trinity

I have pm'ed fidgetsmum but am happy to share my experiences here. In pre-prep at Japs the extras are approx as follows ?200 lunch and milk per term ?20 on day trips, swimming badges etc per term They can learn a musical instrument from Y2 onward which costs approx ?165 per term. In year 2 there is a day trip to France which costs ?200 ( I think) In the prep school the big ticket items are music lesson (as above)& residential trips (1 per year) Uniform can be done very cheaply through well-attended second hand sales.

We went last night and it was wonderful as usual. The motorbikes were so exciting, the bolas act stunning and the trapeze artist brilliant. My kids loved it (and so did the adults).

Hi James I have used the village junction 3 times since yesterday. Every time at least 3 cars travelled through the junction when the green man was showing. So no improvement yet. It does seem to be worse in the morning with a higher volume of traffic. Thanks Trinity

Hi James - apologies if this is not your area but there seems to be a significant phasing problem with the temporary traffic lights at the junction of Village Way/Red Post Hill/East Dulwich Grove. There are roadworks due to gas main work and so the junction is very different to usual. I crossed the junction twice this morning at school run time and both times 5 or 6 cars travelled (from the village to Red Post Hill) through the green man that was indicating it was safe for pedestrians to cross. It didn't seem that these were cars taking chances and going through a just red light but did seem to have gone through their light at green but it just took much longer for the cars to get through the junction that by the time they got to the temporary pedestrian crossing the green man was showing. In fact, for about 3/4 of the time the green man was showing, there were cars continuing through the junction. Is this something you can help with? I am not sure how long the roadworks are going to be there for but the crossing is currently very dangerous and will be even more so when all the schools are back.

A couple of mine have gone through the Alleyn's assessment. From what I remember it is well organised ie sensitive to the needs of little children - I don't remember any unhappy children when handing over or picking up however it is one long assessment rather than 2 shorter ones. When we last did it we waited in a room with lots of child friendly musical instruments to distract the children whilst waiting to be called. Unlike other schools eg JAPS they test for gross motor development. I think that means things like can they walk along a low beam without falling off. Plus all the usual stuff - can they sit and listen to a story, can they answer questions about what they just heard. The best bit was at the end when the children are given a 'party bag' with Alleyn's notebook, pencil and sweets. That's a nice touch.

My advice would be to find a wide open space on a very slight slope. The space needs to be big enough so they don't have to worry about steering and the slight slope helps them to build up enough speed for them to think they are cycling. If he has a reasonable sense of balance then it should only take a few minutes for him to 'get' it. It's the slope that really helped us and being able to go round in a circle rather than trying to go straight. We used the cemetary on Forest Hill Road. There is a large bin area in the middle with a very slight slope which is perfect.

I was at the demo this morning and there were a lot of happy children, parents and lollipop people when the news was announced.

I'm not sure that using volunteers would actually save any money. Presumably they would need to attend a training course, be crb checked etc. By the time you do that for the 20 or so volunteers needed it would probably cost something similar to employing 1 'real' lollipop person. My children and I regularly use both crossings. Both crossings are dangerous. In both cars queue to turn right but because of the volume of traffic they can't do this until the lights have changed against them. That means that, at both junctions cars are 'legitimately' driving over the pedestrian phase of the lights. The children see the green man and think it's safe to cross. It is not because the cars that were queuing are now moving. This is the point when the lollipop people save the children from accidents - by either stopping the children or the traffic. Without their intervention children are much more likely to start crossing on the green man when it is just not safe to do so.

Hi James, I have just been informed by my childrens' school that the lollipop people who attend the Townley Road/EastDulwich Grove junction and the Dulwich Village/Red Post Hill crossing (so 3 lollipop people in total) will no longer be funded by the council. These crossing are incredibly busy in the mornings and afternoon and the lollipop people look after children from Charter, Alleyns, JAGS, JAPS, the village schools and probably more. How do we find out the reasoning behind the axing of these services in particular? Thanks Trinity

What age are the children?

Moos Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Maybe a bit left-field, but the German > kindergarten on Red Post Hill has a beautiful, > huge garden and they play outdoors every day. > It's a wonderful, gentle, caring environment - oh, > and the primary language spoken is English.. I met the German kindergarten staff and nursery children whilst in the park with my own child a little while ago. I was very impressed by how attentive and gentle the staff were towards the children and they clearly take them on trips to the park in addition to being able to run around in the garden.

?1 here

Saw Mark Steel at Dulwich College Sports Club yesterday.

Thanks for the update Vikki. I would be very interested in the proposed improvements to Forest Hill Road (and in particular the set of traffic lights by the Turkish supermarket parade of shops which seems to have more than its fair share of drivers running the red light) so please keep us updated.

James Barber Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hi trinity, > Apparentrly Wood Vale is 30mph and has never been > 20mph. It was wrongly signed as 20mph and this has > now been corrected. > Council officers have checked and they don't have > the funds at the moment and would need to agree > with Lewisham to change this to 20mphs - but they > assure me its on the things they'd like to do. > > This would need agreement of Southwarks - College > ward and Peckham Rye ward councillors and Lewisham > - Forest Hill ward councillors. > > Hope this helps. It does help. Thank you

James Barber Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hi trinity, > I've asked what's going on and will report back. Thanks James

I realise that this thread is headed 'Homestall Road - Humps' but it also contains a significant discussion on the merits or otherwise of the Colyton Road/ Forest Hill Road traffic lights. Does anyone know whether the 'temporary lights' are to be removed or is the decision still pending. I have also pm'd Vikkim who I think is a councillor for the ward in question.

Hi James, The signs on entering Wood Vale are all now consistent. Unfortunately they now all state that Wood Vale is 30mph. I thought it was 20mph. Can you confirm the correct speed limit? Thanks Trinity

Just spotted a weird looking bee in the garden with a 'spike' on its face. Turned out it's a hairy footed flower bee. The 'spike' is actually its long tongue which hangs out whilst it flies around.

A cheaper and possibly better alternative may be 'park tickets'. You will be able to buy a day ticket for the olympic park and sit on one of the many 'henman hills' that are being built. With the large screens to watch I think you may be a better (and close up) view of the action. Also when in the park you can sign up to get 'return' tickets so if people leave the venues early you are on a list to be called to the venue. The park tickets aren't on sale yet. Bring packed lunches as all food is McD and drinks are Coca-Cola only.

I agree - I think Wood Vale is 20mph. Thank you for your help. Trinity

James Barber Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hi trinity, > It sounds like the 20mph/30mph signs they place at > the edge of 20mph zones has been turned around. > I reported it and asked for it to be fixed. Thank you James but I don't think that is the problem. Either Wood vale has a limit of 30mph in which case the signs at the junction of Wood Vale/FHR on both the road and on a post need to be removed or it is a 20mph road and the sign at the Melford Road/Wood Vale juntion needs to be removed. Thanks

Thank you!!! That's fantastic

Hi James - can you tell me how to find out the speed limit on Wood Vale? Currently there are conflicting signs. When entering Wood Vale from Melford Road there is a sign saying that you are entering a 30mph zone and leaving a 20mph zone. However when you enter Wood Vale from Forest Hill Road there is a 20mph painted on the road and when you exit Wood Vale onto Forest Hill Road there is a sign saying you are entering a 30mph zone and leaving a 20mph zone. So I am confused. Thanks

This is a lovely animal alphabet book - it has feely bits inside and bits that move as well as a lovely poster. Lots of unusual animals too. Although it's a harback it does have paper pages so care needed with an 18m old. Edited to say that I have just checked our copy and it has board pages so perfect for 18m old. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alphabet-Matthew-Van-Fleet/dp/1847383734/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301059770&sr=1-1