Alex K

Viewed, commented, Version A selected, done.

An extraordinary thread. The self-possession of the OP both inspires and alarms me.

Isn't he a grand fierce beast! Lovely picture.

"A youngster eating that bizarre looking creation must have the constitution of a cockroach" -- Louisa, please accept this chit against our first pint together. My round.

Pizza as "cheese on toast". Wonderful. Working as a waiter, I used to roll my eyes at my mates - as they did with me - when the punters ordered "fettucine Alfredo". Another mac-'n'-cheese at ten quid the plate.

Ah, Louisa. When you're young you, and your gastrointestinal tract, are INVINCIBLE. Not to mention immortal. Cheeseburger-stuffed crust with extra bacon AND cheese? Anchovies! Pepperoni! Fried eggs! Bring 'em on.

More about burger vans, please. Will gladly re-arrange my Saturday to stop by, for example, a Meatwagon franchise in the car-park now clogged by the Romanian car-wash queue.

Surely to require henceforward that car parks or parking pads replacing front gardens shall be block-on-sand (rainwater!) rather than concrete / tarmac would be salutary. Forty years ago Pittsburgh asphalted over the brick pavements in many service alleys. Nowadays, when the asphalt breaks, exposing the bricks, it no longer is re-poured. Money saved, traffic slowed **bump bumpity bump**, rainwater no longer shunted into sewers. Do our tarmacked streets have brick or block pavements beneath? Were this exposed, could the resultant jolting assist our sleeping policemen?

Stories like that told by hat282 sadden me. I work at King's; I work in a laboratory, generating test results and sending them out. As soon as I know the result of a test I e-mail those results to the consultant who commissioned the test, and if the paper trail provides me with an e-mail address for a GP involved in the care of the patient in question, I put him or her in copy. For that information to gather dust... well, it's not the laboratory's doing. But I apologise for us all, as truly I am sorry that this should be going on.

Shock horror -- St Francis estate, the little brick-and-papier-mache settlement at the DHFC grounds: A two-up, two-down mid-terrace at ?585K. Yes, the agent is Foxton's. But! As a buy-to-let, 6% gross return, that would be an ask of ?3K / month. What a fever-dream house prices have become.

So far as I can tell, JB didn't ask that he be placed THREATENINGLY in copy of e-mails; only that he be placed in copy. Blind copy, no threat. Forwarded, no threat. I don't think that JB has been disingenuous. But then again, I'm disposed to think favourably of him. He sorted out the lights display at the entrance to East Dulwich railway station, and that display, newly repaired and colourised, has rejoiced me over and over again.

Reading this thread has made me very happy. Incredulous, and happy.

And this morning the landline rang at 0530 to summon me to work, a few hours before usual!, but emergency!, so... yes, telephone service seems to have been restored. A mixed blessing.

Penguin68 / brava - bravo. Not understanding the problems involved contributes to impatience.

As of yesterday evening, possible to ring out -- and, as one can infer, to use the Internet -- but not to take calls. Those ringing in are told that our line is engaged or is disconnected. TalkTalk claim that some kit managed by BT, elsewhere, has gone off. From the St Francis estate, then: Anyone similarly affected in the EDF area? Or are TalkTalk trying to sell us a pup? Thanks.

Till now only cats and foxes have used our compost bins to wall-jump. Overnight, however, someone attempted to relieve us of a chained / locked bicycle -- moving a water-bucket next the compost bin to make her / his climb back over the fence a bit easier. The bike proved too cumbersome -- was left lying some distance from its usual spot -- Too early to ask neighbours if anyone else whose house backs on the ginnel is missing something.

A recent visit to the (fondly known as "The Itch") Peckhamplex, enough time before the film for a pint. And the boozer across the street has been downgraded into a PaddyPower! Had to jog-trot all the way down the Rye to the high road and even then the choice was limited to one Wotherspoon's. Sad times.

Only here for thirteen years -- but every year gets better...

An anecdote -- late 2007, house prices plummeting, and gloom / despair all about. We pondered. "The only way out for our government is to debase the currency and to break all pension promises," we decided. So we took everything we had and bought -- a rental property. Currency debasement and pension-plan gutting are moving forward. We guessed right. But will that rental property hold its value, be the pension that we otherwise won't collect? We'll see if in the rental property we have our arms around a life-preserver or a millstone. But yes, Mr Ben. It takes gumption to buy against a market. However, we weren't motivated to buy by gumption, but instead by panic.

To my regret, a search by "owl" doesn't identify a post here some years ago -- a foundling owl, huddled in a cardboard box, was shown -- but yes, they are here.

Ha! Yes, young black fellow rang a half-hour past; to me, quite polite and well-spoken; I apologised for not being able to purchase / contribute and he said, Oh, that's all right, good night then -- must check in the morning to see if the car's been keyed

Ask at the shop, KK, and share what you learn!

SJ, thank you! I'm still puzzled by the TO LET sign -- have Morrisons withdrawn?

Apologies in advance if a duplication: Have searched "garden centre" and not seen this addressed -- the once-upon-a-time garden centre at East Dulwich station is now a property "to let" rather than a property "to knock down and re-develop". If this has been mentioned before, please point me to the thread; if it hasn't, well? what's going on?

Serena, thanks for your post -- I should have missed the article otherwise.