Nero

On a +ve note, I've got a great postie. And the Silvester Road office people have always been pleasant and efficient. Nero

I heard that the man behind Jacks was going to go in to run it. Not sure whether that is the case. Nero

I love Marmite, peanut butter (crunchy and organic, sans sugar) and thick-cut Marmalade. Can't abide having butter and jam/marmalade on the same piece of bread or toast at the same time. It makes me gag! Nero

It's ok, I think, to grob on grass, out of view, if your lungs are full of tuppenny-tasting phlegm, but in the street, no. On a bus, never. Nero

I'm not asking for a medal, but I've done the MP=lobbying, councillor-writing-to, neighbour-chatting to get things done. It often works. When it doesn't, then at least I've tried. I really have very, very little time for whingers who don't do at least something. Give it a go! Nero

Recently, a website spawned a well-ish-documented campaign against people playing their music on mobiles or having their music turned up too loud. It's resulted in Mr Ken having stickers put on buses asking people to keep it down. Does anyone think a similar campaign against food-and-other-littering would work? Or feet on seats? (It seems totally acceptable now for people to remove their feet from a seat when it's needed, as if they are being as polite as maiden aunts in doing so.) Nero

No, don't think that would do it, Pk, do you? I was thinking about talking to the councillors, writing to the press, lobbying an MP, starting a petition, talking to the shopkeepers whose staff are surly. It's not hard. It'd take 30 minutes to do anyone of those. Over to the SE15 residents. Nero

I agree with you. I don't live in Peckham, so why don't the people that do live there at least spend as much time trying to do somethign about it as they do writing on EDF? Harsh? Yup, but that's the only way you will ever begin to make a difference. It's not easy, but nor is life. Nero

PK, you don't have to fall victim of a crime to understand and experience lawlessness. Lawlessness doesn't mean it has to be like Basra or Helmand province. Littering, riding bikes on pavements, peeing in the street, openly drinking to excess and smoking weed, all constitute lawlessness. It all adds up and makes the whole experience of being there unpleasant. Nero

Please don't turn this into a class thing. It's boring and there are plenty of others who are keen to do just that on this forum. The Lane is down at heel, somewhat lawless and unpleasant. I ain't got a posh little nose, and I'm not super-sensitive, I just know when something works and when something doesn't. Rye Lane need't be full of knick-knack shops and coffee bars to be a decent shopping place. It just needs to be less litter-strewn, be passable most of the time by buses full of fare-paying passengers, and not have people peeing on the street and smoking weed, singly or in gangs. It's not much to ask. You can have 'character' and not be tawdry, you know. Nero

Monkey, If you are not in the flat you don't have to pay council tax. My friend has been having his house done up for the psat six months and he did not pay as he was not living there. Not sure from your post whether you are in the house or not. Nero

Well, my friend Ian (who owns the rights to tv-am) tells me Mad Lizzie lives in Henley-on-Thames. He speaks to her twice a week and there's no mention of E Dulwich. Nero tv-am

But to a West African, a shop selling West African products is about as exciting as a Tesco Express for most British people. It's that exotification effect, which is patronising and ultimately racist, I think. Nero

Further up LL, which hasn't featured as much as the lower parts in this thread yet, Karavan is good, and Jacks is a great cafe. Nero

Huw and his wife and five children have moved to Dulwich. They used to live in Clapham. Nero

Indeed. Ur of the Chaldes. I always remember that from RE at school. Nero

I loved the handle too. You could regulate your own temperature. Agree that the best seat was top-deck, back left seat. Lots of legroom. Like your own London Transport business class. Nero

It's campaign-speak laziness, council-talk jargon. It's like saying 'hustle and bustle' when they you really mean 'bloody awful, loud, noisy, pain in the arseness' when talking about those holiday markets we're told are worth visiting. I'm more ranting against that typically banal language that's increasingly employed to flam up what is at best quotidian, at worst annoying. Nero

Why are the shops 'exciting'? Don't be so bloody patronising. They are no more exciting than any other shop. Just because they cater to a minority does not make them 'exciting'. How can a shop selling cow heels be 'exciting'? Sheesh. They're just butchers' shops or hairdressing shops, so don't try to trade on s false and non-existent exoticism, as that is wrong and racist. Nero

I'd never say fruit and veg shop - too many syllables compared to greengrocer, which is a bit shorter and a much more handsome word. Nero

Does the litter aspect and having to stand and be packed in not bother you at all? I am genuinely intrigued. Perhaps I am too sensitive about that kind of thing, and others are more willing to accept it. Nero

The worst aspect for me is people dropping litter and people putting their feet on the seats. It's a very unpleasant situation. Standing on a bus as a norm is NOT the way forward. It's dehumanising. No wonder some people are then tempted to treat the bus in an unhuman fashion, ie. by spitting, littering (including nut shells and peach stones, I kid you not) and leaving free newspapers to be shredded underfoot. Take note, this kind of thing bleeds into the greater society. It's disturbing and unpleasant. Nero

About 15 years ago, an amber light meant slow down. Now it means speed up to get through before it turns red. There's been a real shift in our attitudes to road safety, probably because there is more traffic and therefore more congestion. It'll be very hard indeed to regain those values. Bus drivers are just like a lot of other drivers, but they should really know better as the vehicles they are driving hold fare-paying passengers. Buses are big and heavy and can do lots of damage. If you are displeased with a driver, why not tell them, politely. Nero

I received a private message last week from a bloke in the US who'd been searching in vain for a way to contact an old university pal he'd had many years ago. He'd put me into Google and found a posting on this site with both her and my name in it, sent me a PM and I then sent it onto my friend, who's now in contact with him. She'll be meeting him in NYC when she goes there to see her family later this month. Awwww. Nero

I'm pretty good at the quick crossword, but have never got into the cryptic ones. Is it just a matter of banging your head against a wall for about three years before you get more than one clue correct? Or is there a system? Is there a book, or a website that can prime you like a crammer college? Nero