OH MY god, have you read the story in last week's Gazette, that they found rats at The Water's Edge pub at Ruislip Lido?

An instant chill went through my body when I read about the unsuspecting diners who had been happily tucking into their carvery, only to see a rat saunter across the floor and join his wife and kids behind a cabinet in the dining room.

I'm glad I wasn't there to see that. It would have put me off carveries for life!

The pub, now open again, did the right thing in closing while the experts dealt with it. They said it's because they're close to the water and not because of hygiene standards.

We went last year to try it out. After many disasters there during the years, including blocked loos, cold food, long waits and appalling service, we were pleasantly surprised at the major improvement, with it running in a carvery format.

For the money it was amazing value, at £6.99 on Sundays and just £3.59 in the week. The food wouldn't win any awards, but for a cheap, quick lunch out it did the job, and the roast potatoes were very good.

Most people have a horror story about eating at the lido. It's about time there was a consistently good, family friendly pub or cafe there - without rats.

I know Hillingdon Council runs a Scores on the Doors rating scheme for businesses, showing how many stars they have scored for complying with food hygiene law.

I had a look to see what The Water's Edge rated but couldn't find it listed. It was worrying, however, to see that some local nurseries have low star ratings.

If I had children at these nurseries, I would want to know what they were doing to increase their scores.

Sadly, my curry takeaway of choice scored a measly one star, so its flyers will be going straight in the recycling bin from now on.

To find out more, put the first two letters of your postcode into www.scoresonthedoors.org.uk and do a search on places you use to see how they fare.

I've also been looking at Scores on the Doors to make sure we have some really great food options on offer at Party in the Park, the big free annual family community event I organise at Fassnidge Park in Uxbridge.

It is on September 4 this year. Party in the Park brings families with babies and children under 11, and the local community, together for a big, fun, free day out, thanks to our sponsors, Hillingdon Council's Families' Information Service and service company Connaught.

This year will be our sixth, and we'll be having lots of free fun and activities for families to enjoy, as well as some yummy - and high scoring - food.

Well done to the team at Hillingdon Play Association who have been putting on some fantastic activities for local families, despite some dodgy weather last week on their big annual Play Day 2010.

Their summer play activities are all being really well received by local families and there's still plenty of fun coming up. Visit www.hillingdonplay.org.uk to find out when they are in a park near you in Hillingdon.