*Moving to Saffron Walden, Essex , in August - does anyone live nearby?*

[SaffyCat]

I am moving from Surrey to Saffron Walden in mid-August with my husband, 7yr old son and 1yr old daughter. We don't know anyone in the area yet and I would love to meet other local mums (am happy to drive a few miles) and also to find out about toddler groups/recomended family activities.

[2boysmacca]

(whispers) I also shop in Tesco's

[valentina]

Trouble with Mole Hall is that all your potential nannies will have to pay to get in and meet you!

[Millarkie]

Valentina - We are going to meet nanny at car and pay her entry - lot cheaper than hiring a room to interview in and the kids will be a lot happier.

I'm an Essex girl BTW, not a Londoner born and bred, I'm from Braintree, but escaped long long ago

Englishspringer -you've had a heck of a week! You sound calm through it all though.

[englishspringer]

Just got back from the Rosie - i had my scan and saw the doctor and was in and out within an hour - crikey what is happening on the NHS.

I have my date 4th April - they wanted 29th March but is my Wedding Anni and just couldn't have the birthday then - a mummy has to have her own day right??

this week has been a little hectic but i always say what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.

Can't beleive how many more people are on this chat now - i didn't realise there were so many mums in and around SW - when i was looking for a nanny share for G i couldn't find anyone, now it seems that there are lots of people wanting nany shares.

if anyone needs any abbysitting then we ahve a fantastic aupair who only charges £4 per hour.

Ickleton is lovely, we looked a house there before we bought in Wendens Ambo but the station won it for us!

[SusieHughsie]

Glad your scan went well, completely understand that you dont want to share your wedding anniversary with your little one's birthday. I share mine with my daughter and it means we can never have our own celebration!

4th April, not too long to go - how exciting!

[stump]

Hi everyone

Haven't had chance to post for a few days as have been visiting my little niece (4 weeks old today!) Makes me so excited about meeting my baby in May!

englishspringer - wow you have had a hectic week - not long though til maternity leave now! Glad your scan went ok and you got your date sorted.

I too love cafe cou cou hot chocolate - being buggy and baby free at the moment it suits me fine - realising I will have to find another venue after may!! Worked out I have 11 weeks left tomorrow so am going to have to start shopping.....any excuse!

By the way for those of you who support the independent shops which butcher do you use? I go to a brilliant butcher in Thaxted but it is a bit of a trek - worth it though and on friday there is a market there with a lovely fish stand too.....

Hope everyone is well.

Claire

[englishspringer]

Hi

I am glad to know about the butcher's in thaxted - currently we buy our meat from a butcher's in Loughton where we used to live - it is called Bosworth's and i've jsut learnt that they now own a restaurant in Finchingfield.

I am off tomorrow for a midwife thingy so i will pop to thaxted for a look - is the butcher open every day?

My mum is not too impressed that i have asked for him to be delivered later rather than earlier - she is anxious for another grandchild - most people want their babies out but i am happy for him to be inside me as long as necessary so that i can have a bit more peace and a few extra nights sleep.

My little boy has named the baby Henry and i don't like the name at all - been trying to convince him that other names are great but he is having none of it -i know i'm going to end up with a Henry.

has anyone been to Whispnade? we are thinking of going on Sunday for G's 4th birthday.

[2boysmacca]

Grayson & Start on George Street. They are so friendly in there and very helpful.

[stump]

Hi

Good to know about Grayson
& Start on George Street for those times I can't make the trip to Thaxted.

Englishspringer - the butcher is open every day except sunday i think... There are two butchers in Thaxted the one I like is Green's Family butchers - as you drive into thaxted from saffron walden you go down the hill (main street) and you'll see all the market stalls. The butchers is at the bottom of the hill on the right hand side....I've never been to the other one which is at the top of the hill but I'm not sure about the look of it.

Might see you there as I'm making my regular visit...

[englishspringer]

Hi

so i went ot the butchers on Friday and got some good meat - thansk for that.

also had another trip to A & E - i did say i lived in that place - it turns out that they gave George the wrong antibiotics and they were making him puke for England.

We went to Whipsnade Zoo yesterday - if you haven't been i wouldn't advise going, we were really disappointed -

anyway hope all had a good weekend despite the weather - i am on the countdown until Friday - i am off tomorrow and then in only have Wed, thurs and Fri left. Yippee - i just hope the baby doesn't come early so i can get some ME time!

[2boysmacca]

We've had a weekend full of toddler tantrums. Even ds2 has started having them and he's only a couple fo weeks over 1!

[englishspringer]

Luckily we never had the Toddler Tantrums - however, we ahve just started getting the i'm not doing that and NO you can't make me, as well as when it is bedtime - i'm hungry, i'm thirsty etc. and then i phoned him from work this morning and last night he had a dream about a Wolf eating him so he told me that if I let him watch more Dora The Explorer or DVD's then he would dream about the DVD's which wouldn't give him bad dreams! HA - i tell you when there is two of them, they are going to run circles around me. At least G is going to school in September - i might need a break by then!

[stump]

....glad you got some nice meat at the butchers on friday....i never went in the end as was feeling absolutely exhausted.

Sounds like i've got the terrible twos to look forward to! Seems like a long way off but am sure time will fly by!

englishspringer - sorry you had yet another trip to A&E but glad all is well in the end. Bet you cannot wait to start your maternity leave now!!!!

[SusieHughsie]

DH was the only one having tantrums this weekend, cant really blame him though - his credit card was cloned and then recieved tax bill from Inland Revenue all at a time where we are watching every penny because of the move.

On a more positive note,we went to view two possible schools for DD who is 4.5, Great Chesterford and Duxford - they were both very impressive in different ways and we just have to decide which one would be best for her. I'm really having trouble making the decision!

[englishspringer]

Hi Susie

I used to teach prior to becoming a trader in teh City and when i was studying at Cambridge worked in 5 schools in and around Saffron walden - one of them was Katherine Semar, one Henham & Ugley, One RAB, One Duxford and one Great Chestford. As a parent you see what the school wants you to see and OFSTED reports are not good to go by as a school gets a lot of warning and beleive me my school that i worked in for 2 years (i won't say which oen in case i offend some mums in SW) manipulated the system as do a lot of schools - results cahnged, marking altered, children's workbooks redone, children coached to do certain things, lessons re-planned and things done that would never be done if OFSTED weren't coming in.

However, the 3 schools which during my time there were outstanding were Thaxted, Henham & Ugley and Great Chesterford - all of these schools have excellent heads and a small staff turnover.

Hope this helps!

Stump - can't wait for my Mat Leave - G was 4 today - oh my goodness where has that time gone! starting to get scared about the new baby, i can't actually remember how i got George to sleep, how i fed him etc. they say it comes back but i'm not so sure!

[Millarkie]

Oh EnglishSpringer - now you're stressing me We are being shown around RAB and K Semar this Friday - could you give me a hint? TBH ds will either end up at K Semar or in an independent school but want to see RAB just in case a space comes up.

[englishspringer]

Hi

I worked with at KS - the junior side not the infant side but here it si a fantastic school - we didn't look because it was out of our catchment (hence why G is going to independent school).

However, there is a girl Kelly Pattison (i think she got married a few weeks ago so may have a different surname) - anyway i worked with her for two years in the school i taught in - I was year 3 teacher and she was a year 1 & 2 teacher. She is absolutely fantastic and raves about the school - they draw from the less wealthy areas of SW so have trouble being considered as good as RAB or the other schools - however, you know my opinion on OFSTED and league tables and to be honest KS is a very good school.

I think you need to ask - what their gifted and talented policy is, what their behaviour poilcy is, marking policy - lots of schools rave about their sticker systems, Golden time (children can choose what fun activity they do on a Friday) but it very rarely exists to the extent they say it does - ask to look at a sample of books - you can see teacher's comments and see if the school really does follow through with positive marking, free time, how they reward children, staff turnover rates, support in the classroom, do teachers get to take their breaks and if so who covers your child's class in this time, do they have an open door policy, whose work is on the walls - i think this is very important - i have been to see a lot of schools (i specialised in special needs - both ends of the spectrum) and have seen lots of display boards - i have seen beautiful ones which if you look closer are made up entirely of the Learning support assistant and teacher's work with the odd child's contribution. However, the best schools always have the childrne's work and a selection of 'good and bad' examples - you cannot compare two children so although some work may appear a little scruffy, untidy or not finished - are you judging by what your capable of or what the child is capable of - all children love to ahve their work on display and i believe that if schools value thier pupils then they will endeavour to display all types.

Make sure it is not too quiet - children do not learn through sitting down and doing a worksheet, they learn through talking, acting, playing etc.

I know i have rattled on but please DO NOT be fooled by what you see - remember that the school and all the staff know you are coming, your name will be on the white board in the staff room, the staff will have been briefed about the time you are coming, the school will also have dictated what times you are permitted to come and look.

Hope this helps

[laurasmiles]

So glad I found this thread! It's been great hearing all your comments and like a pp said, just knowing that there are so many friendly people and new poeple too. We should be complete on the house in SW next week (only six months after putting in the offer!!), but won't move up for a couple more weeks. The first sale of our flat fell through, but at least that give dp a chance to get into the SW house and do a bit of work on it. It needs a complete overhaul!!
really looking foreward to the move from London (will try not to bring too may changes with me!! :-)
Looing forward to meeting some of you too.
Laura x plus ds 25months and dd 6 onths.

[englishspringer]

You will love it here - there is lots to do and it is really lovely because you are close to London, big towns but not if that makes sense. We lived in SW when we first got married for 2 years - we just came upon it and fell in love with it - then we moved back to Loughton and then got sick of Loughton and moved to Wendens Ambo (right by audley End station) about 6 months ago - us like you are having major rennovation work - it has been going on since November and is not due to finish until May - they are now putting the new bathrooms in etc. the roof has gone on and i can see light at the end of the tunnel - i'm trying not to see the dust, the dirt, the horrible builders, the rubbish project manager and hoping that the baby doesn't come early - we are sleeping in the living room, the au pair and our 4 year old are up stairs and to say it is chaos is an understatement!

Anyway hope the exchange goes well - will definately have to arrange for all who want to to meet up locally.

[Lilymaid]

Susiehughsie re school choices. When we looked around (this was 10 years ago) Duxford was dire (almost in special measures) and Great Chesterford was excellent. I believe Great Chesterford still is.
However, if your child goes to Great Chesterford the secondary school would then be Saffron Walden County High (a very good school with 6th form) whereas from Duxford you would normally go on to Sawston Village College (OK but not as good as SWCH and there is selection at 16 for the Cambridge sixth form colleges). Even though your child may only be in infants you are effectively choosing their sixth forms when you decide which side of the county line you will go for!

[stump]

I;'d definitely be up for a meet up its really nice to know that there are lots of mums in the area - maybe once people get settled in their houses. Its good to be able to chat though and start to get to know each other.

Thankfully I have a few years before I'll need to think about schools - although one friend recently told me that you need to start thinking about it almost as soon as they are born.....Scary stuff!!!

englishspringer - enjoy your last few days at work if you can and look forward to making the most of your maternity leave!! You think you're worried about remembering how to feed/bath etc.....I'm totally scared about the whole thing just hoping maternal instinct kicks in when my little one arrives!!! not long now - I'll be 30 weeks on Friday.

[mouseman]

My dd is at Great Chesterford School and we have been very happy with it. I have no real experience of Duxford school but I do have friends in nearby villages who have pushed and pushed for our school rather than Duxford. Most have got in!!

[USAUKMum]

Hi all , its been a while since I've been here and so many more have joined the thread !

I'm sorry I can't contribute to the school portion as we live down in Bishops Stortford. But just wanted to put a couple of fun things that we enjoy doing.

1. Linton Zoo -- we went there went DS was small (I think he was only 6 wks old) and DD was 3.5 and she loved it. It is good for a morning, but not big enough for all day. Now DS is 2.5, we'll be going back again.

1. Shepreth Wildlife Park -- this one is really good for after visits to the Rosie we went a number times when pg with DS as we had lots of appts. DD loved it and they were doing a lot of improvements too.

and finally the reason why we haven't been to 1 & 2 lots in the last year:

1. Wimpole Farm (and and House). Need I say they love it. They have a great farm and a fab adventure playground for older children (from about 4, I'd say -- unless like DS who climbed up our slide at 6 mths ). They have a play area for smaller ones as well near the cafe. We often take a picnic. Spring they have the lambs and they have activities too. In Oct we went to "Meet the Butler". We joined the NT because of it (and Hatfield Forest, which is also v. good)

Goodluck to all you pg ladies !

[englishspringer]

Hi

Completely agree about Wimpole - we go every Sunday morning - we take the dogs and take it in turns to go to the farm - we take picnics too but also have lunch in the restaurant - quite pricey but the food is lovely.

We went to Linton Zoo in feb - not many animals out but still good.

Haven't ventured to Hatfield forest yet but heard good things. We tend to take the bike to Wimpole as the path there is great and safe.

We drove a little further afield at the weekend and went to Whipsnade - really didn't like it but am a big far of Woburn.

[USAUKMum]

We go to Hatfield quite a lot as it is only 15 min drive from our house. They've built a new walkway that runs from one of the roads through the forest, past the lake then around the lake to the coffee shop. The DC love it. DS loves the cows, so we usually end up walking around trying to find them. We often get there before the main gate is up and thus on cars on the road (but there are lots of bumps and people go really slow on it). You can park by the Lake (where the coffee shop is) and do the trail from the opposite end.

Shepreth isn't up to Woburn standards, but a nice little place for a sunny afternoon / morning. My DC loved Woburn.

Can also recommend The Potteries in Newport which is a private swim school. My DD has been there since 1 and loves it. DS started at around 1 as well, but they start them from 9 mths.