Mrs TP

Otta - hope you now recovering as I am :)

Much as I concur Scholastic's predominant sales and marketing strategy is probably maximum profit, there is also the counter thought that a massive part of world book day is to encourage those children not engaged in reading. If these children are given free range and happily buy and read a Disney / Bratz / cartoon book etc then hooray job done.

Otta that is outrageous and totally misleading. Thanks for all the good ideas and support in this thread.

Thanks for all your response here and all the private messages too. Someone who knows me has been in touch and it looks like it is all going to work out but if does fall through I may come back to one or two of you. BIG THANKS to all who took the time to respond.

Are there any forumites in Dawson Heights who would be willing to let my professional photographer hubby take photos from their elevated view of the city? Pls PM me, thanks in advance.

I am creatively inept - can manage cupcakes - and this whole world book day dressing up stresses me out big time. Thought we were getting off lightly this year with primary school restricting participation to a hat or mask and not even face paint so have ordered a victorian bonnet for one and bunny ears for another off t-internet - lame I know but stress free. But got a text today from secondary school saying full outfit wanted - argh! Anyone else similarly filled with dread for this event?

hpsaucey and a new pencil case every autumn :) I love learning and am quietly hiding my desire to join the sixth form at my eldest secondary school to study A level politics. If I was more pro-active then that is the field that really interests me.

I worked in publishing too as an IP Licensing and Contracts Manager for an STM publishers - it was pretty full on on a day to day basis with a couple of overseas trips each year (it was more travel before I had the children but I had to pull back on that as hubby travels unpredictably). I worked full time with my older 2 and got made redundant as I was due to go back to work after nos 3 so by that time they were almost 1, 5 and 7 and I have not worked since. I was looking to take a career break at the time and much as my hand was forced in the end by redundancy and I didn't get the opportunity to try balancing work with 3, I love being at home with them and have now not worked for 5yrs. I do imagine that I will return to work one day but I don't want to hit the corporate bubble if I can avoid it and would really look to do something that does fit in with school days and hols. The obvious is a TA and I muse it from time to time and do some volunteer reading help in our local school but I just don't want to go back to work. Other mum's look at me like I am bonkers but I am really happy fluffing around at home and being on hand for the kids when necessary. We are not loaded - clothes, cosmetics, holidays etc have all massively downsized and the house needs redecorating and there is no spare cash to do it so making tiny inroads on this myself. For hpsaucey - I have a PhD in Archaeology and went for money over career path when I finally hit the employment trail as the money in archaeology was so poor I would have continued living like a student for another 5-10yrs and I couldn't face it then - wanted to buy a house and start thinking about kids etc. Also again not something that fits in around a family as often short-term contracts in diff locations and so competitive that it really does pay peanuts for hard graft. I am enjoying my non-work time but I suppose one day, probably sooner than I imagine, I will have to face the wicked world of work again. I have gone slightly off topic here but I was listening to Woman's Hours this morning and they were talking re revamping their Women Power List and I decided to put myself at the top of my own power list for standing up and being a full time mum!

Why isn't this all over at least the local news like a rash? Very unlike the Met not to issue a press alert.

I think it was an articulated lorry. It was stuck for ages on corner of Maxted / Nutbrook, finally made it round the corner and my hubbie said 'that'll be the bollard down again' and sure enough it was when we walked passed an hour later. Can't be defo but a likely candidate. I feel sorry for the drivers - it is the sat nav taking them down roads that are too narrow.

I thought the napkin ok too. Many a meal with tiny bubba snuggled into me and seemed the 'right' thing to do.

I normally leave out my large Sains reusable shopping bags with excess recycling and it is always collected, with the bags emptied and chucked back over the garden wall.

Anyone else seen Graham Lineham wandering around ED? Can't quite decide if it him or not.

And try and get one that you can wipe clean with a wet cloth.

Mine is only 12 but it is all about how much chocolate and sleep she can score in a day. Some days she is a Waltonesque daughter and some days more like Carrie freaking out at the prom. However, I do love the whole growing up thing and finding their place in the world (ok it's Sat night and I've had the odd glass of vino ..)

East Dulwich Gove - is that the new Free School?

I went to put a black bin bag of household rubbish in our green bin today and noted the bag already in there had been ripped open. Defo not by an animal, as the lid was closed and the rubbish was still contained with the bag. Also you could see stretch marks in the plastic bin bag were someone has pulled it to open it. V weird. I'm in Bellenden area. Anyone else noticed similar?

All v encouraging, thanks guys n gals. I still miss Tawny screeches and stare longingly at our empty Bellenden trees at night, which are full of those green parakeets by day ...

Bit random but was thinking to myself last night I never hear owls in London. I grew up on the border of Liverpool / Lancashire and much as our area was relatively built up extensive farmland was just a mile or so away and there were loads of Tawny Owls. At a certain times of night there would be two clearly perched on a tree in our garden and they were a regular feature but I have never seen any in London. Does anyone ever see / hear them around here? Surely there are some in Dul Park, Peck Rye?

Keep an eye out at school run time and see what uniforms your neighbourhood children are wearing. I would have thought Goodrich, Heber, St Johns and St Clements, Ivydale, Goosegreen and even if you don't get in straight away there is always a bit of a shake-down between the April announcement and Sept start, with places coming free :)

I would suggest while the kids are young a playroom that can be shut off at night when they gone to bed. When they older have two formal lounges one for them and one for you, which avoids them disappearing upstairs to the bedrooms with the opposite sex when young teenagers. But also don't set in stone as bornagain says. Our dining table moves from the kitchen to our lounge dinner depending on specific needs.

Well it's down again (Mon am) after being fixed again on Friday - I think that is the shortest it has ever lasted.

Something is needed as when the bollard is down cars turning left out of Nutbrook into Adys often mount the pavement here, particularly dangerous during school run time. Even worse is when cars turning right into Nutbrook from Adys actually cross the pavement in the same spot - pure useless driving and not bad design. Another prob in this area and perhaps the cause of the bollard being knocked down so much is the large volume of articulated lorries sent through the area via sat-nav. I don't mind removal vans and delivery vans who have a genuine need to be in these side roads but not the big artics just passing through. Redesign the corner or sink the bollard much deeper so it is stronger and the vehicle takes the hit not the bollard. It is a comedy bollard at the moment with the locals all but running a book on when it will be down next.

There is a group called South London mums you should be tweeting them and I'm sure they would re-tweet for you.

Glad all sorted :)