Comments on: Dark clouds gathering

By: Realme

Realme — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 18:00:26 +0000

I sent my kids to local schools.They are still alive and thriving. Daughter just completed degree and son at college. Have faith, my dears. Have faith.

By: Bex

Bex — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 16:33:12 +0000

St John the Divine primary (just off Camberwell New Road towards Oval tube station, in Lambeth is also pretty good I think — certainly well thought of by OFSTED inspectors

By: Mark Dodds

Mark Dodds — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 10:34:37 +0000

Gloria Jones’ tainted love is impossible to beat.

Unable to comment on chaos and Funky Munky really.

By: squidder

squidder — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 22:21:38 +0000

In Funky Munky’s favour they have been really cool and helpful to the people from Creative Routes (local mental health system survivors network who put on Bonkersfest on the green in june etc). Creative Routes use the place quite a lot in the daytime for meetings etc. A lot of places locally aren’t as welcoming considering the group members are all “mental”, most of them don’t drink booze and they have a wonderful knack of causing chaos wherever they go!
funky munky even let them store a LOAD of stuff in their cellar for a bit in a crisis…
…so, unattractive refit aside maybe they’re not ALL bad!

By: Lord Henry

Lord Henry — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 20:58:36 +0000

Let’s initiate a Camberwell blog boycott of the Funky Munky! As my man Chuck D once said, “Shut ‘em down! Shut ‘em, shut ‘em down!”

By: The Eyechild

The Eyechild — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 18:27:02 +0000

Um, don’t know anything about nurseries but the Funky Munky is wack. That DJ is pretty good (that said I never heard him play any Northern Soul bar Gloria Jones’s ‘Tainted Love’ once, I think)

Me and my friend Dunc were putting on a night there upstairs and the owner explicitly stated the reason he had refurbished the place was to try and get a ‘less studenty’ crowd in, so he could charge more for drinks. Proving I suppose, that students have taste.

Nowadays of course the Funky Munky charges more for everything, including getting in, and hiring the room upstairs, for which they charged my friend Julia £200 February gone, for a medium sized, unheated (read ‘frigid’) room with a duff soundsystem – then proceeded to charge guests to come in at the main door.

Haven’t been back since.

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 08:24:11 +0000

pelas ecuxse ytpos

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 08:22:35 +0000

Yes, Dagmar, as you say, Lyndhurst and Dog Kenne. Good nurseries there’s a few, I think there’s another nursery just over the hill in the estate in SE22 that’s undersubscribed just because no one knows it’s there — will find out its name today if I can.

There’s a private nursery on Lyndhurst way — name escapes me as usual with private but is good.

Lilford Daycare on my side (in Lambeth) is good full time care but is underresourced and needs injection of funds, the Nest in Myatts fields is good but half day only. There’s Brunswick I think where they’ve begun inside catering fresh organic ingredients every day.

A few local schools do good quality nursery but only half day — so absolutely no use to full time working parents.

There’s no where near enough provision overall — not enough after school clubs or breakfast ckubs. It all needs a shake up.

What I like about the idea of making it all join up (this is my partner’s idea really) is that it’s a specific, containable project that can be needs assessed relatively easily and have provision made for relatively straight line — funds are out there — income is achievable for a business plan ergo it’s possible.

Must do some research here. At leat someone should.

By: Dagmar

Dagmar — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 10:34:25 +0000

What are the good primaries in SE5, Mark? You seem to have your ear to the pulse. I believe Lyndhurst OKish and everyone oversubscribes to Dog Kennel, best primary in Southwark, they say. I know that some people tell porkies about where they live to get nippers into Dog Kennel.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 09:32:56 +0000

Dagmar you were posting as I was. You’re spot on. But if local education provision can be made good all round until age 11 then there would be a lot of reason for many people to stay put and not get out — even if getting out is into private sector. And setting that as a goal and making it happen is achievable. All the nurseries and primaries locally would welcome proper community support to abck them in making what they’re doing better — they all experience a different part of the pressure and struggle with raising standards…