Sue

I suggest you get in touch with the Energy Saving Trust. http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/In-your-home/Roofs-floors-walls-and-windows/Roof-and-loft-insulation They will advise on bona fide installers in your area, and also advise on what grants etc you may be eligible for. They were extremely helpful when I had loft insulation done.

Royal Mail locally seem to have had some sort of reorganisation of their deliveries (I only know this because I got a letter about it - as I used to run a small business, I must be on their mailing list). Certainly I've got a different postie now. Not trying to defend them, but it might be that you have somebody new who is still getting used to the arrangement of flats/doors? I recently had a card through my letterbox saying basically sorry, I posted your neighbour's mail through your door by mistake, and please could you post it in to them. I thought it was quite good that the postie had at least realised the mistake and had bothered to take the time to write the card, tbh.

iclaudia Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- I just couldn't believe how aggressive he became > when I said no and I have to say that afterwards I > felt a bit vulnerable. I am not the wussy kind > but opening your door to someone who goes on to > verbally abuse you, and who happens to be a 6 foot > something big bloke claiming to be homeless and/or > unemployed... not exactly what one wants of a > Tuesday evening, is it? xxxxxx Don't know if it actually helps, but I've just fitted a chain to my front door for this sort of reason. Now I've just got to get into the habit of using it :)

Do you have to pay extra for this? Normally Amazon charge extra for next day delivery, whereas it's usually free if you can wait a few days. I think in theory the locker system is a good idea, and if you live some way from the Royal Mail delivery office then it seems useful, but personally I wouldn't use it if I had to pay.

first mate Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If it gets any bigger or he starts to feel unwell > get to the doctor pronto as it could be cellulitis > which is a bacterial infection for which he'd need > antibiotics. The fact that it is hot indicates it > may be this. xxxxxx Also that it isn't itchy - I thought bites were usually itchy?

DulwichFox Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Literaly the bottom line of the above post. > > Those caught causing graffiti can be prosecuted > under the Criminal Damage Act 1971. > Those found guilty can be fined up to ?5000. > > Young offenders may be given a community service > order. > > Like a couple of days Gardening. Not even allowed > to tap them on the wrist. > > Pathetic.. > > Best thing would be to Spray all their Designer > Trainers and Clothes. > See how they like having their property trashed. > xxxxxxxx DulwichFox, so you are generally in the eye-for-an-eye school of punishment, are you? What effect exactly do you think trashing their "designer" clothes (I doubt many of them can afford Designer clothes) would have on these people's future behaviour? I don't in the least condone graffiti, but nor do I believe in mindless punishment with no attempt to address the (many, complex) roots of the behavioiur.

DulwichFox Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- Sue wrote: > > > > xxxxxxx > > > > No it doesn't. > > > > > http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200089/street_cle > > > aning/422/graffiti/1 > > > > And tagging is hardly in the same league as the > > lovely Stik murals. xxxxxxx > > Hardly a Mural. They are Childish doodles at the > very best. > > If you like the Stik Grafitti that much, why > don't you have one painted on your house. > It surely would add value. > > You cannot selectively allow some grafitti and > procecute others. > xxxxxxxx Fox, I'd be very happy to have a Stik mural on my house. I think they're lovely and very touching. And so presumably does Dulwich Art Gallery who I believe were involved in the local Stik initiative as part of the Dulwich Festival. Do you think - say - Tracy Emin's recent drawings are also "childish doodles"? Or - say - Picasso's drawings? I guess you probably do. Edited to clarify who said what.

My vote would be for blues, but it would be great to have a really wide range of different types of music. Also there was an Irish session in there for a while which was very enjoyable. Will all the live music be in the main bar, or do you have a separate room as well somewhere which could be used for ticketed music gigs? (I'm thinking here with my promoter hat on rather than my punter hat :) as I guess unaccompanied folk music in your main bar may drive some people away!)

This is very good news :) Decent ale, live music and reasonably priced well cooked food would all be great!

Being in a pot would normally make no difference provided the pot size was appropriate and the plant had its preferred conditions eg sun or shade, wet or dry soil. I think the flowering season of many plants has got very messed up this year because of the weird weather.

DulwichFox Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Southwark Council has the policy of treating > Grafitti as Art. Just young people Expressing > themselves. > xxxxxxx No it doesn't. http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200089/street_cleaning/422/graffiti/1 And tagging is hardly in the same league as the lovely Stik murals.

Does Southwark Council have an anti-graffiti team? If it does, might they come and remove it for you?

Could ask a pharmacist for advice or phone NHS Direct, Twirly? Must say if it was my elbow, I'd be straight off to the GP though :)

Hi all and thanks! I don't think I've ever grown Melianthus in a pot, at least not deliberately, just as a half hardy annual in a border, and never in my present garden as it doesn't get enough sun. Plus this one has somehow survived the winter. However I agree that Melianthus seems to be the closest fit so far. Would be great if it flowered!

Thanks all, don't think it's any of those - definitely not marijuana :) I have never grown Angelica and wouldn't put it in a pot, and I've just looked up images for Aralia and it doesn't seem to be that. Tried putting the photos into Google image, but it just came up with a load of totally different plants. I guess I am just going to have to hope that at some point it will flower ...... or else join the RHS and ask them, but I can't afford the membership these days :(

Maccers Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- >> Items clearly identifiable have been returned to > their rightful owners (what were you doing dumping > a bag of stuff with your medical records in...?) > xxxxxxx Maybe the neighbours should club together and give them a shredder for Christmas :) I know it's not funny, but afraid that did make me laugh.

I have been waiting hopefully for it to flower, but so far this year it hasn't, and I just can't remember what it is :( It has woody stems at the base and is planted in a fairly small pot. I have tried to use plant ID sites without success. I know there are some plant wizards on here so I am hoping that one of you may know what it is, thanks! ETA: The colour showing through the leaves is from other plants, not this one, which has no flowers or buds on it.

Ask at the delivery office?

amycralj Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I was expecting a package last week that never > arrived, and I believe it would have been too > large for my letterbox, but no card was left. > > Does anybody know where it would have been taken > if it had been too large, or who i could contact > about it going missing? > > This is on Belvoir Road, SE22 xxxxxxx Depends whether it was sent via Royal Mail or a courier.

Fair enough, if so many other people have had bad experiences, maybe I have been lucky - but I would just say that usually, people posting comments on websites etc do so because they have had bad experiences. If you've had good experiences, you wouldn't normally go to the trouble of posting about them on an NHS website, for example. Well, I wouldn't :) It's the same with any consumer reviews, isn't it. Don't the surgery have statistics which they have to publicise? Have I missed something somewhere? Because wouldn't the stats be the only objective way of telling whether something was actually amiss?

rahrahrah Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Maybe a liberal application of 'no more nails' on > the bottom of your pots. xxxxxx Good idea, but would mean you could never move the pots about if necessary .... or repot to a larger pot. Unless there's something which removes "no more nails"?

pipsky2008 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > My feeling is that things like potted olive trees > get stolen to order for sale to landscapers in > another part of town. A potted olive could go for > ?500 in a nursery maybe ?200 to a landscaper then > a charge of ?400 to the client. When I was a > landscaper years ago, I was offered things like > this. xxxxxxx How disillusioning. I always thought that gardeners/landscapers were nice honest people :(

rahrahrah Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > DMC are appallingly managed. See if you can get an > appointment there within 2 days as they suggest > you can on their website. Unless you queue from 8 > outside the surgery, you're lucky to be seen in > under 2 weeks.... yet they continue to register > new patients. xxxxxxx As I have said before, this is not true in all cases. I had a telephone consultation recently with a GP as a result of which I was offered a face to face appointment with that GP the same week. Those people who are having to wait so long, is it because you are wanting to see a particular GP? Some of them only work part-time, plus it is the holiday season (though presumably they use locums?).

I don't know whether it's the same with them all, but when I had three window boxes stolen a few years back, my insurance company would only pay for the cost of the boxes, and not the (expensive) plants in them - so it wasn't worth claiming. I also now chain them to the sill, but really - as maritap says, we shouldn't have to. I agree that it is definitely worth reporting to the police - in my case, there had been a spate of similar thefts in the area because it was immediately prior to Mother's Day (I think). The more information the police have, the more likely they are to be able to catch the perpetrators.

tim hill Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I used to play in this house, it was a home for > unwanted kids. xxxxxxx That's really sad, it wasn't called that, surely? Were they in care?