fl0wer

Of interest : http://bringthedog.co.uk/feature-articles/hearthounds/ and a 6 minute video => http://www.theguardian.com/society/video/2013/nov/13/dogs-homeless-leeds-video

Siblings fight to develop their egos - i.e. it is normal as a starting place for becoming who you really are. Siblings left to their own devices will not sort out fights fairly. The more you leave them to it, the more like 'Lord of the Flies' it gets. So the issue is: how to develop into a unique person, whilst doing no harm to others. From experience I would say that NO HARM needs to be the parental ground rule. As soon as one person starts hurting another, some mediation must step in. This hurting can take many forms in a family and some children are dedicated to discovering them all. Emotional, physical bullying which never lets up is tantamount to abuse. If you are unlucky enough to have a child whose conscience is not developed particularly well, be aware they'll need to be carefully contained by whoever is in charge. Kind of like grown ups, really.

claralou, just go to the other 'Family' section, where people both ask for and recommend nannies, etc

Plenty of useful information on these pages => http://www.islington.gov.uk/publicrecords/library/Environmental-protection/Information/Factsheets/2011-2012/(2012-03-03)-Foxes.pdf

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25137800 Please note that this item concerns a new invention. The link posted below by Alice concerns the recent headline news re: Essex council's insistence on a woman's baby being removed for fostering & now adoption.

Report to police, by ringing 101, it will be for everyone's benefit.

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/dec/01/woman-lambeth-council-home-faces-eviction

Possibly your flat is being sold because a new housing project is scheduled, at that end of Dunstan's Rd (behind the hardware store, some ex-industrial buildings have been demolished in readiness). So for a little while it could get noisy there - don't know what the architecture will be like. You will have access to several beautiful green spaces nearby. Apart from Peckham Park there is One Tree Hill, Brenchley Gardens, Camberwell Old Cemetery, short walks to Horniman Museum with its gardens, Sydenham Hill with its lovely woods and Dulwich Park. For many of us, this makes it an exceptional corner of London.

Dopamine1979 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Any thread re: Cycling...... > > http://www.thecoli.com/styles/default/xenforo/smil > ies/beatdeadhorse.gif Would you think twice about including that gif Dopamine, for the sake of those still trying to come to terms with loss of family members killed in recent bike accidents.

= fundraising intitiative for Friday, December 13th. On behalf of Save The Children, brilliant spoof. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueS4xNPNPy0

Otta wrote >Petitions like this annoy me, because they don't actually make any useful suggestions. It's great that it might get parliment to look at the matter and I hope something comes of it.< Petitioners have been emailed, as follows, from the govt: "As this e-petition has received more than 10,000 signatures, the government makes the following response: [actually over 86,000 so far - if it reaches 100,000 there will be more happening, see final sentence below] "We regard female Genital Mutilation as child abuse and it is illegal. The Coalition Government is absolutely clear that political or cultural sensitivities must not get in the way of preventing, uncovering and prosecuting this terrible form of criminal activity. This Government recognises that tackling violence against women and girls, including FGM, requires a sustained, robust and dynamic cross-Government approach. Every department needs to play its part in addressing FGM. The Department of Health is working to improve the information collected by the NHS on FGM. The Home Office has recently announced it will help fund a new study into the prevalence rates of FGM in England and Wales. The Department for International Development has established an ambitious ?35m programme to address FGM in Africa and beyond, with an ambition toward ending FGM in one generation. The Home Office is the lead on violence against women and girls (VAWG) and has captured FGM in our comprehensive VAWG Strategy, rather than in a stand-alone Action Plan. Recently updated, the Strategy (The Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls: Action Plan) has a renewed focus on protecting potential victims. Through the plan we are working closely across Government to help secure a FGM conviction, and with charities and frontline organisations to help improve awareness of FGM. As part of a continued effort to raise awareness, the Home Office has: Joined forces with the NSPCC and the Metropolitan Police Service to establish a dedicated FGM helpline, providing advice to anyone who is concerned about FGM: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/inform/resourcesforprofessionals/minorityethnic/female-genital-mutilation_wda96841.html Launched the Statement Opposing FGM, which sends out a strong message to anyone involved in this practice - it is illegal and has no place in our society. To date, we have sent out over 37,000 of these leaflets. Continued to work closely with the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure the Government is doing everything it can to help secure a prosecution. We are greatly encouraged by the Director of Public Prosecution?s assessment that it is only a matter of time before a perpetrator is brought to justice and the Minister for Crime Prevention will be discussing this matter with Alison Saunders shortly. Female Genital Mutilation is a human rights abuse with devastating consequences for victims. We are determined to work together across Government to protect victims, prosecute perpetrators and stamp out this abhorrent practice for good. This e-petition remains open to signatures and will be considered for debate by the Backbench Business Committee should it pass the 100 000 signature threshold."

Not so: check out the original piece & you will see regrets at the way the Guardian journalist mentioned it and then didn't follow through. In the introductory section with picture 1, the writer comments: " dangerous territory, choosing the 10 best council estates. Best architecturally or socially? The two, notoriously, are often not linked and as it?s beyond the scope of this list to undertake a social survey of all the estates in the country [etc]......." http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,1218889,1220100#msg-1220100

If I were the au pair I would like to be asked to say what my preference would be. For instance perhaps she has a UK friend she could invite to spend Christmas with her at your house. This would have an advantage of leaving it with someone caretaking. Or perhaps she would really be flattered to get treated as a member of the family and stay at MiL's with all the rest of you. If the inlaws want to go off to midnight mass or whatever, your au pair can babysit. Christmas is a really intense time for young children and she might want to take part in the excitement.

Another petition if you would like to reaffirm support please sign => http://www.cityofsanctuary.org/news/2240/new-petition-support-asylum-claims-grounds-fgm This one's en route to Theresa May. BTW an interesting website.

I think that's a great idea, mynamehere, but could the Council expect this custom to "take" in the UK? In Germany totally unfurnished flats are usual, i.e. apartments are let with no furniture at all, just sink units and basic sockets for kitchen appliances, and often for 5 yrs at a time, so that tenants have to get all their own stuff. When I saw the roominess and high standard of interior fittings & background decor, & the ecofriendly insulation, etc, for the sort of money wanted hereabouts for pokey 2 room conversions, I was impressed. The downside is, people still find it costly to buy all necessary furnishings, also when you vacate your flat you are expected to empty it completely even if that means hiring a man and van.

You go ahead, Alice; writing like this because the nearby houses seemed empty.

Dear friends and neighbours, in this generous neighbourhood putting 2nd-hand gifts out for people to take is welcome freecycling. But some freebies aren't working. Winter's come and piles of books became mush at once, in the rain, dumped by a skip we all trudged past on Underhill Rd. Lovely vintage hardbacks and great reads, should have raised money via charity. What a waste. Sigh. Nearly opposite, smart garments and gold shoes are collecting dirt spilling out of a paper bag on the street for more than 2 days; maybe someone is unaware of recycling banks nearby. Shoe bin only down on Forest Hill Rd (outside the Post Office) and one for usable clothing in the Dry Cleaner's there, too, if householder does not want to go all the way to a charity shop.

Brilliant website scareyt. Somehow, please can you convey to all those writers my appreciation of their powerful storytelling.

address revealed = Peckford Place, Stockwell http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/nov/23/london-slaves-political-collective-captor-police

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/nov/22/tom-ryan-europes-tallest-residential-tower

I'm sorry, now, I wasn't quick enough to catch them on camera. Making a neighbourhood feel like a menacing place is pathetically easy. Repairing the background degree of trust people need, to manage small city territories is harder work.

Just this minute went outdoors on Underhill Rd to return a wheelie to the kerbside lest it cause an accident. The naughtinesses themselves had turned the corner into Ryedale. Not my idea of a fun prank. Whose kids are these?

Maybe more newsworthy at present is that the Freedom charity says it has been approached by many more people since this story broke. A gradual discovery that enslavement can happen anywhere, because as a spokesperson said on radio this morning, it is a fairly easy crime to conceal.

Sorry, Bluerevolution please could you clarify your point. Is it the worry that it could have been happening in a house next door? Or about our MP somehow not being alert enough?

Good news, the number of signatures passed 80,000 and recently I received an update from the relevant govt dept, which I expect all of you will get on your emails too, so will only copy and paste it here if requested. Thanks everyone for support.