srisky

As much as I love the idea of an acoustic piano, I am in the market for a digital - can anyone recommend a good quality make and shop? Budget of less than ?500 (would prefer <?300 if there isn't a significant difference in quality). Thanks

Fwiw, Herne Hill will have a new head from September - she is the current deputy head and is a lot warmer than the present incumbent, although only time will tell if this will lead to any change in the previously mentioned criticisms. DOI: have/had children in the early years at Herne Hill but not at Reception or higher up in the school, so have no personal experience of the pressure some describe.

Can anyone recommend somewhere I can buy a dinosaur or digger themed cake? It doesn't necessarily need to be dinosaur/digger-shaped. I am not looking for a bespoke/hand-made one, a generic shop-made one will do for ?10 or less - surprisingly, Sainsbury's/Tesco/Asda do not do them! Thanks!

Thanks! slarti b Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Update Wed 2 March. Was fine at 8.30 this > morning.

Thanks both. There are 3-way temporary lights along half moon lane, too - perhaps part of a similar problem.

I got caught in heavy traffic here at 3.30pm today (not usually like this at 3.30pm) and ended up going a different route. Just wondering whether the problem was a random one-off or likely to last longer, as I use this route frequently and need to avoid if the latter. Thanks

Sorry, I have no experience of Alleyn's but I appreciate how difficult school decisions can be so I didn't want to read and run. Is your job near Alleyn's guaranteed? Will the school run to Alleyn's be totally on you because of the location? Is the 11min drive to WHS worse/more awkward than the 21min drive to Alleyn's despite the shorter journey time? Are there any disadvantages to WHS over Alleyn's? If not, I would go for the former - a school nearer home is a major plus if all else are equal. Play dates will be easier, help from other parents with the school run, holiday child care share, evening/weekend events at school and, once your daughter is older, all the home sports fixtures/drama rehearsals/after school activities - esp if she needs to make her own way to and from school. Good luck! ETA: just re-read your post and I see you gas factored in distance so feel free to ignore all of the above!

Striking and wanting to provide a full service are not mutually exclusive, in much the same way that teachers striking and having a passion to educate are not mutually exclusive. uncleglen Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > yes, why on earth would you go into such a > profession if you did not wish to provide a full > service.

Yes, this is not an infrequent problem and it is not unusual for days of annual leave to go unspent Otta Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Problem is time off in lieu is pointless when > there is no opportunity to use it.

There is no extra pay for bank holidays but there is time off in lieu.

The 22k-28k is for a 40h week with no out of hours commitment, effectively Mon-Fri, 9-5pm. I don't think that is really a great salary for the qualifications/length of degree course required, the responsibility that they undertake (even the most junior doctor has significant responsibility) and additional work that is required out of their own personal expense (e.g exams and course, which are mandatory and cost several hundreds). The supplement (which increases their base salary) comes from working out of hours and is weighted according to how unsociable the hours are and how frequent - these are not negotiable in the contract of that post. Most junior doctors change post every 4 months, rising to 6 months/year and registrars to 1 year. Their salary can, therefore, fluctuate quite wildly every 4months-1yr depending how frequent/unsociable the out of hours work is in that particular role. They often don't find out until the first day of their post what their salary will be - makes any sort of financial planning quite difficult. Registrars often rotate within a region, e.g southeast of England. The main challenge for them to get a post within a region of their choice in order to be in the vague vicinity of family and friends. They are effectively guaranteed a job for 5 years but will have no idea which hospitals within a given region they will be working in over that period or the salary, e.g for one year they maybe at King's then with approx. 2 months to go they may well be told that they have to work in Canterbury (they can make a case for where they would like to be placed but final decision is generally not negotiable). There used to be a nominal financial contribution to travel/relocation but I am not sure whether that still exists. It also makes family life quite difficult. They perhaps should know some of this before embarking on a career but it would be difficult for most 18y olds to truly understand any career and its implications on your work-life balance and finances. I am not making a case for an increase in salary (in fact, that is not what the strike is about) but it is not all pockets stuffed with cash and rounds of golf either.

I am not disputing that there are salary supplements - I mentioned the BMA salary scales as it has a link to the supplements as well as pay progression for junior doctors and consultants.

Salary scales are on the BMA website. 100k for a consultant is after 19y service at consultant level, which is usually reached around age 55-60y. LondonMix Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Junior doctors do make a lot more than their base > pay. On average junior doctors make 36k including > the bonus pay for week end and evening work. > Junior doctors in certain specialties make between > 53k and 70k including bonus pay and as seniority > progresses. Consultants make up to 100k. > > Regardless of how much doctors make though, the > pay isn't enough to retain and recruit > appropriately so lowering it by reducing the hours > that qualify for bonus payments is a bad long term > strategy by the government.

Looks wonderful and may well be the gift I was looking for for my daughter's 5th birthday next month. Thanks for posting about it!

Very kind, thanks! We haven't booked it yet as our plans for that week are a bit up in the air but if we do then I will be in touch. Thanks again!

Do parents have to wait with the kids? Mine is almost 5y but can't stay with her as I will also have my 2.5y old.

Cremation for me. I want to make sure that I am definitely dead.

Thanks so much for the advice and the quotes - bloody hell, I had no idea they were that much. We will definitely look into draught proofing/rehanging the door. Thanks again.

Our front door is very draughty and, as it is recessed, fitting a door curtain would be either tricky or unsightly. Therefore, we are thinking of getting a new door - any advice on what factors to consider, how to measure up to ensure no draughts and recommendations of where to buy one. Thanks

http://direct.asda.com/Red-Kite-Sleeptight-Travel-Cot---Black/002641074,default,pd.html This has been great for us. All travel cot mattresses are very thin, so pad it out with blankets etc for comfort.

Are you planning to try private lessons until Sept? In which the teacher will be able to advise where to buy. You can often hire them from about ?5/month and if you decide to buy then some of the rental fee is deducted from the purchase price (the latter is around ?80). You could also enquire at South London Music on Grove Vale and they should be able to point to in the right direction.

Surrey Quays farm, which also has a nice cafe/restaurant. Crystal palace farm (closed on Weds).

Pancakes - fruit toppings, maple syrup/ice cream My daughter seems to prefer fruit salad to just a single piece of fruit (again, you can liven this up with yoghurt, honey, ice cream, nuts, dried fruit) Flap jacks - homemade so you can control the amount of sugar etc added Fruit muffins (again, home made) Banana cake (home made)

I feel your pain! Here are some meals that our family enjoy: Scrambled eggs on toast with some veg on the side - super quick and tasty! Another is sardine bolognese (but we use mackerel instead) - fry garlic, add: 2x tin mackerel in tomorrow sauce, 2x mackerel in spicy tom sauce, olives, capers and 2x can chopped toms and heat on the hob (everything is already cooked). Serve with pasta. My husband and I add chilli flakes to our servings. This quantity is enough for 2 meals for a family of 4 (2 small kids) and can be frozen. Healthy, cheap and tasty! Jacket potatoes, as above. Pitta/toast pizzas - kids help make it: pesto on base with any topping Roast loads of toms, peppers, garlic, onion - blitz with a few tablespoons of chopped toms & season. While roasting, dry fry some chopped chorizo sausage to release the oils. Add the blitzed up veg to the frying pan and warm though. Sever with gnocchi or pasta. Delish plus kids get their veg without realising it. Lamb kebabs - mince lamb mixed with onions, garlic, chilli and mint, season. Portion off and freeze for another day. Take it out if freezer in the morning, then griddle/oven it in the evening - serve with pitta/burger, salad, humous. Enjoy!

Unless you have made a huge profit on your first property, it is very hard to move up the ladder in London, even on an average-good income once stamp duty etc has been factored in. Moving out just a couple of zones makes a big difference to ?/sqft.