DJKillaQueen

Well i wreckon the receipt appeared because if it hadn't we'd have been the first to know ;-)

Awww but I'm a woman...and always sentimental......and as long as I don't ever end up having to pick Chelsea I'll be fine.

I absolutely agree louisiana. This search for the 'ideal' person and evironment is nonsensical. Is that what we did after wars when faced with an abundance of tramatised orphaned children? All that a child needs is for someone to be there for them, to love them and give them a safe and happy environemnt to grow up in. It doesn't matter if the adults are one or two, wealthy or poor (because children can flourish in all backgrounds). All that matters is the quality of the parenting. The rest is immaterial

lol.....that doesn't even bear thinking about.

I want Everton too (it's the team I support).

Tenants and Residents Association.

Community wardens deal with low level anti social behaviour and report things like fly tipping, litter, graffitti and that sort of thing. They can also give out fines for dog fouling. It may be that in relation to those things, ED isn't particularly high on the radar compared to other wards in the borough (and cuts have to be made somewhere). They are not in any way comparable to Police or the job that the Police do.

It has gone strangely quiet hasn't it.

We try to do as much as we can through our TRA for all aspects of community cohesion. TRA's can be a very good means for doing things and the local council supports those that do a good job.

SOmething else that local people can do is to oppose plans toreduce/ merge the current SNT teams. Certainly the SNT team for Peckham Rye has had a huge impact on crime works very well with the local community to prioritise the right things. Any reduction in cover may well see an increase in crime. Maybe some of the discussion should also be on how we keep the things that are working well, going?

Irregardless of the OP it's interesting question. One with lot's of scope for discussion.

It's not rubbish about council contracts James. I am talking sepcifically about repairs and maintenance contracts. Some contractors have got away with charging two or three times for the same job. Also in the interestes of fairness it might perhaps be useful if a Labour councillor could be allowed to post.

Well said CitED. East Dulwich is as diverse as anywhere in London and for the better because of that I'd say. To make something better requires DOING something to make it better, not just talking or complaining about it. And as PR said above there are plenty of ways to do something.

Those are valid points....but if you promise something in an election you have to deliver it or face accusations of poor credibility so they shot themselves in the foot with the school meals issue. I agree it was a nonsensical aim given that many of the poorest school children, as you rightly say, were already entitled to free school meals. Having said that 2m and even 4.2m isn't a sginificant percentage of Southwarks annual budget around 0.5 to 1 per cent respectively. Compare that to the millions wasted on contractors being paid more than once for the same job and the loose and ridiculous contracts set up under the previous council (and locked in for three years) that see a much larger amount of money being wasted. Compare that also to the 100m spent on the call centre. In light of those blunders I can forgive the Labour council for spending 1% of it's budget on free school meals.

I don't think anyone would disagree with any of that LB, but at the same time....when something so awful happens so close to home it is understandable that there will be a wide range of reaction and discussion. My view is that, with the exception of the one or two obviously shocking statements, that we should also respect that not everyone is reflective. Some people are equally concerned that if anything can be done to prevent such an awful thing again that it should be done...and that unfortunately requires talking a hard look at what's happened and asking necessary if sometimes painful questions. But it must absolutely be done respectfully and responsibly.

Various council spokes people have given assurances this will not be the case and have opened up to scrutiny any decisions they make. In fact...there is consultation ongoing with local groups, Tenants Council, TRAs and various other public bodies to discuss what should be cut and what should be prioritised. There is plenty of opportunity for all residents of Southwark to have their say and influence decisions. It's a level of transparency and consultation that we didn't see under the previous council. But whatever the colour of the council, at the end of the day cuts mean cuts and difficult decisions will have to be made. It will be impossible to appease everyone. And yes government will be blamed...they have imposed the cuts.

The link works on my computer......Did hubby put the child lock on your computer before he left? ;-) Go to 'youtube' and search 'Aliens in Finland' and find it that way.......you won't be disappointed!

lol And look what happened to these guys after their finnish hotel was stolen leaving just a clearing in the forest. Even the guy trying to book for the now stolen hotel wasn't safe!

Oh how disappointing.....a straight photo of jacobs! try this! or this?

lol..... Cream crackers the pair of us!

Ha ha....oh dear...in that case he'll return from work and find the hole hotel stolen!

Oh dear...in that case it means the pillows and duvet will go.......!

Hmmm 'Beef'..... Could it have been that you were a right ole cow at school? Just asking like ;-) LM...I think you will find a virtual receipt will have arrived on Wednesday and a couple of potted plants and a table lamp will have mysteriously dissappeared! :))

you've metamorphosised metamorphed metamorphosed somehow evolved into a...erm...black out blind? Errr...nope...Annette just hasn't washed the nets in quite some time!

Labour are clearly in transition....we just don't know in transition into what yet. They need to decide well before the next election though. Politics is about cycles, just like economics. Any party in power for 13 years will come to the end of it's shelf life, like the Thatcher government before and it's the people that will decide when that shelf life expires. The economy will play a large role too. And for New Labour, Iraq was a key milestone too. I don't think anyone can argue with the suspension or sacking of any MP or councillor who breaks the law/ rules (whatever the party)....and all parties have their crooks. On the Southwark Council front. Southwark has been asked to accomodate some of the largest cuts bestowed on any local authority in the country. There are difficult choices to be made. The aim though is to make no cuts cuts to front line services....but to find savings in improved efficiency elswhere. It remains to be seen if that can be achieved.