Alex K

"Winterval"! We likes it. Visiting in the USA I encountered "Sparkle Season". Oh, dear.

I like PeckhamRose's story about her grandfather and his heritage at the Ritz.

@Nero: That language can't be correct. As any fule no, an egress is a female eger -- and egri are never seen on buses.

Which governmental body monitors shops for sales of alcohol / tobacco to the underaged? Does Southwark have a "teenage secret shopper" programme -- double meaning of "shopper" acknowledged -- to find out if customer ages are being verified before restricted items are sold?

It's slowly taking shape: B. Jones and J. Barber never seen in each other's company (cf. C. Kent, S. Uperman / B. Wayne, B. Atman, et al.). I have long suspected that there couldn't possibly be TWO such communicative and helpful people on the Forum -- one poster, two identities -- -- well, it's a hypothesis. Go on, disprove it. *** That second indicator panel for the uphill entrance would be sweet. Yes, please. When the garden centre is knocked down for the inevitable block of new flats, perhaps some space could be claimed to permit moving the bicycle lockers off the footpath, and / or a public lavatory erected. (Rather an eyesore, those lockers, eh? Not the happiest of "street furniture".) The plot of land now occupied by the garden centre falls within your remit, I think.

Awright! Is the bloke with the name-tag by chance B Jones, Esq.?

Yes, I would -- it's no distance at all from our place on the St Francis estate, and I would find it useful.

@Emily: You sound frustrated, and (no doubt unintentionally) a bit shrill. How long have you been waiting to hear from JB? I wondered why JB took a while -- two or three days -- to respond to an e-mail of enquiry from me. It turned out that in my case, at least, he was doing some research before answering. His acknowledgement of my e-mail and his answer / response to my e-mail were one and the same. My take on JB is that he indeed does have every intention of answering messages -- as soon as he has an answer to give.

Got mine as well to day. Yep, "Whoever lives here, not that we care".

@CeliaSmith: Your guess is right, at least for me. I don't know what the council are like as a landlord. It sounds as if I'm lucky not to know. Benjaminty, is your dissatisfaction with council services that of a leaseholder or that of a freeholder? I can't remember how they, in your eyes, failed you; but CeliaSmith's query might be relevant.

**embarrassment** I should have known more about your manifesto! Thank you, James. But as so often, an answer engenders another question. Is any movement afoot in East Dulwich to organise such a "parish council"? Or, rather "parish councils"? I indeed DO pay attention to what lands in my letterbox, and I haven't received, to my recollection, any solicitation to take part in meetings at which such councils might take shape. Tell me what I've missed, please.

James, thank you. No room for local experimentation, "community as laboratory"... I overstate: Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland at least have some leeway; health-care items are subject to the postcode lottery. Let me ask a different question, or pair of questions: Which of the responsibilities / duties that you now hold / fulfil at borough level could be devolved locally under "Parish Council" enabling legislation passed several years ago? Which of them would you LIKE to devolve?

Let me contribute a few more. The "one-stop shop" in the Walworth Road handled my council-tax payments month by month efficiently and in a friendly manner. (This was before I nad the nous to set up a direct debit. **shame**) Council-tax refunds, when I've overpaid (don't ask), have been smoothly and quickly handled. Rubbish and recycling are handled, for me, in a manner that leaves nothing to be wished. Although to do so must elicit much eye-rolling, council workers regularly clear away the fly-tipped rubbish that winds up at Dulwich Hamlet. The Grove Vale library personnel are lovely. *** I dunno, Benjaminty. When I ring them they pick up; when I ask for help they follow through (civil partnership, working toward civil partner's citizenship ceremony); and it's not Tower Hamlets. I'm not unhappy.

Looking forward to it -- thank you!

The bedded flowers in the carriageway divider on Dog Kennel Hill are beautiful nine months out of the year, and I'm grateful to Southwark Council every time I see them.

All passenger, eh? Then a bit of trainspotting is in order: Any visible differences between screeching and non-screeching rolling stock? It seems that the rails aren't the problem, since when certain trains pass no noise is made... Might the noise really depend not on stock type, but on individual undercarriages, requiring that Network Rail address the matter waggon by waggon, tracking back from your data on time of day and noise / no noise, and re-jiggering individual wheels?

Heavenly days... Friction between wheel and rail, and hence screeching, will differ depending on the train WEIGHT. A goods train? A passenger train? To differentiate between laden and empty goods trains, mind you, a note of time of transit might be necessary. Go armed into battle! When complaining, cite dates, times, and TYPES OF TRAIN ! ! !

@david_carnell: Around $350 / year to the county for services (street cleaning, lighting, rubbish collection once the week, fire / police / paramedics), around $1750 / year to the city for schools / libraries. Yep, the city levied a fee to support the educational system. Different scheme altogether, eh?

I'd like that too! But humans (or this particular humans, and many of his acquaintance) need ... encouragement to behave at their best. Dog mess, litter, you name it. We all fall short of what ought to be. An ordinance (Don't litter; take away your dog's droppings; shovel your walk) acknowledges that need for encouragement.

Shovelled! Thank you, Annette!

James, below are the first steps (stitches?) in what might become a longer thread -- FUNDING CUTS, "BIG SOCIETY", AND SHOVELLING WALKS. I originally mis-posted it to the Forum in general, whence it disappeared into the Lounge. Narnia and Annette Curtain wrote -- SEND IT DIRECTLY TO JAMES! So here it is. Posted by: Alex K Today, 11:50AM When living in the States (Philadelphia) we were required by ordinance, within 24 hours of the end of a snowfall, to have the walks in front of our house cleared a yard wide and gritted. Officers patrolled and fines were issued for non-compliance. Every householder / renter, every custodian (in apartment buildings), had a snowshovel and a grit bucket -- or an arrangement with a teenager two doors away, a neighbour, or the like, who would do the shovelling. Our renters' insurance included liability for slips and falls on "our" walks. And there was much more snow in Philadelphia than in East Dulwich! Might not such an ordinance, brought into effect in Southwark (or at least in SE22), perhaps coupled with a warning to check the terms under which one is insured, save money for the Borough and spare some other service from funding cuts? Could it be brought into effect in time for the 2011-2012 snow season? I'd rather shovel my own walks than lose two days' service in the week at the Grove Vale library branch, for example... Posted by: Narnia Today, 05:25PM As excellent an idea as this might be, I don't think it is fair to expect Mr Barber to pick up on a particular thread amongst many threads, when he has his own thread for specific questions for him. Posted by: Annette Curtain Today, 06:13PM Why doesn't someone "shovel" this thread over to Ol' J.B.?

When living in the States (Philadelphia) we were required by ordinance, within 24 hours of the end of a snowfall, to have the walks in front of our house cleared a yard wide and gritted. Officers patrolled and fines were issued for non-compliance. Every householder / renter, every custodian (in apartment buildings), had a snowshovel and a grit bucket -- or an arrangement with a teenager two doors away, a neighbour, or the like, who would do the shovelling. Our renters' insurance included liability for slips and falls on "our" walks. Might not such an ordinance, brought into effect in Southwark (or at least in SE22), perhaps coupled with a warning to check the terms under which one is insured, save money for the Borough and spare some other service from funding cuts? Could it be brought into effect in time for the 2011-2012 snow season? I'd rather shovel my own walks than lose two days' service at the Grove Vale library branch, for example... Mr Barber, your thoughts?

Thank you for posting this. In what units, please, is one to understand the numbers on the contour lines?

The next road over in the St Francis estate had a three-bedroom (well, yes, the third is admittedly bijou) end-of-terrace sell for ?330K, recorded as of 28 November. No idea of its condition inside; its garden is heavily shadowed by the plane trees along the road between the Hamlet grounds and the estate boundary; noise and night-lights might be a problem. (Not to mention gunplay at Sainsbo's.) But it's nearer and cheaper than Honor Oak. And I reckon there will be others, are others, in that price range in that estate.

Curiouser and curiouser -- It's cancelled, according to the council. It's open for discussion, according to neighbourette LadyMuck. I want so badly to believe the council but but but but... Out of the country Saturday I am, it appears. Give 'em hell, your ladyship.