genwilliams

I was unimpressed until the top went on recently - that sort of shield shape at the top is fantastic. Didn't realise the circles were fans - I thought they might be huge satellite dishes or something equally Bond-esque. Either way, it has now started to interest me.

It must be said that the one at Goose Green roundabout is quite good. I'm not in very often but there's some decent books in there and I once saw a men's Aquascutum mac. Plus they have a rail just full of fabric. Hurrah.

How d'you get tickets? Can one just rock up?

MsDulwich Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > :) It's true Gen! I've seen it happen a few times > now, once when I was carrying a plastic bag of > food and I had to tie the top of the bag to stop a > nail finding its way into my bag :) Talk about unsolicited free gifts.....

Westie Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Barry, > > We are currently stood at ED Station on platform 1 > - oh the wonders of modern technology! When > standing on the platform it is very difficult to > see the train information board unless you are > stood directly beneath it. Is there any chance > that an additional information board could be > installed or the existing one moved to enable it > to be viewed along the whole platform and ramp? > > Many thanks in advance I second this request - it'd be great to have the board a bit more visible from the shelter and the "London Bridge end" of the platform. Saw the handrails had been put in on the slopes the other week - nice work. And it's good generally to see someone on here taking notice of people's comments - good initiative. One thing that's always bugged me - the display screens next to the ticket office are handy to see when the next trains are without going up onto the platorm - if you're planning on using the Tulse Hill-bound platform. If you're in a hurry and you're going toward London Bridge you have to detour to see them, or just take your chances and leg it up to the platform. Any chance there could be another display screen by the ticket machines at the foot of the London Bridge-bound slope?

I've started doing that. I start work at 9am but most days am in the office by 8.40, because it's just easier to get on a bus a bit earlier (and then get the earlier train). The Oh Sh*t We're Late rush pre-9am is exhausting, whatever your mode of transport.

Clipping them?! Ergh! I would only file my nails on a bus if there was a ragged bit on one nail that was REALLY plaguing me. I wouldn't sit and do all of them.

Slow people on train platforms People with wheely suitcases on busy station concourses who stop very suddenly, oblivious to the ensuing pile-up behind them People who kick pigeons (actually that's not irrational rage, it's absolutely rational rage) The inadequacy of the Oyster lost & stolen helpline But worst of all: The narrow spectrum of the news-speak vocabulary. OH, it makes me so angry. Ministers "slamming" statements, people forever being "set to" embark on something, and the innumerable sum of people who have "spoken out" about something. Heaven forbid they could just comment, or voice their opinion. Apparently no-one ever responds to anything. No, apparently they have "SPOKEN OUT", like their (probably not) terribly brave and dramatic comment is an event in itself. And people actually taking on this vocabulary and using it in everyday life. Banality upsets me!

Well it really does depend on the time of day. Often it's difficult to even get on the LL buses as they're so crowded in the morning. I had no trouble this morning but Monday just gone was a joke! And despite the bus lanes, the traffic as you approach Camberwell, and where Camberwell Rd narrows into the Walworth Rd, can still be really prohibitive. Off-peak I'd always take the bus to the Elephant as it's more relaxing but first thing in the morning it can be a complete nightmare.

Quickest route to the Elephant definitely is train from Denmark Hill - if you time it right. But in the morning you will almost definitely have to stand. Could also get train from ED to London Bridge (12 mins) and then either bus or tube it down to the Elephant. Borough High Street is a mess though so tube would be quicker. 20mins round trip including changing from train to tube.

Where in central London do you have to get to? The 185 is an easy enough route, but the really difficult bits with any of the LL buses is the crawl through Camberwell and the Walworth Road (bus lanes or not it's a nightmare). That alone can take 20 minutes and is worth trying to bypass. If you take the 176, the Strand/Trafalgar Square is no fun either. I prefer to get the bus to the nearest usable train station and zip into central that way - the trains can be sardine tins but it's quick - and equally, on a morning like today, when it was bright and gorgeous and I was able to get a window seat and gaze at the river and the Battersea dogs getting their early morning walks, it's a treat.

lizzie Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- Guess there's a pot of money in some budget somewhere that can't be used for something sensible that's got to be spent before the end of the financial year. ------------------------------------------------------- I reckon that's exactly what's happening. Draining the dregs ofthe road maintenance budget as it can't be carried over.

Ah, the 63's not bad - I used to live near Bricklayers Arms til I moved to ED so it was a regular bus for me. A bit sporadic sometimes but a good route. I still occasionally take it to Peckham Rye/East Dulwich Road and walk from there, though it's a bit of a walk to where we are, particularly at night. I did notice that the neighbours around the south end of East Dulwich seem to be a friendly lot! Flat-hunting in Dunstan Road recently, every single person I walked past offered me a hello or a good afternoon. Lovely! It's not like that in Bermondsey...

Hehe, I know! It's very pretty round there... it's just that while my boyfriend drives, I don't so I'm thinking about everything in distances on foot, and TFL tells me there isn't a bus that goes directly to Catford from Forest Hill Road, so I'm picturing the walk to/from Lordship Lane (from the sleeping-through-alarm-clock and coming-home-on-my-own-late-at-night scenarios).

How long does it take to walk to Lordship Lane from the Therapia/Mundania area? Are there any buses that go to Catford, or central London (I know the 63 goes to Kings X)? I've been looking for a flat at the Goose Green end of East Dulwich; we use East D. and Denmark Hill stations and I will soon depend on the 185 bus to Catford, so the north end of East Dulwich is perfect. But prices/availability keep pushing us further and further toward Forest Hill Road... would one feel isolated round there, and would transport/commuting be a hassle? (We're a couple, no kids, friends in the area, reasonably sociable - and looking to keep our zone 1-2 travelcards so buses are important!)

Thanks James. Sounds like you're on the case. To update my original comment - when I walked past the original bus stop today the holes in the road seem to have been filled, so it would be interesting to see when the bus stop returns to its original spot. Soon please!

As some people have articulated, the relationship you have with your parents is an enormous factor in this. Two people of adult age who can't bear each other can't be forced to live with each other for duty's sake; no-one will benefit. I'm in my 20s and my parents are about retirement age (my dad retired last year and is keen for my mum to do the same soon). They're nowhere near needing assistance from me - their lives are busy and quite separate from mine, and I still see them very much as my mum and dad who brought me up, not my mum and dad who I have to look after - the very idea of them being frail scares me. But if that time comes, I would want to be in a position where they could rely on me, because they've made a home for me for far longer than one expects to (I moved out last year at 26). I couldn't stand the idea of someone they don't know just being paid to look after them. That's my experience, as someone with an excellent relationship with my parents. I know people in alternative scenarios with hellish relationships with their folks, not through their own fault - and in their circusmtances it would be a tall and unfair order. Encouragement of this idea would be good, but as with many ideas aimed at improving society, enforcement would do more harm than good. It should be something that people are ready and willing to do with warmth, not a financial and personal cross heaved onto their shoulders by the state.

Bit of a blethery essay incoming! I worked for two independent music venues, til last yr. [i'm not working in music at all now and don't yet know if I'll return]. Both hosted Live Nation gigs, though as venues they ran v. different business models. For professional courtesy's sake I'll not go into detail re: their businesses and dealings with Live Nation - and as all of the LN folks I've dealt with have been thoroughly good people, I'm not inclined to go off on a LN-slagging on this occasion. However - LN have an massive effect on the live industry, especially with the recent mergers, and not just in the ticketing arena. Yes, they're promoters. Yes, they have their own venues. They also hire other venues, and have done for years - this was where I dealt with them, more so at one venue than the other. But as their enterprises change, they seem to be looking to hire less and less, unless it works exactly right for them (where running their own venues and determining their ticket prices comes into play). I can't blame them for this - but it really tips the balance of power. And where they once provided a steady stream of business to some venues, who could then also afford to work with smaller promoters or run their own nights, what happens when this dries up because the ticketers, promoters and venue managers are all the same entity and control a vast portion of the industry? Over the last few years I think music has become v. polarised, and live is no exception. Events are either hugely marketed, sponsored, media-linked affairs with much money circling around, or fiercely DIY efforts that get better exposure than ever because of the internet-led, bloggy culture - ironically the DIY guys can succeed and become big brands, because of the kudos they attract. The medium-sized promoter, without the freedom of the lo-fi promoter or the clout of the big guns, has neither the mobility nor the money to compete, and has to be VERY savvy and quick off the mark to survive. Massive companies like LN, meanwhile, fill the market and gain maximum exposure, especially when they become the ticket outlet as well, and here sponsorship and marketing aids them. So when the smaller venues or promoters want to compete with them, they have a harder battle than ever. And it trickles down. Agents will send their artists where the money is (both gig fees, generated by ticket income, and advertising budget). Fans go to the gigs they know about. And now bands blow up quicker than ever. A band will play the Vice launch at the Old Blue Last this year, and headline the Forum (5000 people?) next year. There's little room in their trajectory for the middle-range show anymore, so yes, maybe the audiences at these venues are aging, while the kids are either bouncing off the ceiling in Dalston, or forking out ?25 for Brixton Academy, and there's increasingly little for them in between. I'm not weighing in here on either side - Live Nation are a business entity doing what they can to succeed. But there's no ignoring the effect their recent manoeuvres are having on the live music scene.

Hi James, I don't know whether this one falls in your ward or South Camberwell... (and apologies if it's already been asked about but I looked back through this thread to the start of Feb and saw nowt). The northbound bus stop outside East Dulwich station's been closed for at least a month now, presumably because of the big pot holes in the road there. It's been moved up the road beside the park, and the 'temporary bus stop' stand has now been replaced with a somewhat less temporary looking 'temporary bus stop' sign firmly fixed up high on the nearby lamppost. Do you know when the road will be in good enough condition again for the bus stop to return to its former spot? It was handy being able to run between the station and the bus stop, depending on impending train times/how busy the buses were. It's much less handy up the road, and also the bus stop, which can get crowded, blocks the park entrance. And it was a proper bus stop, with seats and a shelter, unlike the new one. And given the recent reported crimes in that park, it's not a spot I want to hang around in the evening if travelling on my own.