Lu

Hi does anyone know Niko the plumber or his whereabouts? He did some work for me last year and I'd like him to come back and do some other jobs we talked about. Also I still owe him money for the work he did last year! He's not responding to voicemail or texts. Wondering if he's away and hoping nothing bad's happened? If you have any ideas, please PM me. Thanks

Another recommendation for Dave. I contacted him after finding recommendations here and he managed to fit me in the next day and repair my ceramic hob at a good price. Dave was professional, answered my (no doubt) daft questions and tidied up. Wouldn't hesitate to use him again.

Hi not as local but if you're prepared to travel Blackheath has two: Chapters and Buenos Aires. Both are great.

Unfortunately nothing seems to be working... this is really annoying, I only bought the Ixus jsut over a year ago. Did you keep yours in a camera case? From what I've read, that seems to be the problem.

The models are: - Canon Ixus 100 IS and - Panasonic Lumix S1 Any ideas anyone? Many thanks.

I can sympathise as we also have a problem with Japanese knotweed and I've been trying to get our flats' managing agents to deal with it for over year. Apparently now is the best time to start treatment, while the plant is in its growing phase. Our has grown nearly 2ft in a week! I understand it has to be treated and disposed off by a licensed company and the treatment can take many months - however as long as you are treating it, lenders should grant mortgages on the property. That's what I'v been told anyway.

Does anyone know how to fix a compact digital camera with the lens stuck out? I've tried everything I could find on the internet but the lens won't move and switching the camera on/off makes no difference. This has now happened with two cameras and the common factor seems to be the camera case. I've now discovered that you shouldn't put this type of camera in a case because tiny fibres can get into the lens and damage it. Any advice welcome as I currently have two useless cameras!

I regularly take bags of clothes to the two charity shops in Peckham and have never had them refused. First time I've heard of this.

Also last night at London Bridge and New Cross. I kept looking at my shoes thinking it must be me and I'd trodden in something!

And another recommendation for John/his team. One of his team just did a good job replacing an element in my immersion heater - efficient, tidy at clearing up and polite.

A birthday card sent to me from Coventry took over a week to arrive and when it finally got here, someone had slit it open carefully along the top and then resealed it with sellotape. We have no idea why it was opened as there was nothing inside or any kind of embossing or badge on the card which would make anyone think there was. I imagine it's impossible to know where in the delivery process it happened. Also it could have been delivered to the wrong house, someone opened it and then put it back in the post box or through the door.

Banks monitor fraud so a good bank should know if there has been a pattern of cards cloned at a particular machine on a certain day. My card was once cloned in Hammersmith and the first I knew of it was when the bank phoned me to tell me that they suspected there was a fraudulent transaction on my account - they knew exactly where the card had been cloned.

I had really bad condensation too until I had double glazing put in. I used not to be able to see out of my windows at all on bad days, now at most there will be a very thin line of condensation along the window frame and only a handful of times a year. I've heard that drying clothes in the house is one of the worst things you can do as the moisture has to go somewhere so I now also run a dehumidifier when I've done a wash, just for a few hours to get the clothes started to dry. I haven't noticed any huge increase in my electricity bill and it's incredible to see how much water collects in the dehumidifier, which would otherwise go into your walls.

This isn't just happening in East Dulwich, over in New Cross I've had one parcel left propped against my front door and another one which the postie attempted to 'hide' under the door mat - but I could see the door mat sticking up a mile away. You're not alone.

So is it actually illegal not to have a dog on a lead in the street? My friend's dog was killed by another dog that was off the lead and the police said there was nothing they could do as it involved two dogs and they could only intervene if a human was injured.

I think installing something at the water source is probably the best idea. I don't recommend you do what I did and use soda crystals on an old appliance. Someone told me adding them to the wash would help deal with limescale but I think so much limescale had built up over the years that it dislodge it and and stuck itself all over my laundry! It took several rinse cycles to get rid of it and even then I was still wiping it off the drum and picking it off clothes for a few washes afterwards. Never again.

I remember they were similarly vague about when phase 1 would open. Then one day it was up and running with no advance warning, apparently ahead of schedule!

I've changed from the Overground to Jubilee Line at Canada Water yesterday and today with no problems at all, no busier than a normal commute day. The Overground trains are always pretty busy but I get on after Forest Hill so you should have no problem.

I'm giving up with a dongle because it's useless... Have checked BT for broadband speed in my area and it's estimated at 3Mb - which doesn't sound a lot. Does anyone know if that's enough to watch iPlayer? No sign of the BT Infinity that they're pushing so heavily on TV in my area.

Does anyone have Talkmobile (Carphone Warehouse's own brand) and how do you find the reception in the area and their customer service? I'd never heard of them until I went into Carphone Warehouse today and they seem to have good tariffs.

Does anyone have contact details for the lady who was doing 15 minute spine checks and massages at the Goose Green Fair on Sun? Hoping she could sort out my stiff neck and shoulder! Sorry for posting this twice but I tried the local businesses section with no luck so hoping someone reading this might know her. Thanks!

Neighbourhoods don't exist in isolation. Many of the East Dulwich businesses, schools, leisure facilities etc. benefit from customers from the surrounding areas so why shouldn't they contribute to discussions here? When it comes to buying/selling I understand it could be frustating if you find the vendor isn't local but you're not obliged to continue with the purchase if you think it's too far for you to travel. I've given away things on the forum to people who turned out to be from Nunhead and Brockley, neither of them SE22 postcodes.

Ellesspe - where did you find the info about breaks? I'm seriously considering pulling out which would be a great shame after they and I have invested the time and energy in training but I feel I've been somewhat misled.

People who say 'almost exactly'.

Probably using the milk to make the porridge?