Jeremy

Who's it aimed at? Can't imagine many in my age group going for a songs and sermon (essentially church-like) format at all.

Fight night weigh-in would bring it's own problems... dehydrated fighters slogging it out under bright lines for 12 rounds...

You could always hire the gear, and get some of your friends to take turns manning the CD players (with an iPod playlist as backup). Or hire a DJ and give him a playlist. Or as others have said, see if Jah Lush is up for it!

Don't think you can generalise like that, lots of people do it for their own reasons and stick to it. Others do it for bad reasons and it doesn't last. Either way, I wouldn't want to judge other peoples lifestyles.

Accommodating friends' preferences and lifestyles is part of being a, you know, "friend"...

Would be very very surprised if the park wardens didn't tell you to do one. Like KK said, if this kind of thing was tolerated then everyone would do it.

Don't be silly, please.

Same old same old. There are good drivers and bad drivers, good cyclists and bad cyclists.

I suppose I grew to quite like him. But he could certainly get under people's skin. Quite a talent for it, actually. But I'm not suggesting for a second that this person was a bully. To me, bullying is a sustained campaign of intimidation or harassment. I've never seen that on this forum.

StraferJack Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The only thing I would take issue with is the notion of some being "above" others Well... there is/was someone who could sometimes give that impression...

Yeah, will leave a few mm on each side for the floor guys to fill with gunge.

Peckham. Just google it...

Andy - you're right, it is a ridiculous threat to make. In fact, I can think of a few recent cases where people have made unreasonable complaints about local businesses, and they've been given pretty short shrift. Next time it happens, I'd just call their bluff!

Louisa Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Poached eggs are delicious, if they are > put on top of a slice of toasted and buttered > bread and eaten as is. How about eggs benedict? Surely that's a long standing breakfast classic? Once a dish has stood the test of time, it should be exempt from accusations of snobbery or faddism.

Screw the boards down to the joists! Not really a carpet fitter's job though... if you don't fancy doing it yourself, see if you can find a handyman recommended on the forum.

Thanks nette. But for now I just need a rectangle, so template shouldn't be necessary. I actually came across marble city earlier when googling for 'stone hearth london', so will be sure to get a quote from them. Perhaps at a later date I'll go for a "T" shaped piece to lay on top of it. Will probably fit myself... just a matter of ripping out the "placeholder" wood, squirting with adhesive, and lowering into place. In theory.

I do. Good idea.

My current thinking is that I should get a piece of stone cut to fit the existing hole in front of the fireplace... at least then it will look respectable once the floor is sanded and finished. In the future we may want to put an extra raised hearth on top of it (as in your photo, RD). This will mean ripping out the existing surround and then re-mounting it higher up... but the fact that there's a non-combustible hearth beneath it should mean we're safe if/when a fire goes in. So I guess my next question is... who knows of someone who can supply a slab of slate to my specified dimensions for a decent price?

Next time I take a long flight, I need to finally finish The Man in the High Castle... but I always get sidetracked by G&Ts and in-flight movies...

Actually there is already stone inside the fireplace itself... but not in front of the fireplace. And I'm talking about stone which is flush with the floor, not sitting above it. (Come to think of it, the fireplace itself might contain poured concrete rather than a piece of stone)

We're planning on having sanded/varnished floorboards in the lounge of our house... so far so good... but in front of the fire place, the hearth (which I think would have originally been a piece of stone flush with the floorboards) has been replaced with some old bits of tatty wood. I think it would look much better with a piece of stone/slate in there... and besides, I am assuming that a stone hearth in front of the fireplace is mandatory if we want an actual fire or stove at some point. So what's the best thing to do? Find someone who can supply a piece of stone of the correct size and fit it? Or is it better to buy a standard "off-the-shelf" one, and cut back the floorboards to fit around it?

eddie Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The point was that 83% of tickets issued in > Southwark occur in East Dulwich. So is the area > being targeted or do people generally not enter > bus lanes in the rest of the borough? Maybe because Lordship Lane is a major bus route, but the road has a lower capacity than say, Walworth Rd or Old Kent Rd - therefore more thorough policing is required.

7-11/Costcutter survive purely because they are local... you need milk/cereal/bread for the morning. You're on your way home and you fancy a bottle of wine or a couple of beers. You've ran out of washing up liquid/bog roll/etc and need emergency supplies. And they're just there at the end of the road.

Well I suppose at least they still have one loyal customer...

Lynne - in reality I'm sure the arrival of Sainsburys did damage local businesses at the time. But I don't really see what your point is... big supermarkets are everywhere now, and they're essential for a lot of people's lifestyles. We can't return to the past. If it wasn't here, lots of us would be driving over to Old Kent Rd every week to stock up.