ClaireinSE22

She's certainly captured my mood after this weekend and I'm not even a stay-at-home Mum! TFI it's Monday tommorrow and I can go back to work.....

A bit of local history is briefly on show at this site, as you can currently see the old name sign for Charrington's bears from when it was the Albion stores, as well as some lovely etched glass which presumably will be covered up again soon or taken out (but I do hope not).

Hi Mima, And like natural phenomena I think tantrums are sometimes inevitable AND nothing to do with your parenting. IMO at 17 months your child is pretty much still a baby and the boundary setting stuff is lost on him. I firm 'no' might work but 'if you do this...this will happen' is too much for him at the moment. My best tips to avoid melt downs are avoiding hunger and tiredness and get online to do your shop!

Oh no Duchess - they still have the bloody awful skills books, pages and pages of them - Practice Assessment Documents or PADs is the current nomenclature. Minimac - shifts are a nightmare with small children coz they screw up your sleep pattern even more......I do mental health nursing, which has 8 hour shifts instead of 12hrs (because we believe in promoting mental wellbeing!) but there are still night shifts and late shifts that finish at 9pm and early shifts that start at 7am. That might sound awful but I see my son more working shifts than I would doing 9-5. BUT let's not forget that some nursing posts are in the community so you can do 9-5! My childcare arrangements are a constant juggling act between Grandmas, nursery and husband - but I think that's true of lots of working parents and if your husband can do pick-ups and drop-offs then you're sorted. I think all awards are means tested now - they have scrapped that degree/diploma distinction in terms of the bursary. Which makes so much sense, why oh why didn't they do it sooner? This is for the NHS bursary calculator so you can see how much you might get; http://www.ppa.org.uk/StudentBursariesCalculator/reset.do

Hi Lola, I started my nursing training in Sept 08, fell pregnant (after over 2 years of trying - in case anyone feels inclined to question my timing!), had baby in Oct 2009, took a year off and then completed the course in 2010 when my little boy was 1yr old. It costs nothing to train - if you get on a pre-registration nursing course the NHS pays your fees and, yes, there is a childcare award available depending on your household income. You choose the childcare - so long as it is OFSTED registered, the NHS Business Services Authority pays you the money directly and then you pay the childcare provider. Hope this helps - feel free to PM me. Claire

I rang Lambeth council yesterday and they said it would be on for the Jubilee weekend....

Dear Minder and Fuschia, When some of us met with Renata yesterday, she did assure us that whichever children's centre runs the club, they would be maintaining the existing opening hours and only using the building for their own purposes in the mornings and evenings i.e. whenever club not running. Anyhooo - we don't know if they will go for it - so we MAY still have a big fight on our hands to keep the club going. Watch this space.

Hi Helen, I heard from another Mum who met with Renata that Southwark would fund training for parents in first aid and cover the cost of CRB checks. But I agree that it would be a big commitment from a number of individuals and yourself aside (well done for being so public spirited!) I just don't know of anyone else who has expressed an interest in doing this. Maybe Renata, some Mums/Dads have approached you about running the club? but of the parent's I've spoken to about this (admittedly, just people I know - not a massive public consultation!) I've not found anyone who could manage it. I'm really gonna struggle to get to this one off meeting - let alone making a regular commitment to helping run the club.

Some parents may have heard that the Peckham Rye One O'Clock club has lost its funding from April next year - or at least it seems the staff budget has been cut, which means that the service will close unless the local childrens' centres can be persuaded to staff it. It has also been suggested that local parents could run the service - I'm pretty dubious about this because I don't think that parents of young children have the time but far be it for me to say what other parents might be up for! Although these options for keeping it open are still being explored, I don't think we can afford to be complacent and concerned parents should contact their local councillors to express their support for this service. I've attached a letter that I sent myself which can be used as a template - in case that helps anyone pushed for time. You can contact your councillor via email [email protected] or c/o Members' Room, 160 Tooley St, SE1 2QH - councillors names follow below. We'll also be getting a petition together in the near future - so watch this space and please get in touch if you can help distribute it or have any other ideas for helping to guarantee the future of the One O-Clock club at Peckham Rye. EAST DULWICH James Barber Jonathan Mitchell Rosie Shimell NUNHEAD Sunil Copra Fiona Colley Althea Smith PECKHAM RYE Gavin Edwards Renata Hamvas Victoria Mills THE LANE Nick Dolezal Mark Glover

Renata - that's great news - I'm so pleased to hear that the service will continue in some form - children's centres are Sure Start centres? I assume that there would still be open sessions with the same regularity as presently? I'd vote for an evening meeting - anywhere local would suit. Many thanks.

Son currently peep-po crazy so Toddler Tom does it for us. But goes really bananas for the shapes song from Mister Maker - go figure! Personally, I get great pleasure from PC Plum's song in Balamory - is wonderfully camp from the first and then plain hilarious when he emerges from Miss Hoolie's house having stolen her handbag singing, "I've found your handbag"

Rahrahrah - there is a thread in the Family Room headed 'Renata if you're reading...One o'Clock' which I found very interesting on the subject of THAT new playground and the gravity defying water feature - if you search One O'Clock club it should come up. But let's not get off topic.....what we want to know is whether the One O'Clock Club is really under threat of closure i.e. permanent closure - as I believe there was some talk last year of it being closed in the short term whilst building work takes place in that area of the park (including replacing existing One O'Clock Club hut).

Dear James, Can you comment on the rumour that the Peckham Rye One O'Clock club is under threat of closure? Kind regards, Claire

Not exactly,....the new play area has actually reduced the space available to the One O'Clock Club - besides, not sure that Southwark, like so many local authorities, are known for their forward planning! Donna, I'd like to offer my poor services in support of a campaign for PR one o'clock club - will PM you my details. Just a thought, but maybe the original post should be re-posted under the Family Room as I think more parents would see it there?

I've got a little blank note book and have scribbled some stuff in there....I'm not sure what I'll ever do with it in terms of making it more presentable but my first thought was just to have something for myself as my memory is so terrible and these early years do feel so precious. Sort of wish I'd done the email thing but wonder if I'd ever have found the time...