ref=sr_1_13?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1441811193&sr=1-13&keywords=kids+headphones

TBH: I'd ring your solicitor and ask them for proper legal advice, based on their seeing the actual lease etc.

A couple of weeks back the 18:10 wasn't cancelled, but it was only calling at West Croyden - i.e. it was running from LBG direct, non-stop to W Croyden. I asked for an explanation and was told it was because "he's a new driver and he doesn't know the route".

Which? do a Which?Car publication - it comes out once per year and covers both new and second hand across all styles and makes and has a gazillion tips on where and how to buy etc. Well worth a couple of quid. Has benchmark prices as well.

Mrs took our 9 year old. Both loved it.

If you can get down there, the lessons at Beckenham Spa are good. The teaching pool is very warm and they have a moveable floor so the kids can get used to water without getting out of their depth.

Schools have different procedures for admissions, for example some have a lottery system, while others offer places to kids living nearest to the school. But, they all fill up the places according to their admissions policy, without knowing where they are on the child's preference order, and tell the LEA they can offer a place. The LEA makes the offers to kids. If more than one school has offered a place to a child, the LEA offers a place at the school that the child has placed highest on their preference list. The places at any other schools that also offered that child a place are then available to other children under the same procedure.

It's enormous and it's bright yellow and the they've taken the tree out that would otherwise have partially obscured it if heading into Village Way.

The waterfront at Woolwich.