Ben Reeve-Lewis

Thank you Lindylou. Very articulate, very helpful. Goodnight all

pommie? are you for real? What has breed got to do with commercial dog walkers running more dogs than they can handle who become a pack and start harassing my dog?

@KidKruger....and your point is exactly?

Pommie, what on earth has this question got to do with the price of eggs??? Whether my dog is a Pitbull, a Pomeranian or a Border Terrier is irrelevant. The point at issue is that whenever I walk him at Nunhead cemetary and pass a pack of hounds he gets attacked. I re-state what I said above. I have no problem with dog rough and tumble. I am talking about 10 dogs (where two commercial walkers merge) going into pack mentality and causing me to have to drag my dog into a place of safety. If this wasnt the case then why do the commercial dog walkers jump in, drag their charges off and apologise profusely? Today I took him to Sydenham Hill Woods, where the Dulwich Wood society prohibits commercial dog walking. The result being our dog has a lovely time. Being an un-neutered male he occasionally gets unwarranted attention but because it is just one dog it isnt a problem and their owners and I share a joke about it. The breed of dog has absolutely no bearing on the problem we encounter.

We walk at various times. He's a dog who we are looking at breeding so comments about having him 'Done' arent appropriate. Dogs can get rough and tumble and I have no problem with that at all and can differentiate between rough housing and being set on and when two dog walkers have 5 or 6 dogs a piece and are walking together you get a different mentality and even normally sociable dogs are in groups they become a pack, which is a different mindset. Our dog, a cocker, is only interested in scuttling around in the undergrowth. He isnt interested in humans or other dogs. He doesnt jump up at people or pay any special interest in other animals......apart from Squirrels. I have no objection to professional dog walkers, we use someone ourselves when we are away but I am sick of having to jump in and protect him from 8 or 9 other dogs who walkers assure me are just being friendly. He doesnt get set on in Sydenham Hill woods where large groups arent allowed, only Nunhead where professional dog walkers take out groups that to my mind are larger than they can control. This happens too often to be an occasional event.

As a walker of a single pet I want to say I am heartily sick of my dog being ganged up on by packs of other dogs being walked at Nunhead Cemetery by professional walkers with more dogs than they can properly handle. I have already been squeezed out by the dog walking mafia at Peckham Rye park and take refuge in Sydenham Hill woods where sensibly walking is restricted to 3 dogs per person. Today, for the umpteenth time I had to endure profuse apologies from said walkers and comments about having him 'Done' so their dogs dont attack. Why dont you try cutting your profits by walking a smaller number of dogs that you can actually control? I have complained to Southwark council and the Friends of Nunhead Cemetery about this. I presume I am not the only one.

We were so nervous of leaving our pup with a stranger for the first time. (1 year old Cocker so not the easiest of jobs) so we could go on holiday. Jane was fantastic. She texted us everyday with updates and hilarious photos and we were able to relax. Result is he now has an extended family. I would recommend Jane's services to anyone. She made him the family dog for the week.

Hi Rachel, Sorry not one of mine I'm afraid, I stop mortgage lenders repossessing people's homes but I might know someone who could help there. Is this Southwark council? If so I can make a phone call on Monday for you, maybe point you in the right direction

Hi Folks, I'm a housing law professional and landlord/tenant law trainer with 23 years experience based in Underhill Rd. I train lawyers in this and can help you negotiate the minefield of court proceedings and paperwork when you have problems and dont know how to deal with it. I run www.easylawtraining.co.uk with housing solicitor Tessa Shepperson If you are in difficulties with your mortgage company I can help save your home I've saved hundreds in the past 5 years and can give advice and help you write the letters to get them off your back. Solicitors dont generally offer this kind of service, certainly not in an affordable way anyway. DM me and I'll see if I can help Ben

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Another one. Lordship Lane. Sever shops down. Moxons

I think there is something seriously amiss. Reading Tortor's post reminded of when I was last there just booking a repeat prescription. Remember back when it was seriously cold? A guy had an appointment for his diabetes and the receptionist told him that the GP couldnt get their car started so were going to be late and he would have to have his appt rebooked. He complained that he had waited weeks for this one but resigned himself and the recpetionsist checked and gave him a date 3 weeks into the future. NOt surprisingly the guy did his pieces. I've lived all over south and east london, Newcastle and even Australia (no I'm not Dr Doolittle), obviously having loads of different GPs and I have never known such a crap booking system. The likeability or not of the various doctors and receptionsists is neither here nor there. the system is rubbish and totally inept!!!!!

Yeah I got text messages and even a phone call from Kevin. It came back on at 1.30am when I was jolted awake on the setee with all the lights on and the TV blaring. I'll brace myself next Sunday but if Frazzy misses Wild at Heart again I won't be held responsible for the consequences

Yes. For F***s sake. 2 Sunday's in a row. Where are we living Goa? Got the usual anodyne apologies

Sorry, forgot the day, make that 48 hours

I just got the text saying engineers are on the way, even though we have had our power back for over 24 hours. Nice to be kept in the loop though.....bless!

Yeah but when you try to inhale one through a flattened coke can it melts. I once tried sticking a 99 up my nose in a club toilet and got short shrift from security I can tell you

Jeez folks its just an ice cream van, not an episode of The Wire......or am i being naive?

Yeah we are on that text-mailing list too FB and havent had a peep yet but we've been back on for a bit now. I didnt think the rain was that heavy though. We had the same thing a year ago when we were living in Barry Rd and the guys digging a hole near Barry's Stores cut through a cable. Maybe its an annual event, something to set your clock by......as long as it isnt digital

We're underhill Rd just up from CPTs near the corner of Landells, but both our neighbours were fine

And we're back. Roast dinner ruined but at least we that skating programme on

We just phoned Scottish Power and they said it's every 3rd house. Just as I was putting the chicken in the oven. Bloody freezing

But surely Fuschia you shouldnt have to complain to the practice manager just to get a normal service. Every doctor and nurse I have met has been fine and I have no problem about the politeness of the receptionists but everyone there is a slave to the systems they have set in place to keep the PCT happy with statistics about length of time taken taken to deal with a patient, which is how Lansley would have efficiency measured. When people work to statistics human contact is sidelined. I havent read all 3 pages worth of posts here but I get the flavour and nobody seems to be complaining about the individuals, just the daft, bureacratic system that alienates their patients. A few years back, prompted by the Daily Mail no doubt, government said that nobody should spend more than 4 hours on a trolley in a hospital. the reality of it was that it couldnt be acheived, so the NHS invested more money in new trolleys, which had loads of levers and pulleys on them that could be redesignated as 'Mobile Beds', so nobody spends 4 hours on a trolley, they spend them on mobile beds instead. I'm not dissing anyone about this, we have to do what we do. I work in Homelessness where our massaging of figures would put Mervin Peake to shame in the fiction stakes and I get the strong impression, whenever I have to attend the surgery as an occasional EDMC patient that stats are more important to them than service. Its simply a sad sign of the times.

Before EDMC my GPs were at the Ellsdale Street surgery in Hackney where the staff wore jeans, listened to the radio, knew people's first names and did what they could to help you out. There were no touch-screen booking systems or digitised calling screens but you could go there whenever the door was open and they put people before procedures. I get the impression that EDMC are just concerned with compiling their stats to keep the PCT happy, even though the effect on their customers is 'Computer says no'. The very emobodiment of Lansley's view of a decent health service. The only way to be a happy and satisfied customer of EDMC is to never be ill.

It is better thanks Buggie, and I am back to my day job as a foot model:) I didnt explain properly. I did do the whole A&E bit when it happened and went to a medical centre when it got infected. All I wanted the doc to do was look at it because it didnt seem to be healing very fast. STandard GP stuff. I've never had a GP where the only way to get an appointment is to participate in the January sales at 8am everyday, or as other posters have mentioned on here, calling endlessly only to find all appointments gone. Its easier to get an appointment to see the Queen