Earl Aelfheah

I got the train in the end. Tried to get Thameslink from Denmark Hill to St Pancras, but train was cancelled. So went to Victoria and got the tube directly to Euston (which probably worked out just as quick). Had a bit of a 'mare on the way back (2 hours). Anyway, better than driving I'm sure. Thanks for the advice.

Thanks for the responses. Think I'm going to get the train after all.

Trollhunter?

Thanks Holloway

Hi, I need to get to Hemel hempstead tomorrow morning for about 10:30 / 11:00. Was planning on getting the train, but now wondering about driving. Does anyone do this journey regularly and have an idea about how long it takes in the car? Tom tom route planner saying just over an hour, but that sounds hugely optimistic to me. any advice much appreciated.

To be able to cycle to Brixton on a Ken Bike would be good.

I'm confused about the details of this meet up. Isn't (a) the Drum closed and (b) the year 2007 eight years past?

You don't necessarilly have to cycle into central London with them, more likely to the station, or high street. They have them in Putney, so don't know why ED, or Camberwell, or Peckham is too far out.

Good article about SE London being passed over yet again in terms of transport infrastructure. http://www.citymetric.com/transport/why-south-east-london-doesnt-have-boris-bikes-805

Great post Ty

Ex-council houses sold off at massive discount to people who then struggle to keep up repayments. Sell it on to one of these sharks, again for less then market value and suddenly it's part of someone's property portfolio. They rent it back to someone who would previously been renting from the council at full market rates and taxpayer picks up the housing benefit bill. Everybody gets shafted, except the 'buy to letter', who get's a lovely big subsidy from the state and claims it's free market capitalism in practice.

Jeremy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It's just a matter of mutual respect and tolerace. > Try to teach your kids to respect dogs but not be > afraid of them. Train your dogs not to approach > strangers or jump up. Whilst this is undoubtedly true - the thread wasn't about kids hassling dogs. And whilst parents ought to encourage their children to be relaxed around animals, in the situations being discussed, it is wrong to infer that 'bad parenting' has any bearing on the distress of the child. Responsible dog owners should not feel defensive.

dwe Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Well if my kids were quite far away and hassling a > dog I would expect the owner to be cross with me. Exactly. And when I caught up I wouldn't hesitate to apologise to the owner.

New openings in Peckham are relentless at the moment.

First Mate - you are the voice of responsible dog owners. Thank you.

Azira Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > rahrahrah Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Dog owners are all so freaking evangelical. > > So are parents to be fair. > > Signed, a cat-owning child-free person. There are definitely parallels. A lot of dog owners think of their animals as 'their little baby'.

Dulwichdarling Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Thanks for your insight rahrah but is it not > important for the child to know the dog is > playing? Therefore showing that there is no need > to be scared You think that the best time to introduce a dog to a child is when it's out of control and the owner is nowhere to be seen? You should apologies to the parent. Get your dog under control and then (if the child is calm) maybe try to introduce him. The problem is that you don't see that an off the lead dog jumping up around a young child, out of the blue, is not playful for the child.

Blah Blah Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It's about give and take rahrahrah. It's a shared > space. Everyone needs to make the best of it. Dogs > will run about because they need to exercise. They > will occassionally pinch a ball or try to play > with others. Dog owners should apologise if > offence is caused, but similarly others should > stop instilling fear into their kids, when there > is no need of such. I completely agree with this, but I don't think it's fair to assume that the parents in these cases have 'instilled fear' - or have responsibility for the child's response. A lot of kids will be naturally scared of a large animal which is jumping up at them. My children have grown up with dogs and are generally comfortable around them. But they have been frightened by large dogs running up to them, seemingly out of control. This is actually a pretty rational response IMO.

MissMadMoo Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I respect a whole load more the parents who > approach me to ask if their kids can pet my dog. > The reason they do this?. To avoid exactly the > issues the OP has. > > Teach your kids how to respect dogs/ animals and > interact with them rather than instil unwarranted > fear? You think it's a parents responsibility to introduce their children to your dog in a controlled manner? I'm sure they'll be over the moon that they have your respect. Presumably the ones introduced to an out of control dog, which is running out of sight of it's owner, at a time not of their choosing, should have done more to prepare themselves?

Dog owners are all so freaking evangelical. Maybe the kid / their parent's don't want to get to know your dog. Or maybe not right at that moment. It's not for you to take responsibility for ensuring the kid is 'properly socialised' with your hound. Just keep your dog under control and don't let it run off, harassing random people.

Here's what I take from this - Whilst out in public, try and keep your dog under control. If he gets out of control and upsets someone, don't make excuses by personifying your dogs actions 'he's playing... he's saying "hello" etc. Just apologise. It's simple.

So a dog twice the kids size bounds up and jumps all around. Another ?vigorously investigates? his school bag causing him to get scared and run.... and the owner is nowhere to be seen. This is a problem with the child?

Blah Blah Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It's the shared space thing again isn't it. Shared > space needs give and take by everyone using it. > > I do think that as a society we've become over > protective, of everything from our kids to our > rights over others. If the worst that can happen > to your child, is a hapless payful dog running > about, then you should be thankful imo. Most of > the things we fear are learned from our parents/ > peers anyway. If a child is frightened by a > playful dog, then all the more reason for the > child to engage with dogs as soon as possible to > overcome the fear. But maybe the kid doesn't wish to engage with a 'playful' dog at that particular moment. Why should it be forced to? Maybe you should train your dog not to jump up at people when it's out and about - or maybe if you see it running towards someone you should recall it? A lot of dogs are molly coddled in my opinion and that's part of the problem.

You're right, that wasn't in the OP. I guess the original story got exaggerated somewhere during the course of the thread. But regardless - If my dog jumped up at a small kid leaving them very upset (whether it's snatched something or not), I'd apologise. You think that's wrong?

Dulwichdarling Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The original post said nothing about a dog taking > something.... Hmmm... that's wierd, someone else must have added that bit. Still, the point remains. If you're dog has upset a small child by jumping up at him apologise. Don't make silly excuses like 'he's only playing', or 'hes saying 'hello', or whatever. It's pretty simple.