ladywotlunches

Mellors Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Surely the "London Kiss" is what most people use > for a parking sensor? :), indeed I have parking sensors for the first time on my car now and although I do find them handy, for very tight spaces they are quite a pain, as even when its giving me the full on beeeeeeeeeepp to say stop NOW, theres a good few inches, or even more, to spare. But perhaps thats just Volvo being overly cautious, as ever!

Grrr - wouldn't want them to put themselves out at all...

Oh bloody h*ll. First it was the petrol out of the scooter, now this too! Do diesels have the same CAT? And why is it 4x4 - just because they are higher off the ground, so easier to nick without drawing attention to themselves? Thanks for the heads up anyway!

Thanks for confirming Renata, and apologies for the misinformation. Whilst not both RTA's, 2 incidents in as many days does focus the mind that this stretch of road is very very busy at school times and dangerous with parents parking up on the kerbs, on the zigzags and in the bus stops etc. Yesterday I witnessed a 'lady' in a huge 4x4 casually pull up in the bus stop to collect her kids. When a driver going past admonished her behaviour (in quite a reasonable manner) he got hurled abuse. Will those parents who drive to Cabrini please think about the further consequences of their "Quick drop off" point? I know the school does try to dissuade this dodgy parking, but it doesn't seem to stop.

I heard he had a heart attack, and according to a child from Francesca Cabrini, it was a teacher at the school. My condolences to his family (and if it was a teacher, with the staff and pupils at the school). And again this morning a Fire command unit plus several ambulances and paramedic cars, I didn't see exactly where but looked to be the junction with Brenchley Gardens/Canonbie Road and Forest Hill road. Does anyone know more?

Ooh Beth, nicely done! And not to miss out, it is also Fairlawn School's summer fair on Saturday, 12-3, for those over this side of the 'Hill' Not so much arts and crafts, more fun and games I think - though there will be a homemade sweet stall - so I might be able to pass some of them off as my own!! Interesting piece on Radio 4's Women's Hour this morning about presents for teachers. I think my homemade idea will go down well....

Oh dear - didn't mean to stress anyone out. SG88, calm down :)! Surely a male teacher will eat biscuits? And I happen to know you are a dab hand at baking up some gorgeous treats, so why not do as Pickle suggests and whip up a lovely box of cookies/cakes to take in for the Teacher and assistants?

Reviving this thread for end of year pressies. Any more ideas? I'm thinking handmade sweets that my DS can help with.

Try looking at the Obaby buggies (they do the whole range on Kiddicare). I've got one of these as my car/holiday buggy and its great. Does everything a maclaren does (the Atlas sport is fully reclinable too so suitable from birth) at a fraction of the price. I've not had it long enough to comment on the durability compared to a maclaren, but reading up before I bought it I found that Obaby makes parts for many other manufacturers (including Maclaren), so I'm hoping it will stand the test of time!

I've already sent EMC this link, but in case anyone else out there needs to make a number 5 cake, check out this blog, which gives what looks like brilliant instructions on how to make a 5 from one round cake and one square cake. How to make a number 5 cake

Chippy, my school also kept the 'continental' hours, and I actually enjoyed it as a pupil (meant I did my part time job during the week and got to have Saturdays free), but with more parents working nowadays, this type of move would not be so easy and would see children away from the home for a very long day indeed. But like you say, we are nowhere near that. And I feel that when June 30th comes, the disruption may not be as bad as feared as essentially teachers don't want to strike. I accept that the situation is less than ideal when employees are subject to changing terms and conditions, but again many in the private sector have already seen their pensions change to much less favourable terms. And for Labour to come out over the weekend and say that the unions should not be striking, to me indicates that the situation is not something that can be changed through protest. There simply isn't the money. Anyway - think I'm going to agree to disagree, and sign off on this one.

srisky Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- >> > The right to strike should be apply to all > including those that do some of the most important > jobs in society. These workers have as much right > to look after their futures as anyone else. Of course they have the right to defend their futures - but this shouldn't be at the risk of the future of the children they teach. (And whilst one day of course wouldn't affect anyone too much, I remember the time in the 80s when there were so many teachers strikes my school was forced to completely change its school hours to ensure we got the education we needed). All women will now see their state pension effectively reduced as the retirement age increases. So, shall all us women go on strike now??? I think probably not. The country has no money, so we have to change things, and we have to live with it even if we don't like it much.

Or even a call as a 'concerned bystander' would have alerted them to the problem without drawing any attention to any previous altercation.

mink turtle, glad to hear you got your bike back. But did you not call the police? By the sounds of it this crew weren't the brightest, and a quick call to the boys in blue could have seen them apprehended and stopped anyone else having their bikes stolen

2Loulou - have you tried a different brand yet? Don't know which you are using, but Aptimil and Cow and Gate are exactly the same (just branding as far as I'm aware), so don't switch from one to the other of those. Hipp Organic might be a good bet, as it will have less artificial stuff in (maybe?!) Rather than waste lots of powder, perhaps try 2 or 3 different types in the ready to feed cartons?

I'm saying that the country is in a mess. We as a nation cannot afford to pay people more as the tax revenue isn't coming in. In the public sector this lack of funds means redundancies/cut backs/extra hours/poorer pensions. In the public sector to some extent this is happening now too. Unions can strike, then we'll be in even more of a mess, but there will still not be any more money. Our national debt is too big and we need to get rid of it, otherwise we'll be following down the path of Greece, without the Eurozone to bail us out. If the economy recovers and teachers don't see t & c's improve, I would back a strike. But for now, the Unions just need to back off and give us all a break!

I'm with Quids on this. So, PS workers will have to work until 66 now, which is the STATE retirement age set for the rest of the country already. We are all living healthier lives and can expect a much more enjoyable and lengthy retirement when we get there. Being told you've got to work another 6 years when you're in your 20s and 30s is a bummer, but c'est la vie. And having been through redundancy myself as a result of the current recession - therefore losing all pension provision, as well as real terms cuts in family income (pay freezes/cuts etc), I'm sorry but I do find it difficult to support those going on strike for the same reasons. And teachers, like the medical profession and emergency services, should not strike as a matter of professional pride rather than it being legislated against. And yes, I know that PS workers work for less pay on the proviso that their pension would be worth it in the end (and many do a vital job - I have close friends and family in several emergency services) but Pensions are investments and by their nature "can go down as well as up". If you're in it for the money, go private.

PR Darling - I can see a business opportunity here. Beautiful artworks painted on the ceiling of US labour (sorry, LABOR) rooms to keep mum amused and quiet whilst in labo(u)r, so that those trained professionals can get on and do their jobs in peace ;-)

I watched this too, as I wanted to see the differences between the UK and US. As with many things, we may share the same language, but not a lot else! I'm presuming that all these people had paid for their care (via insurance etc), and yet were given much less 'consumer choice' than we get from the good old NHS. The couple shown choosing the natural birth option were definitely much more on 'Ommm' side of natural birth ("Opeeennn, Opeeenn"!!??) than me, which again was probably a production choice and they probably have many more mothers (I hope) that go in and want to try as much as possible without drugs but don't show that. And is Entonox not an option in the states? It seemed to be all or nothing there. Don't think I can watch again though. In the UK version there's a lot more interaction with the families. This seemed much more voyeuristic. Bless our NHS, and all who sail in her!

Southwold is lovely, but my in-laws who are camping professionals (every week if they can - they have a van) don't rate the site too much. They have stayed at a site in Dunwich, just up the road from Southwold ('Cliff house' something) which they say is much better. Also by the beach - some steps to go down and its more pebbly but still lovely. And you'll feel right at home a the the village is almost called 'Dulwich'!

Thanks James. For me pick up is worse as Francesca Cabrini starts later so I've gone past by the time any pavement parking occurs. But the traffic is also bad in the morning so I'd say it happens then too.

After a fair bit of a break (as it appears from the lack of posts seems to be general?), petrol gone from the scooter again last night. Anyone else?

James, please could you ask your colleagues in Road Safety to follow up on a note I sent to them a few weeks ago. I've not heard back and the problem doesn't seem to have been rectfied (although it is now half term). The parents of children at Francesca Cabrini school seem totally unable to park safely or legally at pick up time, but despite our normally overexcitable traffic wardens, nothing seems to be done. There are only zig zags on one side of the road on Forest Hill road (not that it stops them from parking on them), and on the other side parents seem to think it is perfectly fine to park up on the pavement and sit for 20 minutes or so until their children emerge. I walk past the school every day with my 5 year old and baby (my son attends a school around the corner) and recently had to shout very loudly at both him and a driver, as the latter had decided to start reversing on the pavement with (child) pedestrians walking very close by. As well as the pedestrian safety issue, this does clog up the road to traffic, as the P12 bus can't get down the road (and by stopping at the stop backs up traffic further). Could you take a look? thanks

Thanks everyone. In case anyone else is after one, Red apple don't have any more stock. Vickster - I went into the Co-op yesterday afternoon and had a rummage - but didn't find it, obviously not looking hard enough! However, my hubby is obviously more eagle eyed. After a "good 10 mins' of digging through all the mags at Tescos on Old Kent road on his way home last night, he found one. Hurrah! I feel I really shouldn't be as pleased as I am over a childrens mag (last time I was this obsessed with finding something that was almost out of stock, it was the Jimmy Choos at H&M :) )

Oh the dream! There doesn't seem to be anything like this close by. I've looked several times and always end up in Cornwall. We've been to Bedruthan steps hotel before which is lovely, but this Easter discovered Sands Resort, which fits the bill perfectly. Baby listening, nice restaurant, reasonably priced wine list, and nice beach close by. Its about 5 hours drive from here though (without factoring in the baby stops!) Every time we go down there we start dreaming of opening something similar closer by, but don't know of anyone with a spare few ?mill capital to get it set up!!