Louisa

Rocca and Crown & Greyhound are not chains and both serve food. There are also a few other shops on the parade further towards the station independently owned and serving food/drink. Statistically, the village is no more chain dominated than anywhere else in London, I'd actually say it was less served by chains than average for its demographic. ED used to be the same, it's now more chain dominated than it's wealthier neighbour. Dulwich village doesn't just have the picture gallery which I agree holloway is an amazing asset to Dulwich. However, do not overlook the Old Burial Ground http://www.ukattraction.com/london/dulwich-old-cemetery.htm, one of the most amazing local historical attractions in London, again unique. The only working toll gate in London, unique. Charles Dickens lived in the village and wrote his book Pickwick Papers and based many of the local characters on the fictional ones he used in his book http://www.dulwichsociety.com/2012-summer/718-pickwick-cottage, note Pickwick cottage here too. Pond cottages, old farm workers buildings near the main entrance to Dulwich College, a throw back to Dulwich being a rural outpost in Surrey. So much to get the imagination going. And yet, people think that a neighbouring uniformed late Victorian urban sprawl is more interesting (especially since the middle class saviours came in and turned it into a homogenous neighborhood). Louisa.

BrandNewGuy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Louisa Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > and a large number of > > privately owned non-chain businesses > Like EastDulwich > > > including restaurants. > Pizza Express? Cafe Rouge? GBK? Cafe Nero? White stuff? How many of these businesses were present when the area was predominately working class? Zero! The lane was almost exclusively independent shops other than Gateway and the old Co-Op opposite Bejams. All still chains today! > > And 'working class' London has wide buggies and > coffee shops too, which makes things confusing for > a cardboard cutout class warrior. Where is working class london? I don't see wide buggies in Lewisham, nor do I see tedious coffee shop after coffee shop! I can't believe I've been dragged into an Easter class war on the most holy day in the Christian calendar. Furious. Louisa.

The village is a unique part of London, owned by a private estate, it retains rural charm, it has some stunning listed buildings the oldest picture gallery in the world, and a large number of privately owned non-chain businesses including restaurants. How could anyone describe something unique in London as dull? Surely dull, would describe what's become of most of gentrified London, with homogenous former working class high streets with chain boutique shops and ugly old Victorian buildings painted and overhauled for the new residents. Nothing unique about that, same old, lifeless 'new' London, with the working class charm and character replaced by boring blow-in culture involving wide buggies and coffee shops. Yawn. Louisa.

JamesMS just an observation. It's no secret that the Dulwich conurbation is possibly the most middle-class inner London suburb, certainly south of the river anyway. I don't see what's rude about suggesting a large proportion of the blow-ins want to be living in the village but simply cannot afford it so they come to ED and patronise the resident (and somewhat declining) working class population. Water off a ducks back of course, for me anyway. Why would no one want us to discuss class anyhow? Is it an uncomfortable topic for the blow-in wannabes? Does it hit home for them somewhat? Or maybe there's a more sinister plot ahead which involves banishing the remaining working class residents from using Dulwich Park altogether! Bring back the traffic cones and corned beef sandwiches in cling-film. Louisa.

Not sure about horses for sale, but you can certainly ride a horse if you join http://www.dulwichridingschool.co.uk which is based on Dulwich Common. Louisa.

Of course Dulwich Park is the ultimate in middle-class. It's sandwiched between The village which is genuinely and solidly middle England, and then there's our little wannabe patch of south Peckham. I actually don't mind people from the village being middle class, they do it with refinement and sophistication (and let's face it they have money), whereas the ED blow-ins who can't afford Clapham tend to be the types who have nothing but like to brag about it (snobs basically). I still love Dulwich Park, but I miss the old days when the odd traffic cone floated around on the lake, the cafe was more basic and down to earth and didn't cost a small fortune for a sandwich and cup of tea, and the faint smell of urine lingered around the less than salubrious toilet facilities. Louisa.

Great idea. Let's stick a car park into blow-in snob central so we can attract more blow-ins with cars. Let's face it though, once they arrive they'll be shocked to discover we still don't have a be@one, M&S/Waitrose/Selfridges are absent, and the closest we get to a 'trendy noodle bar' is hong hongs chinese take away on grove vale. Not great stats for an area where snapping up a two up two down could buy you the average town north of Wakefield. I think said car park would be pretty dead most of the time. Balls deep in pretentiousness as ever, as you were EDFers. Louisa.

nxjen whilst I appreciate alarmism may be premature, looking at the case study of 86-90 Lordship Lane (Iceland) we know what incoming and proposed ideas can do to polarise the community and lead to long term uncertainty. If, as appears to be the case, the Co-operative group decides to let our store go, we potentially are heading for another severely polarised and long drawn out argument about any incoming retailer (no names mentioned) which will further damage community relations as well as the high street. I just would like some more certainty over what the future of this store is going to be, we can't have yet another crazy planning nightmare on our hands. Louisa.

Are you taking the Michael? We have a whole host of empty or about to become empty shops alongside pending planning issues on numerous current stores. If we add the co-op to that uncertainty it's not a great future for us is it? Louisa.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27049101 We all know the co-operative group is in trouble, mostly due to the banking division. However, just been reading this article on the bbc news website which says that the group will be selling off a majority stake of its Somerfield store acquisitions, more especially the larger stores, where does this leave our big store on lordship lane? Is our store considered larger? The thought of yet another empty large retail space fills me with dread. Louisa.

I've seen all the signage for Costa Coffee on the planning portal, seems a real shame they'll be coming to Denmark Hill when a Nero and Starbucks in ED are both less than a mile away. Maybe just maybe the EDD site will be taken on by a similar business to the one vacating, however, I'm doubtful. I reckon my dream of a Pret may be slightly closer ;) Louisa.

I guess the EDD is part of the middle- class blow ins DNA, but I remember the second hand shop there before this place and that's always my memory. I keep expecting to see boxes of toys and prams outside when I walk past even today. I say turn it back into a second hand shop, very helpful for me. Louisa.

Update: IBD (crohn's and ulcerative colitis): negative Various bacterial and viral infections including C- Dif : negative White blood count back to normal. My GP has fast tracked a referral to see the gastroenterologist at kings. The stomach cramps and watery stools are still persisting and Yakult and other pro-biotics don't seem to help. I'm now hoping for some answers in the coming weeks, my weight loss has stopped and my fluid intake is up. Blood pressure normal, no longer dehydrated. Still getting little sleep though. Louisa.

LondonMix. I disagree. As discussed previously, if you compare lordship lane in 2000 to now, the number of chains locally (including estate agents) has tripled. Arguably, Iceland isn't the type of chain store to pull in other chains, M&S however, based on the demographics of the area is a classic example of how one shop can encourage others into an area. Exactly the same happened in Northcote Road not too many years ago. I agree we still have lots of independents locally, and yes the shops are small, but other areas have seen the same process regardless of the size of the unit available (I've seen possibly the smallest Wagamama on earth in Chiswick). I agree there is no point trying to control market forces, if I had my way there would be a number of chains I enjoy along that road, not that they will ever come. However, all I am saying is, we have once again reached the same point we reached in 2007/8 just before the financial crisis when Cafe Nero, Foxtons, JoJo Maman Bebe, Oliver Bonas, GBK, White stuff all rushed into the area in the short space of under two years. Now we have a situation of growing financial stability, and a cinema (evening weekend footfall), again smaller boutique style chains, large coffee/restaurant chains etc will now start to look again at ED as they did back in 07/08, and another chunk of the independent retail spots will disappear. If you like that then that's fine, just say so, but like I've always said it's good to have a healthy mix of the two. Louisa.

If the other planning applications for chains come to fruition later this year I think the EDD and Londis will be just the first of many small units to follow suit. They will surely be pretty small uncomfortable versions of larger chains though in those tiny Victorian retail spaces, capitalism light. Louisa.

maxxi Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Surely this kind of expensive boutiquey deli is > very Cla'am? Maybe the backlash has begun and > it'll be a Greggs? Haha wouldn't that be funny. But to be honest I adore Ayres of Nunhead so if they expanded into Lordship Lane I'd be like a pig in muck. Louisa.

Seems a bargain Loz. The estate agent spin, as Nigello points out, seems to be directly aimed at interested chains. Feels like we have turned a corner, maybe we will be re-branded as East Clapham. Louisa.

Just came across this on Rightmove. I apologise if anyone else has posted about it. It seems the lease is up for grabs on this local independent. Does this mean it will close? Or is the freehold being sold with the existing business remaining in place? http://www.rightmove.co.uk/commercial-property-for-sale/property-29427123.html Louisa.

Why do you want/need to know? Louisa.

Mine looked like it had been dipped in a sherbet dip dab. Louisa.

Thanks for the helpful responses again everyone. IBS and IBD are both things I've been looking at, although I was told by my GP that the re-infection may be as a result of the death of good bacteria in my stomach. So potentially one of the above could have been exacerbated by the antibiotics, which as pointed out already, have kind of made a bad situation worse. I've been to see another A&E doctor since I last updated everyone and they ran immediate tests on my blood and stool sample, felt my stomach all over and asked me lots of questions about my medical history. I was up the hospital until 3 this morning and I have to say the staff at kings were once again amazing. I was told I had a high white blood count and they detected a "low level gut infection". I was on a drip for 2 hours to restore me back to normality as my blood pressure was pretty high and I was told my level of dehydration meant I couldn't leave the hospital until all the body basics were returned to normal again. I've not been given any further treatment, but I've been promised a letter from the gastro specialist at some point. What is confusing all the more is the longevity of this, coupled with the fact some sort of infection has been detected, and why my immune system isn't clearing it. I literally have tried everything and I couldn't cope again last night because the pain was just crippling.I've taken "dioralyte" this morning and lots of water, I am not going to do anything else today. I am now hopeful the specialist will be able to throw further light onto the internal situation. Louisa.

The A&E doctor was informed that I was awaiting results, and the GP told me already if no results were passed onto me I had no fear of a stomach infection. The reason I went to A&E was because the bloating and cramping had become so severe and I was becoming dangerously dehydrated and losing a significant amount of weight. In the meantime despite previous visits to the GP, I was no prescribed any medication and offered no further tests. I went to A&E in the hope of some immediate pain relief and answers. A stomach bug persisting for longer than a week is not normal. As far as I was concerned, this was an emergency and still is for me. I don't use my GP very often and despite returning doubled over in agony was not given anything beyond advice for standard bacterial/viral stomach infections, now approaching week four/five my severe symptoms are back and the only relief I've had to this point has been from an antibiotic which with conflicting advice from the GP suggesting it should not work, and my own experience of fewer bowel movements and firmer stools less pain whilst on them, and now back to this. None of it makes any sense. Louisa.

Update : so, this thing was going on for a few weeks. I went to kings and was given a 5 day course of antibiotics which were working, by the end of the forth day I was noticing a return to more normal bowel movements and less stomach gurgling and more energy. However, the course was only small because the A&E doctor wasn't sure what the cause was. By Friday all the same symptoms have gradually come back, and am feeling rough again today. I went to see my GP yesterday and showed him the antibiotics, and he informed that based on the stool samples there is no reason for these particular antibiotics to be working as all the stool samples were negative to typical bacterial infections and because of the risk of 'C-difficile' infection, he would not be extending my antibiotic course and sent me away with some codeine. He also took some blood samples and a further stool sample to test for a few other things. Now am I missing something here, or, if as a GP a patient comes in and informs you something was improving your health! would you not question why? He simply said "those shouldn't have been given to you based on the previous stool samples". I'm pretty sure the A&E doctor wouldn't have given me them had she not suspected a bacterial infection. Is there any way antibiotics could work to improve your health if it isn't a bacterial infection? If so how? And more importantly, if not, could the dose I received have not been long enough to kill off the infection?mim so confused by everything. I now don't know whether to return to A&E and tell them all this, or to wait around get worse and hope my GP does something. Louisa.

Certain supermarkets have certain aromas about them. This is nothing new. OKR smells no different to the store in Elmers End. I personally don't give a toss what it smells like. Louisa.

Otta I never got Tayto either, I still miss Smiths crisps and Golden Wonder. Louisa.