Louisa

Spot on jaws. Every gay bar I have ever been to is trouble free, and i've been to plenty of pubs/clubs/bars in my long life. Louisa.

As much as I have my own personal issues with Foxtons, I think everyone deserves to earn a living and tarnishing these people with one big brush is a little over dramatic in my opinion. I Give benefit of the doubt to everyone, I would not wish for Foxtons to go under and have people made unemployed, I think that is a very negative opinion to hold. Louisa.

Bloody freak, I hope you dont get put off suitting next to men whilst alone in a carriage in future. Why the hell do I never have these experiences when I am on a train? Louisa.

Staight men tend to appreciate a couple of "lipstick lesbians" kissing in front of them be that in a Gay or Straight venue, but if two men were doing the same most would be disgusted. Just an observation. Louisa.

No offence *Bob* but even to a 35 year old the current gay scene is very different to the one of even a decade ago. Gay people who have strictly gay only policies in clubs tend to be the older generation, and younger gay people tend to want to have nights out in straight venues and the oppurtunity to mix with all types of people, the point I am making is that in a gay venue you will find most gay people are accepting of a straight couple coming in and kissing in front of everyone, but if the role were reversed along any of the pubs down LL, I am pretty sure there would be a lukewarm reception at best. This 'older' generalisation that the gay community (men especially) stick to leather and bondage clubs full of men with moustaches and hairy bears is pretty outdated to the current generation of young gay people who want to be able to appreciate a mixed environment, but sadly I do not think straight people as a rule are accepting of them. Louisa.

The supposedly gay venues you talk of may well have been the norm when you were a young man Bob (let's hazard a rough guess at thirty plus years ago), but the gay scene is not so shrouded in mystery these days, and I have been on nights out with gay friends and my nephew on Compton Street, Canal Street, in Birmingham and other smaller venues where EVERYONE is allowed through the door and made to feel very welcome with no trouble, fisty cuffs or judgmental people. If you have been to G-A-Y Astoria before you will be well aware that anyone and everyone goes there and people get along perfectly well. I canot say the same of some of the straight venues I have been to where young gay men in particular are often made to feel unwelcome and ridiculed. Is it any wonder so many men only gay venues popped up in the early days if that was the normal attitude of most straight people at the time? Louisa.

It's all very well straight people suggesting that the gay community should just come into a straight dominated environment and enjoy what is already on offer, but I have a young nephew who still feels uncomfortable in a 'non' gay environment because he cannot be himself and finds that people will laugh at him or treat him as a novelty. Maybe all the gay bars should become straight friendly, let's see the straight workmen and estate agents go flocking in on a friday night to soak up the lively atmosphere and feel isolated and ridiculed - oh no hang on, i forgot, most gay people are more than welcoming to everyone so it wouldnt make any difference in a gay bar would it? Louisa.

I think Ken may have developed a stalker of transexual proportions. I had better warn him when next we meet! Louisa.

A very lovely Turkish man who greets people as they pass, I've had many conversations with him and he is very chatty. Never experienced his scissor techqieu as you may well guess, but from people I know who have been in he is pretty good. Louisa.

Thankyou Eileen, I shall contact the above person asap, so far I have phoned up a number and had reasonable people to speak to and they have told me that it is highly unlikely under such circumstances that I would be made to pay the fine as long as I show them the ticket I bought, so thats excellent news but I shall contact the said councillor anyhow. Louisa.

I rushed out without my phone this morning so no photographs, but I still have the ticket and I know for a fact I displayed it correctly it was in full view of anyone who cared to walk to the front of the car and look at the dashboard which he obviously had not done for whatever reason. I wouldnt mind but he had actually seen me at the machine buying a bloody ticket and said good morning! I have written off a letter to the address given on the penalty notice and explained the situation and I am hoping that I will win the appeal (eventually) but what angers me most is that someone could be so incompetent and that it goes on to take up time in my day when it need not have. I know I bang on about Southwark a lot, but I rarely have such problems in other London boroughs or councils elsewhere in the country and I have come to the conclusion that they hire anyone to do the job and that they dont even train these wardens. Louisa.

I arrived in a relatively empty car park this morning at 9.15am and parked up as I usually do this time of the month, so that I can walk down to the Council Offices on Bournemouth RD and pay my monthly instalment of Council Tax (I dont trust there DD system it's messed me around loads in the past). I put my ?1 in the machine as I had no smaller change and the parking warden said good morning to me (shock horror), go and pay my monthly bill as usual the queueing and rudeness i've come to expect from that place (nothing changes), arrive back to my car to find a ticket under the left side windscreen wiper (shock horror). I checked to make sure I had parked in the correct space, which I had and made sure the ticket was in full view on the dashboard, which it was. I turned and walked over to the parking warden I had got a good morning from 15 minutes previously and asked why I had been given a ticket and he told me I had not displayed a valid ticket. I showed him the ticket and he then said I had not displayed it correctly, so getting slightly angry by now I walked him to the front of the car and showed the dimwit the spot where I had displayed my ticket and he laughed and said it was not in the correct place and suggested that in future I should display my ticket correctly. He said it was out of his hands and that I should contact the parking department or whatever it is called. So I find myself with a ticket and now have to do something unneccesary just because this guy failed to do his job correctly. I am angry, upset and appauled yet again by Southwark council and the damn right innappropriate behaviour of certain employees. This guy was either half asleep and tried passing the buck or was bored because he had not handed out a ticket in a while. Louisa.

How about a Poppins or a Wimpy bar, something that isnt too expensive and that serves crap food round the clock. Too much to ask, I thought so. Louisa.

Dulwich Picture Gallery gardens. Louisa.

I believe the memorial is being relocated into the building which stands next to the church (first house) where it will be restored (apparantly) to it's former glory. I think this is the best move, as the congregation which currently occupies that stunning Church obviously do not have any incentive to help with the upkeep of this last reminder of the sacrifice of the men and women of this area. Louisa.

I recently felled a tree in my back garden because it was causing subsidence (or so the insurers told me) and I genuinely felt guilty for weeks after and I really do miss looking out at it. I for one love trees and I think the world has lost enough of them over the last century so let's give our big mates a break, and how about we cull the poster who made this thread and plant a tree in his/her honour? :-) Louisa.

Asset I never said every other city in the world, I said the EU, and the statistics on Amsterdam are overall and do not take into account violent crime involving guns and knives specifically. As a national capital city London is much further ahead, my friend who works for Thames Valley has told me that most other forces now see London as the new Belfast in terms of gang related violence over the past decade, with many others choosing to transfer out of the met to go to safer regions. Things really have got that bad, and I shall get every statistic I can to prove this. Louisa.

I find it pathetic that people point to crimes in small community pockets elsewhere in the UK. Every urban area will have certain problems associated with burglary and mugging to an extent, but in terms of violent crime on the streets London is head and shoulders above every other EU capital and is statistically a million miles ahead of EVERY other urban/metropolitan district in the rest of the country. Failure to dispierse the gang culture and redirect the lives of the youth today have contributed to this mess, and a severe lack of discipline and sense of community in this city have further plunged us into a crisis. For all those pointing elsewhere in the country feel free to look at the stats before you say how great this place is. Louisa.

I have a friend who works for Thames Valley Police, and I have been told than confidentially the Metropolitan Police force accounts for nearly 85% of ALL gun and knife crime out of every single force up and down this country. If that figure is true, it is absolutely astonishing. I have experienced lesser life threatening but equally as frightening crimes locally and I no longer feel safe going to Peckham as I have pointed out many times before, the level of violence in London is out of control and I personally am finding it harder year on year to justify why I still stay here. Louisa.

Flogging a dead horse. Here we go again - dog's and owners, yummies and kids on your marks, get set, GO! Louisa.

When will people get over the idea of an M&S around here. It's not gonna happen, i've spoken to numerous head office people who dont even consider ED as being a place on the map, let alone a suitable candidate for a simply food store. Louisa.

Lock him/her/it up and throw away the key. Louisa.

Margaret and Eric are planning on expanding Le Moulin to a new self service restaurant in this location. The decor will be the same so just as a vampire shys away from garlic crosses and sunlight, i'm sure the middle classes will avoid this eatery like the plague. Hooray for something new and innovative in ED! *wakes up* Louisa.

A good 20 to 30 years ago there would have been no comparison between Rye Lane and Lordship Lane in terms of shopping. Peckham was home to three major department stores, a whole host of high quality food and homeware shops, various tailors and delicatessans. Meanwhile, LL was a a street renound for it's public houses more than anything else, and a few small shops but nothing major. ED was Peckham's poorer relation until the notorious North Peckham Estate turned into a crime haven in the late 1970's, and thus the trend was reversed as Rye Lane slumped into obscurity and has never recovered. I agree some of the terraced lined streets surrounding Rye Lane remain tranquil in appearance, but this is only a mask to the truth. The area is not what it used to be. Louisa.

I used to spend a lot of time in Peckham too, I have been driven away from shopping in the area and socialising in the area because it no longer provides me with anything that I need and also because I have had some very horrible mugging experiences locally. Peckham is my home, I was born around here and my family have lived here for further back than I or anyone in my family can remember, I have watched the area change over the years and tried my best to adapt to such changes, but the violent crime has reached levels I cannot cope with any longer and so as much as it pains me to do so, I find myself shopping in Lewisham and Bromley more often nowadays, not to say they are perfect places, far from it in fact, but probably because they still have a few shops worth visiting. Peckham isnt this vibrant edgy place so many like to make it out to be, compared with the Peckham I remember from old, it's a s*ithole (not to beat about the bush too much), and to be honest the transformation of ED (which has equally disheartened me) has left me no option than to travel elsewhere for my needs. Louisa.