Pickle

Great news! Hope all other missing cats (including our own) turn up too. Pickle

Thanks Aimee. Here's hoping that they're both just out causing mischief somewhere. Good luck to you too... keep me posted with progress in the search for Oscar. Pippa

Still no sign of him this morning... any info would be appreciated.

Picture of Mika can be found here: View image at HoldThatPic.com http://www.holdthatpic.com/photos/2351/32193.jpg

Hi all, Now it's my turn to post about a missing cat! Our much loved tabby, Mika, hasn't been seen since very early this morning - it's not like him to be away all day, and he's usually eagerly awaiting his dinner at 5pm. He's very dark in colour, a grey/black tabby, with a huge fluffy tail. He doesn't wear a collar, but is microchipped. We live at the Underhill Road end of Upland Road - our garden backs onto Underhill Road gardens, so it would be much appreciated if anyone who reads this could check sheds, garages etc. He's quite timid, won't come to strangers if approached, but we're hoping that he's simply locked in somewhere, so will run home as soon as he can. Many thanks Edited to add: still missing... please keep an eye out!

What's his name? Just in case someone spots him... it's often easier to be able to call out their name see if they respond. Hope he turns up soon - I'm sure he'll just be off on a big adventure and will arrive home completely unaware of the fuss he's caused! Good luck.

No (we put ours out in the morning, as Mr Pickle has "concerns" that people will go rifling through it!), but that does explain the burning smell that we both walked round the house searching for last night at about 1am! Either you live very close to us on Upland, or others near us had theirs set on fire too.

Oh my god, WHY did I read this thread? Spiders are evil. I know, they eat flies, blah blah blah, but I am terrified of them. Not helped by the fact I have a cat who loves to bring them in (alive) to show me on an almost daily basis, then loses interest and lets them run free. Thank god I haven't seen any of those monstrosities in earlier posts, but if I do, rest assured the whole of ED will hear me scream!

Great news, I'm so glad he's home safely... what a handsome man he is too! I'm sure people thought I was strange yesterday when out for my afternoon walk with baby in tow peeking into people's front gardens to see if I could spot your cat!!

Hi Jen, I'm near the intersection with Underhill as well, so will keep an eye out - chances are you'll find him curled up all warm and snug when you get home this evening. Does he generally go out the road side of Upland, or out the back into the gardens? I hope the other tabby you refer to isn't mine?! He's a grey fluffy tabby... roams all over the place, we're yet to discover where he actually spends his days and I hope he's not terrorising your cat! He's only a year old. Anyway, I'll be out for a walk later and will definitely look out for him. Good luck.

I struggle to find fish and chips that I enjoy... I'm a southern hemisphere-ite, and we do it differently over there! However last night we went to Sem's on Underhill Rd (where we've been many times before as it's closest) and I really enjoyed the food. Battered sausage was everything you'd expect and the chips were great - just the right level of crispiness on the outside, nice and soft inside. Off for a run now...

About a year ago we sold with Haart and bought using DVR. Haart were OK (at the time we went with them as they offered the lowest commission) from a sellers perspective - kept things moving, very proactive when it came to getting things finalised once the property had sold - Sandy was excellent at keeping in contact etc. We also used their mortgage broker at the time who was great (unfortunately he's now left, and I'm not sure if they replaced him). When we were looking for a new property we signed up with all of the local agents. Most of them never got in touch again, other than with the occasional "this is perfect, everything you need, only ?100k over your budget with less room than your old house but definitely worth a look" type offerings. Haart were pretty good, but that was because they sold our house and were keen to find something else so they didn't lose their commission! Although saying that, they didn't actually find us anything. The only agent to actually show us what we were looking for, within budget was DVR. By far the best we dealt with, friendly, professional agents who weren't pushy at all. Very smooth process when it came to offering and all the follow up afterwards. Even now when we walk past their office the guy who showed us our house waves and often chats and asks how we're getting on in the house!

I'm pretty sure it's Dunstans, the house opposite Crebor Street.

Oh my god! That makes me so angry! I haven't been into Le Chandelier yet, but certainly when I walk past most days it's full of Mums and babies... would they stand a chance of surviving if they alienate their main clientele? Fair enough having rules about food being bought in from home if they sell a replacement (like the John Lewis cafe... where they give you a free jar of baby food if you're eating there), but certainly custard tarts and chocolate eclairs aren't really suitable options (although I'm sure my 8 month old would love them if I gave him a chance!).

I watched jealously from the middle section of Upland Road :( Sounded like fun!

Reciprocal arrangements are a good idea... although we often go away for 3 weeks at a time and I'd feel bad asking someone to look after our cat for that long without paying them! But I'd be happy to be involved if there are others interested.

We use a cat sitter when we go away - her name is Tina and she charges ?6 a day (which is for 2 visits) which is really reasonable compared to other services I looked at. If you want further info I'd be happy to PM you with her number.

I used to pay silly money for a Cannons membership when I worked in the city, but then I used it almost every day, it had a swimming pool, squash courts etc etc and there were no extra charges for anything. There's no way I'd pay that much for a local membership, and the off-peak membership (which really should appeal to people like me as I'm a stay at home Mum) is ridiculous for the limited hours it can be used! Good luck to them!

We used a company called "Aussie Man & Van" when we moved last year - I can't recommend them highly enough. They turned up on time, worked hard, packed everything in the truck really well, and happily put things in the correct rooms & reassembled furniture at the other end. I spoke to their office a few times before the move and they were very professional to deal with. Also received a follow up call from them a couple of days after the move to make sure everything was OK.

I for one say a big welcome to White Stuff! I'm all for the independent retailers on LL, but it's nice to have something new. Will definitely be popping in for a cup of tea and my 10% discount later this week!

That's horrible, my thoughts to his family and friends. I walk in the park every day (what a fantastic park it is too, a real hidden gem) and love the Japanese Garden. Very sad that someone felt the need to take his own life in such a beautiful setting.

Apparently they were filming "crowd scenes" to show during the rugby?! Not entirely sure what they mean by that, but hey ho, that's what the guy told my friend when she asked!! Some kind of ad I guess. They also filmed down round goose green, and then were off to do filming at a wedding. Bizarre. As an aside, my friend rang and complained, as after they left Goose Green the catering company left loads of bags of rubbish behind which had split and gone everywhere. Would be interested to know if the refuse company came as promised and cleared up the mess?

We are lucky to have such fantastic shops, so I do my best to support them. My particular favourites: AJ Farmers - no matter how bizarre the item, they stock it! Have never been disappointed in my 4.5 years of living in ED. Greetings - really friendly couple run it, good selection of cards. The lady always gets me mixed up with someone she knows, and asks me how my Mother is getting on (my Mum lives in NZ, has certainly never met the lady from Greetings!). Northcross Rd market - all the stalls are fantastic. Many a birthday present has been bought, the cake stall is amazing, love the food stall beside it... all the food is made by the lady who sells it and she's great at telling you exactly what's in it. The fudge stall is my favourite, I think I'm addicted. ED - nice range of stuff, great for last minute presents. Their sale is good, nice clothing at really reasonable prices. Hope & Greenwood - mmmmmmmm I've also used the butchers many times and love the products they sell. I'm still to try Moxons but from passing it looks lovely. The shops are what make ED different to other areas, so I for one hope that they all manage to survive the increasing rents and chain store invasion!

I stumbled across the festival while taking my baby out for his usual 4pm walk... thought it was excellent. I resisted the food but it smelt fantastic, and there seemed to be a really positive feeling about the whole thing. From what I could see there was quite a large police presence, but they appeared to be wandering round happily so I'm gathering it had been a peaceful day.

Grrrr... a group of kids have just stolen our umbrellas from the front door! We're back from the street a little, so they had to walk up our path to take them. I saw them approaching the door and thought they were delivering some kind of junk mail, but then saw them running away - opened the door and realised what they'd done, but of course my cries of "bring those back now" went unheaded. So if anyone sees a group of kids walking round with a pink & purple striped umbrella, and a blue and white large golf umbrella - they're mine! Silly us for leaving them outside I guess :X