peckhamboy

I've won the Spanish Lottery at least twice now. Hopefully the money will come through soon - I've had to pay a fortune in taxes on it already, so once the Spanish red tape is cleared up I'm assured payment will be made very quickly. In the meantime, I've had to send them another cheque to cover the legal expenses. Still, it will all be worth it when I'm a multi-millionaire...

Absolutely. Let's boycott Sainsburys. And Somerfield, Budgens, Barclays, HSBC, The Bishop, CPT, Plough, Green and Blue, all the petrol stations and anybody else with the temerity to run a business from more than one outlet. It amazes me how blinkered people on here get over the whole chain/independent thing. Not all chains are bad - for anyone with a job, places like Sainsburys that open outside of "normal" shopping hours are essential. Not all independents are good - some of them have poor service, poor stock, inconvenient opening hours and inflated prices.

I haven't lived in islington, but looked for a house round there initially before choosing ED in preference, and I'm glad i did. Main reasons for not buying in Islington/Highbury/Finsbury Park were cost (2 bed flat off Essex Rd for the price of a 3 bed house in ED), crime, safety (applying the test of whether you would be worried about your girlfriend walking back from the station on her own at midnight) and the general grubbiness/claustrophobia of North London. And the other thing that struck me was that despite all the crap you hear about the superior housing stock in Islington, I didn't think it was all that. Most of the Georgian houses are flats, and have tiny gardens if any, and there's a real lack of green space. And almost every house seems to back onto a council estate. I know that not every council estate is rammed to the gills with thieves and muggers, but some of the estates round there gave the distinct impression (vandalism, graffiti, broken car windows) of being home more troublemakers than average. So the idea of paying nearly half a million for the privilege of having your (very small) home and car broken into regularly didn't really appeal.

Get the post office to deliver your loaves and fishes? Fresh? Now that would be a miracle...

drug-addled and dangerous?

Foxtons and Firkin?

Hofmeister is great value

Has nobody requested a Burton or a Topman yet?

Could be either when someone asks you to "bare me in mind" though... :))

What, no John Lewis for the poor, Alan?

A decent bakery would be nice.

The difference between ED and Clapham/Islington is that: 1. ED doesn't have any nightclubs (so is less of a friday/saturday "destination" for boozed up yoofs), and 2. ED doesn't have a tube station (so is less likely to attract people from out of the area anyway), so I don't see it ever going the same way entirely. I think the truth is that anywhere in London will seem potentially intimidating at 1am on a Friday/Saturday night, but that ED is less so than many. I was in Islington a few weeks ago and found it deeply unpleasant and pretty intimidating walking down Upper St later on at night - I've never yet felt that way in ED.

Been for lunch a couple of times and had no problems yet! Food was pretty good, service was good once and slow once. IMO, it's not a bad spot to have a long sunny lunch and a coffee and watch the world go by (if you're not in a hurry). On the other hand, if you're part of the world going by and only want a 15 minute lunch then you're better off somewhere else.

They do now...

It's where you get the train to Hogwarts

true, but if you miss it by more than 5 minutes, it's normally quicker to wait because the buses are so infrequent and take so long to get down the walworth road

Takes too long - why don't we just barricade Dog Kennel Hill with bugaboos so the Camberwellians can't get to the station?

Clearly the first one to feel the pinch and get desperate...

Absolutely. I was appaulled by their abuse of the English language as well.

Would this mean they can have more services from ED? If so, where's the petition in favour?

I watched Ireland/Argies in there - sound was only on in the room to the right, but the big screen on the Goose Green side was showing the game without commentary. I'd be surprised if they didn't have sound on both screens for saturday though.

Landlord or agent can't come in without permission generally, but length of notice will depend on your lease - most will just say "prior" or "reasonable" notice. And if you're on an assured shorthold tenancy (which i assume you are) there are probably obligations on you to let them in. So basically - check your lease. And then have a quiet word with your landlord.

Good call on the Queen Anne, Mockney "The Queen Anne, Vauxhall came in here recenly but was a bit dark, there was a laddie on a staeg with nu clohtes on and some men hiding thier hands in thier trouseirs"

You can't refuse employment to someone with a "spent" conviction, basically. It can be up to 10 years after release from prison before it becomes spent though - Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

I'm afraid Snorky isn't the best reviewer of ED pubs though. Check out my new favourite Bertrand Loving the CPT review in particular...