Louisa

I'm with *Bob*, if there's another thing that grates on me its imported Americanisms such as the helpful member of staff in a shop. I quite enjoy mild rudeness (within reason), I only want a block of cheese I'm not after a marriage proposal. Louisa.

worldwiser, I would be interested if you could post the prices of the two identical loafs on here as I can't find a website for either business which publishes specific prices for products sold. I appreciate that you made the effort to try the Ayres bread, but I still fail to understand the logic behind someone saying they won't support an established local institution which according to you has the same quality bread, simply because the newcomer is marginally closer and needs the support more than the other. On the point of sourdough products, I cannot for the life of me appreciate the fad hipster breads and the prices charged across the board from whatever bakery, for them. I think it's fitting to say that businesses which have had the same products for generations and are still around today tend to offer good quality produce at reasonable prices that don't tinker too much with a successful formula. I of course wish the new bakery all the success it deserves and I will also try their products and report back with my honest verdict. Louisa.

Iceland do a lovely block of cheddar for a quid, quids. Sneeze free packaging too ;) Louisa.

Trouble is grace3, london neighborhoods are only "nice" once they've been gentrified and cleared of the 'riff raff'. Then they miraculously become "nice". Who are we as long standing residents to have any say on how lovely it was before gentrification? We've only lived here since day one! :) Louisa.

Fox my point precisely. I remember when I tried my hardest to support Le Moulin, the owners were genuinely lovely people and I always sung the praises of the restaurant on here. Often criticised and ridiculed for doing so. When the boot is on the other foot, I'm criticised for not supporting new businesses into the area, when many of those people who moved here because they liked what ED had become and not what made it special and diverse in the first place, disliked so much about what the area was and the businesses within in. Highly convenient they choose not to mention any of this. Louisa.

No need for a re-brand here cle. Business as usual. Louisa.

Whilst I am tempted by the less bulky nature of a puff pastry version, the crumbs and poor quality mince filling are a big put off. Also, if they've been lurking about in the cheap plastic packaging in the cupboard for more than a day they often go slightly soggy and flavourless. I admire the shortcrust variety for its longevity in the face of christmas adversity (in the food world). The odds are against the humble shortcrust mince pie, always on offer (usually two for a quid), and competing against more exciting christmas snack/treat alternatives both savoury and sweet. They not only survive the season often intact, but they brighten up an otherwise full January. We've all been there, you come across a box of Mr Kipling long after Christmas, crack the box open and discover they're as fresh and tasty as the day they were baked. Louisa.

Sorry I've had a drink. I meant puff pastry. Louisa.

Once again I see these things in the supermarkets and they genuinely make my blood boil. What's wrong with a normal mince bloody pie? Sainsburys if you're reading this, you are one of the biggest culprits locally. Why do you do it? Louisa.

Great to see the Christmas spirit on the forum as per. I think Jah deserves a break. Louisa.

The traffic lights at the junction of CP rd and ED rd. 1)excessive light jumping 2)prolonged waiting on red and brief green (sometimes only one or two cars get through) 3)people doing a right onto ED rd coming down from CP. Louisa.

Otta Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If a bloke is getting on buses and sitting next to > men when there are loads of free seats, he's an > arsehole. If he's doing that to women then in my > (possibly totally sexist) book, that's far more > creepy and sinister. Otta that's assuming he is straight, he may be gay and siting next to other men for more sinister reasons too? Louisa.

I would personally have confronted said individual, especially on a packed bus. But everyone is different and responds depending on circumstances. Fortunately I don't use public transport so such situations do not occur for me thankfully. Louisa.

siousxiesue Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I stopped shopping in here after the guy serving > us sneezed into his hand and carried on serving us > and handling our food! That's disgusting. If there's one thing I can't bare, it's poor hygiene. Louisa.

Foxy without you in ED we would be a less vibrant place. Nothing wrong with an urban fox, they seem to thrive here. Louisa.

The trouble is just_browsing, and thankyou for sharing your interesting contributions regarding new local business, the gentrification of London causes ethnic and social cleansing on a rapid scale, so the very diversity in retail that we all appreciate becomes segregated to specific areas based purely on the cost of renting a space on a high street. As the demographics change, the rent goes up and down to match those changes. It's all very well saying pop to Peckham if you fancy a Nigerian restaurant, but why can we not have a city in which a Nigerian restaurant sits next door to ToastED or Franco Manca et al? As area gentrify that very diversity is watered down and then eventually large chains move back in and the homogenising continues. I'm sure as someone who's moved from Battersea, you can see how others have done the same and brought their own interests with them which then are reflected in the local area. That's great, but over time the healthy retail mix inevitably disappears and we have another Northcote. Louisa.

It's not about disliking what is happening here, it's about solving the problems which have resulted. And anyway, I'd argue gentrification isn't necessarily the friend of diversity in a city such as London. It tends to create 'clone' wealthy and less diverse neighbourhoods. Fortunately, Lordship Lane still has diversity in retail. However, as the house prices rise and rise, only wealthy cash buyers will be able to move here. It's happening now. That leads to retail as well as social diversity gradually becoming homogenised. Louisa.

At what point did I suggest house prices caused New Towns? What an odd statement. My initial point was that mass density housing and new towns were a consequence of poor post-war decisions made by planners and architects. They adopted post-modernism as the answer to all our inner city problems. It's since been learnt that neighbourhoods work better when communities cluster in low-density housing projects in the communities they evolved from. Forcing people out to live in new towns rather than converting and renovating the Victorian housing stock and thus seperating the community was a bad move. Louisa.

Or maybe you'd rather they reinstate the North Peckham Estate with its narrow intimidating corridors and see what the knock on effect is to house prices? ;-) lol Louisa.

Great footage and memories come flooding back. The post-modernism the commentator so favourably commends over the Victorian and sometimes older buildings, seems bizarre now. In less than half a century those very concepts have been all but rubbished and we see a return to the conservation and re-modelling of town planning based on the more Victorian ideals. I remember as a child whole communities being torn out of inner- London and sent off to help populate new towns, taking the very soul out of inner london with huge tower blocks most of which are now thankfully gone. You can never undo the damage of the past, but good to see they've learnt a lot in those years since. Louisa.

Don't think much thought needs to go into a no-brainer. Areas change, old shops close new ones open in their place. All givens. Gentrification contributes to said changes. Sometimes the rate of change is slow, other times it's fast. In London (arguably because of gentrification and rising property prices) it's become a ridiculously fast rate of change. So fast, that not only can people born and brought up in a neighborhood not afford to live/buy/rent there, but others on better salaries who were brought up in even more expensive parts of the same city, can no longer afford to live their either. If that's a pace of change everyone is happy with fair enough. I don't think it is. Louisa.

woodleigh Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > I wonder if those who do not like what East > Dulwich has become might consider cashing in on > the huge increase in the value of their homes that > they will have enjoyed thanks to the influx of the > new middle-class sourdough eaters, and find > somewhere less posh to live! Or maybe those very people (many of whom contribute to this forum) have already been forced out of the place they were born in because the sour dough eaters have moved in and priced them out the place they grew up in? Just a thought :) Louisa.

The Cherry Never Falls Far From The Tree. Louisa.

Gone full circle back to original name. What will the new owner call it? If it becomes a spoons I vote for 'The Ungentrified Tavern'. Louisa.

I Camembert this anymore! Louisa.