alaska721

My daughter is currently in year 1 at Herne Hill School. The new head is absolutely fantastic. She has a lot of energy and gets really involved. She's not really new to the school. She was previously the head of Early Years as well as the deputy head. I remember my daughter's first sports day at the school when she was in the nursery. She was a bit overwhelmed and started crying and refused to participate. Mrs Telford picked her up and comforted her until she stopped crying.

I've got the Grohe Red hot water tap. I absolutely love it for the convenience of having hot water on demand when cooking and making tea for guests. Not having a kettle also means one less appliance cluttering up my kitchen surface. Unfortunately I'm not a tea drinker so cannot comment on the quality of a cuppa from a hot tap. It's got a safety catch and the water comes out smoothly (no spurting).

Next week my five year old daughter will be attending the "Stick Man" holiday drama club run by the Freedom Academy at the Trevor Bailey Sports Ground (near Dulwich College). They have a morning and afternoon session (my daughter is doing the morning sessions). You could give them a call to see if there are any spaces.

We took my daughter to Whippersnappers last years and I have to say we were really disappointed. We found it quite disorganised and a bit shabby. Last week we went the Harrods' Grotto and we loved it. It had that "magical" touch and only cost ?10.

Thank you for your response. I will speak to the consultant next time we're at King's and ask why it was something that had to be dealt with by the hospital rather than our local dentist. My concerns were the four hour wait at King's (meaning my daughter missed school and I had to call work and say I wouldn't be back) as well at the long period between the initial referral to the actual appointment (almost a year). I grew up outside London and I remember my dentist being able to offer gas, injections, x-rays, extraction etc. I don't recall ever having to go to a dental hospital so I wasn't sure if it was a London thing. I don't know whether it would be worth going private or finding an alternative dentist that can offer such treatments.

Does anyone have experience of having their children referred to King's College Dental Hospital by their dentists? Earlier this year my daughter's NHS dentist said she would be referred to King's as she had some discoloration on a molar. The appointment was yesterday and after four hours in the waiting room we were told she would need a routine filling. She has to go back to King's in four weeks time for the filling. The reason I'm asking is that I want to know if it is normal for children in the area to be referred to King's for such dental treatments? Do the local NHS dental practices not carry out these treatments?

hi Svgolan. In the end we went for "Slimline Aluminium". I'll send you a PM now why we chose that firm over Culmax, IQ and Fineline.

Hi Ben. I'm in week 9 of my build but I still have another 10 weeks to go! Unfortunately my project has been delayed somewhat by the structural glass roof that I'm having manufactured which has a long lead time. This has had a knock-on effect of delaying the kitchen I'm shipping over from Germany. Initially I was expecting the whole thing to last 16 weeks but now it's 19 weeks. I'll send you a PM with the details of my builder and why we chose him as well as the details of the quotes I received. As people have mentioned above, the dust gets everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE! It's just relentless and you find you have to vacuum every day. I've already had one vacuum cleaner break down on me. The temporary kitchen has been invaluable and if we didn't have it I think I would be tearing my hair out by now. Being able to eat normal healthy meals and wash/dry our clothes in our washer dryer has eased the pain. I can't wait for it to be over. Counting down ... ! Will PM you now.

Are you looking for pre-schools for private or state schools?

We're now in week four of the building works and we've had walls knocked down and steel beams going in. The temporary kitchen is a bonus. I honestly thought we'd be living on microwave meals but so far we've been able to eat normal meals. We even had a roast last Sunday! The amount of dust is shocking (and I know it's going to get worse). Even with our temporary door at the bottom of the stairs and closed doors throughout the house I have to vacuum constantly. The dust gets EVERYWHERE! Fortunately I've got two vacuum cleaners (one Dyson cordless and one normal one) and I keep one upstairs and one downstairs.

dulwichquine - you can get dust sheets from B&Q. We've got the plastic ones that come in rolls (like bin liners) and you cut to size. My husband covers everything in the living room before the builders arrive. Our builders have set up a temporary plastic door at the bottom of our stairs to keep dust away from the upper floors. I'll take a photo tonight and send to you.

Thanks for all the useful advice. The builders started last week while we were on holiday and we returned on Saturday to find our kitchen, WC and garden decking all ripped out, excavations in the garden, a full skip and a temporary kitchen built in our front room (see photo attached). The builders have laid a protective layer on our floors, walls and staircase. They've even built a temporary door at the bottom of the staircase which appears to have reduced the amount of dust travelling upstairs.

I've got a four year daughter (who is looking forward to the new kitchen because she believes it's a new play area for her!). I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like with more kids or infants. The builder has said he will build a temporary kitchen for us and that will include plumbing in my washer dryer. I know it's going to worth the pain.

We're about to embark on building work on our Victorian terrace (extending into our side return). Does anyone have any tips and advice on how to survive the next 12-16 weeks? We are going to be living in the property the entire time as we can't afford to rent elsewhere whilst paying our mortgage. There is no side access so the builders and material will be coming through the front door and through the house.

I gave birth to my daughter in 2011 at King's and at the time I was living in the Lambeth part of Camberwell. We registered her birth at the Southwark Registry office in Camberwell and all was fine.

I get two newsletters per week via email. One is a more general school-wide letter and the other is more class specific. The general school-wide one contains news regarding events, school trips, teacher news, school plays and warnings of any chicken pox/head lice outbreaks. The class specific one contains details of what the children have been learning in class that week and it's usually divided into sections including literacy, maths, social development and physical activities. I find the class specific one particularly useful as it is very detailed and lists everything they have done in class that week. I work full-time and never get to speak to my daughter's teacher/teaching assistants to find out what she does in class. If I ask my daughter what she has done in school that day I get the same response every time "I don't know"!

I will be ordering a new kitchen from Dulwich Design Kitchens in the next couple of months. I found them very helpful and knowledgeable and loved the preliminary design. If you decide to visit, make sure you book an appointment especially if you are going on a weekend.

Thanks for all the responses. The one we are looking at is ?1,500! Despite the hefty price tag I think we are going to get the Quooker tap.

We are shortly about to get a new kitchen and we're contemplating whether to get a Quooker hot tap. They are very expensive but I like the idea of hot water on demand as well as getting rid of the kettle (which I consider clutter!). Does anyone have one in their kitchen? Do you love it? Or do you regret having one fitted?

We are just about to extend into our side return and wondered if anyone had any experience of Culmax, IQ Glass or Fineline Aluminium for patio doors or glass roof? A friend of ours who is an architect has told us to avoid IQ Glass and I've read very negative reviews of Culmax on the Nappy Valley forum. I can't seem to find anything on Fineline Aluminium except that they are very expensive.

My husband parks on Gubyon Avenue when he does the Herne Hill school run. Restrictions on surrounding streets apply between 12pm-2pm.

I just wanted to recommend Fernando. I now live in Crofton Park (SE4) and he came out to my house yesterday to sort out our front and rear gardens which were an absolute mess. He totally transformed them and I couldn't believe my eyes when I got back from work. Unfortunately I never got to meet him but my husband was home and he said he was an absolute pleasure to deal with.

Regarding the comments about the head of HHS. I have to say I have found her to be very approachable and friendly. She is proud of her teachers and the children. The HHS school website (Parent Zone) provides a comprehensive list of teachers' qualifications and the leavers' destination section shows where most kids move on to (stats show Rosemead is not the main destination). Personally I would be disappointed if HHS didn't push and challenge my child. Most parents at this school want their kids to go on to one of the foundation schools. If they weren't challenged they would be woefully underprepared for the likes of Alleyn's, JAGS etc.

My daughter currently attends Herne Hill and is in one of the kindergarten classes having joined in the nursery. Moving her to Herne Hill (from the Villa) was one of the best decisions we made and she absolutely loves it. My husband's exact words when he picks up her up every day are, "She's giddy with excitement!". Her class is a mixture of boisterous and spirited types along with shy and more reserved children but they all seem to get along. My child's class has one main teacher with three teaching assistants at any one time so all children get a lot of support and attention. When we picked HH we were heavily influenced by the fact it is the main feeder of the Dulwich foundation school at 7+ and also its amazing ISI report. We accept that she will have to do 7+ exams in year 2 but we're so pleased with HH that we even avoided putting her through the 4+ as we want her to stay at HH. I understand your worries about the school appearing cramped; it isn't a huge space. At the moment with the extension work taking place, it does appear particularly cramped but hopefully once the work has been completed it will open up again. Also, last year's reception intake was bigger than usual due to so many of the kindergarten kids staying on and not moving to the Dulwich foundation schools. The headmistress has assured parents that they will offer reception places sparingly to outside children until they get confirmation of how many kindergarten kids will definitely stay on.

One venue I have considered for a child's party is the Vauxhall City Farm (easily accessible on the 185 bus from East Dulwich). I haven't booked anything yet as I am still looking at other venues but they've sent me all their details. It looks like they can accommodate 15-20 children and they can do a Meet the Animals session. You can also use their events rooms which has a kitchen.