Galileo

Thanks RobMiller, that's all good news. Top tip on the Isofix/seatbelt point!

On the plus-side, at least you're on site every day to deal with builder's questions, we lived off-site as the whole house was being done and luckily my friend's flat was between tenants (oh so very very lucky!) but that meant we had to be here every day to check on builders - we weren't doing this and then came one day and just managed to stop them building the wall in the wrong place (for good reasons but their solution was not the best solution!) and then we came every day.

So, we have recently become a family of 4 and the Fiat 500 isn't quite working for us any more (understatement!). We're looking at buying a second-hand MPV and thinking of the VW Touran, probably 2007/2008 (no money left after doing up the house...which is still only half finished!). Any Touran owners out there who could offer us their pearls of wisdom on what to look out for? Any owners of other MPVs who'd recommend their cars, or tell us to steer clear? (My boss offered to sell me his Ford C-Max but seeing as I've heard him call it the sh*tmax for the past 6 years since he bought it, I politely declined!). Many thanks in advance for your help.

Perhaps if there was one pub that was really family friendly - toys or a soft play section (not sure how feasible that would be tho) then the families would migrate there leaving the less family friendly ones less populated by families. A pub with a playroom like the Florence in Herne Hill would be brilliant. As a mum, but still an adult, I'd love somewhere I could go with the kids and friends with kids without feeling like we were upsetting others.

James Barber Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > IF a closure occurred on the southern Melbourne > Grove section is would reduce the through traffic > along the northern section. > The study should be able to estimate by how much. > > > If the northern Melbourne Grove section was closed > - it would damage the shops - and traffic would > divert along Derwent and Elsie. So a lot more > complicated. > > Fortunately some years ago we organised that the > no.37 no longer use that northern section, had > full road humps installed and car able to fully > park on the road rather than blocking the pavement > as they used to. > > I'd love other measures - rising bollards, full > tables etc. But the only money available for any > of these measures is devolved CGS budgets and it > won't run to those types of measures. Also, as regards the shops, are you sure they rely on passing cars for their trade? Many of them seem to be either destination shops which people would drive or walk to regardless or benefit from people walking past on their way to or from the station. Jenny1 has a point, there is certainly a lot of traffic which turns from EDG.

bels123 I agree. We live on the northern section and the traffic is really not good. With no CPZ people park up in any available space to use the station, so the road is rather narrow making it difficult for vehicles to pass. However the major problem is the impatience of the drivers... many people using the road see it as a "cut-through" not a residential road and therefore get very impatient with residents when parking or when trying to get children into the car or to pack/unpack the car. It's totally understandable that other people do not want traffic pushed onto their equally residential roads - what should be happening is the traffic should be on the main roads. Perhaps a more comprehensive report looking into not just one road, but into the whole area of roads between LL, EDG and Grove Vale would be more effective and efficient. This would not calm the opposition from those who don't perceive a problem, but if a sufficient number of local residents are concerned about these issues and the money is to be spent, a more comprehensive approach would surely be better.

It was for neighbours to get to know each other better and kids to enjoy the freedom of playing outside their houses. It was fab and really appreciated by us and our little one. So lovely to meet people from further up the street and learn about our neighbours. I hope the other streets' parties go as well and enjoy as good weather.

Hi all We've been exiled to Streatham Hill since early-December due to house refurbishment - fingers crossed we're back in before baby arrives! This means I haven't made any meet-ups yet but I'm looking forward to managing it shortly. Sadly I can't do the 18th as husband has to work so I'll be with our daughter. However I start maternity leave on 20th March and will be in East Dulwich most days thereafter (painting an entire house - yay!) so will love to meet some people then and get a break from the painting. There hasn't been time for NCT this time round so I'm really pleased to find a way to meet other mums locally. Looking foward to meeting you all. Emily

We drove past minutes after it happened. A young lady cyclist had her foot and ankle caught under the wheels of a lorry turning left from LL to ED Grove. It was horrible, but it looked non-fatal. I don't hold out much hope for her foot though. It was, however, a different type of accident from the problems with the traffic turning right from LL into ED Grove, which also need looking at.

About 2am. Seems they took our builder's tools, the complete rotters. I'm a little sad they avoided falling down the massive trench in the ground!

Hi all Unfortunately we had a break-in on Melbourne Grove last night (top end by the station). Luckily our lovely neighbour frightened them off with his slippers and crowbar and the police arrived really quickly by all accounts. I suspect we were specifically targeted as we are a building site and they fancied our builder's tools, but I just wanted to warn people to be wary, as ever!

Hi everyone Congratulations on the impending arrivals. My second is due April 19 when my little girl will be about 22 months. I'd love to meet some other mums in the area, especially ones on the second baby (no offence intended to first timers who I would love to meet too) as I can see it will be useful to have other kids for the older ones to play with (or just stare at as my little one mostly does) whilst we drown ourselves in coffee to get through the day! Look forward to meeting you all in January. Emily

I got an automated response from my email to ADT stating they would try to reply within 5 working days. No response yet but at least we know the address is valid.

We had this on Melbourne Grove yesterday. After passing me a couple of inane compliments she explained they were trying to improve security in the area and we're doing free assessments to see if we qualified for something, I wasn't entirely sure what; then she said "so would you like shoes on or off?" whilst taking a step through my door - this freaked me out so I told them I wasn't interested and closed the door. I was surprised how creepy it is when someone tries to smarm themselves into your home! Thanks for the complaints email address - I have emailed (using my junk email address). I think we should all do that, causing them to have to take time to read our emails (at least) may make them think twice about their sales techniques and save us (and hopefully any vulnerable neighbours we may have) from this unpleasantness!

We're looking at doing a side return extension with a builder whose been personally recommended to us. Architects' fees that we have been quoted are budget busting and seem little value given the (relative) simplicity of our project and likely increase in value of the property. So our builder recommended an architectural consultant with whom he has worked for a few years. We've met her and she is credible and likeable. Also, her fee is much more in line with our budget. She is partnered with a Structural and Civil Engineer who will do the structural calculations. She's sent through her terms & conditions and evidence of her professional indemnity policy. My query relates to the terms which state that her liability will cease upon practical completion of the project. I've read the relevant section of the Housebuilder's Bible which advises that good value can be achieved from using an architectural technician but that they won't have large professional indemnity policies because that would push rates up too high, but there is comfort to be derived from the building having passed building regs. If this is a normal way to engage services such as this then I am happy with the comfort from building regs but this is my first time engaging such services so I'm just trying to get an idea of what is normal. So, if anyone else has engaged the services of an architectural consultant or architectural technician, what were the liability terms? Thanks in advance.