kate h

My son's in Reception at Bessemer and kids in his class come from East Dulwich (both sides of Lordship Lane - we're down near the Rye), Denmark Hill and Herne Hill areas. Hope that helps!

Have a look at this thread for Little Fingers feedback. http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,1621153,1667355#msg-1667355 They now have their 'mymontessori' website up and running which is great - photos and updates of what your kid's been getting up to... PM me if you'd like more info!

Our au pair also had her phone stolen at 9.30 yesterday evening on Crystal Palace Road. Two guys on a moped.

Another recommendation for Aria at A.F.E Plumbing. Arrived very promptly and fixed the job for a good price. He's also a really nice guy! 07739 734 895

Imagine if we could cover the Rye with flags! Thousands of them....x

Midivydale - you are doing a brilliant job of articulating the realities of all of this. Thank you. I want to sit on Peckham Rye with all our kids in a huge circle - with flags from every SE22 nation laid out in the middle - and hold hands. Probably corny - I don't know. Just really struggling with how impotent and sad I feel.

Yes, WM and BB - brilliant, well-argued posts. Such a cruel and awful irony that the demographic groups which have won this election for Boris (ie disenfranchised white voters in Lincolnshire and the North East etc) are the same demographic groups the Tory party has done so little to serve. I WANT TO PROTEST!!!! Can't we organise one? A big one?

Really helpful. Thanks Etta. Yes, been thinking about the bike option too...

V up for a meet up anothermother. Got a place a for our son this September and very happy this end too. Like Crystalball we loved the school when we looked around. Was really impressed by the head, the quality of the teaching we saw, and all the lovely space. Sorry, a bit of a boring question, but we live down near the Rye, so just wondering whether parking vaguely near the school is a no go at drop off time...? Already thinking about routes!

A nurse recommended chelated magnesium for sleep problems while I was pregnant with number 2. Had had insomnia on and off for years. It worked within days. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/marek-doyle/help-me-sleep-magnesium-secret-to-sleep-problems_b_3311795.html I had tried all sorts of hocus pocus remedies (and CBT which was really helpful) and none of the others had worked so don't think it can be entirely placebo! Nurse recommended I take before bed with a glass of milk. You can get it in the health food shop on LL. Maybe worth a try. Good luck.

It's a lovely nursery. Really high standard of care / teaching. My son has been in the upstairs room for eighteen months or so and there's been no staff turnover at all. He loves all the teachers and there seems to be a great balance between the nurturing and caring side of things, but also lots of imaginative teaching too (making an actual Stick Man after they read the story, learning about the solar system using a 3D model, learning about how metal conducts using some sort of cool bit of science kit!) Quite a few of the kids there wrote their own letters to Father Christmas! Would highly recommend. PM me if that helps.

Of course! Lorene and the others will see you there at 7.30pm (The Actress)...

Yes! I think we have three for definite so far. Our au pair, Reren's au pair, and yours Jimnem...and hopefully a few others might pitch up. Table will be in Lorene's name.

Hi Bozza - it's tomorrow night!

Looks like we've got a few takers for a drink. So shall we confirm 7.30pm at The Actress this Thursday 24th? Let me know if your au pair can make it and I'll reserve a table in Lorene's name so they know where to find each other! Thanks!

Great idea re. whatsupp group. And am still up for arranging a get together for them. What about 7.30pm at The Actress this Thursday?

Lorene is very up for a drink. Shall we organise it for an evening this week? Somewhere on Lordship Lane?

Will check with our au pair - who's now arrived - to see if I should sort drinks!

And we have Lorene arriving. 26. French. Could we organise a drink for them or something?

We were in the rye during the middle of it. Helicopter circling overhead and a load of motorbikes whizzing right through middle of the rye (little path leading down from Japanese garden and round the nice bit with the flowers near the entrance...). Motorbikes then went right over big grassy bit and on towards Nunhead....

Yikes...my instinct is to leave him be but quite tricky when two dentists are telling us it will cause long term problems...last dentist said that it could be affecting jaw-bone which apparently is difficult damage to reverse...Thanks for all the advice!

Thanks for the advice. Goodliz - was your son around the same age as mine when you got the anti nail-biting stuff? Brilliant that it worked so quickly...I'll definitely give it a go. We've now seen two dentists, both of whom have said that we've got to stop him doing it, preferably before he's four. I vividly remember giving up sucking my thumb aged 10 and finding it quite a challenge so just feel like it might be a long process at 3, but hopefully we'll have a similar experience to you!

Has anyone had any experience of getting their kid to give up sucking their thumb? Dentist has just told us that thumb-sucking is affecting our three and a half year old's teeth (front two teeth are starting to come forward a bit...) and that he needs to give up. Hm. I feel he's quite young to be made to give up and don't really know where to begin! Any advice gratefully received. Thanks.

Thanks to the architects for joining the thread. So just catching up on all of this: we now have two proposed newbuilds on Hindmans Road. No. 30 (the most recent application) for two flats in a newbuild in the garden, and no 21. for a single house in a newbuild in a garden(Southwark say the application for 21 is going to be resubmitted). And both these applications have been put forward by the same developer (Arnold Cotton - Wimbledon). SL Architects - could I just clarify something you mentioned in your post? You said a couple of times that you are architects not developers. I had a nice, amiable chat with two architects (you guys?) at the beginning of all of this, and my impression was that you owned a percentage of 21 Hindmans Rd (and as such, were 'developers'). So presumably the financial set up is different for no. 30? Sorry to be pedantic, but I think it's important to be utterly clear - if permission is granted for one of the applications, I'd imagine it's more likely to be granted for the remaining one. Also wondering about Renata's thoughts on the no 30. application... Thanks again everyone. K

Yes, Al-candraw's right - developers started cutting down trees in preparation for build a while ago now which does suggest they're quite confident they'll get permission. They've also created a separate garden for the house on Hindmans. But also agree that if neighours etc stay on top of this, we've got a good chance of stopping it. There is no precedent for a newbuild in a garden in ED (lots on brownfield sites, but I think if you bought near a brownfield site you'd half expect something to happen to it....). And I'm not sure how developers will get round the access issue - maybe they're going to come up with some innovative concept! The profit margins on a build like this (high spec 3 bed house in ED - surely will sell for ?1m plus?) must be pretty big.... K