jrpfinch

Huguenot I agree with your final paragraph and can understand why the admins might not want the bother of batting away annoying emails. I don't agree with your other statements. The reasonable person test is irrelevant. If the statement is one that an honest person might make and cannot be measured as an objective fact, then it is fair comment. You cannot measure someone's perception of taste as an objective fact. So you can equate the taste of fries to anything an honest person might have tasted. Polar bear vomit is a bit of a stretch! But human vomit almost certainly OK.

Have you had an old property plastered using a lime-based plaster? If so, and you think they did a good job, please let me know their details. Many thanks Jon

Disappointed if the admin takes notice of the owners. The Fair Comment defence is watertight. You don't even have to say "in my opinion". The burden is on the owner to prove that what you are saying is factually wrong, which is almost impossible. If I say the French Fries at McDonald's taste like Polar Bear vomit then McDonald's have to prove that that was not the thought that was going through my head, which is impossible.

all a bit pointless? Art is pointless, wine is pointless, eating out is pointless

Not been there. I will check it out, thank you. I am probably unduly swayed by the BYO at the North X Road one. Draft House is a good shout and I agree Dulwich Village generally awful for food.

On second thoughts, I like the Thai place on North Cross Road.

Ganapati is the best Indian. Sorry that's not very helpful but I can't think of anywhere exciting to eat in East Dulwich. Better for shopping.

All in Camberwell or Brixton Village: Crooked Well Angels & Gypsies (Spanish) Silk Road (Chinese) FM Mangal (Turkish) No67 @ South London Gallery Cornercopia are my favourites

bump for the weekend crowd

I'd be grateful for feedback on C S Morton builders. Their receptionist Michelle seems well-organised. Is their work any good? Many thanks Jon

Couple of points: Doesn't landing from the east mean take off to the west? I'd like to make sure night flights, if there are any, are heavily taxed to compensate for the disruption.

After receiving a number of PMs I thought I'd keep this thread updated. Local man Ralph has finished his report and it appears thorough (although the true test is whether the damp is kept away) It doesn't look great. The moral of the story is damp guarantees are largely worthless and it's always worth following up even a hint of damp on a survey before buying a house. There was rotten chipboard under the carpet along with some rotten joists. New joists required, floorboard instead of crappy chipboard New skirting and re plaster. This doesn't sound cheap.

"from the get go"??? Is this Peckham Rye, Alabama?

Also, if you register for council tax they will give you your account number over the phone before you get your first bill.

Speak to someone at Southwark Council on the phone. Or ask a neighbour for some visitors permits and say you'll repay them once you move in.

We had Cambridge University Ceidlidh Band for our wedding and they were excellent. ?450. They definitely travel outside Cambridge. No idea whether they would come to London.

I am skeptical about chemical damp-proofing. I don't want to say anything stronger than that in case libel lawyers come chasing me! The chances of your original damp course having failed are extremely low. Slate, for example, which is used in many late Victorian houses should last centuries. Even if the slate has cracked, the amount of water likely to get through is small and unlikely to cause significant damp problems. The most likely causes of damp appear to be: 1) slow leaks in pipework, guttering or downpipes 2) soil level too high 3) poor ventilation As far as I can see, the only safe option is to hire a surveyor with damp expertise who is not affiliated to the damp-related trade associations (e.g. the PCA). I am exploring two options: www.dampnessdiagnosis.com www.damp-diagnosis.co.uk/damp_profile.htm The latter, Ralph Burkinshaw, lives just off Denmark Hill. The downside of hiring an independent surveyor is that they are very expensive. Ralph has quoted ?487.50 for the survey. I assume there could be an additional ?500-?1000 plastering/brickwork/flooring/ventilation costs after that. However, if that fixes the problem forever, I'm not too fussed.

I think there are a lot of tongue in cheek posts on this thread including possibly the OP. I live on the border of ED and Camberwell. I reckon Camberwell is the more natural destination for the Clapham exodus. It's pretty similar to pre-gentrification Clapham. That's not to say ED will not improve too. I just think it's a little more suburban. Perhaps more of a Wandsworth/Balham exodus destination.

Crooked Well or Angels&Gypsies on Camberwell Green? Quite pricey, but worth it. Cornercoepia in Brixton Village. Same standard of cooking. Cheaper, but you have to dress up warm.

I find their meat excellent and good value. They could improve at order-taking and answering the phone though. However, this may just be a function of how popular they are. They're not quite as polished as F C Soper (best food supplier in SE London?)

It's interesting to look at Google Maps with the tube layer switched on. There is obviously a dead zone in Camberwell. The clearest way to fix it would be to run the Bakerloo line from E&C along the A2 towards New Cross. Naturally I would prefer it to terminate at Denmark Hill instead!

Thank you Alice. Sorry for my snappy response. That sounds like a good idea. One other house on the street appears to have done it. A few others appear to have a 10cm black inset surface with an overhanging lip to divert rainwater.

^^^^^^^^ err no they don't. They are members of the PCA.

-- moved topic --

By subsidising non-profitable routes (I'm not saying the Northern Line is such a route), you're giving rich people something cheaply that they should be paying for (see also proposed free care for the elderly). By doing this you're redistributing wealth from the less well off to the more well off. Whether it becomes more affordable for poor people is irrelevant. If you want to make trains more affordable, the answer is to have fewer poor people. This can be achieved by taxing them less, giving them more benefits, creating jobs, providing them better education... Giving middle class people stuff for free (or very cheaply) is one of the reasons we have such a massive budget deficit. Examples of "stuff" include subsidised railways, state pensions at young ages and CGT exemptions on primary properties. It's no surprise the government is rolling back these benefits. I predict Labour will continue to do so in the likely event they win the 2015 election.