Josiehendrick

Brilliant, looking forward to it!

Hey, just wondered if anyone can join your book club? If so I'd love to!

We vaguely followed the baby whisperer routines and have a 9 month old who sleeps and eats very well. Got to say I recommend it :)

Hey Laney, Ditto to all that you said. My daughter is nearly 5 months and due to work (now on maternity leave, wrong way around I know), had no time to meet other local mamas. None of my friends have babies yet either so looking forward to meeting some parents who know what I'm going through but also want to remember who they were pre baby! So let me know if you arrange a meet up or anything. josie x

hello! I too would love to meet up if there's any space left. I'm due with a baby girl on 7th April. :)

I don't think your post was offensive at all and anyone who took it so is obviously feeling intimidated by the word 'cool' which is kind of silly since we've left school now ;) I completely know what you mean. I too am pregnant (although not due for a long while) and scared sh*tless about turning into an East Dulwich yummy mummy. Not because there's anything wrong with them, or because I think I'm too cool, I'm just worried there aren't any local mums who would want to meet and talk about something other than baby poo and other stuff I don't even understand yet! So, when I'm a little closer to my due date, I'd love to meet up with other mums/mums to be who of course, love their children but don't want to forget who they were before they became mummy!

You really think the deeper 'issue' is greed? Let's be clear, I'm not condoning the way these people are behaving. But we're not seeing white Etonians from Hampstead looting are we? Do you really think it's as simple as people being greedy and taking what they can't afford to buy. And what do you base your statement that deprivation in society has nothing to do with these riots? How do you know this? As for the Tory comment, it just seems from the vast amount of social media comments and articles floating around that Tories take a very different line when it comes to the issue of inequality and social deprivation in general. It's not as simple as saying it's the government's fault - inequality was an issue under Labour too. It's not even about fault, it's about trying to move forward from this to a better society for everyone. Punish the looters, convict the wrongdoers but don't be so naive as to say this is all about greed.

Huguenot you are a Tory I presume? if you really think having Playstations and Blackberrys means people aren't poor you are quite frankly deluded. Britain is one of the most socially unequal societies and like countries like the US, experiences peasants revolts. Look at Scandinavia, see any riots there? No. You know why? Because they have a lesser divide between rich and poor. Perhaps you should remove your head from the Daily Mail and wake up and smell the problems. Our society needs to fundamentally change. After all, its the rich who have to clean up the mess. And as has been proven, a more equal society benefits all (including the well off, not just the poor).

Condemning the looters is one thing but failing to see there's a bigger picture than sheer criminality is just plain stupid I'm afraid. Yes these people are behaving like violent thugs and no, I don't in any way justify their actions. But to ignore the deeper issues will only lead to more severe problems down the line. Punish those who do wrong, who break the law, but don't just write this off as simple aggressive vandelism and violence. Whilst no one disputes the willful wrongdoing of those involved, we ignore the underlying problems of social deprivation, poverty and inequality at our peril.