Medley

To the OP: I do Forest Hill Road to Regent's Park, so very similar. Definitely get the TfL maps. My route: side of P R Park to Peckham, then the canal. Peel off to join the road over it and then into Burgess Park. Most of the way westwards through B Park, peeling off to join up with Portland St. Up Portland St. then right into cycle lane. Left onto road before going right into another cycle lane. Left onto cycle lane on pavement up side of A2. Across at lights and follow cycle route around side of - but not across! - E&C roundabout. Right from cycle route onto Waterloo Road. Up there, Waterloo roundabout, W Bridge. Straightover at top of W Bridge on cycle lane and up through side of Cov G. Left after Long Acre and then first right and then admittedly sneaky illegal right and then immediate left, second right under Centre Point and you're at TCR!

I'd much rather have another decent local restaurant, esp. as I love the chips from Dolphin. Si M is nowt special, does its job OK. Although I do like the tiramisu. Omrith plunged downhill between first and second visits - first was fine, second was like an experimental cookery course entitled 'put many kilos of cornflour in absolutely everything' had been going on. Never again.

I'm watching with interest. They've spent ages not doing much to Anatolia, which has been shut for more than 2 years now. They've dumped a load of stuff in the front yard and I see there's a council notice about the works pinned to a lamp-post. Old off licence indeed, although to that you can also add the old stationers and the old Chinese takeaway. Think mini-foodie might be stretching it though! Was disappointed with Cafe 2050 the other day, which is a shame as I normally love it.

No, as the 363 goes to C Palace and the 63 terminates at Honor Oak, by the Forest Hill Tavern

I still think the big problem is the turnaround of buses. Surely a new one would have to be built? Otherwise what are the double deckers meant to do once they get to HOP? I'm in favour in principle, though; it would suit me.

I'd encourage use of www.fillthathole.org.uk - I've found councils/TfL do sometimes respond to this. I wish someone would take the bus-only section Rye Lane in hand - it's atrocious now, and of course even worse after the cold weather.

It's just so ridiculous. I know there are a lot of other leaks in the borough and blah blah blah, but - they've had a month - the lights were up, gratuitously, when nothing was happening - even when they did start digging, they didn't need the lights until part way through that phase - now they are digging, it's achingly slow. Meanwhile we all have to put up with it.

FHR is OK, traffic's pretty light and I don't think any of it's particularly icy. Seen a few front wheels spinning but I think if you're sensible (low revs, high gears etc) you'll be fine.

Living just off FHR and it's a whiteover on the side roads, although not too icy there at the mo. Haven't yet seen a 63 or 363 so presume they're no longer making it this far. TfL says they're running normally of course! Just seen one 363 teetering down northbound to E&C, pretty full; wonder how long it's taken to get here. Two P12s have just come through, so presumably they're taking their bats home. H.O.Park is looking rather up the spout according to the live departures board, which I find terminally optimistic anyway.

Matthew, given the thaw's happening, when shall we form the G Green working party?!

Well JB you obviously know more about this than me. But I thought the idea was to penalise for over-running works and to get greater co-ordination of works, both of which sound like good ideas on the face of it. How would the new powers incentivise a gas company not to fix leaks? The same question about the water you mention. As Lewisham is one of the boroughs, perhaps there'll be some comparisons to be had.

Are the council on one of those crazy spend it this year or lose it next drives? As for the pvt cos digging the road up, I read with interest that Boris is trying to curb their powers and give tfl a more co-ordinating role. Sounds good in theory.

So Britain's slowness is partly because of our planning regs, partly because of our crowdedness, partly our higher property values but also seemingly because we don't pay people enough to get out of the train line's way. Good thing we're spending five times BR's subsidy in REAL TERMS on the railway today eh! And then there's that lovely jubbly PPP on the Tube. Still, on the upside, Spain's broke. But with great trains. My dad can't stop wittering on about the AVE.

True, but if there was the demand for it that's not an issue. In fact, it's a need. But maybe there isn't the demand.

And surely there are far fewer issues with competition for land, temperature variation etc? Or are we just useless in London (quite prepared to believe it). Just to drift off into dreamland for a second, extending the DLR to Catford and extending the Bakerloo through Peckham Rye would change the landscape pretty radically.

> there is scope for a route that could start from Peckham using single deckers that runs alongside the 63 route, then the P12 > to Brockley Rise so that passengers can use the new ELL service from HOP. Bic, that sounds like sense to me. I can't see them ever extending the 63 to HOP, although I'd love it if they did - there's no turnaround, as there is on F H Road. But your idea of a plug the gap one sounds like sense. Presumably it could then run on to Lewisham (DLR etc) or somewhere else useful? This idea would avoid the N63 issue altogether.

Tube at ED? Ha ha! Hilarious. I do hope this is a spoof. What we will get is the Overground running from Shoreditch/Wapping/Rotherhithe south through Brockley, HOP, F Hill and then splitting to C P or W Croydon. That's this summer. Then in 2012, as above, phase 2 - which is the Peckham Rye/D Hill bit. Remains to be seen what it's like in practice, but I find it hard to imagine it will make things worse overall, although there'll be fewer trains to L Bridge. As for extending the Victoria or Bakerloo, both have long been dreamed about but always defeated by unwillingness to tackle the south London clay to get through mainly not very rich or densely populated areas. The Northern line extension to Wimbledon in the thirties was dogged with difficulties with the clay. Bakerloo extension from Elephant to Camberwell actually started after the war, but ground to a halt - never to be resumed. P Personally I mourn the Victoria-Moorgate loop which called at Honor Oak (as opposed to Honor Oak Park) and Lordship Lane as well as C P. Sadly that closed in, er, 1954. http://www.abandonedstations.org.uk/Crystal_Palace_line_2.html

Trains from H.O.P. running pretty much as normal. Burst water main on Rye Lane. Side roads sheet ice - get in a high gear and be gentle with the pedal prodding! Cat litter can indeed substitute for salt. Buses making it in a ginger fashion up Forest H Rd.

Nightmare at H. Oak Park. Eventually got on a rammed one after waiting for twenty five mins of farcical automated announcements as trains (some empty!) whipped past. TfL staff (as it's TfL-run now) utterly useless.

To be fair, it is explained on the Oyster website. It is overly complicated. But if you're doing this with any regularity, would it not be cheaper and simpler to have a Travelcard covering more zones?

And even now they've finally stumbled around to digging up a bit of road, you STILL don't need contraflows. It's down to one traffic flow each way. WHY? Mainly I'm a cyclist so I just sail through, but when on the bus it drives me nuts.

One Tree Hill also on a good angle for the main fireworks. But where to go around Greenwich, given the Park seems to close...?

Barry, This echoes many posts on here, but it bears repeating. Well done. It's saddening that someone throwing their all into their job, taking customers seriously, putting themselves in their place, doing all they can to help is all so unusual that it gets such admiration, but it is that unusual and it does deserve that admiration. As a train lover and south Londoner, I salute your attitude, which I would love to think might become more widespread. In my work I often analyse levels of customer service and how well the consumer is or is not looked after. Finding your attitude and aptitude is very rare indeed. Keep it up!

Having just sampled the Gowlett, it's clearly the best* *in my opinion

p.s. yes, a pub thread perhaps. let's switch to moaning about transport. I like doing that.