Sue

Lynne Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I often passed a sign on a field saying "Free > range sausages". I like to think of them > scampering about in the grass I love that :))

Is it on a loop? That's just barmy.

Thanks James, much appreciated.

malumbu Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I am a fan of the Ivy and have put my money into > the place. > > The Blythe is a better pub, has better and cheaper > beer. Try it. I'd normally do a link to beer in > the evening but see that Tripadvisor rates it just > as high > > https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g1 > 86338-d5122911-Reviews-Blythe_Hill_Tavern-London_E > ngland.html Just out of interest, how does the Blythe have "better and cheaper beer"? Than what? The Dog or The Ivy House? The Dog, I hope you mean!!

Robert Poste's Child Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > 'Please hold on, the bus is about to move.' I get > that safety is important, but this is only helpful > if it happens BEFORE the bus moves. 8 times out of > 10 it's happening afterwards, and it's starting to > grate. Yep, the bus is usually already speeding away when the announcement kicks in. Ridiculous.

Grove Allotments still has quite a short waiting list. I got mine much more quickly than I expected. I also heard five or six years, but it depends on the site. I waited much less than two if memory serves, and then I wished I'd put my name down before. ETA: see the thread in the link above for details. Different allotments have different application methods, but if you Google you should get info. I suggest you put your name on the waiting list for several near you, and see what comes up first

Robert Poste's Child Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Thanks for that, Sue. When I've stopped coughing > enough to get back on the bike I'll give it a try. Get well soon, RPC. I've got some bug as well. Lots of nasty things going around at the moment I think :(

I just say I don't give money to people at the door (or sign up to anything at the door) and that I already regularly support other charities and can't give to all of them. Only once has anybody actually called at the door from a charity I do already support, though! I agree your guy's comment was out of order, Calsug. I do always answer the door, though if it's late I would obviously ask who it was first. The other day it was a couple who had found a BMW key in the street and were trying to find the owner. Sadly it wasn't me :))

You will probably have more luck with recommendations if you post in the Family section of the the forum?

ianr Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I'm reminded of this thread on a similar issue, > but at a different shop: > http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?3 > 0,1822325. From a rather limited sample of two I'm > wondering if there's a common theme; maybe > retailers sometimes finding the contracts less > rewarding and more demanding than they'd > anticipated. Or maybe it's just the kind of > transaction that's more likely to occasionally > disclose stress anyway. But that's no good excuse > for not properly advertising any restrictions > they've felt constrained to apply. Yes, exactly. If there had been a notice, or a notification on the collect plus website, that collection was mornings only, there would have been no issue. I would have taken the parcel down the next day. ETA: I just looked at the other thread, and the shop I referred to in that thread was not V7 but the newsagent further up Lordship Lane, on the same side but beyond M&S. Who were perfectly fine when I went to collect a parcel but did not buy anything in the shop.

Ok you are entitled to your point of view, as so am I and so are others. The other people's experiences had nothing to do with my complaint to Collect Plus, and I did not mention them in my complaint. The complaint was that this shop said that they did not take parcels in the afternoons. If you are going to criticise me, it would be helpful if you got your facts right. I suggested on here that if others had had problems it might be a good time to let Collect Plus know, purely because they were already going to have a look at the situation in this shop. If you look at the thread you will see that one person posting here had already complained to Collect Plus about their own bad experience. And as for taking things at face value, are you suggesting these posters are lying? Why would they? I'm glad you have not had problems, but I and others have.

Did you see the thread about the cemetery, James? Are you able to help at all?

It isn't one experience, is it? It is several people's. The man was rude and unhelpful and said they only took parcels in the morning. How is complaining about that a witch hunt?! ETA: If any business is consistently not providing the service they advertise, then they should not be running that business. ETA: And yes it was worse because of the weight of the parcel - I was practically in tears when I realised he was refusing to take it and I had to carry it home again, as it was an effort to get it there in the first place - but that's not the point. He told me they didn't take parcels in the afternoon, full stop.

If everyone who has had a problem complains to Collect Plus, maybe they will take him off their list. It only takes a moment via Facebook or Twitter (or probably other ways I don't know about!)

Ah, thanks. Fingers crossed!

Robert Poste's Child Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I didn't know that, Sue. Is it the kind of place > you can go and feel comfortable as a lone female? There are very few pubs I feel comfortable going into by myself, and The Ivy House is one of them. On the other hand I am a community shareholder in the pub and run gigs there, so I do know people there, which makes a difference. But it's very friendly, and there are quite often women in there by themselves. Depending on the time of day there are also usually quite a few dogs, and probably children, too. If a fire is a must, you might want to phone them first, because I don't know whether they light them all the time, however there are three rooms (front bar, ballroom and refectory) and the last time I was in there there was a fire in at least two of the rooms and possibly the third, though I didn't notice the third. In terms of friendliness, all I can say is, I came briefly out of our Singaround (which we hold in the ballroom) on Sunday night into the front bar, because somebody was about to sing a song which always upsets me and I didn't want to listen to it, and a table of complete strangers asked me to join them (not in any kind of way that I felt awkward about it). ETA: If you like to hide away, the refectory has some little closed off sections, some quite near the fire. But there are also corners in both the other rooms where you could sit without being too conspicuous. The ballroom (as its name suggests) is larger, but people do sit in there by themselves as well, but it's a bit lonely when the pub is quiet! What I would say about The Ivy House is that it's used by a real cross-section of the community, and I think it has quite a different vibe from the East Dulwich pubs. People are quite likely to smile at you when you come in, for example! And it does have a good range of ales, craft beers, wines etc plus tea, coffee, all the usual stuff - and food, though the food isn't served all day every day. You can check it out here: http://www.ivyhousenunhead.com/

Great minds, I was about to post the same, anyway the link to the thread is http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/list.php?5 and on the face of it, the treatment of grieving people by those running the cemetery has been absolutely appalling.

I wonder if James Barber has seen this thread? I'll copy the link onto his thread on here. ETA: Ah, I saw you had just told him about the thread! Anyway, I've copied the link, though I'm sure he would easily find it.

Pitcher plants? I was thinking of the Venus Fly Traps. Much more Sci Fi :)) But I can't imagine they each eat more than one or two largeish flies a day, so I'd have to have a whole windowsill of them :))

The Ivy House has real fires!

This is terrible. Why would local residents object to looking at memorials, if presumably they knew the cemetery was there? How insensitive, to remove items from graves, and without even any warning or notification, I assume? Appalling.

Definitely not too old. Go for it! Good luck!

Kebab and Stab (do they still have the bouncer on the door into the back room? Haven't been there for years ....)

OMG how awful for all concerned :(

apmuso Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > None of the 40 odd Xmas cards that we sent arrived > before Xmas, having been posted on the 15th and > when I went to the sorting office at the beg of > Jan to complain, I was told that two vans had been > held up - one at gun point, the other at knife > point - on the 16th Dec and all the post was lost. > Don't doubt other posters' bad experiences, but > clearly not all of their making. Mercifully, > neither driver was hurt during the robberies. Crikey, was that in East Dulwich?