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After lengthy communications with someone over a number of days I finally got to the bit in the transaction when the seller gave me the address to collect form. It was in a place called Wallington which is somewhere south of Croydon. After all the negotiations , missed calls etc the item that I was interested in buying was miles away. One of the great things about EDF is the locality thing. If you trade something it's usually with someone a few streets away or 5 minutes in the car, on a few occasions I've bought stuff from acquaintances. The deal fell part as I wasn't willing to drive to Wallington. The seller was a bit miffed as she said she'd turned down offers from other potential buyers. The seller said that she had used EDF for buying and selling when she lived in Clapham and didn't understand my reason for pulling out of the deal, I reckon the round trip would have been a couple of hours. I suggest that people check where pick ups or drop offs are expected or maybe buyers/sellers could put the first part of their postcode on their ads when they post them.

We are just completing the complete refurbishment of a lovely 1 bedroomed flat on Barry Road. Top of the range heating system, complete rewire with quality switches and sockets, oak flooring, complete replaster, new bathroom. Very nice. Contact me for further details.

I posted an ad for a van and I'm guessing that it would be classed as a business item. There's an ad for a VW Transporter that's been posted today but doesn't use the word 'van' in the title. Maybe that's it.

I've just been through the soul sapping experience of posting an ad with photos and it hasn't appeared. Is there another bit of jiggery pokery that I've missed?

Sometimes there is a revolting tone to some of these posts. 'If you've got time to wash yourself then you have got time to keep your home and the path leading up to your home clean and tidy'. Do you have any idea how that sounds? It would be interesting to know which party AlexK was leafleting for. Mind you I know plenty of smug SOB's sitting in their million pound houses who still describe themselves as old lefties, so what does it matter. And to my mind there's sod all difference between a leaflet from the Tories or Labour and one from a pizza shop. They both go into the recycling without being looked at.

I'm glad that I don't feel that I have to survive by lying, but like a few others Sue I benefit from an event of pure luck. I'm a white, middle class man born into an educated white middle class family. Things are stacked in my favour. I'm very lucky indeed.

This an old, old business. Have a thought for the vendors though, they are usually in debt to Fagin like characters who beat them if they don't return with cash. Vendors are usually suffering from homelessness, alcohol, drug and mental health problems. Just politely decline and close the door, there may be a bit of effing and jeffing but they do just go away.

Aren't we all lucky that we don't have to resort to such desperate tactics to survive eh?

They are owned by a small HA that was set up to manage self build cooperatives. The HA carries out rent collection and organises major cyclical maintainence but the co-op retains allocation, development and some members carry out their own maintenance and repairs. As well as limited rents the original builders are entitled to 'sweat equity' an index linked payment that is paid if and when a member relinquishes the tenancy. To date only one family has moved on and they weren't original builders. The council has nothing to do with our homes.

Its a bit harsh to suggest that people got these properties for nothing. I was a member of a shortlife co-op and we were given houses by local authorities that were not viable as stock because of their deplorable condition. The co-ops negotiated with the Housing Corporation to secure small grants that were used to make the houses wind and waterproof and the installation of plumbing and electrics.Once the grants were used up, co-op members used their own funds to improve the properties. After 6 or 7 years the councils began asking for properties back, the case of the lady who managed to hang on to her property for 33 years is very unusual. The co-op that I was in finally split, half the members remained as a co-op but managed by a housing association and some of us formed a self build co-op and built our own homes. We have lived very happily in our homes for the last 17 years. We don't own them, none of us felt the need to be homeowners and because we built them our rents are low (people pay more for a room in a shared flat where we live) and our tenancies are protected. It is not absolutely necessary to own property to have secure and fruitful futures. Our children have the same opportunities as anyone elses and have a very healthy attitude towards the concepts of cooperability, compromise and collective responsibility. Some people gasp when we say that we don't own our home as if we have done something irresponsible in not becoming homeowners. My partner and I have fairly modest incomes but we have been able to choose a less money driven pathway in our lives.

Its a bit harsh to suggest that people got these properties for nothing. I was a member of a shortlife co-op and we were given houses by local authorities that were not viable as stock because of their deplorable condition. The co-ops negotiated with the Housing Corporation to secure small grants that were used to make the houses wind and waterproof and the installation of plumbing and electrics.Once the grants were used up, co-op members used their own funds to improve the properties. After 6 or 7 years the councils began asking for properties back, the case of the lady who managed to hang on to her property for 33 years is very unusual. The co-op that I was in finally split, half the members remained as a co-op but managed by a housing association and some of us formed a self build co-op and built our own homes. We have lived very happily in our homes for the last 17 years. We don't own them, none of us felt the need to be homeowners and because we built them our rents are low (people pay more for a room in a shared flat where we live) and our tenancies are protected. It is

I agree Louisa. I first moved to Lordship Lane in 1983 and the community was quite a different place then. I'm not saying it was better or worse but it was certainly more varied in terms of people. I have to say on balance, I preferred it as it was. Too many beards and buggies now. That's not to say I don't like beardy men, I am one albeit of the grizzled grey variety and I'v brought up three kids myself. But ED can feel like a bit of a monoculture sometimes.

I noticed that in an earlier post someone asked why the market hadn't expanded. I know a lot of market traders and they say that the pitch fees are prohibitivly expensive. If you have a quick turn over business with a good mark up on your product like The Dogfather then you can make a few quid but if you're having to fork out 50 or 60 quid before you even start it's not such a good deal.

Yes it's better than nothing. It's more of a lunch stop than anything else. Could do with a few more produce stalls though. If you want a proper market, go to Deptford on a Saturday and save yourself some money. Excellent fruit and veg and more variety than you can find on Lordship Lane, superb fish at a fraction of the cost of Moxons and one of the best butchers in the country at Wellbeloveds who have been open since 1829. And you can get yourself a decent coffee to sip while wandering and a fantastic food market which is much much better than N'cross on the 1st Saturday of the month.

It's a double edged sword for businesses. If you continually get glowing reports that's great for business but one lousy comment can cause all sorts of problems for a small business. I won't take on work if I feel that the client will be difficult, it's not worth it as some people are just plain spiteful or mad or both. There are some clients that you just can't please, so avoid them.