frierntastic

DJKQ's obsession with average rent is misguided, unhelpful and completely misses the point. The point of HB (and other benefits) is not to bring people up to an average standard of living! I'd take DaveR's point a bit further; even if average private sector rent is too high for 33% of those working, it is still not a useful measure to assess who needs HB. There will always be some people who cannot afford the average, and some who can. This kind of relative measure is really unhelpful - we should be looking at what proportion of families can afford to live at a safe, healthy, adequate level - the state should assist people that fall below this line, not an average. There is no way on earth I could afford the average rent in Dulwich. But I can certainly afford rent of a place adequate for my family's needs - and that is what matters.

The country appears to have gone crazy if we believe that paying HB of up to ?1000 a week is necessary - welfare should be a safety net, not a way of life or a path to housing that only the richest could afford. Let's take Jeremy's 80 families with rents of circa ?1000 per week. Thats ?80,000 per week total or ?4MILLION pa!!!! on 80 families! That is about the operating budget of a small to medium size secondary school. No-one wants "poor ghettos", but it is just not right that the vast majority of working families would be unable to afford the housing offered to recipients. I could not afford a rent of ?400 per week - I have two jobs (totalling about 50 hours a week) and my wife works full-time also. DJKQs comparison of HB to average rents in particular areas is misguided - there are (obviously) many working families who rent properties for less than the average market value - are you really saying that those on HB should be provided with better accommodation than many working families? We need to keep the reasoning for welfare clear - assisting those in society who, through no fault of their own, need financial help. It should protect people, not propel them to Pimlico.

Ring again, then again, the again and the again. If you have no luck, ring another Police station - they ill have another way of getting local police to your place. If you cannot get through I would be really tempted to phone 999 - many people will disagree with me but this could be really, really important. Don't touch the knife - if it is connected with the stabbing the Police will not want your, or anyone elses, fingerprints on it.

Crikey Brendan, where on earth did all that come from? Lets look at your points in turn shall we: What are the Tories (who, as an aside, are in coalition with the Lib Dems - lets not forget that) taking away from single mothers? Please expand. Income tax - the ConDems just raised the income tax threshold by ?1,000 and aim to raise it further. This is far higher than Labour placed it (after 13 years!). Would you rather it were lowered? Buy-to-let: Capital Gains Tax wasn't raised this time, but it will in the future. This will cost buy-to-letters more. That revenue will go to pay off Labour's deficit (about 155 billion this year!) and the national debt (which, when I last looked, was edging close to 1 trillion pounds!). To put that in some perspective, our debt is near enough equivalent to the UK borrowing 1 million pounds a day since - if you believe in all that - Jesus was born. That much. I have only just read your comment about buy-to-letters exploiting young families. Where would these families live without a large rental market? Leadership as a privileged protected class? I went to a state comp and my son will, no doubt, go to a state comp. But if I could afford it I would send him to the best school that money could buy - I desperately hope he lives the most privileged and protected life I can give him. I like the fact that Cameron is very bright and went to Eton and Oxford. BTW you should google Blair's school Fettes, makes Eton look like Grange Hill. You know who else wen to Public school and/or Oxford? Harman, Miliband, Balls...all of them. As for your comment about Brits and white South Africans? Pathetic. There is a big difference between the past and present Governments - aspiration.

Abbott is a hypocrite, a relic and, as I am a Tory, hopefully the next leader of the Labour Party. Her comment about West Indian mum's was poor judgement, her failure to retract it political suicide. If Labour supporters have any sense whatsoever, this will be a landslide for Miliband the elder. Even though on the other side of the political divide, I recognise his experience, intellect and political nous. Ed M is just not up to the job (yet) and Balls is a national joke - if the Labour Party elects a Gordon Brown mini-me they will keep themselves out of power for a decade. Cameron is too moderate for the left to label him as a "nasty Tory", too clever to engage in a class war (where he can only lose votes) and knows that, for a year or two at least, the public will buy the idea that the pain is only necessary because of what the last government did. Labour need a real, hard-fought, leadership contest, a centre-left leader (because there just aren't the votes on the left anymore "we're all middle class now" - Blunkett, and to plan for the election in five years.

Thanks for all your advice, it's really appreciated. On balance I think it's probably worth a try even if it doesn't do much in the end! Frierntastic

Ah that's interesting fb and duchess - I saw a midwife friend of mine yesterday who was highly recommending them hence my post. Might not worry too much about it, though, if they're a waste of time.... Thanks for the advice! frierntastic

Sorry for being rubbish but coming up to 39 weeks I'm aware that now is the time for me to be hiring a TENS machine from Kings. The problem is that I can't remember where I go/what I need to do to get one! Can I just rock up at the hospital and ask for one or is the process more complicated? And where do I need to go? Thanks so much for your help.

I'm due with my first on 20 June and would love to come along too, as long as the bump stays a bump until then!

Thanks to everyone for posting on this thread - and thank you to Renata for promising to look into this issue. I think the problem seems to manifest itself between Goodrich Road and Lordship Lane - the humps there are completely ineffective. If it helps, I would be very happy to help in whatever way I can with slowing the speed down. I don't have any children but am acutely aware of the dangers posed to them by speeding on an otherwsie lovely road. I am quite willing to drop leaflets asking residents to slow down, give more information to the council (Renata?) or stand there counting speeding cars if more evidence is required. FT

Thanks everyone all your answers have been very reassuring! I'll cross this issue off my list of things to stress about before the baby comes, then....

Hi all, I'm due to have my first baby on 20 June and am at the stage of trying to get myself organised while realising I have no idea what to expect! I do have a question, though, which I can't find an answer for on this forum (my main source of advice so far): we have 2 cats and I've heard all sorts of horror stories about new babies being smothered, scratched, peed on, etc by jealous felines. I've bought a cat net for the cot but there doesn't seem to be anything I can find to fit a Moses basket for the first few weeks/months. How worried should I be about fending cats off every moment and does anyone out there have any advice? Will I be unable to leave the baby alone even for a second less a cat do something awful? They are pretty independent but I can still see them getting kind of fascinated by a new being in the household. All advice would be appreciated! Thanks.

Dear James and fellow Dulwichians, I was, once again, this morning nearly mown down by a car accelerating along Friern Road. Had I not been cowering in the pavement I would have noted the registration plate and phone the police, but, between the car zooming past and my heart rate returning to normal I thought I would ask a far more useful organ, this forum, for its advice. The speed ramps presently act as no deterrent, serving only to guide cars down the centre of the road. Please can we have them raised, expanded or otherwise modified so they actually succeed in slowing cars down. There are a couple of primary schools within a couple of dozen metres of Friern Road, and these cars give youngsters very little chance to get our of the way. Failing that, I may create a couple of chicanes from the now outdated Tory/Lib Dem/Labour signs that are slowly being removed from windows. I think we are in danger of seeing a serious injury on that road - and I think the remedy would be fairly cheap. Frierntastic