Pugwash

The long empty site at the top of Lordship Lane by the Library is now a cute little bar and restaurant - Victus and Bibo. We had a few beers there on Saturday night and it was very welcoming. Not noticed this when passed today - so used to it being closed. When the original restaurant (Moulin) closed down, the new owners said they were going to have a new restaurant after modernising the premises. This was around 10 years ago!.

Premier Inn or Travel Lodge. Social Housing with genuine affordable rents.

I would appeal. When working I had a Southwark wide parking permit as my job as a Southwark employee took me all over the borough. Myself and colleague were parked outside our office as usual and got a PCN. We appealed and won and it turned out that the parking warden misread the initials on our permits AS (all Southwark) and took it to be that we were incorrectly parked in a Residents Bay.

It is a catch 22 situation. My neighbours have been trying to sell their 4 bed semi house for more than a year - 2 lots of buyers have dropped out. As only 2 of them living in the house, they want to downsize in the ED area but need ground floor flat with 2 beds plus parking as wife is disabled, has a blue badge and mobility scooter. They tell me that there is a shortage of such properties in the area at a price they could afford. Sometimes you have to take the risk that you will not be ripped off by the council with future works planned.

Avoid council leasehold properties - especially if it is in a block. If council decide to do maintenance/refurbishments of the block you will be charged for the work whilst tenants will be free. Could end up owing thousands of pounds, Equally if a shared house. Our old neighbour purchased his top floor flat from council, Spend thousands on it rectifying years of neglect by LBS. A couple of years later, LBS decided to paint exterior and charged him £5000 whilst the ground floor tenant did not have to contribute. Within 6 months the paint flaked. He tried unsuccessfully to get some money back. In the end he sold up, and gained a small profit for the internal refurbishment and the addition of an exterior staircase into the shared garden.

Many years ago whilst a male friend was canvassing during election time, he knocked on a door in Crystal Palace Road. Was greeted by a lady in glamorous (according to him) nightwear who offered her services in exchange for voting for a particular candidate! Our friend, who must have been in his 60s at that point , politely declined. We all had a good laugh over this and every time people went canvassing for years afterwards, they were regaled with this story.

Noticed that Car Giant is listed as being in White City. Prefer somewhere in South London/Bromley area as have difficulty accessing some public transport due to mobility issues. The body work of my car is not brilliant and this could cause it to fail MOT

Been in LL store 2/3 times and have always got what I came for and some extras.

Need to see and try the car physically - need to transport at times, a fold up mobility scooter in the boot. Also several relatives/friends with disabilities.

Can anyone recommend a good 2nd hand car showroom? I do not think my car will pass its MOT next month so am on the look out for another car. Family have used Lancers in Beckenham for their last 3 cars, but they only have 1 automatic drive (Nissan Duke) which is too big for me. Would like Ford/Vauxhall etc or similar size. Must be automatic, petrol and ULZ compatible. At this stage just want to get an idea of what is out there and prices. Hopefully my car which is 20 years old, passes MOT this time which will give me longer time to look around.

At each SNT meeting, it is residents/attendees who determine/agree on ward priorities. Generally it is the same group of people who attend the SNT meetings.

Turners Barry Road - have used them for over 10 years.

When I started work for a local authority in 1996, I did a job share 2.5 days a week. At one point I was travelling around the country several times a month. Rather than go into the office to write up my reports, my manager gave me a lap top and suggested that I worked from home, All I had t o do was to give her warning that I would be at home on such a day and give my telephone details. I worked this way for a couple of years, Some weeks I was only in the office one day - usually on team day so could catch up with my colleagues. Although I have been retired some time, during Covid I kept in touch with my professional ex colleagues. They advised me that one team member a day was required in the office, the rest working from home. They felt that this was a good compromise. If I was still working, I would be happy to be in the office on alternate days.

Local councillors, over the many years that the boards have been installed, have rarely updated them. Details of councillors surgeries were posted by party supporters.

Why do you want a 'company'? Do you have a combi which requires slightly different cleaning techniques?. I generally clean my microwave 2/3 times a week with a damp cloth, washing the plate in the sink and drying it.

Community Notice Boards were set up by councillors for the local community to advertise their meetings etc. Originally these had padlocks and keys were given to local community groups i.e Tenants and Residents' Association. Our T&RA used to advertise our meetings, AGMs, social activities, public meetings (i.e. hustings) Give and Take events, Southwark Council run groups/events. Unfortunately the padlocks were broken and boards vandalised. Our T&RA managed to get the Lordship Lane (Small Sainsbury) one refurbished and one in Underhill Road. However, it took ages for our local councillor to discover where the keys to these padlocks were left. We had 2 people from our T&RA who regularly posted details of events and activities in the East Dulwich Community Centre. The padlocks were again broken, and various flyers were posted which rarely had any connection with the area. We have a lady, in her 80s, who several times a year still goes round posting details of our and EDCCs activities, Look out for posters announcing the next Give and Take in February, our T&RAs AGM in April.

Was not impressed by Health Matters when I went there to get some Magnesium supplements (as recommended by my GP). There was so many different choices/strengths. Tried to get assistance but no joy- either too busy chatting or serving other customer, was not asked at any point whether I required help even though I was in there for a good 20 odd minutes. Also found the prices quite high.

Wish they get rid of the tree in Barry Rd adjacent to the Plough, The roots are all over the place, Council re tarmacked them some time ago but makes the pavement uneven. You cannot get a mobility scooter over them as tarmac slopes. Witness a lady with wheelchair trying to get over , in the end her carer had to help over with 2 crutches then push the empty chair over. Also young children using scooters/bikes have fallen off at this point. Hubby spoke to tarmac workers when the work was done and they felt the area was very dangerous to pedestrians and the council should have authorised the removal of both tree and roots. Some prams cannot get over as well. Prior to Christmas, mother/carer with 2 children in double buggy had to walk in road with on coming traffic. We do need trees I have 2 in my garden - one is well over 50 years old and we have it pollard every few years to prevent it damaging neighbours property.

Re tea cost at the Viet Restaurant. One small pot of tea we had two small cups out of it. If we had a pot each would understand the price but not one small pot.

We went there late November/early December. Very pricy, we had the lunch special which price wise was not too bad, very small glass of coffee £6 50. Hubby paid bill and said he should have challenged it as one small pot of Jasmine tea was £7 for the 2 of us.

With no banks in ED now, shop keepers need somewhere to bank their cash. There are plenty of local shops and services which take cash as well as cards. I went to the Forest Hill PO prior to Christmas looking for an ATM (I was shopping in FH at the time). Long queues no ATM but was told that the station had ATM. If LL PO goes, I assume that the ATM will go as well. This will leave only the Co Op with ATM. The Sainsburys Local ATM near the Library frequently runs out of money/breaks down due to constant use now Lloyds have closed.

Christ Church Barry Road has a Warm Hub for over 55s 10 am - Noon on Wednesday. Free drink and snack (toast/teacake/crumpet etc)

Some employers prefer older people as they are deemed to be more reliable, B and Q at one time had lots of 'older people'. I retired at 66 but on a casual visit to my old department, my former boss offered me a job saying I could name my hours. Would have loved to taken him up on it but the reason I took 'early retirement' was that my arthritis restricted my mobility re walking and standing for periods of time. I would say it may not be ageism but not being deemed suitable for the position. Someone I know was always looking for part time work but having spoken to her over a period of years, although she may have had the qualifications needed for the work, her general attitude towards others and her very set views, I could understand why she found paid employment difficult to achieve. Can you do voluntary work? This may give you additional transferable skills.

Not sure whether it would be allowed, but could your partner put a notice up where antenatal classes are held? Natural Childbirth Classes? Mumsnet? I had to do a child observation as part of my professional qualification, but this was 2 hours weekly for one term, I was at Goldsmiths' University and the criteria was that it had to be a child under3 years. I did mine at a local authority nursery. Even though I had 2 children (one being under 7 at that point) I found the observation of the 2 year old girl fascinating- you observe so much more as a student rather than a parent. Because i was focusing on one child, I was able to give feedback to the nursery staff as to the child's interactions with others etc.