SeanMacGabhann

>:D< it did DC it did

ooh -- cross-posting with snorky !

Emily - you may have a point re: Nero's popularity but a bit out of order to call the local councillours an appalling bunch - they are acting, not just to uphold teh law but also at the behest of many many people who vote them in. It's the democratic process and is inevitably weakened when those who put themselves forward are called "apalling" for doing their jobs The pros and cons of Nero have long been discussed on here and I doubt we need to go into them again - but no need for personal abuse

it was tongue in cheek - but also making a point

I pity anyone dropping into this thread with it's seemingly innocuous title! I hesitate to pick up on DC's point after another recent thread - but Are we in desperate times? I don't believe so. As Mockney says, that's not to say there isn't A threat. But to use the Isle of Man camps as a good example of desperate measures and it being repealed isn't a great idea IMO. That happened because of innate hositility of "Otherness" and not because of any sensible measure. And rights and freedoms are always fought for, never surrenderd

both absolutely true - but I don't think all the people who currently use 'em think the same. Does my head in as well When I go to NY and get the freebies there the quality is fantastic - some of them anyway. But they are weekly. And aen't shoved into every commuters hands (that's the bit I object to most)

I'm broadly with you gerry - even if I don't sound like it. Tackling crime (and it's bad enough the phrase is associated with Blair never mind ignored thereafter) and the cause of crime are huggely important. But to talk about things like "the real East Dulwich" as if those of us who try to enjoy life despite the usual hassles (crime, money, transport etc) aren't aware of the whole ED picture isn't that helpful The other point to make is that we are (almost certainly) all criminals in one for or other? Maybe not violent criminals but criminals all the same (with apologies to people who have never copied a CD, taken anything stringer than Fosters, exceeded a speed limit, thrown a cigar on the ground etc etc). So let's all be careful in any crime crackdown

I agree with you both Dom and MP - but it's nothing new and not a sign of PC or an opportunist government It was after all Maggie's Farm which surpressed speech from Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness for so long

I keep getting confused by people starting messages with "Sean" I know Sean eile started the thread but having posted a few times I never know if people are talking to me or him now

quite the cynic aren't you gerry? On the one hand whilst I have sympathy with the events affecting the people around you, snide references to community wardens don't help. One guy gets a fine after chucking a cigar on the ground and all of a sudden they are a cure-all for every ill in society? I hardly think so... I'm curious as to, having started the thread, you are able to balance the unfortunate events in your life with the apparant lack of incident amongst others and at least come to the conclusion that life "in general" isn't quite as bad as that experienced by you? It seems that no matter how many positive stories come forward you are obsessed by the negative. And I'm not saying you shouldn't (you have after all had a lot of bad things happen) but it can be a dangerous road to go down

a quarter of a mile???? With just a box of veg??? I dream of quarter of a mile when I'm hauling a Saturday shop up from t'lane!

Wow Jackangel - bit of a situation that one. Are you sure they aren't the Maguire family from Shameless? ;-) It just goes to show how, as spaces for parking become ever more rare, people are going to go to extreme measures. Your post doesn't come across as nasty or extreme at all. Sounds all too plausible in fact Isn't falsley claiming to be disabled a criminal matter? And you could go to the police rather than the council? I'm not vaguely informed enough to be sure on this one but that sounds like a course of action?

I've had quite a few intersting experiences on buses home over the years I tend to sit at the back of the top deck and read my book too. Quite a few times groups of young 'uns do sit around me and sometimes start to talk about me or sometimes to me in a vaguely "threatening" way. Usually they are just messing with you - if you have any frame of reference handy or even a memory of what it was like to be at that age and shoot back something witty then they normally warm to you and either leave you alone or start to enage in a more friendly way The only genuinely scary times have been when some just-as-obvious-asJack-Nicholson-atthestartoftheShining-bat-crazy guys gets on and starts shouting at people

Charming You are asking for advice so I'm giving it - you live on a very busy street with approx 2.4 cars per house. If that parking space is freed up, if the council do what you want them to do, there is now ONE extra parking space. That is like a drop in the ocean compared to the demands of the streets car population. It doesn't matter what street it is or if I'm your neighbour or not surely? Or do you believe that that single space will somehow be left vacant for you and yours? My advice is to relax a bit - it's just one parking space. As for getting out more, most people on here would probably advise me to stay in more....

will that one space really make any difference if there are that many cars on the street? Really?

Tell No One was a great film - genuinely enjoyed it (even the moments of "French cinema-ness")

Crazy over-statement SeanM People seem to be misunderstanding me - I AM AGAINST LITTER! All I am saying is that the fine is TOO STEEP! Leaving aside the disparity in fines for different offences - the whole point of a fine is to be steep enough to make you not do it again. Not only are you unlikely to do it again but many people reading this thread will also think twice now This is A Good Thing! Not Orwellian - just effective Now the wider problem about speeding and uneven application of fines is a seperate issue and should be addressed for sure. But it doesn't make it an Orwellian Nightmare Under Ken (it be be becoming an Orwellian Nightmare under the government - but that's a different story too)

I have had some pretty bad food in there (a pie on a Sunday lunch time brings back particularly bad memories) but I've also had some good food too. Last 2 times I've been have both been solid It's an M&B pub so the food is centrally sourced and controlled so I'm never going to get a steak (for example) to compare with Franklins but it can be fine

You do realise it's possible to live in one of the world's major cities and not have it look like a student-flat right? Even once-scuzzy New York has cleaned up it's act in many boroughs - it's not something to be proud of, litter, you know. You don't have to be Angela Lansbury in Dingley Dell to not want to wade through crap.

I'm expecting ???? to link us not being mugged to being PC liberal types....

we clearly HAVE freedom of speech - I'd much rather live here than many of the countries I've just been to or near - but it IS being eroded However if people over-state the case then others will just turn off from the debate and dismiss them as cranks I'll keep an eye out for the film on DVD - but I'd be surprised if it contained much that WASN'T IN THE NEWSPAPERS or any half decent book collection. TV on the other hand......

off tothe Quiet Room the pair of you As for the fencing jackangel - I'm broadly in agreement with you. I'm not a fan of it generally in any situatoon and if it can be avoided then all the better. The fact that it does look hideous as well only makes it worse Falcao - tell me your post was tongue-in-cheek. If not, man people worry too much about the wrong stuff

when I was attacked several times (between the ages of 12-15) it was in rural Ireland and not London but I do often notice stories about some youngsters getting attacked repeatedly and it does take me back I think it can happen for many and varied reasons - in my case I would never think of taking it to the police anyway. When we say mugged btw do we mean roughed-up a bit, had something valuable stolen or severely damaged? If it was the latter I would consider the police but if it was the former, when it happened to me I wouldn't think of going to the police. I just accepted school bullies as part of life.

I worry about statements like "worried about what's going on in ED" as if ED is somehow different to anywhere else and doesn't face the same concerns/limitations as other neighbourhoods But given all that here's my story Lived in the area - 7 years Circle of acquantainces and friends who live in the area - about 50? Is that big or small - no idea. # of known muggins or attempted muggins - Zero (this may change as several people read this and tell me about their story) Both myself and my other half walk a fair bit home from the bus stop, at night, seperately and have done for 7 years - amount of threatening behaviour encounterd - again, zero I'm not saying it doesn't happen - it clearly does - but I'm sure many people will happily wade in with horror stories so I;m balancing it up - all true too, without any exaggeration I understand completely I could get mugged today - I live in a huge world city - it would be amazing of people didn't get mugged. I'm not saying I should accept that fate but I refuse to be cowed or live in fear.

Given that people get mugged and given that some muggers do get caught, do you think the ones that get caught say "it's not fair! Most of the other muggers get away with it - I hardly EVER mug anyone and the one time I do I get nabbed!!"