Louisa

tallgirl, dont mention chain stores on here going to Peckham, heaven forbid ED misses out on something that grotty old Peckham gets. I can see the Claphamite revolt on Goose Green now! I have given up on any hope that another chain store replaces the old Woolworth now, it will more than likely become another pound shop. Louisa.

Thankyou lenk for disecting my post to reach a conclusion for some non-existant "hidden code". Too right I dont like the look of half the crap they sell down there, that is why I dont bloody buy it. And all that b*llox about health inspectors is also a load of tosh. If they truly do the work they claim to then why is it that I see rats running amock on a regular basis down there? is everyone else blind? Obviously some people couldnt give a toss about the quality of the food they buy, hence why many of those butchers down there remain open. Louisa.

I'm not a snob nor am I ignorant, just being realistic. Some of you have obviously not walked by some of those filth havens in Rye Lane early in the morning have you? I have seen the shutters come up early in the morning and vermin run from UNDERNEATH them - me not shopping there isnt just to do with my complete dislike for the state the area is now in, but also for my health. I also disagree that public or environmental health services do much about the conditions down there. I have smelt butchers in Borough Market and other places and I agree it can smell quite disgusting, but the smells coming out of Peckham are verging on something a lot more dubious. The argument you make about people still shopping there is a load of cack as well lenk, of course they still shop there, it is primarily because of the type of produce sold and the fact that similar butchers cannot be found for a fair few miles around, this still does not mean that because they are still open that we should all trust the food they sell. Two words, effing filthy, spring to mind. Louisa.

As much as I have serious issues with William Rose, I think i can pretty much guarantee you that there is little contest between a load of dirty smelly butchers in Peckham and a clean looking and heavily used butchers in ED. Louisa.

Objecting to nearly every application processed, it's amazing what a sunny afternoon in the garden with a bottle of chablis can produce. Louisa.

Southwark Planning Applications : 87 - 95 Rye Lane, Peckham Louisa.

lenk, I believe that the lease is only a short term one as the sign remains on the outside of the property for commercial letting purposes and a planning application to split the building in half is currently being considered by Southwark's Planning Department. Louisa.

I notice no one has mentioned the former Woolworths site down in Peckham. I raised this one with the forum a few months back now. I think this would be ideal, it is within easy reach of ED, is the perfect size for a small supermarket, and it would help to regenerate the Peckham Town Centre image. Louisa.

God I really do hate what has become of some of our old boozers around here. Snobs arguing in a recession about how lovely and or b*llox some overpriced food is. I bet the owner drives a lovely car. Louisa.

????, ah the good old days, a bag of pork scratchings and a pint of the black stuff. Then the Putneyites invaded with their expensive continental half lagers and child portion meals. I remember those Lasagne meals too, Iceland are still selling them! Louisa.

I am still to make my mind up about these 'old signs'. Part of me has this feeling of nostalgia about them, maybe we should go out of our way to restore them in some way/preserve them. However, another part of me suggests that a museum is the best place for them, a place where they can be kept clean and stored for public view forever, and in the mean time we can get some nice new fresh clean signs up. Louisa.

FoodStories, i'm afraid I have to agree with you. One look at the menu and I feel rough with all those dodgy things mixed together, i'd rather get an extra value meal at McDonalds! Oh and BTW, dont take offence to the at best cynical and at worst mildly offensive attitude of some of the crew on here, I think it is a case of dillusional feelings of grandeur. *love and huge*, welcome to the forum, mwah! Louisa.

Eileen, Holdron's was a very large shop which stretched from the railway bridge near the station all the way down to the junction with Bournemouth RD and then half way down Bournemouth RD itself, with an arcade running from the entrance on Rye Lane right through the centre of the building and coming out onto the entrace in Bournemouth RD. Apparantly the council along with some other parties have been looking at ways of opening these arcades up for the use of shops but they have been talking about this for at least a decade and it all looks to be the same to me still. Louisa.

I have a feeling that Court Farm was pulled down when Court Lane was bought for new housing to be built in the 1930's, I may be wrong of course. I have a distant uncle coming to stay with me from Canada in June and he requested some pictures of Holdron's before he came over because his wife had her wedding dress made there in 1943. I came across these other wonderful pictures and some recent research shows that the old corridors and shop floor levels remain pretty much untouched from when Holdron's closed down in 1948. The council have been looking at ways of re-opening the building for small shops to use the arcades. Louisa.

I remember 7/11 as it was, and back in the day was pretty much the only shop open til late. I also remember when Woolworths had a store on what is now the Foxtons site. 'Never on a Sunday' was a great steak house where the current incarnation of the mexican restaurant resides. I was also a big fan of the old chap who owned the curious little artists shop whiwch was next door to what was then Yilmaz kebab's. A lovely man so very friendly and he must have been there for at least thirty years or more. Louisa.

Holdron's Department Store, Rye Lane, Peckham, c1927. http://www.southwarkcollections.org.uk/media/full/PS6121.jpg http://www.southwarkcollections.org.uk/media/full/P6119.jpg http://www.southwarkcollections.org.uk/media/full/PS6117.jpg Top of Rye Lane/Peckham Rye, c1897. http://www.southwarkcollections.org.uk/media/full/PC1691.jpg Under the railway arch with Peckham Rye station in background, c1927. http://www.southwarkcollections.org.uk/media/full/PS6113.jpg St. Peter's Church, Lordship Lane, c1890. http://www.southwarkcollections.org.uk/media/full/PS16075.jpg Court Farm, Dulwich, c1923. http://www.southwarkcollections.org.uk/media/full/PS5127.jpg Dulwich Park, c1905. http://www.southwarkcollections.org.uk/media/full/PS15313.jpg All pictures found on www.southwarkcollections.org.uk. Many more can be found on the above website. Louisa.

The Gardens have always been such a lovely little retreat in the local area, I am so sorry to hear about this. Mr's Tilt would be spinning in her grave i'm sure! Louisa.

Just to let everyone know - I did some investigating into the former Woolies site in Peckham a few days ago and as you can read on the lounged thread about this topic, most of the retailers I contacted had no interest in this particular site. Well, that is apart from one, H&M. H&M have refused to comment on speculation that they may be getting hold of this site, but it certainly seems promising at this stage. As some of you may be aware, a petition was started on Facebook and it did gain some publicity back in February. Since then, H&M have taken on the lease at a number of former Woolies stores across the country and the lack of response following a visit to this store could well be seen as good news. I today received an email from the custmer service people at H&M asking me to check back with them in a few months time and that no further comment could be made at this time. Who knows what this means, but perhaps we will have a new high street store replacing Woolies soon. Louisa.

The sort of comment about "chav" and "blue collar" is exactly the reason people like me always raise the issue of class on this forum. This really is the only traditional pub left now, and it does have a market amongst older regulars so why cant we just accept that? Louisa.

???? i'm always pulling in 100s one way or another :)) Louisa.

It would be a real shame if the Castle went the way of all the other local pubs. many of the locals (including the lovely Mary) were almost part of the furniture in there and I for one would be very sad to see these old faces made to feel isolated due to some sort of gentrification style refit. Louisa.

I had a very tiresome day yesterday with a visiting friend from Kingston and we went into this place to try the cocktails, I must say I was pleasently suprised with this good service, good value and mind blowing cocktails on offer. I would not make it a regular visit (as I think I may not be the clientele they are trying to attract) but I would certainly go back with friends. Porn Star (with champagne on the side) was my favourite! Happy with a "new" ED pub/bar - for once. Louisa.

Sean of course everyone loses out if a fringe/extremist party is elected, but are you suggesting we prevent people voting for such parties or indeed ban such parties? I do not quite understand how we could possibly do this without going against the rule of democracy. Yes many of the electorate take for gospel the word of the media elite and this can influence their decision at the ballot box, but thats just the way it is, people vote for a whole number of reasons and those reasons are not for anyone to judge. The current political elite have been taking advantage of a corrupt system which in turn means that people naturally feel angry and wish to express their distaste by voting for other parties. Luckily in the UK we still have a plurality voting system at a General Election which means that the extremists are more often than not isolated, but I know that many people feel that this in itself is not democratic and should be reformed. Who knows, I just know I will be spoiling my ballot at the European and General Election. TM my poster collection has grown, but I feel YouTube may be the only way for me to get the message across about horticultural vandalism. Louisa.

The right sorts of business would mean replacing one major retailer with another. What type of small ethnic shop would you suggest suits such a huge space as the former woolies? The diversity in Peckham is not a bad thing, but if you start losing major chain stores it is a slippery slope into high street hell, particulary in such a deprived area as Peckham. Anyhow, the Facebook page requesting a certain chain store to the area has gained significant support so I would suggest that a lot of people would prefer a little more high street bog standards to help represent the whole of the local community, as opposed to a small percentage of it, which is the case along LL now may I add. Louisa.

Yes and so what if people do vote extremist parties? That is the luxury and unfortunate nature of living in a parliamentary democracy, and in all honesty it is no more than the current political elite deserve. Some see it as a kick up the backside, others do it because they genuinely believe that the extreme and/or fringe party will actually deliver, but this is what we for having a large number of MPs claiming for having swimming pools cleaned, second and sometimes third homes being paid for with our tax money. Regardless of whether rational judgement is exercised by the electorate, we should always respect their opinions otherwise we will end up living in some sort of quasi communist/fascist state, and of course the irony being that this could indeed happen anyway as a consequence of the electorate punishing the naughty liberal elite currently ruling the roost. Let us all hope that people abstain from voting next time around, but equally it would be good to see the main political parties suffer at the ballot box for the arguably insignificant European Elections. Louisa.