neilson99

I'll take your point quids about there being a cost to means testing, no doubt about that. I get the philosophical concept too - my argument is that as an economic concept universal provision is inefficient and taken to an extreme point, fails; conceptually and practically in actually helping those who really need it. Why would I pay the state ?20 in tax to get ?17.50 back in child benefit? And when I don't actually need the helping hand but instead stick that ?17.50 in a high interest bank account (assuming one day they will exist!) it makes even less sense. I'm sure there are families out there who need it more and could do much better things with double the amount. Morally (always a subjective concept depending ones values)wouldn't the right thing be to give twice the amount to the family who are scraping by on every last penny than fund the next generation bugaboo?

I fail to see the point of "universal benefits" as implied by Quids - so we all pay in to get the same back? Minus the cost of the beuracracy to service? Ridiculous concept. Surely universal means anyone who needs them can get them? I don't mind paying my taxes to provide a safety net for those who genuinely need it, can't afford the basics and can't access opportunities - in fact I think I have a moral duty to do so. But why should I have to cough up for a rainy day fund for the middle class families of East Dulwich or indeed my aunt and uncle sunning themselves in the Canaries this December while waiting for their winter fuel payments to come through. Get them all means tested. I quite happily went to Uni and took on the debt, knowing that if I put the elbow grease in I would be earning enough at some point to pay those debts down. Now done thankfully. If I was given a lump of cash by my folks I would've probably spent it on clothes, booze or a gap year "finding myself" in Australia.

Blackheath is really good too...on a related but slight tangent, I've just been watching the news and seen that most councils have yet to undertake fire risk assessments of their properties as required under law of all social landlords; the type which might have prevented the tragedy in Camberwell over the summer. Lambeth has assessed 2 blocks of the 112 it owns. Maybe some reprioritising of budgets needs to be considered before this years Guy Fawkes night...

I work on Trafalgar Square in the building above Waterstones. I go from Peckham Rye every day. The fast train (17 minutes past 7 or 53 minutes past 7 depending on whether I can haul myself out of my bed) takes about 10 minutes and the trains from London Bridge to Charing Cross are more regular than a Swiss Watch. Its doable in 25-30 minutes. If its a nice day, jump off at Waterloo East and walk over the bridge, an extra 10 minutes on your journey but one of those London unknown pleasures I think at 730am when the sun is rising... Yes the 12 and 176 are cheaper and frequent enough - the 12 actually stops outside the entrance to my building on Northumberland Ave but I've only ever done it twice. Never again!

E, The link you have posted takes you through to the Energy Retail Association. These aren't necessarily trying to get you a better deal; the ERA is an industry association (PR people essentially) set up to lobby government and promote/defend the industry's interests in the media and with government when the big 6 power companies don't have the guts to front up criticism themselves. Hence last year when there was all the hoo ha about energy prices, these guys were all over the media rather than the PR team from British Gas, Eon, EdF etc. Anyway, in order to stay on point, just to say that the link you have here won't get you a better deal like uswitch or money saving supermarket would do.

As a prospective buyer in an uncertain market, I have been tracking property for sale in ED since August last year. Many seem to be taken off the market rather than sell, and put into the rental market. Some examples of those that are still on; the two bed I was renting in Aura Court I was offered at ?350k at the time I was recently contacted by the landlord couple and offered it at ?295k, (would still have seen them clear ?20k on original purchase price before). There is a 1 bed on Glengarry that came on at ?230k and is now on at ?170K, so prices definitely coming down as far as I can see. Another anecdote to show that things probably won't get better any time soon; a friend with a 50% deposit for a property on the market at ?340k (i.e. ?170k deposit) was turned down for a mortgage because of an unknown CCJ from 13 years ago at University. If banks are that risk averse at lending to buyers, prices may have a long way to go yet before they stop falling.

The gas network south of the river is actually owned by Scotia Gas Networks, (indeed part of Scottish and Southern) not National Grid who sold it to them a few years ago. You can contact them for a quote to connect http://www.scotiagasnetworks.co.uk/index.aspx?id=952&rightColHeader=20&rightColContent=15&rightColFooter=237&TierSlicer1_TSMenuTargetID=102&TierSlicer1_TSMenuTargetType=4&TierSlicer1_TSMenuID=6 or you can get an independent Utility Infrastructure Provider (UIP) to do it as well, which National Grid helpfully direct you to from the weblink that Burbage has above

Interesting line of debate, hope I'm not intruding... I'm with those here that think that council housing should go to those who need it i.e. can't afford decent standard of housing due to their earnings. I;m more than happy that my taxes go to help those in real need, that have lost their way, to provide a safety net to the must vulnerable. Indeed I think its a moral duty to do so. Why there is a more general assumption that after one passes a certain threshold you should entitled to subsidy at the expense of the wider community baffles me. And the arguement that a council property should pass down the family line is plain ludicrous. I could point to a good number of people working in the City on very good salaries (for the time being anyway) who would admit to be from a "working class" background, or at least their parents or grandparents were. If I'm earning ?100k plus a year why should I have the right to a council house just because my folks lived there? I actually would also debate the necessity for council provision viz management/regulation on the basis of standard. I don't think that there can be much debate in the fact that standards of housing in the private sector are better than in the public sector. Yes there is a profit motivation, and one may argue thats is snouts in the trough, but thats exactly what keeps the housing stock standard higher to some degree. If private corporations can run hospitals, schools, waste disposal, utilities, why not all housing stock? Regulated and managed by the councils. BTW, CWLD - surely some inherent contradiction by not believing in centralised political system with a leader and yet advocating state operation of housing, NHS, education etc...?

Hard times indeed, just like the WW2 it seems. On the way to get my hair cut on Saturday down Lordship Lane, I saw, with my very own eyes, people queuing down the road for bread, meat and fish. Took me back 60 odd years, well it would have done if I was that old. The queuing seemed quite orderly and polite. Didn't see any ration books though, but maybe its more like Eastern Europe in the early 90s...

Should definitely differentiate between the pub and the bar, if only to keep the old duffers happy when someone suggests adventure! Like the food sub categories idea, how about Best Burger/Roast/Curry/Pasta/Cocktail/Pint/Breakfast/Soup/Kebab..etc etc. ...and not sure if it was done before but after reading the mural post how about best local Councilor? I'm sure some would be tempted to suggest that the standard would be pretty low but a little more competitive tension and free PR on an annual basis might see a gradual improvement over the long term!

I'd have to go with Dispatches, despite the fact that Panorama's current custodians have tragically betrayed what were once some decent broadcasting values. You'd be better off reading the Mail or the Express or even the Daily Star to be kept informed. At least we all know the agenda they have and they don't hide behind the ethos of "public service broadcasting". A bit of a serious take, apologies, especially compared to the G spot discussion, which btw I can also confirm, but having worked in the media team of a company that was on the end of a Dispatches fantasy, I have experienced how they write the headline first and then get the facts to fit around it, employing some fairly low journalistic methods in the process. Right, I'm off to catch Newsround on Iplayer, the only useful news programme there is!

Got back home tonight to find that lots of bollards and notices about imminent works by the F Conway (assuming Council contractor) about to take place. Not sure I ever noticed the road (Ryedale) was ever that bad but will give them the benefit of the doubt that this is needed. Just as I crossed the road though, I notice that they have spray painted about 100m of the path outside my house and a number of other that "NO PARKING TUESDAY". Given it has been lashing down all day judging by how wet the pavement is, I'm assuming that this isn't going to easily wash off? Would it be too much to expect them to engage a brain cell and paint this on the roadway that is about to be re-tarmacked? Assuming this is Southwark Council Highways dept, any idea where I can enquire as to the likelihood that the council ask the contractor to wash this off? Or at least impose an ASBO on the contractor responsible? Has this happened anywhere else?

The way that TFL bus drivers go about their business I'm amazed that there aren't more accidents. The drivers on the 63 and 363 up Forest Hill Road really do need to have a look at there Highway Code's and learn how to use their brakes without sending every passenger who isn't sat down through the front window. Anyway, to the point, I'm pretty sure that there is CCTV around there. Certainly outside the train station and quite possibly down the bus lane on DKH. A quick google search or a look on Southwark council/South London Trains website might cast some light.

Absolutely! It'll probably be French by the way.

I once met a nice agent from Foxtons. No really. She was honest, punctual, gave a true value of the property I was looking to rent. When I went back a week later, she'd "left".

Global grids would be unlikely with current (no pun intended)technology as the levels of losses over such large distances would be very high. Continental Europe is fairly well interconnected so while on a national level different countries have different supply patterns, because of the interconnection the peaks are much more easily manageable than in the UK, which as an island system has its own technical peculiarities. The idea of low carbon and secure, stable and reliable decentralized micro generators is a myth propagated by the anti nuclear green groups who while claiming to take a lead on climate change issues are actually shirking their responsibilities. These technologies are as yet "unproven" (to be polite) in terms of carbon efficiency and have to be underwritten extensively by public taxes - as in Woking. Still, no different from nuclear and other large scale renewables there then. If anyone thinks that renewables are cheap and don't have to be under written by taxes (otherwise known as the Renewables Obligation) give energy regulator Ofgem a call or better still the British Wind Energy Association and listen to the panic/silence. Still, given north sea gas supplies are running down and we'll need to import gas from over seas, we can safely assume the era of cheap energy is well and truly over. The question is what kind of reliability security will we get for our money - and will it be low carbon? On the tidal point, it is being looked at, a tidal barrage (s) in the river Severn. Could produce almost 9GW of electricity, renewable electricity at that, pretty much predictable as the moon, which is handy. Not cheap tho. The reason its not been done is the expense - no commercial company would go near it. The only way it'll ever happen is via massive government sponsorship.

We use dial a cab at work on account. Talk about having cake and eating it. They are regularly late, I would say 30-40% time they don't turn up on time. They often tell us that they can't get a cab in our area on time as well. Amazingly, we aren't based in SE22 but on a square in town with a large column celebrating the battle of Trafalgar, not exactly out in the sticks! Its worth remebering that DAC charge from the moment a cab accepts a job - could be that they are 15 mins drive away, and you pick up the tab for this as well. Oh yeah, don't forget that if they can't get there on time and lets say you not unreasonably find other means of transport and cancel the DAC, if they have a cab who has already accepted the job, you pay anyway! Nice work if you can get it...

I'm adding my voice to the "must try harder" crowd. Having loved the curry at Wandsworth restuarant and the South Wimbledon takeaway BBC's I was really pleased when they opened on LL. Two hungry hours after ordering, I was less than impressed with the quality of what was eventually delivered. To be fair to BBC, they rang plenty of times and told me the delivery guy was lost, and eventually sent another fella with a new meal (apparently). They held their hands up and gave it me for free as well, which was a nice touch. On this basis I went for another try a few weeks back, but was really disappointed with the meal, bland is the word and I have binned my pink menu. Any pointers to the best takeaway curry in ED/PR/FH greatly appreciated.

Let's hope that Somerfield teach co-op a thing or two. The Co-op at the top of Peckham Rye Park on Forest Hill Lane is awful, they seem to think that putting their food on the floor rather than the shelves is the way to go. Chicken on the floor when I ventured in there on the way home from work today, and you couldn't say that they keep the place clean and tidy...

Having been resident in Blackheath before selling out and moving to East Dulwich, I can vouch that the standard of the Blackheath locale is excellent, very friendly and a superb atmosphere, good menu. Always felt like an occasion going to eat there, hope ED locale maintains and improves on the standard, bets of luck fellas will be along "pronto"...

Thought I'd drop in with some experience here, anecdotal but my anecdote! I went to look at a 1 bed flat at Levante Court at the top of Lordship Lane before Christmas. It was on at ?230k and really small looking out onto the car park, so didn't really appeal. The agent showed me around a 2 bed flat in the block as well, which had dropped from ?275k to ?250K during the time I had registered with the agent and went around to see it. It was out of my range but understand it did sell at ?250k very quickly. The agent called me again a fortnight ago to tell me that the 1 bed was now on for ?207k, so it does look like prices are dropping somewhat. Anyway, there you go...