Mrs TP

Am defo going to confront him about it, just thinking of exactly how to approach it :)

At the risk of a bucket load of abuse for spurious reasons, I just wondered what others thought of the following situation and how to deal with it: We are in a typical local road with all on street parking and no garages. A neighbour who has a disabled badge and a disabled parking bay outside his house has taken to parking outside our house and leaving the disabled space empty until his son comes to visit and then he moves his own car into the disabled bay freeing up the space outside ours for his son. It is really frustrating. I came back from a day out with the kids this eve and had to circle the block 3 times looking for a space. All the while the disabled bay is free and the neighbour's car with the badge is outside ours - and who knows when his son will turn up, might not even be tonight. I had to drop my 5yr old on the doorstep (hubby was in) as she desperate for loo whilst I continued to hunt for a parking space and eventually found one a street away. Over the last few weeks when we have managed to park outside ours the car has been spat on and had takeaway debris dumped on it - didn't think much of it at first but now thinking this all deliberate to discourage us from parking outside our own house. I don't mind unofficial reserving for odd occasions such as moving house, special family event, delivery etc but this has been going on all summer. Just before the summer hols I came home as they going out and sat across the road waiting for him to leave to I could have the space outside ours and as his wife came out to get in the car she saw me and ran back into the house and was there for an age. I gave up in the end and parked elsewhere unaware at that time as to the game they were playing. I want to deal with this firmly but within moral and legal boundaries. Any suggestions?

Q: When does sympathy for 'bored' teenagers turn to frustration? A: When they are rude, abusive or bullying anyone around that takes their fancy, even their own, which it sounds like from their in-fighting and the boys forcing the girls to say sexually explicit or other things they don't want to say. It is all unacceptable. Teenagers can be bored and appear quite loud when bantering in groups but most know to moderate their language when close to others not in their group and go out of their way not to be rude or offensive. Much of the behaviour attributed to the particular group in this thread is unacceptable in any setting.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-news/11013386/ArtAngel-spectra-Londons-centenary-beam-of-light.html

I once got thanked by someone waiting to make a purchase in Peckham for hurrying my dawdling toddler passed so they could get on with their business. I had been bothered that we seemed somewhat trapped between a guy on a push bike and two guys he obviously knew on a bench ahead and was probably about to be mugged, but it dawned on me they weren't interested in us and just wanted us out of the way so they could get on.

Charter offers places on nearest to school, so even if you are within previous year's max distances you still never know how many applicants live closer than you. It could suddenly be very tight one year or, and very unusually, very broad. Southwark and Lewisham produce secondary transfer booklets listing all their non-private schools and admission policies. Not sure when they come out for each new year but defo in time for the Sept /Oct open days - look in the schools part of their council websites for details. Research your schools and check out their open days and any exam / scholarship dates (particularly Kingsdale) - some only have one or two open days and plan your visits. Primaries let their yr6s take time off for secondary open days. It is a whirlwind and quite busy. Good luck.

I think it does get pulled out of a hat but within an ability band. If for e.g. a quarter of all the kids applying score A, a half score B and a quarter score C. They put all the A kids into a hat and pull out enough names to match a quarter of their intake. All the B kids into another hat and pull out enough names to match half their intake. All the C kids into another hat and pull out enough names to match the final quarter. Then probably continue pulling out names in each band to form their waiting list for each band. This is how I understand Kingsdale also works. Other schools (Forest Hill) also select on intake bands but rather than pulling names out of a hat go on proximity to school within each band. Some schools put their applicants into bands based on their primary school yr 5 reports and some set their own tests. If you want a lottery based school put it near the top of your list and fill up the bottom with a couple of distance based schools to be sure of a place somewhere that you have choosen. Putting all lottery schools is highly risky. The 5th and 6th on your list don't go 'oh look they didn't get their top four so let's offer them a place' they still pull names out of a hat regardless and you may not get a school.

My little one reminded me earlier we put porridge oats tied in a sock in her bath, which made the bath milky and could also be squeezed onto the skin to sooth it.

All fixed - although I was promised a Tues appt :)

Piriton oral medicine is good too.

Why not break it up a bit, day trips in London, a bit of a stay somewhere like Brighton or take those far flung friends and relatives up on offers to put you up for a visit. If you go on a full on proper hol then every day you are going to be on your lonesome every night. Or hook up with some of your local friends and see if they keen to do a few nights somewhere. I did much of the summer on my own a couple of years ago, had a friend with one child stay for one week and just did loads of day trips other times with my brood of 3 and stayed over with relatives. It's tough but manageable. I think with children and prices you just need to be realistic re what's feasible and enjoy your time together.

Have you seen the original employment contract between the potential nanny and the nursery? Such prohibitive clauses are very common in all sectors to stop people poaching clients / setting up competing business in same area. If it not covered in that contract or the agreement you have signed with the nursery then all fine. Should be plain English and easy to spot.

I went to the mad hatters tea party at the Sanderson hotel a couple of weeks ago. Great company but it was all a bit dull; a bit of themed food and rather odd flavoured tea. We had more fun in the pub afterwards but obvs that not suitable for children. Anything like that is a lot of money for children. Could you not do it yourself, invest in a cake stand and you are away!

Sandy Balls is a great spot - and the giggling is compulsory! Gosh think it might be 7+ yrs since we went and I understand it has changed since (more facilities now) but was really great with young ones. Not a massive drive from London and close to various sightseeing bits n bobs at the other end including the south coast.

Can you ask for unpaid leave or talk to them about your predicament and see what they open to? It is a one-off situation.

Silver cuff links? Coffee table type book on a fav or general topic. M'm not even great suggestions, blokes are a bloody nightmare!

I know you said mixed but I know quite a few people who have loved Forest Hill Boys especially for gentler boys and there are plenty of them out there. Deptford Green is a mixed school that has been gaining in popularity in recent years. I have girls but have been through the whole horrid secondary school debacle for the eldest. Having come through the other side I promise secondary school is not so terrible and all survive. Somehow they migrate towards a bunch of kids with similar interests to themselves and get on with it perhaps with the odd hiccough along the way but such is life :)

Two of mine had teeth fall out whilst on hols in Spain and deftly worked out it was better to wait until they came home to get a pound coin rather than a Euro coin. With her last tooth, my eldest who is 12, said to me before going to bed you may as well just give me the pound now to save creeping into my room later.

Assuming all the good guys n' gals ok, then to the would be robber hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha and a few more hahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Yes a ?1 here but I have had adults including a dental nurse raise their eyebrows at me like that is not enough!

Timpsons in Sains car park but it's not cheap - ?10.45. There are jewellers in rye lane that will also likely do it and probably all those phone shops too.

Most people coming to London want to see the tourist stuff. Would echo south bank and it's offerings / river trip and / or St James' park picnic and view of front of Buck Palace. Also Top Shop / Forever 21 on Oxford Str depending on how grown up she is or Hamleys. Whatever, you have to see some London tick box stuff - Big Ben etc.

Children do stuff when they are ready. I would suggest this more a first child thing than a boy thing. First children are expected to charge in and do it all but really that is quite daunting for them whilst subsequent children are generally more social and used to tagging along / pitching in with whatever is going on - massive generalisation and no doubt I will be shot down in flames by those with outgoing firsts and shy subsequent children but that is not my experience. I have 3 girls, the first as a toddler was v shy and reluctant to join in but loved watching and didn't feel like she was missing out, no 2 was braver and no 3 doesn't give a fig about anything and charges in, sometimes to find herself out of her depth but rarely bothered about that. All are different. My first now at secondary school and much braver and likes to give things a go and realises opportunities are short. It is not a label for life. Really don't push him, support him and encourage him but if he doesn't want to do stuff then support that too. He sounds v normal and grounded.

Chunksmum - I need to read it fully but at a glance this looks just like what I was hoping for, thank you so much. :)

Yeah no probs with nail varnish and shimmery glittery stuff not boob jobs, Botox and Miley Cyrus. And if you embrace it the fad soon passes but each to their own. Think I am remembering correctly the pamper party my 9yr old went to also had someone showing / handling reptiles. On the theme of parties though, that daughter just turned 10 and we did t-shirt screen printing at Captured on the a Rye which was beyond fab.