Twirly

silverfox Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Buy flatmate a slinky for Xmas and a couple of hot > water bottles > > (should that be slanket above?) I think so - not sure how a metal spring that slithers down the stairs would contribute to household warmth! Sunskippy10, do you keep similar hours? If so, at the moment, that seems fairly reasonable with the heating. Although as it gets colder you might need it on for longer in the mornings as it can take an age to warm up. Also, how do you know the heating has been on for hours when you come in? However, there is nothing more miserable than feeling permanently cold, so do talk to the flatmate about it, and if she or he needs to have it on a bit more than you can afford, see if they can chip in a little bit more to the bills. Also, do remember that once a place is warmed up, it's more efficient to have the heating on low than let it get cold and then have it warm up again. Oh, and a good Christmas present for the flatmate might be an electric blanket!

This sounds fantastic, I'd be particularly interested in Alzheimer's as I shall be doing some voluntary work with dementia patients at King's soon.

Marmora Man Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Not really sure about the argument - but a > straight answer might be a bank statement > evidencing outgoings but no incomings? Whilst that does seem a neat solution, why assume that someone only has one bank account? They could have lots of income coming into one account, and only outgoings out of another (initially well funded) account. And over what period of time would they have to have no income into that account? It would be too much of a minefield. I don't know how it works, but I suspect that if someone joins as an unwaged member, that the money to subsidise that membership must come from central government somehow.

What are they supposed to do, take it on trust that you're not working? In which case vast numbers of people would cheat the system, sadly, and claim the unwaged rate when they were actually working. Besides, I would advise you to register for JSA if you're entitled to it - a) you'll get a very small amount of money to tide you over till you find another job b) it'll keep your NI contributions going, important when it comes to retirement, c) you'll give the government a more realistic picture of the unemployment figures.

treehugger Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- I cannot imagine how things are coming home > from then west end at 5.30 - 6 and would be > interested to hear how commuters are getting on > and their experiences compared to the BB. I wonder how many people use the bus to commute the full route into the the West End during rush hour (at either end of the day)? If I was trying to get to/from work on it, I certainly wouldn't use it as you'd never be able to predict the timing on the way in. I'd have to allow an extra half hour in the morning in case the traffic was bad. When I worked in town (West End and then later the City) I'd get the bus to Peckham Rye station, then a train. More reliable. Having said that, I've frequently taken the 12 all the way home when I've been out shopping of an evening, particularly when laden down with bags (but not since the double deckers were introduced). Even then, the bendies used to be very packed. And I've used it on the way in at weekends, or away from the peak periods (though there seems to be a constant peak period these days).

Well there's the intricately patterned sweater that I started over a decade ago, but I ran out of the right coloured wool to complete it. So despite the hours. Of work and effort I put in, as it was very difficult to do, it languishes under my bed still...

As seen outside SMBS this morning... apparently it's for sale ::o http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b225/LavenderLouise/Miscellaneous/Pumpkin.jpg

Willma - I think you may be right. The DH journey was about 4.30pm. Definitely not the daily price cap, as the train journey was only the 2nd journey of the day (the bus to the respective stations being the first). I didn't know that there was a second peak time for fares. Not that it matters much, as the daily cap was still the off-peak one of ?6.60. I was just curious, so thank you for solving that mystery. Loz - that probably has to go down as being one of the most overpriced train journeys in the country!

Can anyone explain why, when using Oyster pay as you go, it costs 50p more to travel from Denmark Hill to Victoria than from Peckham Rye to Victoria? I only just noticed this when checking my journey history, and am somewhat puzzled since it?s exactly the same line, and I'd have thought that the journey from Denmark Hill should be cheaper since it?s a stop less.

Have to say that I agree with Sue about not liking over-friendly shop assistants, but it does depend on how it's done. If someone comes up to me when I enter the shop, make eye contact and says "Good morning, can I help you?", unless I want help, I'm quite likely to scuttle out as soon as possible as I fear a hard sell. But a cheery "Morning, let me know if you need any help" whilst the shop assistant carries on with whatever s/he is doing is fine. They've acknowledged my presence, let me know they're there to help should I need it, and, most importantly, let me get on with my own thing. But in the instance of the OP, s/he had actually issued the greeting, so I agree that it was incredibly rude of the shop staff to just ignore it.

Strawbs Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > We get them on oakhurst as well, jaws is about to > go spare over it! If we can club together and > complain ( if you think it will make a difference) > x I'm on Oakhurst too, and they drive MrTwirly and mad, particularly in the summer months when the windows are open. The TV is frequently drowned out. Can we do much without the registration numbers?

Well, despite having emailed on 24 September asking for a kitchen caddy for myself and upstairs neighbour (since they only left one between three flats), we still haven't received anything. So for the moment, we can't recycle our food waste. I just hope that we won't be penalised for it, since it's Southwark's fault. Have just chased them up, so hopefully I'll hear something soon

Last time I got a new phone, the nice chap in the shop used some gizmo to transfer everything across. Maybe go into a relevant shop and see if they can do it for you?

BrandNewGuy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > When you get to the office, make sure your > security pass is safely tucked away somewhere > right at the bottom of your oversized handbag. And > whatever you do, don't try to remove it before you > get to the door. That way you can block the > entrance for everyone else while you rummage > around through your purse, hankies, make-up, > magazines, bills, receipts, chocolate bars and > whatnot... Ditto those with an Oyster card blocking the entrance to the gates at the station, or holding the bus up, after you've been seen standing at the stop waiting for 10 minutes but didn't have the nous to get it out whilst you were waiting.

benmorg Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Sounds to me like prices are already tumbling > again. I suspect the weakness will spread up the > market and eventually affect houses as well as > flats. I don't see how it can be any other way. Some of us buy flats to start with as houses are too expensive, then eventually need to trade up for more space or whatever. If we can't sell our flats, we can't trade up, so presumably the housing market further up the chain will be affected, eventually. What will happen when the younger generation can't afford to buy at all as they've got ?50k of student debt to deal with, plus need ?20k for a deposit and are having to pay a significant proportion of their salary into their pensions, I don't know.

richfish Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- My mother thought chest freezers were a danger (risk > of falling in) so we had a tiny upright and hence > never went to Iceland. Your mother was right. That is exactly what happened to my Mum (in the 1970's) when she was cleaning hers. Sadly, I was away at Guide camp at the time so didn't actually see it (she wrote to me about it), but I still have this vision of her head first down in the thing, legs waving about in the air ::o :))

Well I'm feeling very left out! They delivered new bins to all the houses on my street earlier this week (looks ridiculous now, as some houses have 7 or 8 bins in their front gardens of various colours), but between three flats we got one kitchen caddy and three new blue boxes! I've just emailed the council to get it sorted, and get one of our green bins removed, though I imagine they will be pretty much inundated so it'll be interesting to see how long it takes them to get back to me. Presumably Southwark will generally have far too many green bins now. What is going to happen to them all?

I had dreadful problems with our wedding list which we did through John Lewis. They let us order an item (Kitchen Aid food processor - the most expensive thing we bought with the vouchers we got) when they didn't have it in stock and didn't know when it would be back in stock again either. They didn't tell us this, they just sent the first delivery without it. And several enquiries couldn't produce a possible back in stock date either. I rang the manufacturers in the end to get the full story and told John Lewis. This date did then slip a couple of times (not JL's fault). We had ordered it in May, finally got it end of November. However, I wrote a very strongly worded letter of complaint and received ?50 in vouchers as compensation. So do complain, you should get something out of them.

So sorry to hear this. Hope you get your security sorted and feel safe again soon.

This thread has made me lol... I had to do this many years ago with a cat that was used to having the door opened for it every time it went in and out, but there was no longer anyone there to do that for her constantly. Bribery was the only way. Put cat on one side, you on the other with a box of treats. Hold catflap open, rattle treats and peer through flap at cat (s/he will probably look at you as though you are a complete idiot). Also, make it the only exit for the cat - so no open doors or windows anywhere. Our cat looked at me as though I was an idiot for a couple of weeks (this exercise does take time), but eventually put her head tentatively into the flap to retrieve a treat from my hand and when she at last realised that she could get through it without coming to harm, took to it as an exit with no further problems. Although her preferred method of regaining entry remained yowling through the patio door at my Dad when he was sitting in his armchair. And he, the softie, would get up, unlock the door, and let her in *rolls eyes* Good luck!

I had a check when I went up DKH on the bus this morning. There is a sign indicating the start of the bus lane, but it just shows buses, taxis and bikes, there is no indication of the hours of operation.

I agree that the turn left section could do with extending a bit. I normally go up the main lane and try to cross over into the left hand bit on the dotted lines, but often it has traffic in it (get a couple of buses there, and you can't get into it at all after the solid white line ends), in which case I've crossed over the solid white line a bit early (never shoot up the whole length of the bus lane though). I guess I shouldn't even be doing that - am just concious of the traffic behind me, and trying to get out of it's way so it can get through the lights before they change again. However, I can't see TFL doing anything about it as, IMO, it's a relatively minor inconvenience and they've got bigger traffic issues to deal with elsewhere.

suniil Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > :) I thought the same after seeing this pic of a > guy looting Tesco Value Basmati Rice!! > MrTwirly found a picture of someone looting a large pack of Pampers and looking very pleased with themselves... or should I not be surprised at that since this is East Dulwich?

Well I saw the number 12 coming down Dog Kennel Hill half an hour or so ago (just before 4) so at that point I would assume it was.

DaveR Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Going back to the original idea, I don't see why > (for example) continued receipt of benefits for > offenders couldn't be conditional on complying > with community orders. While you're at it, why > not establish a more direct link between the > offending and the reparation - clear up after your > own riots. How about offering people on community > orders the possibility, once they've estalbished > themselves as reliable, to do extra hours and be > paid for it. Get local businesses involved in > community orders so that the work that is done is > more varied and more productive - again, if you > prove yourself reliable at the start of your order > you get the opportunity to complete it doing work > that might actually lead somewhere. Businesses > get free/cheap labour but, say, have to share the > profits with the community - they get to keep some > to provide an incentive. > > I don't read the Daily Mail, or the Guardian - > does it show? Possibly the most sensible posts on this thread so far. Whilst I understand why people are angry and want the looters to be punished, this has to be done in a way that doesn't demean the rest of us. Removing benefits from people who are convicted is destructive as it will leave them homeless and hungry and so more likely to commit further crimes. This would not reflect well on the rest of us. By all means punish those responsible through loss of liberty (prison or community service), but know the difference between punishment and revenge.