Zak

Yes, sad indeed for people living in Walworth, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find that M&S will sooner or later Will open a new store in the revamped Elephant & Castle, where they can take advantage of a new, possibly more upmarket demographic. BTW, we’re actually very lucky in East Dulwich, since the ED station outlet does click and collect and it’s therefore possible to access their entire clothing and more. items arrive for collection within a day or two and can be returned without any fuss simply by handing them back at the store. Magic!

You might like to try Phas on Grove Vale - the shop on the corner of Melbourne Grove. He’s good value, very helpful and honest about what can and can’t be done.

Went back last week to try out the new menu and was very pleasantly surprised. It’s still possible to eat from the old limited express menu at bargain prices - at lunchtime that is. But the expanded evening menu has lots of new additions and has a much more restaurant ‘feel’ about it both in terms of variety and presentation. What’s more, although it’s a bit more expensive it strikes us a still great value. Still closed on. Tuesday’s but ours at weekends A really welcome addition to restaurants in ED

At the beginning of this thread someone asked if there would be any social housing or just affordable. Affordable rents are defined as 80% of. Market rents ( which may still not be very affordable), whereas Social rents are 40-60% of market rents. It’s probably going to be quite expensive!

Just spoken to the lady running the cafe and she tells me that they've amended their opening hours: Sunday closed Monday-Friday 12-3pm & 5-9pm Saturday 5-9pm The food's looking good!

It looks like the new Thai cafe on Grove Vale (between the Cherry Tree and Poached) will be opening quite soon. The Thai lady running it has done a complete makeover and it looks promising. There's now a notice in the window saying that it will be open from Wednesday 6th Sewptember 12.00 -3.00 & 5.00= 9.00 - closed Tuesdays

I gather that Adam’s Cafe is set to become a Thai restaurant - lots of work going on in there.

Yes, but why are there only two an hour. Anyone know?

FHRGP wrote to us a few years ago and told us that since they were altering their catchment area we were now outside and so after 35 years on their books we were given four weeks to find another GP. We were somewhat peeved by the sudden decision and lack of notice, although we felt that it had been going downhill for sometime. Well, we found another GP and on reflection having to leave FHRGP was the best thing that could have happened!

Brideshead..... No I don?t work in Pret?s PR department. I?ve simply followed their progress since they opened their first shop in Victoria in the 80s. And drunk quite a bit of their coffee. However, I did run a homelessness charity and I?ve always been impressed by what their Foundation does, as a small charity, in providing employment and support to single homeless people.

Pret are not owned by McDonalds. For a short time, a couple of years back,McDonalds did have a small stake in the business, but withdrew and are no longer involved. While they are undeniably corporate, they should be given some credit for running a very good charitable foundation - the Pret Foundation - which provides employment opportunities to homeless people in their restaurants and a range of support.

A couple of pictures,for anyone who is interested,taken at last Saturday's unveiling of the new information board about the stretcher fences on Quorn Road. One of the info. board itself & another of the guy from the Dulwich Society giving a background talk. Hopefully when they're opened they can be enlarged - the stuff on the info board is quite interesting.

Good news! According to the sign which has just appeared on the shop door, it?s re-opening on Monday 21st February.

Crown joinery which is located in Tyrell Road are very good. Alex the owner is passionate about each door that he makes - he did ours.

As a matter of interest, there are also stretchers in use for fencing on Queen's Road. There were clearly a lot that needed putting to good use!

My understanding is that they were general WW2 surplus supplies and hadn?t been sourced for use specifically in relation to any possible event in the flats.

I think you?ll find that there are cameras in both directions on that stretch of road. Go and take a look.

Walked into the Day Lewis pharmacy next to the TJ health centre and got inoculated in a matter of minutes. No need to book.

I think it?s pretty clear, if you look beyond the hoardings, that it?s undergoing a thorough renovation.

There's a notice on the shop door to say that the shop is now open seven days a week from 8am - 6pm. No more hanging around until 11am - quite a change!

I've just double checked the parking restrictions and discovered a couple further complications..... * Outside Gibbs & Dandy & Kwik Fit: I was correct in pointing out that there is no 30 minutes free outside Gibbs & Dandy, but a couple of yards away, just outside Kwik Fit, there's another small bay where there is a free 30 minutes! * Outside The Cherry Tree Pub & The Dulwich Design Kitchen Shop: Again, I was correct about there being 30 minutes free outside the Cherry Tree, but a few yards away in front of the Dulwich Design Kitchen shop, there's no free 30 minutes. It couldn't be more complicated! Again, anyone parking there needs to double check exactly which bay they are in. How Southwark can crow about supporting local businesses, when they create traps like this for their customers, is a joke.

I've just walked down Grove Vale to the shops and checked out the parking situation. It's pretty confusing. This is how it is: * Outside Gibbbs & Dandy wood yard and on the opposite side of the road: Just pay by phone for up to two hours. No mention of free first 30 minutes option. * Outside The Cherry Tree pub: Pay by phone for up to two hours, with an option to stay for 30 minutes for free, but you have to register. * Outside the shoemenders/cleaners on the opposite side of the road. Free for up to 30 minutes, no need to register (approx 4 spaces) No wonder there's so much confusion! The bottom line is that if you park on Grove Vale, then look carefully at the signs - don't assume anything!

I walked around to Grove Vale today and was pleasantly surprised to see that Shaun's DIY is open again. Apparently they'll be open for business at 10am each day.

Yes, nice guys running the shop. Bought some of their Spanish garlic and can highly recommend it

Here?s the New Zealand approach.....