Lemony

Wow, you have VERY similar monickers indeed squeakyclean. Well, the SqueakyClean I mean says her business is Squeaky Clean and is certainly the one that brookcas recommends (same details) and we've chatted about some details that confirm she's the same person... so nothing to worry about!

update (in case anyone is interested).... surprise surprise, SqueakyClean's pal, who was coming today because she couldn't make it last week didn't turn up. 40 min later I texted her and she texted back to say she'd seen my posts and I could no longer be offered "their services". I suppose she didn't take kindly to my saying she hadn't been very reliable. Ah, well, never mind. At least I can sort out an alternative before term starts.

just texted her to ask... I've not wanted to bother her before.

her friend who's coming instead did... I know she's been having a rough time, but I was led to believe that she was taking a break from work and not coming back. She is/was a really good cleaner...

Now, that's interesting because Nicola (SqueakyClean) just dumped me a few weeks ago (just after I'd written the post above) without even letting me know herself. She's apparently gone through a rough patch (I won't say here, serious) and she has arranged for her pal to clean for me, but her pal's not been as reliable so far. So, brookecass, is she still cleaning for you? I was led to believe that she needed a break from work so I'm not happy they've lied to me.

Well done then! Dogs are a blight on our parks I'm afraid... mostly because of inconsiderate owners who don't pick up and let them run riot. Having a toddler now has made me aware of how many times people let them run about and bother other people without thinking that these people may be scared of dogs! My child is now petrified after a dog jumped on him. Also, another dog ate our picnic when I was out with him as a baby (only 5 months old). I had to pick him up because I didn't know if the dog was coming for him... the owner allowed the dog to do this twice! I say, forget smokers, ban dogs (or inconsiderate dog owners I should say!)

As a non-smoker who HATES people smoking near me, I'd still have to say that it shouldn't be banned in parks. They're open spaces so as long as people have some common sense it should be ok. That said, I do think that smoking ought to be banned in the playground areas because children's healths are at risk and how do you tell a child that we're leaving because x person is inconsiderate and smokes inside the playground? Also, never mind smoking in a way... stop people having cannabis! In Hillsborough park I've recently noticed that there are people (sorry, this time it was teenagers though not all are like this) smoking cannabis openly, sometimes in the play areas. I don't think that's right.

How would b/feeding in the car be better for mother or baby if they felt fine in the park? Why the need to hide a natural act? Surely the 'indecency' is in the eye of the beholder (i.e. the ignorant people who see breastfeeding and can only think breasts=indecency=sex). If I were you I'd have a couple of sharp remarks to inform/teach any other idiots that come your way... By the way, I've only received positive comments when out and about in Sheffield. I only felt uncomfortable once in M'hall, when a group of teenagers decided to stare for a long time in the hope of catching sight of something, I presume... then I thought, good luck to them. Not much to look at anyway... they could do better with a mag.

Cheers! I go in regularly but probably won't be able to make it tomorrow... what's the social enterprise?

yes, I thought that too... but then it's worth it just in case. Also, other people may look at the thread for advice too.

if it's got grit in it you have to remove the scab and clean it throroughly several times or it won't heal...it'll become infected and very sore. Do it in the bath, when the scab is softer and use a clean cotton cloth (like a terry nappy or similar) to scrub it. It will be sore and your child will not want you to touch it (screams, pulling your hand away, etc) but it's worth it to get rid of all the infection and grit. I'd use pure soap (sold in soap bars for cleaning still) for a few days to repeat the process until it scabs properly. Sorry it's not a nice thing to have to do.

Yes... time! Not trying to be flippant. This was my first response to your question. Also, I'm going to move house in a few months so Paul came up with a suggestion that I would never have thought of that works well for me and saves me money. So probably also yes to finding something I couldn't have found myself. That said, if you have lots of time in your hands you could find a good deal by yourself of course! But are you saving money if you're spending lots of hours doing this? It's better for me to use the time for work and family.

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for all your advice! In the end I went for a mortgage advisor (Paul, Optimum Solutions) and found a great deal. He charged a modest fee and this means Paul will advise on all future mortgages/remortgages at no further cost. Also got a financial advisor, Raj @ Blue Wealth. So far happy but it's early days... will keep you all posted.

It depends what you want doing every week. I recenly employed SqueakyClean (in this forum) and she's very good, has her own insurance and is reasonably priced (£7/hour). Also, and I really like this, is obviously professional, has iniciative and will tell you if she thinks what you want will take less than you think. Agencies charge £10-12/hour but I haven't used them...

Dunno! I used to shop there when it was Andy's and Karen's... (last but one owners). I hated Mr Lamb... so stopped shoping there. Crookes could do with quality butchers back.