ladywotlunches

I thought that the original decision date for primary admissions this year was 29th April or so, but checking today, it appears that it is (now?) 10th May. Conveniently just after the Election, the cynic in me thinks. The 'starting school' booklet online has the 10th may date, but I'm sure my original hard copy (which I can't find) had the April date. Have the council moved the date to win more votes??? Lewisham (where i've also applied) seems to be sticking to its 21st April date, for now...

Reren I totally sympathise. I decided late on in my first pregnancy (36 weeks) to try for a homebirth, basically after going on the ward tour and being filled with dread (I think it might have been a bad day). But because it was such a short time to go, and I anticipated negative reactions from relatives, we told no-one apart from our NCT group - our teacher Tess was incredibly supportive and the rest of the group, although deciding that HB wasn't for them, were also of the 'each to their own' attitude, so I got up to b-day with a good attitiude. As it was, my waters broke 3 days early when my mum was up visiting, so she got to find out very last minute about our plans. If she was shocked/worried, she didn't show it. Everything went well with the birth. I had to go in for some stitches so on the way my other half called his mum as he'd said he would when we were 'on our way to the hospital'. Only difference was, we already had our son by then! We did get comments that we'd been 'deceitful' from that side, which wasn't nice to take, but then I was glad that we'd kept scthum in the beginning. I'm pregnant with no 2 now and have planned a brierley birth, with everyone knowing. Because it all went well last time, everyone is happy. Whilst HB isn't for everyone, you're so right that people form opinions on hearsay and accepted truths. I think the best thing to do would be to show your mum this thread - as it might help her to understand how much more of the 'norm' homebirth is becoming nowadays. Good luck with whatever you decide. x

Anna75 - as Molly said, occasions that mothers have to be transferred by ambulance in an emergency situation are very rare, and if they do happen I was also told that the call gets very top priority with the emergency services as there are 2 people in distress - the mother and baby. Also, the hospital are aware someone is on their way, so are ready to deal with what is needed as you wheel through the door (for instance, if its an emergency c-section, even if the mother is already in hospital there has to be some set up time for the surgeons - and if you're on your way in, they do that while they are waiting, so no time is lost) That, together with the fact that the hospital is only 10 minutes up the road max, made my decision to go for a home birth much more reassured. But everyone is different. Do what you feel happiest with.

Great idea Sophie I had my first at home (through the Kings community team) and found it great. I'm now expecting my second in September and have booked with Brierley (thanks to Molly providing me their number :) ) Thursday afternoon next week works for me - see you then. Depending on numbers, perhaps you should call ahead to the cafe and see if they will let you reserve an 'area' by the toys so the kids can play and we can chat 'uninteruppted' (can you tell my LO is 3???!!!)

I had the wrist strap. Mine was very happy using it when smaller, and just today I adapted it to be a handy 'tow-rope' for his bike when he got a bit lazy (and for slowing him down - the elastic bit works well for that!)

The name Nunhead mum could be looking for may be Tulley's Farm. My parents take my LO there whenever he's visiting and he loves it!

I found the sticker chart approach worked really well with my 3.5 year old too. And just as an added 'boost' at the beginning, there was a (very mini) chocolate finger to be had, straight after breakfast, for days he was dry. :))

Smiler - except I caught something on the TV the other day that said the national swine flu helpline has now been closed due to lack of people calling it. Which to me says a lot about how much of a 'pandemic' this has turned out to be....

Oh yes, that poor little one. What amazed us though is that the cling film they used to wrap him with really was bog-standard stuff - The shot of him in the incubator showed a roll of 'caterwrap' on top!!

Mr TP - so lovely to hear your family are looking after you so well! Its really difficult to do (I tried) but if you can, make the most of this enforced gardening leave to enjoy life! I think that this means you still have 3 months to bring any claims, as you're still officially employed. I also still think the no win no fee option might be one to follow - I was also skeptical of this approach, but wasn't even as sure as you were to want to pay the initial ?250 to a lawyer. And like you say, the CAB is so complicated!! Landau Zeffert Weir were the guys I contacted: http://www.redundancyhelp.co.uk/legaladvice.htm. And also Mundays, I think (though not sure on that one http://www.mundays.co.uk/docs/people/employment.htm) Onwards and upwards!

Oh - so sorry to hear this. My situation was a little different as I was made redundant a few months after returning to work, but it just sucks! I did some online research, and it all gets very confusing, but in the end I spoke to a couple of the 'no win, no fee' employment lawyers to see if I had a case. There was one in London Bridge I remember who was helpful. (just do a Google search to find the type of people - they are all there!) That way, you can get advice on your specific case. In my situation, although what they were doing was not strictly correct, the advice I got was that the redundancy package was so good it would be highly unlikely I'd get better at tribunal (plus all the stress etc). So I rose above it, went on to do other things, and the upshot is that now I'm working on a freelance basis - with a much higher day rate - for the same company, but much more on my terms (I choose my days, whether I work at home or in the office etc etc). It really wasn't me, it was the restructure, and my old boss is really pleased I'm back too. Its a cliche, but this could well be the best thing to happen to you! Good luck x

thanks Molly

Sandy-Rose - could you give me the number for Brierly -I can't seem to find one. thanks

thanks guys - it sounds great! Much better than my last experience. Worth another look I think....

Hi We're getting organised with our holiday plans for once this year, and are looking at Turkey as an option (Euro is so expensive now) . My only other experience of Turkey was about 10 years ago, when both me and my other half spent half the week doubled up with stomach cramps, only going when we got industrial strength anti-spasmodics from the pharmacy. From what I've found online, the water in Turkey is now chlorinated, so should be safe to wash teeth with, eat salads etc., but my one reservation is based on previous experience. I don't fancy the same thing again for myself, let alone my 4 year old. But 10 years is a long time. All experience/advice from more recent trips greatly appreciated!

The stretch of road along the rye and up FH road is even worse now. There are no less than THREE sets of temporary lights now between the nightmare at the Rye and Wood Vale. All in Southwark, so don't know who co-ordinated these and allowed them all to happen at the same time. And I've only ever seen workers at 1 out of 3 at any one time. This, along with the pedestrian crossing and the Colyton Road lights, makes this bit of road ridiculous. And with all the cold weather, who thought it was a good idea to open up the roads just when they couldn't be relaid? Is it because the April budget-spend deadline is looming? Tick-tock tick-tock. "Quick, spend it before you lose it"!!!

good point candj - and the recent reduction in cases is probably because of the big freeze - viruses can't survive so long on surfaces at below freezing temps. Which is probably why we've had such severe weather - ain't nature grand!

sanne panne - remember that Swine Flu started in the summer - which is when I heard of cases. Not heard much recently and haven't had the 'call' for the youngsters jabs. Don't really know what to do re: having it or not having it. And the pregnancy side is a whole different kettle of fish. The mixed messages mums get from various sections of authority is mind-boggling. Don't eat nuts, swordfish, drink caffeine avoid any alcohol like the plague, but feel free to get a jab of something that contains mercury, eggs (are those cooked? ;-)) and goodness knows what because we checked it over a few weeks and it seems OK. Oh actually - they've just changed their minds on the nuts thing..... now they don't do that much, do they?!!

On a related note, is there a time limit for Southwark to respond to your appeal? I got a ticket on 27th October and appealed the next day, but haven't heard anything either way yet. Am I off the hook???

We did the same as CandJ - half of the holidays were chosen by the nanny and half by us. With regards to the share bit - we tried to co-ordinate the 'main holiday' with the share (and with the nanny, so it all tied in), and then on the times where only one family was on holiday, they got to have a 'fee break' for those days, whilst the solo family picked up the cost of paying the nanny on a sole charge rate. Whilst there are reasons this might not be fair, (if one family has lots more hols) we found that actually, the child who was at home got to have the sole care for a few days, so it seemed reasonable to pay more.

Agree with Ludoscotts - or if you're handy in the kitchen make one, and that way you can use less icing (which is always the bit my LO goes for first ;-)) But if you want to splash out a bit - Slatters Bakery in Sydenham does AMAZING cakes, to order. You can go in and order personally, or look at their website - www.thecakestore.com and order there and pick up when you need too. Have got one on order at moment for my Father in Law's retirement.

It appears from the map that you'll be covering Brenchley Gardens as part of the audit. The road surface recently has been getting really bad. Not broken up, but there seems to have been several patches of subsidence which makes a journey (by car or bike) along there a bit like a rollercoaster. On the upside though - no need for (more) speed humps >:D

Curly - I thought the same about the borough/distance thing. But looking at the admissions book from Southwark today, some schools (ie, Goodrich) have criteria that states something along the lines of 1) Children living closest to the school who live in Southwark, then 2) Children living closest to the school who live in other boroughs. That said, visited Horniman this morning and the head there said they make no distinction on the borough, just the distance. So worth checking with the individual schools.

Our son went pretty much into a full single bed (did have the bed part of the cotbed for a while until we redecorated and didn't see the point of getting another small bed). We got the Malm bed, from Ikea which sounds like the one prdarling has - low to the ground so not far to fall - and it also has a good 10cm wooden border round it so something hard might help them to move back to the middle if they wriggle too far :)

Sorry Ratty - just realised my original post was written (unintentionally) for women. Of course, very interested in Dad's views too! And will it be an option that Dad's could take the leave even if Mum hasn't gone back to work (as long as she leaves completely/isn't getting the pay) so that the whole family could be together?