Twirly

But according to the OP, this was done with the approval of the police. If that is true, they must be pretty sure that these people did shoplift. Presumably they don't actually know who they are, and so cannot go and arrest them or prosecute. If the accused shoplifters did come and complain, presumably the police would take appropriate action against them for shoplifting, so it's unlikely that they will come forward. However, it would be inadvisable for anyone to do this without consulting the police first.

Quickest maybe - but not necessarily the most comfortable. In rush hour, ff you go to E&C and get the Bakerloo line, you get on and get a seat. If you go to Victoria, you can wait 10 mins whilst they clear the crowding out of the tube station, eventually get on the train and play sardines for the rest of your journey. I used to commute from ED to Baker Street, so am very familiar both routes.

I have to admit, this thread has been a bit of an eye-opener. I didn?t think that anyone would actually admit to bad driving habits, yet people have admitted to doing things contrary to the highway code, and have justified themselves despite being told quite clearly that what they are doing is wrong and dangerous to themselves and others! I have to admit to a slight bad habit myself with regard to middle-lane driving. When I do drive on the motorway, it always seems to be incredibly busy, and as a result I often end up about 70 in the middle lane whilst both overtaking the inside lane and keeping up with the rest of the traffic in the middle lane. Because I?m used to that, I do sometimes find myself in the middle lane when things have quietened down and there?s nothing on my left ? I suddenly realise I?m in the wrong place, and then I do move over. Whilst I agree that drivers should be in the inside lane by default, if our speed limit is 70, how are people supposed to legally overtake? This has always bemused me. I do overtake, but sometimes I know that I'm breaking the legal speed limit when I do so. Here?s a list of my bugbears: People not indicating ? be it on a motorway or a 20mph street. People not letting you out of side streets. People pulling out of side streets and blocking one half of the road as they can?t get onto the side they want to get onto. In fact any pushing in behaviour on the roads drives me nuts. Not being thanked when I let someone out. How much effort is it wave or give some acknowledgement. Like DJKQ, I leave the 2nd gap between the next driver and myself, and often find other idiots who want to squeeze in, thus causing me to slow down. Merging lanes where some clever clogs decide they will whiz to the front of the queue where everyone else has been merging for ages and try to squeeze in. People doing silly speeds on the motorways (or anywhere, but motorways in particular) ? I don?t understand how more of them don?t get caught and lose their licence? And why do we even have cars on the roads that can do excessive speeds? I'm sure there are more, anyone got any others?

Depends on the time of year, but right now I feel pretty fond of Goose Green as the trees look fantastic in their autumn colours. The only trouble with picking one bit of ED as a favourite is that if you isolate it from the whole, it seems less special. I love ED as the sum of it's parts, not due to individual bits.

I've been tempted to send these back, unopened, saying "not known at this address" (even when it says occupier on it!). And I'm sorely tempted to gather up all the mail that Foxtons send me over the next couple of months and either do the same, or take it in personally (or let Mr Twirly do it when he's in a particularly bad mood). This "loophole" in the mail preference service drives me nuts! We should be able to register the address, not just our names for it.

I?ve read several threads on here regarding assorted accidents, kamikaze cyclists, pedestrians and bad driving. One thread at the moment is discussing what can be done about the junction of East Dulwich Road and Peckham Rye, as fatal/serious accidents keep occurring mainly due to people jumping the lights it would appear. Surely it is not necessarily the structure of the junction that is at fault, but the driving? I?m a relatively new driver (just over 3 years since I passed my test as a slightly more mature driver), and know from talking to friends that they are not always aware of certain changes in legislation. I?m pretty sure that my knowledge is already out of date, and I?ve probably been picking up bad habits, although I?m always aware that I?m in charge of a large lump of metal that has the potential to seriously injure or kill someone (to paraphrase something said on another thread). Some people seem to forget that. It seems that every time I go out in the car, I see someone behaving like an idiot (latest favourite seems to be overtaking on a corner as you?re both turning ? happened once turning right from Lordship Lane into East Dulwich Grove, another time turning left from Barry Road into Lordship Lane ? and I?m not a particularly slow driver either, so not quite sure why they felt it was necessary). Do we need to make people update their driving skills every so often and maybe retake their test? I know that driving skills and manners on the road are probably a lot better in this country than some others, but we still see far too many accidents. Some are unavoidable, but others are due to carelessness, lack of consideration for others and being in too much of a hurry (which probably reflects our society in general). I find that the problem is far worse in London than elsewhere. Can, and should, anything be done?

One big advantage of not having the tube that no-one has yet pointed out is that you're not so badly affected by the tube strikes - I only realise they're going on when colleagues are missing. Although it must be a pain if you have to get into London and then catch a tube elsewhere to get to work, at least you can get into central London without too much bother, and then not having the mentality of relying on the tube all the time, are probably better at considering other options. For some folks, when there's no tube they don't think that there is any other form of transport in London! Personally, I hate the tube and avoid using it whenever possible, prefering walking, bus or train unless it's absolutely necessary to go by tube.

There are so many routes you can take, it depends on how you like to travel and what time of day it is (I?ll get trains during the day, buses at night). I often make my mind up on the route depending on which form of transport turns up first when I get to the bottom of the road (i.e. a 484 or a 37). Train: to London Bridge from ED and the Jubilee line from there to Bond Street as already suggested. Or, bus up to Denmark Hill/37 to Peckham Rye and then a train to Victoria, then either the Victoria Line to Oxford Circus or a bus depending on which end you want/time of day/state of the tube. Bus: 37 to Brixton, and then the Victoria line to Oxford Circus. 176 or 40 to Elephant and Castle and then the Bakerloo Line to Oxford Circus. 185 to Oval, Northern Line to Tottenham Court Road. 176 all the way to Tottenham Court Road, or 12 all the way to Oxford Circus. As I work in central London, during the week I?m in town already. My usual route back from Oxford Street would be Bakerloo to E&C, then a 63 to Peckham Rye as I live that side of East Dulwich. Or if I?m laden with shopping and can?t be bothered with changing, I?ll pick up a 12 from just north of Oxford Circus (first stop). I don?t tend to get the train routes in the evening, as there is too much chopping and changing. It takes about the same amount of time as taking the bus the whole way, for which I usually allow an hour, but can take 40 minutes if you?ve got a speedy bus driver and not too much traffic? HTH

Totally agree with the others regarding the spelling being vital, and not using block caps. I work in Desk Top Publishing, and using all caps is a big no-no. Firstly, it is seen as shouting, and therefore rude (think about how you might use block caps in a word in a sentence to emphasise that particular word e.g. Please do NOT walk on the grass). That?s the last thing you want your potential customers to think of you as. Secondly, it actually makes the sentence harder to read and to understand due to the conventions of reading. This is particularly important when you?re trying to grab someone?s attention. As far as spelling is concerned for the future, try typing things into Word first, which does have a spell check, and then copy and pasting it into whatever the appropriate programme is (or if you can?t copy and paste, then use the spell-checked version to check against). I do this all the time ? particularly when posting on the internet! And best of luck with your business too.

Thanks Sue - am tempted to drive, as there will be three of us going, one of whom may be travelling from Herne Hill. And don't mind a short walk if we've got to park a little way from the park itself. Just don't know that area at all. I wonder if, with some of the big displays not happening, people will be more tempted to do their own displays at home, with the resulting injuries causing a strain on the health care system? Swings and roundabouts financially I'd have thought, but cutting the displays makes a more obvious saving.

They go straight in the recycling in our house, so I'd think it's probably a waste of money.

Keef - Brockwell Park used to be really good, apart from the getting in and out last year, which was in large part due to the reconstruction of the entrances. There was always a bit of a bottleneck there, but last year's was the worst it's ever been. Have been going for 12 years. So disappointed that it's cancelled this year. From what I can see, there is the Lambeth one in Clapham (which will be rammed due to the other two they normally have not happening due to cutbacks) and the Southwark one in Southwark Park (which I'm not sure about as I don't know the area, and am not sure how to get to and from - any advice anyone?) or Crystal Palace, which costs ?5. Am in a quandry as to which one to go to, as none are particularly convenient for me.

This seems to happen a lot, it annoys me too, and I'm just a car driver (who doesn't stop in them, unless I get caught out at the lights due to an incident ahead). I read this article about it a few months back, and there seems to be some confusion about the legality of doing so, but the article concludes that it is illegal to stop in these boxes. When did these boxes first appear on our roads? I only passed my text 3.5 years ago, and I learnt then what they are for. One thing that I've noticed from talking to friends who passed their tests 20+ years ago is that they seemed unaware of some of the changes in the law/rules of the road since they started driving. With some of the appalling driving that we see on the roads these days, I do wonder if we should all be forced to resit the driving test every 10 years or so - even an abbreviated version - just to iron out any bad habits we may have picked up, and force us to get our knowledge up to date.

eater81 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > if the government would see sense and legalize the > things, taking the milti-million pound drugs trade > out of the hands of criminals into their control > and regulation, this kind of behaviour would not > be necessary. > > I would say that in the majority of these cases it > was nothing more dangerous than a ?20 bag of weed > being passed. Interesting idea... they could then tax it too. Could this assist us out of our economic misfortunes I wonder? ;-)

Thank you EDKiwi and Sue - I didn't know that and it's really useful. It's been a month or so since I last had to go down there, but I don't think it indicated late openings on a Wednesday on the card, so I suspect that they may be using old stocks up.

Dorothy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > When I was a student a group of us were on a train > en route to a party when we suddenly realised the > train wasn't scheduled to stop at the particular > station we wanted. It was one of those routes that > involved a stop at every station on the stopping > service but at major stations only on the fast > service - and we were on the fast service. > Anyways, we had a word with the guard (this was > the early 80s, so there were guards :) on Saturday > evening trains in the middle of the country), and > he got the driver to make an unscheduled stop at > our station just to let us off. Public transport > employees can be human and flexible, thank > goodness. It's not just students this happens to - my Dad fell asleep on a train on the way back to Swindon and missed his stop (this was probably about 10 years ago). Next stop Swansea! The train was delayed slightly due to signaling difficulties or something, and the guards very kindly let him off at Cheltenham or Bath or somewhere a bit closer to home. Apparently all the staff on the station he got off at to catch a train back towards Swindon knew who he was and why he was there! :-$ After that, he set his watch alarm to go off just before he got to his station...

How bizarre - and lucky for you! Sounds like fun.

I?ve had my first trip to the pool now too, and was mostly pretty impressed. The pool area itself looks larger as it?s so bright and airy, and the changing rooms and showers are great. Only dislikes were the music in the pool area itself, disappointed that the deep end isn?t deeper, and the shallow steps at one end. It was a lane swimming session, and the slow lane incorporated the steps. I do backstroke mostly, and it?s quite tricky coming down the side of the pool towards them and anticipating where they are. I managed not to swim up them this time (but can see me doing that eventually and doing an excellent beached whale impersonation), but did lose concentration once and banged my head quite hard on the ceramic bit that juts out into the pool. If they?d been put parallel to the short side, they?d have worked better IMO ? shortened the length of the pool in the slow lane, but not narrowed it IYKWIM. Guess that I?ll just have to work on my fitness and technique and get myself into the middle lane to avoid it! Otherwise, a huge improvement.

karter Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Mick Mac Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > More importantly sally i hope all goes well > with > > the pregnancy and baby. That really will seal > your > > relationship and give you both something > special > > to live for. > > Should people really get married though just > because there is a bun in the oven? If we're going to get into that kind of discussion, can I suggest that it's done on a seperate thread, so as not to de-rail Sally's? For one thing, we don't know why she and her partner are getting married, and the arrival of a child might be relevant or not. Although the discussion could be worth having in general terms.

Thanks for that link to the BBC binary_star. Although this has happened several times to me, I've not as yet complained. Next time, I will make sure that I do. I suspect that the article only reflects the tip of the iceberg, and it would be useful if everyone complained so the true scale of the problem could be revealed. If they try and deliver during the week, we will be out at work, so I've not got a problem with that - it's when they pop a note through on a Saturday morning that it frustrates me, as we then have to wait a whole week to go and get our parcel, as Saturday morning is the only time we can go to the sorting office. As for the "living wage" in London, that doesn't sound so liveable to me, but that's another discussion. I wonder if the post office have thought about alternatives to the current system? I totally agree with DJKQ's point that we pay for an item to be delivered, not for the recipient to have to collect it. But what if there was a reduced rate of postage that meant that you expected to have to collect the item? This would certainly work for me, as if the postie does try to deliver during the week, I'm normally at work so have to go to the office anyway. So an e-mail informing me that I've got a parcel to collect (thus cutting down on man hours/pollution from the vehicle delivering the notes) would be great. Although so would the sorting office being open late one evening a week so that it's not just Saturdays you can collect. If I order something online, I always have to provide an e-mail address anyway.

Was this Saturday night? We had two lost-looking fire engines outside our flat for a while very late on Saturday. I say lost looking, as they parked up, no sirens but lights flashing, and I saw a firefighter wandering up and down, shrugging a lot. They departed after about 5-10 minutes. Anyone any idea what that was about?

You'd have thought that would be fairly reasonable, but some people have work commitments they can't shift, and others can't be bothered. Do as you want - those who want to be there will be, those who want to be but can't will send their best wishes (and probably a nice pressie!), and those that grumble that it's inconvenient for them, well, do you really want them there? The thing is, if you put it off to accomodate the grumblers, you'll either be so huge that you won't want to do it, or you'll put it off till after the little one arrives, and then may never get around to it. It's you and OH who are getting wed - it's nice if your guests can make it, but it's not 100% vital.

Do exactly what you want, and don't worry about what anyone else thinks is my advice (been married almost 6 months now). There are probably tiny things that I'd have done differently (such as telling hubby that he was supposed to walk into the wedding breakfast with me, not rush in ahead of everyone else and sit there expectantly waiting to be fed!), but nothing major. Are you getting much interference from families?

Sue Wrote: > Possibly so they can try to make sure people's > post is delivered to the right place within a > reasonable time? Wow - who'd have guessed that is what their supposed to do?! >:D< (am thinking of the parcel delivery thread...)

One of the things that makes East Dulwich a place that I want to live is that it's a right old mix of posh, ordinary, special and the odd bit of slightly downmarket, like Iceland. Take away any element of that, and it'll just turn into any old suburb of London that is either a bit posher or more mundane. Anyway, I'd like to see how some of those who think the area would benefit from only having posh, more expensive food shops would cope living here if they lost their jobs and suddenly had to make their budget stretch to feed their families... it can happen to the best of us.