sillywoman

HI all, Im not sure where to put this so am posting here for traffic but am sure admin will put me in the right place if this is not it. A local south east London team of midwives is moving to a new and lovely office in a library, the catch is that there is no furniture, literally none at all. Please if anyone knowns of any good office furniture that is free or very cheap would you PM me so that I can let them know? They need desks/office chairs/bookshelves and filing cabinets. Many thanks in advance for any practical support you can give. SW x

Well, my understanding is that each NHS Trust has a slightly different process (different hoops they want you to jump through), but on the whole the process follows roughly this path: You speak to your midwife asap about your need for elective caesarean (ELCS), they then refer you to speak with a consultant, or a member of the consultant team who will want to speak with you to ensure you understand the increased physical health risks to you, your baby and any future pregnancies associated with ELCS. You would listen to these then nod, and explain that whilst you understand what they are describing, the risk that being forced to undergo vaginal birth poses to your mental health outweighs all of those other risks for you. They then either give the okay for an ELCS there and then, or (in some Trusts) insist on you undergoing a course of counselling before they will give the go-ahead (I've only heard this on the grapevine - so it could be hear-say, and I haven't heard this in regard to any local Trusts as yet). In my experience it seems it's easier to get an ELCS if you're requesting it on grounds of a previous traumatic birth than if you are requesting it with a first pregnancy for some reason - I'm not sure why that would be though? HTH x

...but still - all that time and all that inconvenience for what? A couple of teeny-weeny cycle lanes so short that they barely deserve the name . What a waste of time and money. Grrrr

We have a few teenagers who we would like to learn to drive. We don't have bottomless pockets (cos of the few teenagers) and would like a competent instructor who will put a plan in place with a rough time frame to get them through their test (we understand that this cannot be exact, but like some kind of rough plan). One of our teens has had some lessons with an instructor highly recommended on this forum but he's not particularly communicative with us, and seems content to just drift along taking our money indefinitely and so we would like to explore other options. Can anyone recommend good instructors for teens? How long does it usually take to get a teen to driving test-ready? Any constructive advice gratefully received....

SO a Friday night farewell to Martins, newsagent of Dulwich Village for the last 62 years (or so Im told). Poor old DV, the old boys of the Estate seem determined to ruin you by creating a gated community without the gates. Shame, but I'm sure in good time you'll get some fancy expensive deli to replace the last 'normal' shop you had. Last one out please tun out the lights...

Alliterated-user = not the kindest. It seems.

I dunno, what is it WOD? I understand DE want to develop the site for flats (cos Dulwich really needs more flats no?), thereby reducing the available space for a shop so far that Martins feel it would no longer be a viable proposition, especially not at the rates suggested by DE. I can't imagine that any representations will change that, but I could be wrong ...

I do know a little more, but have to be careful as I don't want to get my informant into any trouble. It's definite though. Two weeks on Friday Martins will close. I also know that they didn't want to and wanted to remain as open as a community resource and ongoing concern. The closure is entirely driven by DE.

I know, not strictly ED, but I thought it might be newsworthy all the same. Dulwich estates have put Martins in a lose-lose situation and they've been forced to relinquish their tenancy. They will close in two weeks. Poor old DV - once a thriving village, now, with the loss of the last 'useful' shop, a wasteland of expensive clothes shops and patisseries. :(

Thanks, Ive got a recommendation from BDA but I was hoping for a more personal recommendation, particularly as there seem to be a few assessors in SE London. We had an assessment for another son done at the bloomfield some years back, but they are more child oriented than teen I think and so maybe not as appropriate.

Can anyone recommend someone to do a full dyslexia assessment for my teenage son please? TIA

Hi Kate, you seem to have posted to advertise your business in a discussion thread. I'm sure it was accidental. I've asked the moderator to move this post to the family room classifieds where you will see that many other locally based maternity providers such as hypnobirthing/antenatal/yoga class facilitators advertise their businesses. In future it would be good if you respectfully do the same. Thanks.

In 'Herne Hill'? Since when?

There's one next to the pub in Hollydale road, Nunhead. I used it a couple of days ago.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I've checked out the thread in the businesses section, and will follow up on HH driving school and Rich Hammond.

We're about to embark on the whole - teaching the kids to drive nightmare. Does anyone have any recommendations for good, reasonably priced local instructors/schools, or equally schools/ instructors to avoid? Any and all help & advice appreciated.

DO you have an address/Department/link of who/where to write to OP? I also think that it would make a huge difference to be able to use the bus lane on Dog Kennel Hill. Like you I have a 50cc scooter and as the hill is steep even if I pull away in front, by the time I'm halfway up it I'm holding up the traffic and have cars & vans hassling to get past me. I've even been shouted at to 'pull over', because they thought I should be in the bus lane.

You leave your fridge Mellors?

No nice 'Welcome to our East Dulwich store' snacky freebies - I know they're big enough nor to have to care, but thought it would have been a nice touch. Still, am glad to see it open after so many years of will-it-won't-it & waiting.

Hi Eleanore, For a short while some years back Lewisham maternity services were troubled and had a not so good reputation so perhaps people you're speaking to may be recalling that time? However Lewisham's done a lot of work over the last four years and is now a great place to have a baby. In fact just this year the maternity unit there won a major national award for excellence. The Birth Centre is unrivalled in London in my opinion (and I suspect nationally, but I only speak from personal knowledge of GSTT, PRUH, KCL, UCLH and Portland)and is recognised within the midwifery profession as providing excellent care; The labour ward and postnatal ward have recently undergone redecoration and have a nice feel to them. The staff are lovely, supportive, and kind but also highly professional. I had my four babies under Kings, but if I was having babies now, and couldn't have a home birth (my personal preference) then I would use Lewisham's Birth Centre without a moments hesitation. If I could have a home birth, or needed a more medical approach then I would still opt for care with Lewisham. It's a real little gem of a hospital. They are quietly working to a high standard, and providing great care for the local population. Can you tell I'm a fan? ;) They don't do case loading midwifery a la The Lanes - more's the pity - but a few of the Lanes midwives now work there after the big shake up in KCL community care so the personalised care ethos is beginning to be more evident antenatally. You can always ask to come and see the unit if you're unsure. A good person to contact to arrange this would be Jacquie Moulla (Ex Albany midwife) who is now a consultant midwife for normality at Lewisham. Just call the main switchboard and ask to speak to her or for her contact details.

Toffee, are you hearing the same builders as macutd? They are very loud indeed, not to mention foul-mouthed and crude, and as they are working in a garden block enclosed all round by houses the noise travels. I'm very very glad I don't have little children playing in our garden any more. I've not heard anything quite so loud and offensive in the two decades we've lived here. :(

We've got substantial chains and locks for our own bikes. Sadly in our road there's no room for off street parking (well, very little anyway). Between us and our next door neighbour we have 5 bikes/scooters. Counting the other bikes that 'live in our street there's probably about 10 or more. Given this, and the known high levels of motorbike crime in our area I was thinking that it would be helpful to have some kind of street motorbike parking with a designated anchoring place, so I was just canvassing to see whether anyone had ever achieved this locally?

Is there any possibility of getting the council to put a motorbike anchor into our residential street? Does anyone have any experience of this with Southwark? Who would I approach in the first instance do you think?

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. The Groom Room in DV did it in the end. I paid a bit extra (it being DV an' all) but he got a very good, very cool cut that he's delighted with - so it was worth it to me. Thanks wonderful family-roomers :)