Sue

Have an accident with a toe! I recently lost the nail of my big toe. It was weakened because of a fungus, I think, and I accidentally kicked the toe with my other foot. It bled a lot. I was directed from the nurse of my GP practice (who temporarily dressed the toe but said it needed an expert) to the Southwark walk in foot clinic in Bermondsey (the walk in clinics are on different days of the week in different locations, and the toe needed immediate attention). From there, I got a follow up appointment a couple of weeks later at the rather more convenient Tessa Jowell foot clinic. Following the wound check, I was pleased and surprised that I not only got all my toenails cut, but was given the very sharp clippers (the podiatrist having first ascertained that my eyesight was ok). I did ask if she could give me a manicure as well, but sadly the answer was no 🤣 ETA: As you probably know, these clinics won't just cut toenails, there has to be something else wrong. I had no idea toenail cutting was so expensive! I've always just done it myself!

Confused re Roxy - landlady or cinema?! The main bar of the Royal Oak is packed on one day every December for the "Sheffield carols". As is (on another day) that tiny little pub up Richmond Hill, on the left as you go up, whose name escapes me.

The Seven Stars in Holborn. Don't know if the cat still wears a ruff and sits on the bar. The original cat must be long gone. You have to go up extremely steep wooden steps to reach the loo, and upstairs is quite ....weird. https://www.thesevenstars1602.co.uk/ Frequented by lawyers, for obvious reasons given its location, but off the main drag.

They are very much in control of my very small garden. They have dug four massive deep holes, and every time I fill one in they just dig it again. Chilli powder does not seem to have deterred them (it just stained a dress I was rather fond of), nor have prickly rose branches. I'm trying Scoot next. I like foxes, but this is bonkers.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3v37plv2edo Interesting article about Denmark stopping letter deliveries.

Does anybody have a very large corkboard or pinboard in reasonable condition?

Ah, OK. He sounds like a right bastard, then.

Was it flying over, or actually in the park? I usually see them perched on things in the middle of the Thames! I rarely hear blackbirds these days. There used to be one who sang every evening from the top of a tall tree in a garden a few houses down from mine. It was really lovely to hear it. Then the tree was cut down 😭

Post deleted due to a misunderstanding. DUH. Indeed. No evidence has been produced on either side. I sometimes drive up Sydenham Hill when there is no traffic in either direction. I don't take that to mean that no vehicles ever use it, apart from me, and so there shouldn't be a road there at all! I often don't see pedestrians, either. So according to some people's logic, there shouldn't be a pavement. In any case, I'm not sure the actual numbers matter. Forgive me if I'm wrong, as I haven't been following the discussion closely, but wasn't the cycle lane supposed to be for safety reasons?

But if they had a no under 18s policy, that was fair enough, surely? You can't have a rule then start making exceptions? Even if it's below zero outside? I imagine that was before the pubs round here became child friendly, after which you couldn't have a quiet pint without hordes of screaming kids rushing around you.

Crikey! I've occasionally seen cormorants on the Thames, but never in a park. Lucky you!

❤️❤️❤️ They are my favourite birds! I had never seen any round here before, then I suddenly spotted some in a tree across the road when I was walking down East Dulwich Grove. I got talking to a passer by as I was gawking at them, and she said they were often around there. I think she said that a man in a nearby flat fed them, but I may have misremembered that. A cat with a bell comes and sits very still next to my bird feeders. Once he is there, you can't hear the bell. I don't know whether the birds can still sense that he is there, as I chase him away whenever I see him. I get loads of other cats without bells, who also sit very still waiting for birds 😢 I do like cats, but there is definitely an issue with them and birds. But it's nature, I suppose. The only bird I've definitely seen killed in my garden was a starling, carried off howling piteously by a bird of prey. I've never seen a starling in the garden since. I used to get loads, years ago.

What is a "culture warrior"? What "facts" are you referring to, and why the inverted commas? Yes, the "garden" is big (I can use inverted commas too!) Yes, it has seats. Are you a fan of AstroTurf and artificial plants? How would you define a "garden"?

Well, nobody else has yet said that it ISN'T the alarm outside the dentist! Nobody else has said "oh yes, I heard that beeping when I passed the dentist, but that wasn't the beeping I hear". And nobody else has said "Well I passed the dentist when the beeping I hear was going on, and it deffo wasn't coming from the alarm outside the dentist." I rest my case!

We weren't eating there, just having a pint after a walk in the woods. Can't remember the price of a pint or what we've had, but I've never liked Young's beer. Apart from the Winter Warmer (unless I've misremembered and that isn't Young's).

It's even worse than it used to be. The only vaguely good thing about the garden is that at least you can see some real foliage from trees in the neighbouring gardens.

There used to be a flock of long tailed tits in the area up East Dulwich Grove past the health centre (going from ED) . No idea if they are still around there. Herons in Peckham Rye Park near the pond (and various ducks and geese) . I agree Merlin is a great app, better than other bird identification apps I have tried . You could join the RSPB? They have a good and informative quarterly magazine. If you have a garden or a balcony, deffo put out feeders if you can. Different kinds of feeders and food suit different birds. Vine House Farm is a great source of bird food (and feeders), particularly if you have space to store it (guarded from mice!) in bulk. Good quality, and speedy free delivery with no minimum order requirement. I don't have any connection with them, in case I sound like an ad! https://www.vinehousefarm.co.uk/

Indeed. But from ED, you can more easily get to Sydenham Woods from Cox's Walk (unless you have mobility problems, as it's a fairly long steepish walk from the road to that entrance). And unfortunately (given its excellent position very near one of the entrances to the woods, where you can also easily park) The Wood House is a sad apology for a pub, with AstroTurf and plastic shrubs in the "garden" 😭 I always liked Crystal Palace, even before it became gentrified. It used to be considered so down market it took to calling itself Upper Norwood, with the emphasis on the "Upper", in a bid to improve its image. Or maybe that was just the estate agents. How things change.

At 2.15pm today the alarm to the right (as you face it) of the dentist in North Cross Road was bleeping again. I could hear it up to Ulverscroft Road, but I turned off there, so I don't know if you can hear it beyond that. If nobody has identified anything else, I'm pretty sure that must be the noise that people are referring to on here. It would be a great coincidence (though not impossible) if there was another bleeping noise in more or less exactly the same area.

Unfortunately, lovely as it is, it wouldn't be a suitable venue for the forum drinks. Not enough space for people to mingle and get to know each other, and it would get in the way of other customers. Upstairs at the EDT has comfy seating, lots of space and is quiet on a Wednesday night, so we will stay there, if the managers let us! The next drinks aren't arranged yet, but will be in September. We had a break in August as so many people are away. My partner and I will be coming back to Maria's for another delicious meal, though!

No Flies get a lot of recommendations on here. If I was selling, that's who I'd go to first. https://no-flies.co.uk/ But I haven't used them, so I have no first hand experience.

That's really good news!

Ban dogs altogether? Guide dogs? Dogs who can detect various illnesses? Sniffer dogs who can find missing people and things like explosives? Guard dogs? Sheep dogs? Dogs who provide friendship and comfort to people who don't otherwise have it? And how on earth is reducing the food consumed by dogs in, say, the UK going to provide food for starving people elsewhere?

It seems to me that possibly some people got dogs during Covid but knew nothing about dogs (and still don't know much) and other people see them as some sort of fashion accessory and mostly just ignore them. I love dogs, but knowing the time, expense and commitment that goes into having, exercising and properly training one, I don't have one myself. I just say hello to other people's.