Belle

I got Pavel's details from the forum and I'm so glad I used him and his team for my house move earlier in the year. Moving is always stressful but especially in lockdown, and he made it as stress-free as he possibly could. He is really reasonably priced, helpful and incredibly fast too. The service was outstanding and I would recommend him to anyone.

Slightly belated post to say I would recommend Steve very highly. He cleaned all my carpets when I moved house at the start of the year - and also a second hand white sofa I thought was past recovery. He was realistic with me about what was achievable but the results far surpassed expectations, and he was a pleasure to deal with, plus very reasonable prices too. I'll use him again when needed.

I've spent a lot of time in Tromso in the last 4/5 years and most recently travelled there with my then 7 year old and 5 year old - happy to tell you about it if you have any questions. We had a wonderful time although that was a winter trip so v different experience to summer (which I would also love to do - beautiful place). PM me if there's anything you'd like to know.

They introduced it at our school following a consultation a few years back (state, primary).

It's not unusual tomskip, I think schools possibly have to consult with parents if they change admissions to include that in the criteria - but I may be wrong.

I understood that Charter ED had made it clear on open days it won't be expanding to that number. Happy to be corrected though if that's wrong. Deptford Green sounds really interesting though where we live we may be just out of catchment. I do appreciate there's often a shake down etc too. It's hard not to worry about it though... EDMummy - that is very interesting feedback, thank you.

Don't want to put words in others' mouths, but as someone also living not far from the area we are discussing (as you know Norfolk V :) my concerns are about a lack of co-ed options, so wonder if EMC it was the same for you? I have two boys and feel very strongly about them going to a co-ed school. Am very interested in Deptford Green but think we could possibly be a bit far from it, especially as there would be lots of Ivydale families closer than us. I do also feel a bit gutted that Charter ED is unlikely to reach those of us on the Peckham Rye side of East Dulwich. I was involved in the campaign and though I didn't do it for self-motivated reasons as always knew we'd be borderline, I do feel sad my kids are unlikely to benefit. If Charter ED expanded (as was originally the plan but current talk seems to be that it will not go to 6/8 forms? Perhaps Renata can advise) then the reach would obviously be more generous.

My son was there last year (he's not now at Goose Green as he was always going to a different school where his older sibling goes, and which doesn't have a nursery) - and we were really really impressed. The staff are just brilliant. They offer the 2.5 day set up now which most school nurseries do, and there is the option to top up a bit I believe. He was really happy going there and I think it definitely helped with transition into reception this year. We also got the best report card (not in terms of him being a model student, I mean it was just so individual and tailored, the teacher had taken lots of care with it) that I've ever had in four years of school reports.

Just wanted to add that my sons (5 and 8) went to Nimble Arts today for the first time and loved it. I was really impressed by the staff - the lady in charge rang me during the day to reassure me that my older son was really well settled and enjoying himself (he had acted uncharacteriscally shy at drop off) and overall I got the impression of a very well-run club. The early years room in particular has a lovely chilled vibe. The older groups were all really happily playing with a huge variety of crafts and activities when I dropped off and despite it being pretty busy there were obviously loads of adults around, and they were very "on it". When I picked up the boys both were really happy and asked to go back next time they have holiday. Result! Oh and they both had made some fab things and the older one very proudly showed me a magic trick he had learned.

Resurrecting this thread as I was looking into cycle hub logistics, delighted to find out about bike train although I work in Wandsworth so not something I could do - if anyone thinks of starting one in that direction I'd be interested, definitely too nervous to attempt on my own for now.

Only just seeing this, but great advice here.I would just echo that Christine Langhoff is brilliant, I interviewed her for the book Midivydale mentions (thanks so much for your kind words!) and wished I'd known about her when I was going through PND. It's interesting about groups, I was desperate for one but know of two therapists locally who have tried them in the past and not had huge take up. It's worth exploring if there are any new ones. Another excellent counsellor with a perinatal specialism is Dr Helena Belgrave, who runs private sessions from the Dulwich Therapy Rooms (above Health Matters). And as others have said, the Maudsley is a great resource which we are lucky to have on our doorstep. I am a huge fan of the NHS but if there is a chance of using insurance, the advantage with private practice will be the option of e.g. evening sessions and just being that bit closer. That said, I found it easy to get to the Maudsley when I did CBT second time around. I say this because I know that at some stages, with PND, just getting out of the house, let alone to an appointment at a specified time can seem very stressful and difficult. Finally, there are supportive charities out there worth exploring - sometimes locally based ones are best. There is a London one called Cocoon, and there is an active PND supportive community on Twitter (with a weekly Twitter chat if you search for #pndhour). My opinion is that this is a much more talked about and supported issue than it was a few years ago. I wish your friend all the best and as Midivydale says do feel free to PM!

I haven't read this but it might be helpful? http://iblamethehormones.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/the-confusion-surrounding-progesterone.html?spref=fb

Yes, I've been trying to persuade my family to do the Shoreham one - looks fab!

Hi - have recently been finding out more about this area as am developing (hopefully) a public awareness project about it, definitely seems like little is known about it (and likewise mental health issues linked to menopause). Yet it makes so much sense that our hormones would affect the way we feel! As it happens there is specialist clinic on our doorstep, but it is quite small - worth looking into - the Female Hormone Clinic, based at the Maudsley Hospital, opposite King's. If your GP doesn't know about them, ask for a referral there. There are also supportive charities etc but I would agree you want to get the medical route sorted first. I'm actually hosting a Tweet chat on this issue on Thurs 12 May if you are free & on Twitter(it's at 8pm and you'd be able to take part by searching #hormonehour). We have done a couple, here's a link to the report of the first one as one of the doctors from the Female Hormone Clinic took part, and I remember he had some advice on this: http://www.kettlepartnership.com/2016/03/our-report-on-hormonehour/ - he also mentioned an app you might want to explore: Professor O?Brien PreMentricS In my experience it sometimes helps to go to a GP saying "I think it's X" so maybe try that re PMDD, even though as Buggie says you wouldn't want to exclude exploring other possibilities. Really feel for you, I don't believe I have it but I do have massively fluctuating moods during my cycle and it's very hard.

Jolie a pied on lordship lane sells them.

Just another post as we have had Saied back this week finishing off our garden. His vision for it has really come to life and it looks brilliant (and totally unrecognisable!). He's done it all in a really short space of time, and we are very happy with all his work. The new layout works really well. Really recommend getting in touch with him if you need anything done...He obviously loves what he does and his enthusiasm really comes across.

It's definitely not about w heather it's too young I don't think - I can imagine lots would depend on the situation/baby in question/reasons why etc etc. I think it's as others say, what you feel comfortable with. I have only ever done two nights with my lot but I wouldn't turn down the chance for more - but mine are quite a bit older. Both our mums are on their own so I'm mindful too that more than two nights (and actually even one-two nights!) is quite a challenge on their own. It sounds almost like you're feeling pressured into it - don't be afraid to say that's too long, I don't think it sounds unreasonable at all to say so. If she's previously shown not as much interest in the baby, I do understand your wariness. I guess you could do the night or two before hand as a trial and say you'd like to see how that goes before deciding - but can see that logistically she may need to know before then if booking hols. Also going away with two kids sounds more hassle than staying at home? I'd be a bit stressed about the logistics of it all.

Just wanted to add my/our recommendation for Saied. He's been working on our garden for the last week (it was totally overgrown - our house was unlived in for over a year before we moved in and it was a jungle out there)- and he has already totally transformed it. It's a biggish garden so a lot of work, and he's done it so well and also is just polite and friendly even when (as people above have experienced) he's had to do some heavy work alone or in terrible weather. He's unfailingly nice! The garden now has a fab lawn for the kids to play on, plus areas for planting veg etc, and he is going to be planting some fruit trees at the bottom. He's had lots of ideas and he has plenty of experience (as you can see from the posts here) with pictures to show for it, which is really helpful. Really can't recommend him highly enough.

hoonaloona Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Bajanbelle Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Serious First World Problems!! So funny > > > Thanks everyone for those genuine responses so > far. I really appreciate it. > To the others that think my original post came > across as a 'first world problem'... I have lived > with a kitchen that was installed in the 1970s for > almost seven years because we haven't had the > money to replace it until now - I would just like > to get it right without wasting hard-earned cash > on things that are unnecessary. Frustrating that I > feel the need to defend myself! Yep, exactly. this time last year we were planning a huge refurb, having bought an almost uninhabitable "project" and really needed tips, I got loads of ideas (including money-saving tips) from here among other places so just wanted to pay some of that back really. I've never "done" a new kitchen before and sincerely hope I don't have to again, it's a big big expense and nobody would say otherwise - but all the more reason to seek advice from others who have recently done it.

Wow - had no idea about the lilac door, good to know. Kamath - there are also several nice Air bnb places around here, worth checking those.

We used oil - looks nice but the issue we have is that a few months on we now have v gappy floorboards - they were filled using some special filler for plank wood, but the filler has mostly now sunk/disappeared... I'm not sure if this problem would have been avoided by having e.g. varnish instead but just worth bearing in mind. They do look really nice though, we went for a grey tone which I love.

re larder, I actually ended up with a brilliant one - it's not pull/swing out - but has shelves/racks on the inside of the door plus racks in the actual carcass (if that makes sense) and it is a godsend. It's basically like a really good cupboard (not like the one SB has I think, which I saw when we were looking around). Agree re breakfast bar. I cant' remember the last time my kids ate at the table - they love the bar so much, and I use it to sit and work at! also the huge fridge is a massive bonus. We have a very slim pull out spice rack cupboard which actually is useful... we have tonnes of deep pan drawers which are good, and we used dividers in some of them - has revolutionised tupperware drawer (god, I sound so sad). Didn't bother with hot water tap... Got the poshest B&Q cupboards (so quite cheap still) and splurged on a quartz worktop sourced through Bell's, but made by Jetstone. Really happy with it all. I think in the end you can overthink it - we had to make decisions very fast as we were mid massive build/refurb so the builders had to know v quickly what was needed/where - and I think that helped, as otherwise I would have dithered for months.

LondonMix Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I don't think anyone has said the area is short of > places. The new secondary will ultimately be 8 > form entry. I don't believe we've ever had 8 > primary schools bulging simultaneously in this > general area (before all the new openings and > expansions). So the new Charter School should at > worst maintain the status quo catchment sizes from > before it opened and probably expand the > catchments of the other schools moderately despite > the bulge in secondary demand that is coming. I'd be interested to know how many local schools bulged for the current year 4s (given some of those schools were already three form entry) - I have a feeling it was quite a lot. Also re status quo, this does assume that a single sex offer is acceptable to everyone.

There is apparently a club med in Hyeres if that is your bag (poss good with the kids for part of the hop) edited to add no there is not! sorry - language issues!! There is a club med in the region I think. But apparently Hyeres itself is very nice.

That's interesting re other beaches at Cassis, we were only there 5 days and v much ruled by our 8 month old's naps etc so suspect we didn't explore fully. SG - I have messaged my pals in Marseille, one has two small boys so I think will have good ideas.