Southampton Sling Meet

New hire procedure

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:46:55 +0000

In response to feedback on our hire procedure, we have introduced a new online pre-registration system where you can register your details in advance of our meet to make your hire much quicker. You only need to register once, regardless of whether you intend to come to our Swaythling meet, our Bursledon one, or both. To pre-register your details, please click here.

May, June and July sling meet dates

admin — Sat, 05 May 2012 14:22:04 +0000

The dates of our forthcoming meets are as follows:

Fri 18th May, 1-2.30pm, Swaythling

Fri 1st June, 1-3pm, Bursledon

Fri 15th June, 1-2.30pm, Swaythling

Fri 6th July, 1-3pm, Bursledon

Fri 20th July, 1-2.30pm, Swaythling

If you have hired a sling, please ensure that you return it to the same venue from which it was hired the month before.

Important information re return of hired slings

admin — Sat, 05 May 2012 13:03:01 +0000

Southampton Sling Meet regret to inform you that due to the changes in the running of the Windmill Children’s Centre, they are no longer able to accept sling returns on our behalf. We remind you that hired slings should be returned to the sling meet venue between 12.45 and 1pm on the day of our meet. If you are unable to return the sling during this time slot, please email us in advance to make alternative arrangements. We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause.

Important information re Swaythling meet 13/4/12

admin — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 20:29:25 +0000

Southampton Sling Meet regret that due to circumstances beyond our control, the Swaything Sling Library will not be available for our meet this Friday. However, we will have those slings from the Bursledon library which were not hired at our last meet available to try out, along with some of our volunteers’ own slings. If you wish to hire a sling, you may hire one from the Bursledon library for the reduced fee of £1, but please note that it will need to be returned to The Windmill Children’s Centre, Long Lane, Bursledon between 12.45 and 1pm on Friday 27th April, or dropped in to The Windmill Children’s Centre at some point before that time.

We apologise for any inconvenience or disappointment caused and look forward to having the Swaythling Sling Library fully functional for our next meet on May 18th.

We’re expanding!

admin — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 22:00:01 +0000

Southampton Sling Meet are thrilled to announce that from April 2012, we will be holding two meets each month, our usual one in Bursledon and a new one in Swaythling. We have a brand new Swaythling Sling Library, thanks to a very generous grant from SureStart Children’s Centres Southampton, which will be running alongside our new meet. Our first Swaythling meet will take place at Sure Start, Swaythling, Bassett Green Primary School , Honeysuckle Road, Southampton, SO16 3BZ on Friday 13th April 2012, from 1 until 2.30pm.

April, May, June and July Sling Meet dates confirmed

admin — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:51:34 +0000

We are delighted to be able to announce that we will be continuing to hold our meets at The Windmill Children’s Centre and are now in a position to confirm the dates of our forthcoming meets (all meets will run between 1 and 3pm, with sling return between 12.45 and 1pm):

“April” meet: Friday 30th March

“May” meet: Friday 27th April

June meet: Friday 1st June

July meet: Friday 6th July

*** Please note that our April and May meets will run on the last Friday of the previous month due to Good Friday in April and our volunteers all having other commitments in the first week of May. ***

New review pages added!

admin — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 19:36:29 +0000

Our website has been updated to include details of all of the slings that have joined our library recently. The following are therefore now available for you to review:

Bamberoo SolarVeil mei tai

Calin Bleu Microfleece wrap

EasySlings mei tai

ERGObaby Sport Baby Carrier

NiUNiU London mei tai

Storchenwiege Ring Sling

If you have hired any of them, please do let us know what you thought! If you have any photos of them in use that you would be happy to have used on our website, please email them to us!

We need your help!

admin — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 22:02:19 +0000

Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate our 3rd birthday today, and all of you who have supported us since our first meet three years ago. This is now an appeal to all of you for your help in three areas!

1. Volunteers!
Due to other commitments and growing families, we are getting low on volunteers. We rely on our volunteers to keep the meets running. Without a team of volunteers, we simply couldn’t provide the service that we currently do. If you are interested in helping out, you do not need to have any specific experience. We can train you if you would like, but it would also be really helpful to have someone just to do the admin of sorting out hires and returns to free up our other volunteers to demonstrate how to use the slings. If you think you might be able to help, please email us our talk to one of us at our next meet.

2. Reviews
Our reviews section on here helps inform other parents when they are trying to choose a sling to buy or try out. Please do leave a brief review of any of the slings listed that you have tried – the more opinions the better! If you’d like to review a sling that isn’t listed, just email us and let us know.

3. Sling returns!
Please, please, please return your hired slings on time. Hired slings are due back between 12.45 and 1pm on the day of the meet. If you can’t make this time slot, you can drop them in to the Children’s Centre any time before the meet (if you left a cheque as deposit and would like it returned, please include a stamped, self-addressed envelope with the sling, otherwise we will destroy it. If you left a cash deposit, please email us to arrange its return to you). We have many parents who come to our meets to try a specific sling or slings. If they are not returned on time, then they are not available for these parents, who have often travelled a fair distance, to try out. This is also the reason why we are reluctant to hire slings for more than one month at a time. Obviously we appreciate that there are occasions where unforeseen circumstances prevent you from returning a sling on time – in this case, we just ask that you let us know as soon as you are aware that there is a problem. We hope you understand that we are trying to make the slings available for as many people as possible to try, for as long as possible between the meets, and that you will support us in this.

We look forward to seeing you in 2012 on our new Sling Meet day (first Friday of the month, 1-3pm) and wish you and your families a very merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year.

Southampton Sling Meet is three years old!

admin — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 18:09:05 +0000

Our December 2011 meet marks our third birthday. At our first meet in 2008, we had just one Mum and baby turn up and just the one sling hire. Since then, our meets have grown beyond all recognition, with us now regularly welcoming around 40 families to each of our meets and hiring out more than 25 slings at most meets. Since we started, new Sling Meets have also been set up on the Isle of Wight, in the New Forest and in Fareham, reflecting the growing number of babywearers in our local area. As we mark our third birthday, we would like to thank everyone who has supported Southampton Sling Meet since its launch and look forward to celebrating our birthday by sharing some cake with all those who can make our ‘birthday’ meet on December 5th. See you there!

New year, new Sling Meet day!

admin — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:47:50 +0000

We would like to give you advance notice that the day of our meets will be changing from the start of 2012 to the first Friday of each month. We currently have the first four dates of 2012 confirmed. They are:

6th January
3rd February
2nd March
30th March (the first Friday in April is Good Friday, so this will be our ‘April’ meet)

We will continue to meet from 1pm until 3pm at The Windmill Children’s Centre.

Sincere apologies to anyone that this change inconveniences – it is due to our volunteers’ other commitments. We are also now recruiting volunteers to help out at our meets – if you are interested in joining our team of volunteers, please email us or speak to one of our volunteers at our meets.