bonaome

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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.

The reuse and recycling centre will take them, if you can get up there.

@bawdyNan - thanks for clarification on SEN/EHC.

bornagain Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > hoonaloona Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > > So don't tell me that all the people who > > campaigned like crazy for the Charter 2 nodal > > point to remain in Jarvis Road as that position > > better serves Camberwell/Peckham actually > already > > have a viable co-ed, non-faith, non-lottery > school > > already on their doorstep??? What was all the > fuss > > about then? > > I suspect that the fuss has been created by the > fact that those supporting Charter 2 do not want > to send their children to Harris Peckham. And those who wouldn't, on distance, get their kids into Harris Peckham. We're up by the police station. I can't find distance offered data for Harris Peckham, but the Southwark booklet for admissions for this year says it is oversubscribed and the Righmove school checker thing (again, don't know where they get their data from) says where we are Harris Peckham is 'not likely'.

intexasatthe moment Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > bonaome - I think that giving siblings priority > over those with special medical and social needs > it sends the wrong message . Surely either a child has a SEN/EHC plan, in which case they get priority, or they do not have an EHC plan and they are the same as everyone else. Right? Wrong? What are the special medical and social needs that would be missed because they are not picked up in the EHC assessment? Genuine question - not trying to wind anyone up.

bornagain Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > bonaome Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > > Have I missed a co-ed, non-faith, non-lottery > > school, within a mile of Charter2? > > > > Yes, Harris Peckham and it is under-subsribed. It's oversubscribed according to this booklet on secondary admissions from Southwark. It's also more than a mile from Charter 2. And moreover, it looks like we would be very unlikely to get her in there based on a distance offer.

intexasatthe moment Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Also agree about the seeming curriculum offer > being to more academically gifted and low profile > of SEN provision . > I agree with all you say except this bit about Charter setting out to attract more academically gifted kids. SEN/EHCplan provision requirements (where the school is named) always has precedence over oversubscription criteria. The rest is the great unwashed based on living nearest the school. I don't see how that would lead to the school targeting the more academically gifted.

bornagain Wrote: > It may be a case of sour grapes but I think that > they have a point. There are 3 outstanding/good > secondary schools within one mile of the proposed > school which are not fully subscribed. From an > impartial (and DoE) point of view surely that > would raise a few eyebrows as to whether opening a > 240 intake school within 2 years is a good use of > limited assets. Also they do have a point also > that the new Charter for good or bad will affect > the Harris intake so being concerned is surely > valid. > > Sir Dan Moynihan the CE of Harris is a formidable > man and is the power behind Lord Harris. He is > hugely respected and his views will not be > ignored. As Harris are paying him over ?300k salary I imagine he'll be wanting to hold on to all the 'business' he can. But my daughter cannot attend Harris Boys as she's a girl; and in fact we don't want a single sex school anyway, which also means we wouldn't choose Harris Girls - even if we could get in, post lottery. We don't live close enough for her to get into Charter 1. We don't want a faith school (even if we could get into one). She might get into Kingsdale, after all it's a lottery so I suppose she has as good a chance as anyone else. Have I missed a co-ed, non-faith, non-lottery school, within a mile of Charter2? I thought the purpose of the consultation was that it would identify the demand by asking parents whether they would put Charter ED as first choice were it available. So that should tell the DoE whether there is enough demand for Charter 2 and what sort of admissions numbers might be appropriate. As regards Sir Moynihan's letter to Charter, I was astonished to read the part where he says Harris knew nothing about the new school until June, given this whole hoo-har and associated petition, letters from Tessa Jowell etc etc. He criticises the Charter consultation process. I find that a bit rich given the Harris Nunhead Primary consultation which was just about the worst possible excuse for a consultation I could imagine. It all feels a bit like the boss has asked to see the figures for the 5 year plan and has just found out there's a whole in his bonus pot. I do hope his feedback is ignored. That Charter 2 opens next year with as large an intake as can meet local demand and that the very many parents in the surrounding area who want a non-faith, co-ed, good school for their kids get the 'parental choice' all of this was meant to promise.

Been several times and always been very good.

James Barber Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Having a nodal pioint where the site meets Jarvis > Road - as proposed - is not ideal. Residents on > Melbourne Grove are concerned an entrance will be > proposed there. If it were - from our surveys of > local residents - the school planning application > would generate many objections. So the one place a > nodla point should'nt be is where it is proposed. This is a wind-up isn't it?