The Minkey

I'd have a friendly word. Let him know how audible it is to the neighbours. He may not be aware it's annoying people.

What a dreadful experience, very unnerving. I hope it doesn't happen to you again & that whoever's behind this gets caught asap.

"A pity, because as several people have said, she makes some good points. I wonder if she would accept an offer of some basic tuition from someone on the forum?" Spits tea.. What!!

Spark67, my cat gets spooked by the Feliway. I think she thinks it's another cat in the house. She hates other cats. As your boy gets so terrified, it sounds like the low dose valium might be needed to help him through the next event but in the meantime, and because it's not possible to predict when fireworks will be going off these days, do you have the space to create a hidey hole/den to narrow down the directions from which an 'attack' might come? Something like a large box with some of his bedding inside and a hole just big enough for him to enter and exit, which can then be sited in a quiet area. Although my cat like your other two appears unphased by fireworks, she is occasionally a bit nervy when there's too much going on around her. At these times she often lurks at the entrance of the cat cave watching the action from a distance.

This is more like it

The idea that large corporates are able to operate on the back of tax payer subsidies - by which I mean welfare payments to their minimum wage workforce - whilst posting vast profits for their directors and shareholders seems really curious to me.

"The Traid shop didn't replace the thieving loan shop in Peckham, as I'd originally thought. Any idea what it did replace?" It was the cheap clothing store that used to blast out music as far as I recall. Can't remember what it was called.

The new 'Peckham Market' opens this Saturday 1st November 10 - 2. Entry from Bellenden Rd or Lyndhurst Way http://www.peckhammarket.com/visit.html

Any one recommend somewhere local that sells reasonably priced exterior lighting? I've looked at the B&Q website but not that keen on what they're offering. A lot of it looks a bit flimsy. Don't have transport so needs to be somewhere I can get to using public transport. Thanks.

Squeaky clean history & no issues with the property. I did a comparison using USwitch which returned only 7 results of which only Ensleigh came in cheaper.. Today I got a quote from Saga whose best online price was over ?750 which included their 20% online discount. They did come down a fair bit when I spoke to them this afternoon, so I'll take your advice and give my current provider a call to say I'm going to them for Ensleigh/Saga.. ;-)

My buildings and contents renewal has come in - 674.67 p.a. I took out the policy in 2006 & think I pretty much went with default settings, no high value items or away from home cover, that kind of thing. It's for a 3 bed semi built 1920-30. People keep telling me it's a lot so I wondered how it compares with others locally?

Urban75 which started off covering the Brixton area has had a pretty wide reach for quite some time.

In the Aylesham Centre arcade, there's now a stall selling yummy looking bread and cakes. It's open from Wednesday to Saturday if I recall correctly, and on Saturdays they have gluten-free offerings.

"I noted a Traid charity shop in place of the robber loan shop near Boots in Peckham. A definite indicator of Peckham's upward mobility :-)" I noticed some building work going on on one of the bigger units. Hadn't registered it was the ex-dodgy loan place. Thank god that's gone.

Forza Win - "An old cash and carry in Peckham transformed into a large Italian banqueting hall." - in the old Cash & Carry on Copeland Road: http://www.forzawin.com/winter/

Make sure you put whatever it is through its paces before handing over any cash.

Won't someone think of the Pedler?

Brick Brewery on Blenheim Grove where the reclamation place used to be. Plus, a couple of months back a bar/food place appeared to be under construction where the Sassoon Gallery used to be out back of Bar Storey. The Gallery itself appeared to have moved into an adjacent unit. My daytime favourite is Barry's Diner, the small cafe in the arcade leading from Blenheim Grove to the station. Elsewhere, on Choumert Grove a third foodie unit appears to have opened up near to the two coffee/cake type places opposite the Thomas Calton Centre. I didn't stop to check out what it was offering but it looked more seriously savoury than the others. Disappointingly, the Nigel Road area at the bottom of the Rye has been hit with a plague of estate agents. Fingers crossed the two units being worked on at the moment are destined to be something different.

Eurgh KK, that sounds like an engorged lady tick ready to drop off. A greyish 'skin tag' that gets fatter over a few days may be suspect.. It's also quite possible to play host to a tick and never notice because they can be so tiny - the males don't inflate like the females - I initially mistook mine for a fleck of dirt on my skin. The distinctive bulls-eye rash is present in about 70% of Lyme infections.

I found the tweezers worked fine, they were very fine tipped ones though. It was just a bit of an effort to maintain a gripping pressure sufficient to pull it out but not pull its body away from its head. I got it out on the fifth attempt. *shudders* Saw the doc today about something else and she volunteered me a bloodwork form to check for Lymes. Vet assts at Hankinsons said they do see them from time to time, and some friends who walk their dogs on One Tree Hill said they'd found a couple over the years. We both back on to the Aquarius. Reckon mine must have hitched a ride in on the cat - possibly via a fox - as I haven't been out walking anywhere green in a while. The boob tick

Slow and gentle tugging using a pair of tweezers. Took a few goes and had my toes curling because I'm a tad phobic but it came off in one piece. It was a tiny one. I thought it looked about the same size as a deer tick but it may have been one of the larger species in a developmental stage. Horrible creatures!

In the eight or so years I've been living round here I've never encountered a tick or expected to until today when I found one firmly embedded on my chest. So, is it the case I've been living in a tick free dreamworld or is this a new thing for the area. I know Richmond Park is riddled with them but I thought that was due to the deer.

As much as it was an awful experience for the kids to have been on the recieving end of a mugging, I'm sure your action will have made all the difference to how they may have been affected by it. Really well done for intervening.

Debunking Israel's 11 Main Myths about Gaza, Hamas and War Crimes http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mehdi-hasan/gaza-israel_b_5624401.html?1406545029&ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000067

Guera, if I were you, having already spoken to them with regard to the nuisance, I'd be keeping a diary of when they start and stop, and calling that number as soon as they exceed the permitted working hours. What do the noise team say each time?