malumbu

Outer London Boroughs, certainly to the East, South East and Croydon Vauxhall Cross, nine Elms, in particular around the American Embassy Shopping centrea (mew and old) and the other new retail/residential developments eg Elephant or Stratford The North Circular Brent, including Wembley The A4

Smooch I meant. Great posting by Jah Lush on the groovy fookers thread - Jonathan Richman - That Summer Feeling. Great fan of JR but not familiar with the song, but almost had a tear when I heard it and that certainly talk me back to when I was a teenager in love.

A serious warning about cake. Don't, don't go there, you can never come back

Patience Red Devil, John Miles was going up the Groovy Fookers thread at the weekend. Chicago - that is another thread, songs that we smmoched to, which would have been joined by Not in Love by 10cc and for some some strange reason we'd finish with Stairway to Heaven

Alan, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.

Probably didn't title this very well - as much about reminiscing and remembering good times as well as bad! My experience above is very much water under the bridge and not for the older reader Tony Blackburn pleading for Tessa Wyatt to return to him, on live radio. But music does take me back to other times. In fact Music was my first love. And it will be my last. To live without my music Would be impossible to do. In this world of troubles, My music pulls me through.

Wonder how it is going? I sneakily watched Nightmare Tenants Slum Landlords on telly the other day. Tenants that refused to move, and ones that damaged the fixtures and fittings. Huh, they didn't leave a skip full of junk, you were lucky! There's also an article in the Gruaniad about someone getting out of buy to let after 15 years. There was an amusing story about the cat that was not allowed out. I acted as an informal agents for a mate letting out his maisonette once. First tenants had a cat that was not allowed out. When I came to re let you could hardly breath. A nice couple took it who I assumed had no sense of smell. I let them off the first month's rent as they were happy to do some decorating. A couple of months letter they presented me with a bill for new carpets. Why I said? Because how can we live here when it stinks of cat pee. Nice one I thought as they had played the game well (take a difficult to let place at an attractive price and then sort it out). The other thing about the Grauniad article is missing out income tax on rent and what looks like a massive underestimate of Capital Gains Tax. Most tenants were fine, and occasionally brilliant.

Thinking of songs for my funeral took me back to my teenage years when the first love of my life so so cruelly dumped me. On the radio was Wishing on a Star by Rose Royce. Then Dance the Body Music by Osibisa - the next line is "it will make you happy", cheering me up slightly. Then in the 6th form common room "Changes" by Black Sabbath. Later was "Spread your Wings and Fly Away" by Queen. What was your song/s?

Waterboys' Fisherman Blues was also on the groovy flickers thread too. They aren't in my list of songs for my funeral though. Time for a new thread.

Going off track I passed a shop somewhere in Europe called 'Fanny Boutique' - got a photo somewhere. Here is another https://yellowprod-fcd.kxcdn.com/uploads/gallery_picture/picture/9502/presentationp1bis.jpg It's a genunine ladies' clothers shop, just my childish sense of humour made me think of this.

Ditto for local councillors - probably best go to a surgery. http://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?bcr=1

Speak to the Rozzers - the community police. They deal with neighbour 'disputes' every day, and from my experience pretty sensitively. You will not be obliged to escalate it, but sometimes they can help sort things out in a reasonably adult way. Here in Lewisham they are really easy to access and return calls and e-mails. Good luck if you are in Southwark as some of the links and phone numbers may not be current.

Amazingly I often find out a bit of history by chance, to then have a question on the subject in a following episode of University Challenge. There clearly is someting strange going on. We were in a bar once in France and everytime we talked about a piece of obscure music, it would come on a little later over the bars PA. This brought us back to gigs we'd been to an my mate said that he really liked the acid jazz groups Weekend, who later changed to Working Week. I said that I'd seen them on Glastonbury. On the ferry back, we'd been diveted to a very slow one, we are listening on 5 live to the last match of the season. This bald jolly chap asks if he could listen. We got chatting and I found he'd been doing a gig - a sort of world music meets folk. I say I'm going to the Cambridge Folk Fest, he says that he is playing with his band the Afro Celts. For some reason we talk about earlier festivals and stuff and find out that this chap, Simon Booth (aka Emmerson) was in Working Week/Weekend. Also now known for the Imagined Village. And finally I was camping rough in Spain in 86 and went to a local bar for food and drink and they played Whole of the Moon by the Waterboys. Little did I know that I'd be listening to Mike Scott on the Chris Evans Show over 30 years later, and what did he play? Whole of the Moon of course. All very spooky.

Blythe Hill Tavern, Forest Hill close to Catford. Don't just take my word for it http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/29/2991/Blythe_Hill_Tavern/Forest_Hill

Went there when kids were young. Great.

Seabag Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If youre mobile then call into Alexander Nurseries > in Penge > > Coffee shop + cake is great. Shocking service when we went to buy some plants, they were too busy talking to people saying "oh it is so wonderful in this area, we hadn't realised" Thought it was an extention of Lordship Lane and so so close just to saying sod your plants, we'll go to Homebase instead. Cakes may be great but if you want a nice independent gargen centre go to the one near to Nunhead Sation. Funny, I thought it would be a bit arsey to start a thead about the place on this site, but you have prompted me to give me my views in any case. And yes I did share my views with the person serving. By all means have a chat about Nunhead Cemetary and all the green space but perhaps be aware that there is queue forming.

Paris can't compete for business space with the other great cities of Europe. I think it is lovely because of that - but the economy tends to trump architecture/beauty. Worked on the Olympics and truly shocked what is happening to Stratford. There are still grotty areas that haven't improved. The High Street was OK but again doesn't seem to have done well out of 2012. I'm not a fan of shopping centres and wont eat or drink in the big chain places. Elephant will go that way, but despite rapid gentrification Peckham retains independent shops, bars and restaurants. Hope it stays that way.

As long as you have received rent you have a contract in place. Better to have an AST of course, but loosely the same process. You can serve notice under separate parts of the legislation.

Great interview by Emily on newsnight of Scaramanga (maybe the late Chistopher Lee would have done a better job of press secretary. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/newsnight-interview-mooch-anthony-scaramucci-emily-maitlis_uk_59791648e4b0da64e8765254

People who moan about the nanny state and health and safety culture gone mad. Go back a 100 years and see how many people were maimed or killed in the factories and mills, with little or no compensation and help from the state and the employer. People who moan about the trade unions. Go back a 100 years and see how many people were maimed or killed in the factories and mills, with little or no compensation and help from the state and the employer. Need to see the big picture folks!

We will be able to go to the butchers counter and ask for chlorine washed chicken though... But perhaps not red smarties.

Been there done that. The common opinion is that you can't go wrong with property. In the late 80s it was the only subject at after work gatherings of those in their mid 20s . A couple of years later then it was handing the keys back to the loan organisation due to negative equity and massive interest rates. Fast forward almost 30 years with low interest rates, population increase/rental demand and easier to get buy-to-let loans then it doesn't surprise me that there is a 'can't go wrong' general opinion - certainly I hear enough of it. Generally it doesn't but sometimes it can. As said happy to be of help and don't use solicitors as most if it is easy to do yourself - if a bit frustrating at time. I even know a chap who works for bailiffs (by chance, not for suspect reasons). Although I thought loss of tax allowances and increase in stamp duty was supposed to take the heat out of the market. PS when I got into it with a mate, totally on a whim, we were looking at 40% gross returns. It was another world of cheap terraces, dodgy inner city areas and students. That market went years ago. Ah, the stories of the amateur buy to let landlord in the 80s and 90s.

Interesting point on East Europeans as many second generation voted to leave the EU and the general anti-EU feeling being propagated in Poland and being bought in by some recent arrivals. I've got a few Polish friends so this is based on the facts. Just surprised that the EU has been generally positive for the East.

The mean response is that buy to let has driven demand replacing the first time buyer as the main factor driving house prices forcing up rents and making property affordable for many workers in the SE. The nice answer is that I had plenty of experience when I dabbled a few years ago (and now well out of it) and can send you the relevant forms in word format if you PM me. Lots of small landlord chat rooms so you are not the only one! Get proof of posting and keep it polite but formal. My biggest headache was a lady with a custody battle over her daughter's baby, who refused to leave, probable mental health problems, illegally subletting to Chinese student lodgers, not paying rent, with child social services and housing involved, refusing to leave and hence making herself homeless. And it went to court. And she never paid the CCJ. After my first comment you may well say it serves me right.