MitchK

20mph is a good idea, although most journeys through London are completed at 10mph at best. How about some traffic calming measures on Lordship Lane - speed bumps or 20mph limit? And a pedestrian crossing outside Somerfield to replace the ludicrously positioned crossing by the Goose Green roundabout.

I think it might be a good time for the Argies to have another go. The UK is skint and I expect there would be little stomach for a fight. Personally, I hope we send a couple of nuclear subs out to the area by way of gentle reminder.

The white middle classes are being discriminated against. Wake up to the fact. We are the ones paying the taxes but our kids cannot use the services that these taxes pay for!

You cannot expect private school children to travel on public transport. It would be the end of civilisation as we know it.

You could call Thames Water, they should be able to help. If it's the private part of the drains, they can fix it but will charge you. If you can get access to the drains through a manhole cover, and can get hold of some drain rods from the DIY, you may be able to fix it yourself.

It's an interesting debate. I was at a private school and would happily send my kids to one but I do worry about the kids who are bright and keen to learn but end up at poor schools where being top of the class is frowned upon rather than praised. I think Grammar schools should be reinstated but it seems unlikely as not even the Tories are proposing this. As for equality, it is a totally bogus concept. We are not born equal - some people will always be smarter, faster, more outgoing etc. Those who are will generally end up richer and will be able to spend more on their kids. If that means private school fees, fine; if that means buying a house in the catchment area for a good school, also fine. The socialists in power who avoid sending their kids to the local comp are obviously hypocritical but I am glad to see they put their kids first. Grammar schools would allow poorer kids a better chance of improving themselves. Yes, there will be other bad schools where life's bus drivers end up but they exist now anyway.

Let's be honest, there is a growing undercurrent of thought that private schools are bad because they promote inequality and a 'segregated society'. I am sure some of you would like Alleyns turned into a school open to all and sundry and the sight of priveleged kids in their buses promotes feelings of anger and jealousy. If you can convince the government to bring back selective grammar schools that promote excellence then you will have my support. Until then, thank God for private schools.

They're the people who earn the money that drives the local economy.

What would you be cutting instead of police numbers, James, in order to pay for the extra police whilst keeping the budget down?

Ruffers, let me elaborate. There is no way I would send my children unsupervised on public transport in South London until they were 16 if they were dressed in school uniform from one of the private schools. Call me overprotective, but I would rather they were on a school bus.

Quite right. There is no way I would send my children unsupervised on public transport in South London until they were 16. It is a shame to be honest that more schools don't provide dedicated transport for their pupils. Not least because it would mean I wouldn't have to listen to the incessant innits and poor grammar of the local yoof.

It's a social/education problem. You're better off going to Dulwich Park, there is less riff-raff.

At my school, we used to have a coach park for all the buses coming in from the surrounding area. Why don't they knock down that grotty housing estate next to Alleyn's to make way for one? I can only think of the benefits.

How about a mural of Margaret Thatcher?

I can second the thumb guards. Don't look very nice but they have done the trick, so far....

I loved all tales by HC Andersen when i was a kid, they are beautifully written and you can either get full stories or shorter versions with lots of pictures; by Brothers Grimm and Astrid Lindgren (Peppy the Long Stocking, etc.), these are international authors that you would love to read to kids yourself, don't know much about the english ones.

Woah, no way am I posting a reply to this one. Far too controversial. I'll leave it to someone else...

Labour will be cutting spending too if they get back in but they will wait until after the election before telling you. They have had 12 years of increased spending on schools and hospitals and it has achieved very little. Their method of improving standards in schools is to make exams easier. They are now engaged in the politics of jealousy - anyone who earns a good wage should be ashamed of themselves, a bit like anyone who is above average at school needs to be held up so the slowest kids are not left behind. Let's name and shame all those naughty bankers who have done well for themselves (not the regulators who are actualy to blame), boo hiss. Perhaps we should put them in the village stocks next? Looking after the poor in society is very important but in the long-run, they will not benefit from a stagnant economy with a massive and inefficient state sector. And there are plenty of people in the country, maybe even in East Dulwich, who think they should be entitled to keep a bit more of what they earn.

Magpie, don't worry, you are not the only Tory in East Dulwich. We are a steadily growing band.

Great news indeed. I'm delighted to see that the government has decided to provide our children's basic right to a place at school.

We live just off of Lordship Lane, on Blackwater Street. We sometimes get post for people living on Bassano Street, which I end up taking round myself. It's highly erratic, the postal strike made no difference to be honest. My advice would be to avoid using the postal service if at all possible and to check all bank accounts etc online frequently. Other than that, there is not much you can do. Complaining to the local post office about the mail is like complaining to the local vicar about the weather in my opinion.

Does it have the Guardian?

Had take-away from there last night. Recommend the quattro stagione! 5 quid as well so a good deal.

Maybe not, but it does teach people how to spell noisy and difficulties properly. Maybe it does not buy organic chicken at William Rose, but it is good for Dulwich to have top private schools in the area. It attracts wealthy people here, who do pay council tax and spend their incomes locally.

I only hope there is an anti-mugging unit on the train as judging by the places it goes to, they'll need it.