Marmora Man

I'll try the roast potatoe idea - new to me.

ChavWivaLawDegree Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I was brought up on and love Marmite and my > Jamaican bf thinks it's disgusting. He says it's > typically 'English' but my St. Lucian friend was > also brought up on it. Is it mostly an English > thing, or are there any of you guys from far flung > places that also grew up with Marmite? Our poliics may be on different wavelengths but our tastes ageree - Marmite is an essential store cupboard item, Desert Island luxury (forget the records) and perfect on toasted sourdough from the stall on Northcross Road. Can't understand why it's not sold more often in cafes fro breakfast.

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At the risk of being bitten / shot down I'd like to propose to this forum that "This house believes that good things come from private rather than public provision" Having joined the EDF about 6 weeks or so ago I have noticed a tendency toward an anti private sector stance - except when it refers to small businesses in LL or elsewhere locally, which seems inconsistent. A discussion would be interesting. Points for discussion / rebuttal: 1. The state / government has a duty to provide certain services - but it should keep its activities (and thus taxes) to the absolute minimum. EG: Security (internal - policing & prisons, external - military forces); a certain amount of regulation (standards of cleanliness in hospitals, schools, safety & HSAW issues, possibly rental rates in housing, set taxes, manage foreign policy, provide a "safety net" for those that need it and that's about it. 2. Most people prefer to be left alone by government. By themselves most people will adopt a sensible lifestyle, try to do good, look after their family and be be nice to their neighbours / neighbourhood. Social engineering (from Tory right or Labour left doesn't work). 3. Small businesses, if successful, become big businesses. They become successful by serving customers well not because they are part of some global right wing business conspiracy to do over the average punter. 4. Hospitals and schools are about the only major services that government still directly controls. Neither are meeting expectations. Let them free (subject to a regulatory framework - see 1 above) and let the market decide. (NOTE: Roads and railways are technically within government control but almost all farmed out to agencies / PFI companies) 5. We do not need a national ID card scheme database. That's this morning grump over. I'm off to read the Torygraph over a glass of port.

No longer travelling internationally on business these days - so can't compete with dstant EDF postings. When I did I made it my business to install the Archers website on as many airport Internet lounge PCs as possible - Kuwait & Ras Al Kaimah were the most obscure and least likely to have a national Archers fan base.

Jonboy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Can't say i agree. The chemists I've been into on > LL could do with a thorough tidying up and a > re-vitalised range of products to reflect the fact > that outside the shop its 2007. IMO. Try Macey's on Northcross Road. Inside still perhaps nearer the 50's but in a good way - ie service is customer orientated, goods are varied and available and they have those elusive odds & sods that big chains never stock, or only stock bubble wrap packages.

TimJM Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Apparently, according to a previous post - "the > deadline for submitting objections to the plans > has been extended to Aug 5th" > > I submitted my objection to this address: > [email protected] > FAO: > Gwilym Jones, > Planning Control > Chiltern > Portland Street > London > SE17 2ES > > If the e-mail address doesn't work make doubly > sure by sending the letter by ordinary mail. > > And in response to the 'dulwich_park_fairy' many > of us simply object to handing over public assets > to unaccountable private businesses. If that's > considered 'self interest' (i.e saving tax payers > money from unscrupulous private businessmen) then > so be it. > Perhaps the advocates could challenge the > arguments of why people are opposed to academies > as a means of running schools and why the Harris > academies should be exempt from following the > guidelines on planning applications and numbers > per acre. > > Instead people seem content to simply slate as > selfish those who question whether the school > needs to be an academy and with too many pupils on > such a small site. There seem to be two arguments entwined here: 1. Academies are a bad thing and must be stopped at all costs. A valid argument but the debate should proceed from evidence not assertion. I contributed to this thread much earlier regarding the almost total control that the local education authority has over local schools and its conspicuous lack of success in providing what parents and pupils want and need. Academies may not be perfect but they offer an alternative and may (I believe will, based on the evidence from market based competition in telecoms / car manufacture / education / health and other previous public sector provided services) improve the overall quality of schooling by creating competition for the current monopoly provider. 2. This particular project is the wrong size, wrong place and will impact adversely on the local community. As such the project needs to be reviewed / revised. The objections based on planning guidelines / lack of sewer capacity / impact on the area are all appropriate and part of the cut & thrust of local politics. I would support the objections based on these grounds. However, characterising all private business as unscrupulous as a routine term of abuse and assuming all public provision of services is good is just old school niaive leftie student politics. It is not justified by the record of Academies to date nor, in general, by the record of business overall.

Not when I was there - and both times I stayed till 6.00pm. Maybe he's gone to be a jobsworth somewhere else?

Any large rabbits toward the end of the evening? (you have to be old enough to remember the film "Harvey" with James Stewart for this to work).

?5.50 for an adult session - which can be all day. I think membership reduces fees. Open 6.45m - 8.00pm Mon - Fri, 10.00am - 6.00pm Sat / Sun (which I think are strange times for weekend - later opening would be good). 10 - 15 min bike ride from our part of ED.

I returned to Brockewll Lido for the first time since its upgrade last week and again this weekend. Frontage / entrance much more attractive and appealing. Everything inside looks just that bit smarter / cleaner / cared for. Pool essentially unchanged - including sandpaper texture to the surround that's hard on the feet. Changing rooms are now clean and decent - but quality of build may not give them a long life. New cafe is good - tho' surprsingly understocked. All in all a definte improvement - with more work / investment to go. All we need now is the sunshine that makes a Lido really fun.

Anyone know anything about the event that's obviously happening today in PRP? Was told by a stallholder setting up shop this morning that is a South American Carnival?? There's a sound stage and up to 100 stands / stalls - but I've seen no publicity.

krosfyah Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I do feel that the place is overtly smacking of > poncey gentrification, with middle class yumminess > and the sort of thing i specifically wanted to > avoid by not living in Dulwich Village environs > when i first moved here. > > When i moved here, there was an edginess to the > place that was vibrant, alive and all consuming. > Now it's all about consuming overpriced beer and > food, an estate agent for every shop, poncey new > developments that are pricing up the whole area > making it hard or impossible for first time buyers > to move into what was once not long ago a very > affordable area and general "oh yah dahling, lets > kit cosmo out in that wonderful eco-hemp outfit > and go for a stroll on The Lane, while sipping > Starbucks and clucking our tongues at anyone who > doesn't meet my every whim and need". > > It's really going up it's own arse, something i > saw in North London and specifically came south of > the river to get away from. And judging by some of > the responses on this thread, it's not hard to see > the gentrification process has worked a treat. I'm confused - you apparently moved to an area, that in 2001, had lousy bars, no decent restaurants and scruffy shops. Now that same area has some good things - half a dozen eateries that are both affordable and enjoyable, a bunch of good drinking establishments to suit all tastes (see recent thread about CPT and pubs in general) and some halway decent shops. What have you lost?? Which shop / establishment / service has closed down or become worse over the last 6 years? I've been living here just 3 years - found ED when searching for an affordable house large enough for teeanage family and two elderly parents-in-law to all live together. All I can see are the good things that have always been here - Peckham Rye & park, Brockwell Lido (not quite ED but close), the views from One Tree Hill, short journey times to London, Old Camberwell Cemetry to walk around, the more recent arrivals (within last 10[?] years) such as Cheese Block, Pretty Traditional green grocers, Uplands Road Saturday market, the DIY shop on LL, together with other recent improvements - The Bishop beats it predecessor hands down,the Black Cherry, Green & Blue, the EDF where we can all rant & rave. Some of these initiatives have brought employment and opportunity to the area and its residents. Having to put up with the occassional buggy seems an OK trade off to me. However, if it's too much there must still be some suitably scruffy and downbeat areas left elsewhere in London. I was in Whitechapel yesterday, visiting the London Hospital, - not at all poncey, very edgy. Having said all of that - gentrification has its dangers. Not in having to live with poncey shops & people but in reverse ghetto"isation" where instead of everyone rubbing along together in a great mix of race, class, wealth and so on the least well off get pushed further and further out. Affordable housing, social housing for central London and its environs must be supported and Nimbyism rejected

Louisa Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Good grief how many veggies are there on here! I > feel like i'm in a 60s hippy compound surrounded > by sandle wearers! Surely a veggie fry up is a contracdiction in terms? Ask 100 people what consitutes a fry up and I'm sure 95% will identify bacon and sausages as the key ingredients plus a fried egg (never sure where eggs sit on veggies scale of good / bad) all of which are of animal origin.

mockney piers Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > That's called sod's law. Apparently an academic > study worked out that you really do wait for half > an hour then three come along all at once. The theory is: a. Three buses leave bus station at 10 minute intervals. b. Time 05: Bus 1 stops at first stop and spends 5 mins loading passengers. c. Time 10: Bus 1 leaves first bus stop. Bus 2 departs station and is now 5 mins behind. d. Time 15: Bus 1 stops at second stop - again spends time loading passengers. Bus 2 arrives at first stop but has fewer passengers to pick up so leaves after 3 mins. etc etc etc. Gradually the gap between the three buses decreases from 10 minutes to 0 minutes. Can send anyone who likes maths puzzles an illustrative spreadsheet and graph by PM. PS: I haven't tried to prove it by maths but, apart from the exercise gained there's no point in walking ahead to the next stop. The bus may get to the next stop fractionally earlier (becaue it didn't have to wait for you to board at the previous stop) but it will leave the next stop at the same time beacuse it has now had to wait for you to board. Lazy sods will sit it out and wait - it makes more sense plus, of course, there's always the possibility that you'll be overtaken between stops if you walk on.

macroban Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Nothing wrong with spam fritters. > > They were a real treat when they came up for > school dinners. I agree - in my day in the Navy circular spam fritters were known as Elephant's Footprints. Tinned tomatoes on toast = Train Smash, tinned Steak & Kidney puddings = Babies Head's. Fried bread, bacon, eggs, sausages, black pudding & beans = full house. Black pudding on it's own was not politically correct but flavoursome.

SeanMacGabhann Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > * cough * Co Cork black pudding is, I would humbly > suggest, the equal of, if not better than Northern > black pudding > > Available in East Dulwich too Tell me where and I'll carry out a taste test.

It is something that the North does better than London or East Dulwich. A good black pudding is a joy to behold and heaven to eat.

I support the application too. A good neighbourhood restaurant it deserves to succeed and this will help.

AndrewP Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Tandoori Nights on Saturday, without any unwanted > smoke from others, was heaven. The vindaloo was > rather good too! I have to say that the smoking > ban was one of TB's few successful policies. > > Generally I think it is a bit too early to gauge > the main impact of the ban. At present the > relatively warm weather means smokers congregate > outside pubs and someone you have to wade through > the clouds to get into a pub. But come November, > when its dark, raining and cold in the evenings, I > guess the smokers will have to either drink > without a puff, or stay at home. One of TB's policy successes!!! There's an indictment of 10 years of Labour government. The ban was based on dodgy evidence, popularism and an instinctive desire to introduce unnecessary legislation. To that extent it does reflect the last ten years of government. The ban has placed me in a quandary - as an instinctive libertarian I deplore the legislation - as a life long non smoker I do enjoy the smoke free atmosphere in pubs and restaurants. To follow the thread I have noticed that pub frontages and outside restuarants are very crowded with smokers - walking down Streatham High Street last week after a visit to see Harry Potter Mk 4 (too long, too dull for anyone, like me, over 50) was rather like spending time in an unreformed fag & booze bar. I experienced more secondary smoke in 100 yards than ever I have in local pubs pre ban. The weather will, as AndrewP suggests be the decider.

I saw the same sight when sipping a beer outside the Bishop this ecvening. Rather like the contact with old ED.

Ko Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > macroban Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > If West Dulwich is SE21 West of the railway > line > > it's the sort of place you drive through and > don't > > bother to stop. > > No offence intended! I just meant that its seems > most incomers are in the younger bracket (all my > new neighbours over the last few years seem > young), although there are all ages in terms of > people who have lived in ED all their lives. > > Before a lot of people would automatically look at > the village as the best place to live, but now the > facilities in ED are very good and ED is > attracting people who want everything on their > doorstep. > > ED wouldn't be as good if we didn't have older > people as well! Now I'll say something really > contentious - ED also wouldn't be the same without > all the babies in their bugaboos (is that what > that pram is called?)! :)) We're incomers. two 50+'s, two teenage sons and a father in law in his 80's - so we blow the stats a bit. Bugaboos are OK - tho' they look complicated. The mix here seems right to me, enough youngsters to challenge an older crowd and encourage proper attitude to change, enough with full experience of life to add sage advice, enough entreprenuers to encourage growth. The good food and good bars keep me happy and the bugaboos don't get in my way. ED rules OK!

We've always found Barcelona OK - tho' a tad pricey. Their chorizo in wine is almost as good as in Granada. There is a Tapas bar in HOnor Oak "Tapas try" - haven't tried it but usually fairly well frequented. A proper tapas bar - ie emphasis on good fino and other wines with tapas as an accompaniment might do very well. To an extent Greeen & Blue do this but with a fairly limited selection of snacks - salted almonds. anchovies, olives and meats.

bignumber5 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > MM - We got Audrey & Clark from a shelter where > they'd been handed in by previous owners who got > divorced. They were living in a box a foot or 2 in > each direction. During the hours of daylight they > are now free to go wherever they want, which > doesn't usually involve leaving a > one-block-radius, and normally spend most of the > days when I'm off sitting on the window ledge of > my study. We are a bit possessive about keeping > them in at night because the foxes round here are > massive and bold as brass and our cats are tiny > but think they're invincible - a recipe for their > messy death (cats, not foxes...) > > I am also verging on being a puritan carnivore. I > think these 2 lifestyle choices are ok to combine. > > > We do realise that having pets is a fundementally > selfish act because it's about how nice it is for > the owner to have the pet, but ours don't appear > to be too tortured. > > Anyway, this thread was first a missing report, > then a thank you. Sorry it's caused a stir. Not a stir - I just like to tease vegans! Probaly counts as a blood sport.

SeanMacGabhann Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > just an FYI - IMHO & IMO isn't limited to this > forum - it's pretty much standard on most internet > forums (for good or bad) > > oh - FYI - For Your Information > > edited after looking up a full list of acronyms: Thanks - I'm just just an old B***** learning the ropes. TTFN! > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imho#I