Townleygreen

Asset, you appear to be talking about Hillsboro Road (hope I've got the location right this time!!). Here the traffic is all associated with the Alleyn's Junior School. Hence the preponderance of Chelsea tractors I guess. The seniors use the coaches, whereas younger, eg infant pupils are going to be too small to go on a coach. I also like you don't undertsand why there are no yellow zig-zag markings in this road. Perhaps it is because as far as the council is concerned, the school entrance is in Townley Road and they haven't noticed Hillsboro. Why don't you try to lobby the council to get them painted in on your road? It is true that this problem seems to exist at all schools. Where I live there is an primary school and if you happen to try to drive past at starting or chucking out time, then you are basically screwed for up to 15 minutes. They even park on the zig-zags - this is the parents of the pupils for goodness sake.

Well said, Huguenot. I too believe we CAN sort global warming. And we must. For our children's sake. Let's hope those damn politicians who are going to be meeting in Copenhagen at the year's end can come up with something more effective than Kyoto. If they don't, I hope those f***ing climate sceptics meet their grandchildren when things get really nasty on this planet, later on this century. Except the sceptics will be in hell, the children in heaven. Maybe.

This is such a cool thread. ED is the tops, man.

No sillywoman, I can assure you Alleyn's was a direct-grant grammar school until 1976 when the new labour government abolished that status. I am not sure when it gained the status - maybe late 1950s. It got around 75 free places paid by the ILEA and Bromley for boys who passed the 11+ in both areas. Others who got non-free places paid according to their income. If your parents were fairly poor, you paid nothing. if they got a good salary, you would pay full fees, which were regulated by the government - there was a max you could charge. It only became independent in 1976. You are right in the sense that it wasn't a grammar school run by the local authority. It ran itself totally, but (as I say) the government controlled the fees charged. I can show you chapter & verse if you still don't believe me! I wonder if I knew your hubby?

Indeed, quids, you are right, and Alleyn's was itself a grammar school until first the ILEA and then the government withdrew their support for such institutions. In 1976 it was - therefore - unwillingly forced to go independent. Previously it had taken masses of boys (in those times) from ED, as well as Peckham, Camberwell, Brixton, Southwark and so on. How nice it would be if it was still free & a grammar school, open to the children of ED. Thanks dogmatic politicians for achieving this so called progress.

Macroban, My guess would be that the new building was High Wood barracks - if I remember correctly(!), it was a 30s style building - it had metal casement windows I think (though they could have replaced somehting older). I wonder if anyone has a photo of the barracks?

Makes me chuckle at a "fund raising" event with expensive fireworks - whether donated or not still the money would have been more appropriate. Yes of course you are right, KK on this point. I guess its primary purpose was to celebrate the opening and the school's links with the NYT etc. The fundraising was/is a secondary issue. But, having said that, it looks like they want to genuinely now raise more money for schols for low income folks. Not a bad thing, surely? Even more amusing is the Head's response of not realising the fireworks were of the "banging" variety - surely the school hadn't thought they were getting a few sparklers to wave around. Was a risk assessment not conducted? Do you not need authorisation from a higher power to light fireworks over a particular size and weight? Hardly something to claim you were unaware of what you were getting. When I talked him on this point, he maintained that they had been given a 5 point scale of noisiness and they had selected level 2, almost the quietest, which was said to include no bangs at all! Sadly the firm on the night seem to have rather done their own thing. I'd be inclined to accept his word. Others may disagree.

Thanks for this, Ladymuck, it is really useful and I intend to use it as soon as I have a problem. (ie tomorrow, I expect!) Power to the people!

KalamityKel Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The school has apologised? To all those > disturbed? Really? > Shall I expect a personal letter to pop through my > letter box? I don't live in the immediate > vicinity (up that end by the school) and yet was > bounced of my rather pleasent and much needed > slumber. I look forward to such correspondance > :)-D email the school and I'm sure you'll receive one, if that's what you really want.

Nero Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Just spoke to the headmaster's secretary. She says > he will be writing to me to apologise. > I am glad all had a good time, and am please that > the theatre will be a good asset to them, but I > would expect much more civility and a politeness > from an institution as celebrated as Alleyns is. Don't you count a snivelling apology as civility and politeness, Nero? Could you please give us your definition of those two words for us, then?

Are you referring to one Lude Jaw, by any chance?

Well said, Hazza, there are some seriously sad and grumpy folks on here it would seem. It WAS a magical evening. The expressions on the children's faces as they watched the fireworks and the various events was good to see.

No, Asset, I was addressing your point, all the equipment that was being loaded was to do with the fireworks show. A normal production in the theatre shouldn't impact on you - did you notice the West Side Story production, which was on in mid- December? If not, then you should have no worries. I take your point about the parking - you must live in Townley Road. Sillywoman, I was in bed by 8pm, as usual of course. That was late for me. :-)

Bawdy nan, it IS available for community use. I suggest you email or phone the school if you want to book it. A very good 300 seat theatre it is too. You can email via the website at www.alleyns.org.uk/ And Reg, were you really in bed by 10 pm.? What an impressively early night that was! The fireworks and music were great, I agree. Asset, it is certainly NOT going to be a regular occurrence. Why should it, for goodness sake? It is a complete one off. Earlier in the evening there was a fantastic show that was put on by present and former pupils of the school (going back to boys who were in plays directed by Michael Croft), following the theatre's opening by Sir Trevor Nunn. He said most professional theatre groups would kill to have a theatre as good as that, so I hope that local Am-Dram groups will bid to use it. I believe the Burbage Players are going to have a production there this year, for one.

Many of the bus lanes are not working fully also, in places.

I hesitate to join the discussion over Peckham in a thread supposedly on E Dulwich, but to my mind the reason for the flight of those chain stores like M&S from Rye Lane was the fact that fewer punters were willing to go there any more once the area became perceived as dangerous, back in the late 80s/90s. At one time, people from surrounding areas (Dulwich Village, etc) would have shopped there at Jones & Higgins etc, but somehow the area became (perhaps unfairly) classified as crime-ridden, and these stores, once their customers started to go elsewhere, would have had little choice but to close down. To some extent, the same thing happened to Brixton in the 80s - who remembers the department store (even I have forgotten its name)that used to be there? Brixton had a lot of money spent on it, following the riots, and the shopping decline was halted. There has been some regeneration in Peckham, but clearly the crucial people have not (yet!) been attacted back there. Believe me, if M&S and co thought they could make money in Peckham, they'd be in there like a shot.

Thanks for that Burbage, that road didn't contribute any traffic on either occasion I went through the pesky things, which explains why I didn't notice it I guess. I just love the way these utilities just walk away and leave everything for weeks at a time. In many cities they'd get on with it in fear of a fine - in NY for instance. We should do that too - all that queueing traffic is bad for carbon emissions.

Yeah that would be fair enough if they were there, but both times I went through today no one was visible. I think the locals should just cover the lights up with bin bags till the workers resume hostilities.

I think the overwhelming majority of Victorian houses that border the northern end of ED is what symbolises the place. They are remarkably intact, with seemingly just a few newer houses mainly where A Hitler & Co did some demolition in the 40s. Clearly it centre around the Lane, especially the northern end, and fades out on Forest Hill road, at the Grove Tavern in the south, and then over to the station and hospital. Somewhere between Goose Green and dear old South Peckham it also subtly merges into that other place. Having known it since the early 70s, I think it is much more interesting today though there are downsides. In those days it was a white working class suburb I seem to remember.

Can any of you well-connected EDF-ers please explain what that temporary traffic light is doing at this position? There are 3 lanes at that point of LL, and one is partly blocked, so there are still two lanes that traffic can use. Huh? Why, then perchance have the (totally insane) authorities put in this TTL? Even more bizarrely, it is set so that both lights are green simultaneously, then they both go to red. It seems crazy to me, but perhaps there is a simple explanation. Can anyone enlighten us/me?? Thanks for reading this. Mike

Lakeland sell that at one third the price

EDOldie Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Bl@@dy hippies. Did Marc Bolan go to Alleyn's or > is that one of those urban myths? Yes it is. I checked and think he went to a school in Hackney!

Did you see this article in the Telegraph on Saturday? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/3852372/Councils-dumping-more-than-200000-tonnes-of-recycling-every-year.html It says councils are dumped more than 200,000 tonnes of recycling stuff in landfill this year. Apparently the recession is at least partly to blame. Depressing really.

I can't believe how many people are prepared to pay the silly prices they charge at BBC. Don't you guys know that there's a recession on?? Ive tried Omrith and found them really good, as did my fellow diner. I imagine the take out is as good.

I would hope it would be a school for ED - in other words, mostly (but far from entirely) middle class boys. It might well have a fairly small catchment area, confined to ED effectively - I believe Charter's CA is quite limited, so I imagine this one could be too. But it needs local ED boys and their parents to apply to go there, to make this so, obviously.