sillywoman

Liberty used to run fab sewing courses, including one for beginners from their sewing school at the top of the store - might be worth investigating? Or, London School of Fashion on Oxford street?

4 here. 3 was absolutely great, I really really enjoyed 3. We were in the same boat as you at the time (SAHM with no family support available & 3 under 3). I found I was kinder on myself, less stressed about the 'must do, must have' type of stuff that i did with the first, and to some extent with the second, and other folk were kinder too in an 'ohmugodthatpoorwomanwemusthelpher' kind of way. Loads of people round here seem to have 3, and usually fairly close. So you'll be joining a supportive club and you'll do just fine. 3 is great, so great we did it again (can't really recommend that, but that's another story).

My goal is to place a balanced meal on the table that will meet their nutritional needs and look appetising to at least 50% of family members. Whether they eat it is up to them...can feel my blood pressure rising just thinking about it...

Ohh, now, coffee & cake are sounding good - will check out Cut Throat, Thanks CoachBeth. Not sure I can run to Toni & guy prices for him Saff, though agree they always come up trumps. His hair is long but not long enough I think - it's just past his shoulders. Never heard of Blue Tit (or Pedlers come to that) - I must get out more! I'll google them & see where it is, prices etc.etc. - check them out. Thanks team ;)

As the title says really. He's wanting his (beautiful, sniff sniff) long hair cut and as it's about 3 or 4 years since he last went to a hairdressers we're unsure where to go. He'd like a faux-hawk style. Any recommendations from forumites please?

"We want our children to have roots. We want them to make friends that will stick around, that they can grow up with, then venture off to uni, and come back home for regular reunions. We want them to have a group of friends that won't shrink as their parents pack up and leave town. We'd like some friends that will stay here too!" We have four teenagers (or thereabouts). Our age range is 12-20 and we've lived in the same house in ED since just before the first was born. What you describe is exactly what our children have. They've all been/are going through the same primary and secondary school, they all have a group of friends some of whom they've known since babyhood.Pretty much all their friends live within walking distance of our home. Our eldest is at Uni and - yes- when she comes home she has huge reunions and a busy social life catching with all her oldest childhood friends. As parents inevitably we've made many mistakes over the years, but the one thing we definitely got right for our children was to raise them here - they are strongly rooted here and tell us that we are not allowed to leave ED ever (something that may become an issue over the next few years)! Our experience of ED hasn't been transitory at all, most people our kids went to school with at junior and even infant school are still around. It's the thing I find hardest to square in my mind whenever I think about moving out - there's such a quiet joy to be had in going to the shops and knowing that you're almost guaranteed to meet someone you know, or whose children you know. It will be hard to begin to build community all over again, especially when there's such a strong and lovely one here.

I like a 'wild card', it's good to think of options I might not have come up with by myself. Thanks Mid-Ivydale. Can I ask: do you book independently, or go through a company?

Sweden? Hmmm ...interesting ... Can I ask where? Have you been before? Can you recommend a particular resort? Thank you for the offer.

I was wondering about Andorra, but again - the choice of resort, accommodation etc.etc. is overwhelming. Can I ask Mrs D, can you recall which resort you went to? Did you opt for a hotel or self catering?

So, I ski-ied as a young woman and just loved, loved, loved it. Then I met my non-ski-ing husband and we swiftly had several children who emptied our bank account - expensive little creatures aren't they? Anyway one year led into another and I watched my friends and neighbours go off to the slopes with a sad heart but we never managed to fund a trip, and now my 'baby' is in secondary school and finally, finally we are in a position to consider a budget family ski holiday for next year. But... I'm a bit lost. The choice seems overwhelming. I was thinking France (easy to get to), probably self catering (budget), but where to go? Would we would need a good ski school, or to book a ski instructor for us all as a group? Where should I look for cheap(ish) ski-wear? Any advice as to where to go, or good companies to book with would be gratefully received. Thx

I am biased, but I must say that Lewisham hospital is one of the best kept secrets locally. Its recent stats show what compassion, hard work, and a strong community ethos can do for birthing women. If it's the possibility of a spontaneous birth with reduced risk of interventions that you're after then Kings and Tommies can't hold a candle to it. The birth centre is the best I've seen (and I've seen all the local London ones: Think relaxing spa room), and the home birth team are a wonderful, dedicated and experienced group. It doesn't have the flashiness or the resources available to it that the more famous hospitals have, but if you live in the catchment for Lewi you'd be mad not to consider it. It's like a little maternity jewel glowing in the South London community.

Last September Kings completely re-organised all their community teams. I don't know without looking, but it may be that whatever website you were looking at hasn't caught up with the new structure yet - hence the confusion? I would suggest that when you go for your booking appointment (approx 12 weeks usually) with a midwife, you say that you'd like to be referred to Kings home birth team, she/he will then guide you as to whichever team is relevant to your postcode ... or follow lemon's good advice. :)

I know an excellent maternity nurse. She's bright and bubbly, and has been a qualified midwife at a local hospital for about 6 years I think (so qualified in newborn and adult life support, as well as breastfeeding support etc.etc.). Her name is Sophie. Please PM me if you'd like her details.

Her titles cover a lot! ;)

I misread your post edanna - with a hilarious spin!!

Hi everyone, I've just seen this lovely scheme on the Southwark council website, I hope that at least some ED babies can benefit :) http://www.southwark.gov.uk/news/article/2083/southwark_newborns_to_receive_free_books_thanks_to_dolly_parton Love SWx

Though it is worth remembering that the NCT/ private antenatal classes cover a lot more than just managing the labour. Their remit should cover ALL the common birth scenarios (Induction, Assisted birth, and Caesareans) as well as breast-feeding and practical baby care along with other early-days-baby-life stuff. In the interests of disclosure I should add that I am an East Dulwich NCT/ Bump and Baby teacher, but I really do think that hypnobirthing is money well spent. I just think that it's ideally done as a complement to antenatal classes, as these cover a much broader remit than just managing the labour (which HynoB is brilliant at). Sorry to hear that your group didn't gel MarianaTrench, a great shame for you and the others within it, I would second Convex's recommendation for the EDF baby clubs. Being a new Mum for the first time can be a lonely old place to be.

I would say that the two types of antenatal education are complementary. Convex is right - NCT is great for meeting other people at the same stage of pregnancy as you, and also understanding the bigger picture of what happens and when. Hypnobirthing would give you a very effective tool to manage the intensity of the contractions - a tool that can be used in all sorts of stressful circumstances, not just for labour (e.g. a baby that won't stop crying, painful breastfeeding, or even at the dentist - my favourite use for it). It's pricey, but if you can afford both I would strongly encourage you to consider it.

Thankyou ladies, I will check out 999 and glamorous nails. I feel a bit silly for feeling so nervous about something so relatively insignificant, but it'll be a new experience so your recommendations are all gratefully received. x

So, to my embarrassment I have reached my late 40's without ever getting my nails done - not once, I have decided that this Christmas I will remedy this, but I need some advice about where to go. I would like someone who will be gentle with a beginner and am happy to have someone to come to me, or me to go to them. The nail bars that I see on P'ham Rye for example look a wee bit intimidating to me. Can anyone recommend a lovely local place or person to make me finally look like a grown-up woman?

Eeeewww, that's gross and really creepy. Nasty nasty advert. Ugh.

Well done Belle, that's wonderful news. I've popped it in my Christmas hopeful Amazon basket.

meal out with friends at a place of her choice (within reason)?

azurh, is this right? You've had your booking appointment, the midwife asked to keep your notes until the next appointment so that she could book you into the system. You will get your notes back at the next midwife appointment. My understanding of the system is that you don't need your notes for your 12 week saran (just keep the documentation they give you safe until it can be placed in your notes), however you do need to make another appointment to see a midwife, if you don't already have one. The midwife who booked you should have told you when to book that appointment for - usually around 16 weeks. Once you get your notes back you'll be able to see what the schedule of appointments through your pregnancy is. I would guess that the reason you didn't get a call back yesterday is due to the community midwives being utterly snowed under. I'm sure they'll get back to you when they can, or you could persevere with trying to contact them if you want. When dealing with big systems like the NHS sometimes a bit of perseverance is necessary for non-emergency situations.

A good friends son does dance (street and other boy friendly stuff) at the Laban Centre - I think it's in New Cross? He seems to love it and has been going for several years now (he's now 11 or so, but I think he started when he was 9).