Twirly

re. the colour - don't forget that when you look at what you've done in the loo, it's diluted by the water in the pan.

Mabel2001 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > No-one is ganging up on an old lady, that is the > whole point. No, they're not, but I'll bet that she won't see it like that, and should this be taken further I can quite easily see how she could manipulate the situation to make her look like the victim and you look like the bully, although it's the other way around. From what you've said, although she has broken the rules, the council probably have limited resources, particularly at the moment, and just don't see it as worth pursuing with just one complainant against another - a neighbour dispute, hence giving you permission to remove it if you see fit. Good luck with whatever you decide.

> I don't think public transport will ever be able > to beat the car for short journeys unless on main > transport routes. (If I want to get to Kings > Hospital the time of car/bus is often identical > but only because it takes so long to park the car > at Kings and the bus journey follows the same > route). I can't see any way that bus/train/tram > transport could be improved to provide a direct > equivalent for local transport. > > But what about taxis? I wonder how many people who > have cars sitting outside (within 100yards?) of > their house for the working week actually sit down > and do the sums to see if taxis and occasional car > hire would actually be cheaper. > > From Herne Hill it should be easy to cycle. > > Personally, I rather hope that the increased > interest in electric cars will improve the > availability (and initial cost) of electric micro > cars. You can get two of them into a standard > space. Not so good for transporting a family of 4 > though. Agreed about public transport. Unfortunately my friend doesn't cycle (and nor do I) and neither of us are likely to start for our own reasons. I did actually look at the cost of running my car vs. a car club a year or so ago. It was cheaper to run my car by far, just for the long journeys I do each year, never mind the shorter ones I do on a weekly basis. I was quite disappointed. Right now, I need a car to transport equipment around as I'm setting up as a massage therapist. When it comes time to replace my car, I will certainly look at an electric one, but as I do several long road trips a year an electric car on it's own might not be enough. I shall look at the possibilities when the time comes, depending on the budget. But I agree with the general point that car ownership is probably going to continue to increase, unfortunately.

Tylertoes Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > We used to have this huge stray come through the > cat flap every night as soon as we had gone to > bed, how it knew we had gone to bed was beyond > us.... it used to eat all the cat's food and piss > up everything. We changed the cat flap one night > so it could come in but not go out, chased it into > the bathroom and caught it in a cat basket, we > took a long drive over to North London and set it > free. The damn thing turned up about three weeks > later looking no worse for wear !! That's a bit cruel! Presumably he belongs to someone (someone irresponsible I have to say) who isn't looking after him properly. It does sound as though there are some mutant cats with super-powers in ED though, breaking through cat flaps and stuff!

Penguin68 Wrote: > Travelling into town is OK, just, but if you want > to travel across SE London, or to leave it, then > without a car your journey will be complex and > slow (and will often involve having to travel into > the centre to find a way out again!). Anyone who > can afford a car will be driven (sic) to get one, > Totally agree with this. I have a friend who lives in Herne Hill, and it takes less than 10 minutes for her to get to me in the car - it can take over an hour if she has to use the bus. It would be quicker to walk, but having been mugged at knife point in the past, she's obviously not that keen on doing that at night. This may surprise some of you (and I don't live near the station) but I've found it easier to park since the recession. I assume that some households have got rid of a second car, or are doing without one altogether. I only learnt to drive 5 years ago and got my first car (a very late starter!) and when I first bought it, I could rarely park near my flat on Oakhurst, I usually had to park right up the other end of the street or round the corner. These days, it's rare that I can't get parked near home.

Am so sorry to hear about this, I really feel for you.

Hmm... is this what we want on LL?

I think it might depend on where you are on Oakhurst, I don't think it's the entire road. I know the issue came up at the planning meeting for the flats at the end of the road, but I can't remember exactly where it was as it was so long ago. Certainly my downstairs neighbour had their done in a similar fashion a year or two ago, and I'm not aware that they applied for planning permission.

Bodsier and Thomas, whilst I take your point, is there some sort of crack squad of mental health experts poised to come out and take such an individual into custody if a member of the public calls them? A mental health rapid response unit? If someone were to grab me on the street and I felt threatened, I think I'd let the police deal with it, and let them take the individual to the local mental health facility. And Thomas - why did you revive this thread that is nearly 18 months old and about a totally different subject with your post about trying to flog you something on LL? It seems pretty unrelated and I don't quite get it...

I'd have thought that if it's the gas network working late on a Sunday that it's more than likely emergency works, so probably a leak, which personally I'd want fixed if it was near my house. But I'd also probably call up the appropriate company to ask what was going on and why it was being done so late on a Sunday. Do you have kids who are trying to sleep?

Thank you James - emailed them a couple of days ago and the bags arrived today. Very impressed as thought I'd have to wait ages, and they sent two lots as well.

This site might be useful: http://www.flowers.org.uk/public/display_September.php if you click on the flower name you get a thumbnail image. I did the flower centrepieces for our wedding, 2 years ago this April. Used tank vases from Ikea and ordered the flowers from John Allan - he was very helpful, and delivered them to the flat for me. I did pay someone else to do the bouquet though because of what I wanted.

lilolil Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > it wasn't a blue bin week. blue bins have been > pulled out Underhill Road end of Hindmans Road too > and are in the road. That's odd, as I'm on Oakhurst and it was a blue bin week for us and they were emptied yesterday. I thought that they were going to be emptied last week, but they weren't - just pulled out and left on the pavement. Thankfully they were emptied this week as they were completely full. Have to admit that I can never remember which week is a green and which a blue bin week, so just try and get everything out on a Monday night/Tuesday morning to cover any eventuality...

Do you have an internal or external aerial? We have an indoor one which has been fine. If you've got an external one, maybe it moved in the wind?

Then enjoy your trip - I'm a light sleeper, so know it doesn't suit me despite liking the idea. It's weird, as if I'm sat in a seat on a train, I inevitably doze off. Even on the 10 minute journey from London Bridge to East Dulwich!

I've not done a sleeper train in Europe (well, not for over 25 years anyway), but I took the Caldeonian sleeper a while back, but it didn't really live up to it's name in terms of the sleep! Can you sleep through noise and bumps etc? If so then I would have thought you'd be fine. I was far too tired afterwards and it rather spoilt the long weekend, and it was a mistake to be going straight into work after the return journey! I'd rather do the journey during the day next time to take a look at the scenery tbh, whether in the UK or Europe. So maybe fly one way and travel via train the other?

I figured there must've been one, but it was probably very brief for us (we're in Oakhurst). The microwave clock showed zero and the stereo was flashing this morning as it does when the power's been off, but it must've been very brief, as the cooker clock was still showing the right time, and that normally resets to 0:00 if the power is off for anything more than a few seconds.

Loz Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > South Circular to Kew Bridge -> M4 -> M25 -> M40. > > A better route even if the flyover is working. I wouldn't recommend it... took me 40 minutes to get to Kew yesterday on the South Circular, and over 2 hours to get back (left Kew at 4pm). It looked as though the traffic was worse west to east, as the traffic flowing east to west on the way back didn't appear to be so bad. The worst part was from Kew to East Sheen (an hour, could have walked it faster), then about a further half hour/45 mins to Putney where the traffic eased off as the diversion took the traffic back into London on the A219 (I think, not good with road names and numbers). It might also depend on the time of day you are travelling, it's hard to tell. I was anticipating the traffic being a bit heavier on the way home, but nowhere near that bad. My father lives near Swindon, and we regularly do that journey as part of a trip back from his a little later on a Sunday and it'll take 2.5 hours.

Agree with RosieH about the Fentimans. Delicious! I usually have some sort of cordial in the fridge to mix with fizzy water. Elderflower is the basic, but there are lots of variations according to season - Elderflower and Strawberry was lovely, think it's Elderflower and Plum at the moment, which is nice but not quite as good. And the spiced berry one with hot water is great as a warming drink (and for when you're on the booze again, my Dad says it's lovely in a drop of red wine that's passed it's best warmed up as mulled wine, though I've yet to try it). Am also on the alcohol-free bandwagon for a few weeks.

Happy Christmas everyone, and a healthy and prosperous new year :)-D

Buy a marble one instead.

I wonder what else the thieves are likely to target over the coming months, and what can be done to prevent the thefts? Some things such as cabling are easily replaceable though their theft causes inconvenience, others such as this statue are irreplaceable.

Have also signed the petition. There was a news item last week about a hospital that had to cancel ops as thieves had stolen cabling from the emergency back-up generator! Wonder what else will be stolen before the law is changed if the petition isn't going to close for another 9 months. Might be a bit late by then...

Good instructions Dulwich Fox. Warming the pot is absolutely crucial. I use loose leaf tea mostly (favourite my Dad buys me from a place in Cirencester, but I also like Twinings), and usually allow it to brew for 5 minutes, any less and it'll be too week. I also use a Chatsford Teapot as you can put your tea in the inner drainer thingy, then whip it out when the tea is brewed to prevent it getting "stewed", although if you use decent quality tea then it's less likely to stew anyway. And if you want to be really scientific about it, you can always make your tea according to the British Standard... http://sub.spc.org/san/docs/BS6008.pdf

I got the book, Veggiestan, for my birthday (my request) and it looks fantastic. Haven't had a chance to cook anything out of it, but am looking forward to trying some new things. The shop is lovely too.