dulwichbloke

I have been a member of the RSPCA for years (I don't speak for them - I just support them as I abhor any sort of cruelty to animals) but I have to say that I don't think leaving your dog outside for however long it takes to have a coffee and a cake constitutes cruelty - even if it is raining and/or cold. Any dog I have ever had has loved diving into freezing cold rivers and running about wet in the winter months! They don't feel the cold like we do. I think its a bit daft to suggest that leaving a dog outside for a short time in the rain is cruel. The fact that the dog was even out having a walk in the first place is a good sign that it gets proper attention! Obviously the risk of theft is another matter entirely, but that wasn't what the original observation was directed towards. Dogs are dogs - they love the outdoors, getting wet and sticking their noses up peoples arses. I can't imagine they were suffering because of 2 out of 3 of some of their favourite things.

Yawn!

OK, so a few individuals resent 'chains' - so what? A chain of shops/coffee houses is nothing more than a single shop which has progressed, having become succesful and grown in size isn't it? Chains of shops don't just suddenly appear from nothing. M&S started as one store, so did Woolworths, so did the Body Shope etc etc. The majority of single owner run units become 2 units, then more (e.g Green and Blue to name only one example) given half a chance. They are, after all (usually ambitious and brave) people running businesses and trying to make a living and they naturally want to expand if their business is doing well - it's hardly unnatural or a crime! Eventually, if they do really well, they become a 'chain' of stores (because they provide goods that people want at a price they will/can afford to pay). Sorry, that's the real adult world. If you don't like it, there's not much you can do about it - except moan, I suppose, but what's the point in that? Why not moan about something about which you can make a difference? I think in reality the comments I read on this site are more to do with inverse snobbery. I have read posts from people bitching about chains and how LL should stay the same, yet in the next sentence praising Iceland for being a shop for 'real' people. Is Iceland not a large chain owned by a multi millionaire businessman (and other shareholders)? Because it is cheaper to shop there, it appears to be more acceptable to a few. Fair enough, if your complaint is that certain shops are too expensive (although surely there's room for a range of shops catering to a range of pockets?), but lumping your objections all together as being against 'chains' is intellectually dishonest - it's not chains you are against - its retail units selling at prices you think are too high. As for Cafe Nero, although I've only been in there about 3 times I'd be sorry to see it close, merely on the grounds that there would be an empty unit which would probably stay empty for quite a while. Also (a few) local people would lose their jobs and generally it wouldn't be good for the local economy. Frankly, the crime of selling a few toasted whatevers and muffins without getting permission is hardly the sort of thing that warrants such excitement. Its hardly as if the Council and its rules and regulations are always working to our benefit as a community is it?! I would have thought that a significant fine would be proportionate. End of rant.

She clearly (and cynically) chooses to wake people up at 5 or 6am precisely because she hopes they will be too tired to think straight. A bucket of water is due to her.

Thanks for the advice Nero, but that is pretty much what I did (I was ridiculously polite to her) and I regretted it... it wasn't "simple" as you suggest - I had been woken at 5am after 3 hours sleep and had to work later in the morning, so I was completely f*cked off. The reference to raging was to me raging as I lay in bed unable to get back to sleep - thanks to the inconsiderate lowlife having woken me up with her fraudulent scam.

She did us at 5am about 6 months ago! I was so tired and confused so early in the morning (having been woken up) that I didn't get up the nouse to punch her hard in the mush! It took me 15 mins of raging (because I couldn't get back to sleep) before I decided that I should have done that. Obviousy, in reality I would never have done such a thing, but I wished I had called the Police or at least given her some verbal abuse. To top it all, she started off by saying (she claimed to be locked out from a flat across the road) that she had waited before ringing the bell, until a reasonable time to allow people to be up and out of bed! Like she was doing me a favour. Bloody cheek! At least she didn't get any money from me, although she kindly volunteered to accompany me to a cashpoint!! Nice. If she miscalculates and comes around again, I shall not be so hopelessly polite to her.

Who can say whether G&B have offered compensation? They may have refused to. Also, access is not so simple when it entails drilling/digging up the floor of your shop (then re-laying it) with all the screening off or removal of stock/displays against the unbelievable dust that would create. Then there's the issue of agreeing on the quantum of lost profit and closure of the shop. The law does indeed provide certain recourse to someone in G&B's position (depending on the facts of course) but it appears that G&B have not commenced proceedings, which suggests to me that they may not have the mreits on their side. Then again, it could be for other reasons, however, given the apparently dire consequences of not getting the matter sorted out, such reticence may not be due to financial reasons. But then again, who knows. I must say, if someone had stuck an eccentric rant (invoking the power of the Almighty) on a public blog about me, I probably wouldn't take too kindly to it and it would be unlikely to make me more disposed to putting myself out to help them. I have seen so many disputes of this sort go public and involve other neighbours/bystanders and such an approach is almost always counter-productive. I certainly have never seen it improve matters. I have only had one experience of the owner of G&B and that was not good - she spent the whole time huffing and tutting while bashing on her laptop (composing her latest blog entry no doubt) while she sat next to us at the back of the restaurant. She seemed to be very up-tight about something and was not at all welcoming. However, the food and service were good so we gave the place another go. The next time there was no huffing/tutting owner and the food and service remained good so we will return (assuming it is still open that is!). I hope they get this problem sorted out.

Bob - I thought you might pipe up again. I agree with your observations. I have seen probably 20-30 full-on neighbour disputes over the years and often my view on them changes as I learn all (or more) of the relevant facts. Expert surveyors often disagree on matters such as the cause of pipe defects/blockages, even during court proceedings - pre-action, the respective party's builders/plumbers are even more likely to disagree. Sometimes they even have vested interests themselves. Perhaps a formal mediation may assist G&B and Celestial to reach agreement and to get the matter sorted out quickly?

Bob - that was plumbing new depths! Good spot though! I wish I could claim to have intended the humour, but my jaded mindset at lunchtime on a Friday (which hopefully will extend to 3pm) just wasn't up to it.

That's not enough information for me to be jumping to conclusions about boycotting someones business! I know from a lot of personal experience that hearing one person's side of a dispute can often not be reflective of the true position (of course, it might be in this case - I have no idea - which is my point really). If G&B have insurance, hopefully they will be covered for at least some of the works required. As for access, after all these months and communicating through lawyers, I assume that the legal position has been considered and advice given as part of that process. Although I don't think anyone should rush into unnecessary litigation, if the legal merits are on the side of G&B they could have applied for an injunction or some other order facilitating access, yet they don't appear to have done so. Perhaps the rights and wrongs of the dispute are not so clear. I hope they can sort out their situation though - neighbour disputes can be draining and costly and clearly G&B's business depends upon it. I have only eaten there twice, but I enjoyed it a lot and certainly plan to go back. I wish them well, but won't be boycotting anybody just yet on the basis of what I have read. Nor, I'm afraid, will I be attempting to invoke any assistance from a higher power. The best higher power to deal with this would, eventually, be a Judge - but hopefully it can be sorted without such delay and expense.

No worries. Hope your move goes smoothly. If you have any other queries just let me know. I may not know the right answer, but I'm seldom short of an opinion!

I have lived in The Gardens for a few years and I love it. It beats any place I have lived before. It is extremely quiet (almost like being out of London) and very pretty. The square is deserted during this time of year, but in the summer months it can be reasonably busy when sunny (usually sunbathers and picnicers), although certainly not packed. The Clockhouse is quite a good pub, although not everyone on this site agrees - mostly because the food has gone downhill (I agree that it did, although I haven't eaten there for a few months now). Its nice to sit outside when the weather is good. The Rye Hotel is another good local with excellent food and a huge garden. It's good to be near such an excellent park as well. The Common (the bit you see from the road) is the dull part - if you walk inside the large brick walls and visit the park, you will be amazed at how pretty and well landscaped it all is (several million quid of EU grant money was recently spent restoring the park to something like its original Victorian state). It is much prettier and interesting than the park in Dulwich Village. It also feels safe, but is not too busy. There's also a new cafe just opened up there which has good cakes. You should get a key to the garden on payment of a licence fee (I think it is still ?100 p.a.) and for that the lawn and the plants are very regularly tended. When the odd anti social person leaves barbeque remnants in the garden, it seems to be cleaned up within no time at all - I assume by the groundskeeper. Sometimes there is some noise in the evening if there's a barbeque in the garden, but we have found that it is not very often and not particularly audible because of the large trees around the square which seem to block out most of the noise. The Tilt Estate Co. used to own many of the properties on the square (they are all divided into flats), but about a month ago they sold up to someone, so it remains to be seen what difference if any that makes. There has been a rolling programme of refurbs of Tilt properties (still as flats) and I would guess that may continue, or quicken, because the properties must be pretty valuable in a refurbed state (subject to secure tenancies etc.). A house on the Peckham Rye side of the square is presently on the market for ?1.5 million. Unfortunately, a few of the Tilt properties have had their original features (the square was built in about 1875) wrecked by some poor post-war building extensions, but all in all it's not too bad. Oh, and if you feel like shite, there's a good doctors' surgery at the entrance to The Gardens! I hope you enjoy living in The Gardens as much as we do. Welcome!

Snorky - **This is not an instruction - merely an observation - snorky does not condone or solict criminal activities** Maybe not, but Abu Hamza ran this same line as his defence and he won't be released for another year or so!! (I hasten to add that I'm not comparing you to that loser!)

I don't think the latest thread makes you appear obsessed... I got that impression already from the question on your original thread that suggested traffic wardens should be ticketed for stopping their scooters on yellow lines while they ticketed cars which were illegally parked! That said, I sympathise with you. There's nothing more annoying than feeling fleeced on a parking ticket/tow away. Last time it happended to me I became obsessed as well!

Dominic and his sister are the beneficiaries of the trust (I think). I understand two properties in The Gardens were named after them by their grandmother (one is called Dominic House or Dominic Court). They are slowly but surely renovating the houses owned by the Trust in the square. All but a handful of the houses are divided into flats and owned by Tilt Estates (the Trust). The Gardens are very quiet and pretty. Residents of the houses/flats have keys to the garden square. There are sometimes barbeques and parties during good weather in the square, but there are many trees/bushes with thick foliage which keeps the noise down to a minimum (or at least it does on the side I live on). The best kept local secret is the superb park in Peckham Rye - it is like stepping out of London. It feels safe and is very well kept and very pretty. Well worth a visit.

Was this anywhere near the small park by Sainsburys on DKH (by the football club)? There was an exceedingly suspicious looking man wandering around there by the children's playground at about 4.30 on Tuesday.