east-of-the-Rye

The trees in the cemetery are kept maintained (trimmed) by the Council to preserve the view of St Pauls, they were there 2 - 3 months ago. Same Southwark Council team also trimmed the trees in One Tree Hill.

Thanks for the ideas - all being well, they are going this weekend to a book sale in April in aid of Feed the Hill (Telegraph Hill) - the left overs from this sale apparently go to Michael Peacock,

Before having some building work done, we are slimming down our book collection and will probably have about 25-30 small-medium boxes of books to give away. I'd like to give them to a charity if possible. Any ideas? Places that I've tried so far: Herne Hill Oxfam - only want a couple of boxes at a time; British Heart Foundation in theory will collect books along with a piece of furniture (which we do have to give away) but having tried to book a collection on line, I've not heard from them and there is conflicting information info on their voice mails about whether they want books; iCollectclothes.com - they have said that they may collect, I'm waiting to hear back from them. They aren't a charity but they do seem to give quite a bit to charity. Any other ideas? Thank you.

Our first service of Christmas at St Antony with St Silas, the Parish Church of Nunhead (corner of Ivydale and Merttins roads) is the Traditional Service of Carols and Readings at 6pm this Wednesday, 14th December. All Welcome!

I worked for Humana, a Tvind related fund raiser, a long time ago. They were indeed strange and I only found out about the cult info later. I also read they had lost their charity status in the UK but maybe they have a new identity.

There'll be some fund raising craft stalls that take cash, so bring some with you if you can.

Summer fair on Saturday 20th August - lots for all the family - bouncy castle, BBQ, Pimms, jollof rice, crafts to buy and make, face painting, nail bar, local history. Don't worry about bringing cash - you can pay for most things with tokens that you can buy with a card. But free giant games too - Tumble Tower, dominos, cards, croquet.

Do you have craft items that you make and sell? We have some space left for craft stalls at our summer fair.

Traditional carol service this evening Wednesday 15th December, 6pm at St Antony with St Silas (corner of Ivydale Road and Merttins Road) Crib building with carols at 4pm on Friday 24th December 4pm. All welcome!

No. Slowing and calming the traffic flow between Camberwell and Peckham High Street, and between there and Queens Road Peckham will not reduce flow to 5mph. It will reduce the temptation for drivers to alternately press the accelerator and brake, reduce the quantity of polluting dust from brake pads and make no difference to the ultimate journey time for driver - but might reduce journey times for pedestrians, who will be able to cross the road with reduced waiting times.

Just wanted to remind people about this consultation: the TfL consultation is very basic so I've added this in too: I am generally in favour of these proposals. However, I think there are many further improvements that could be made: It is great that the pedestrian and toucan crossings will be much wider. However, part of the current problem is that vehicles stop on the crossing. Could there be a yellow box painted on these crossings? Or some other sort of on-going enforcement to prevent vehicles stopping there? There are several junctions with minor side roads such as Sumner Road, Basing Court, Collyer Place, Bull Yard and Mission Place and the vehicular entrance by the Kentish Drovers PH to Peckham Dental Care. Please could these junctions be raised to footway height, both to make movement easier for pedestrians, and to make clear to drivers that pedestrians have priority. I think that the length of the 20mph limit should be increased both to the east and west. To the east of Peckham High Street, Queens road widens into 4 lanes, only some of which is a bus lane, with no parking allowed, allowing vehicles to drive at speed (Uber Movement shows free-flow speeds in excess of 40mph in this location). It is similar to the west of Peckham High street. This means that on both sides of the High Street traffic goes at a very fast speed, before becoming frustrated by the delays in the High Street, and indeed further on in Camberwell and by Queens Road Station. It would be much better if this whole stretch of the A202 was narrowed and calmed, allowing for wider pavements and protected cycles lanes (potentially even some greening in the space created). Traffic could be slowed down to 20mph or slower without overall journey times being increased, as movement would be smoother between the pinchpoints of Camberwell, Peckham High street and Queens Road. It is important to note that residents in the 300+ new homes at Peckham Place will need to cross Queens Road at its widest and fastest point to access public transport. I also feel strongly that this scheme does little for cyclists. Would it not be possible to retain and enhance the cycle lanes?

Messy Church is a fun way of being church for families. There will be story telling, music, craft and refreshments. There will be a harvest theme. Come and try it, everyone is welcome. St Antony with St Silas Church, Ivydale Road, on the corner with Merttins Road, SE15. Sunday 29th September 2pm

I'm trying to help someone get an entry-level job. They're interested in cafe/restaurant/kitchen work. I've noticed that there are on-line courses available, costing between ?10 - ?25, and that apparently take only a few hours to do. As an employer - would you be more likely to employ someone that already had a FHC Level 2? and would you consider one obtained on-line suitable? Thanks

thanks for the suggestions, I'll try Carphone Warehouse to start with, the Argos article was also useful.

I need to replace my mobile and could just go to PC World but suspect that the staff won't want to listen to what I'm looking for. (few pre-loaded apps, long battery life, not likely to use for games etc.) any recommendations for a shop with helpful staff? or even a mobile with the attributes above?

I had two lots of frogs spawn in my little pond quite early - maybe 2 weeks ago. One lot seemed not to have been fertilized properly, I couldn't see any tiny black dots in it and it has now disappeared. In the other lot, the dots have become lines and I hope will soon start wriggling.

A traditional service of carols and readings at St Antony & St Silas, Nunhead, (corner of Ivydale Road and Athenlay Road) at 6pm on Sunday 16th December. All welcome!

Thanks for reminding me: I've also just reported it on FixMyStreet, so lets see what happens. it's actually only 3 lights - number 17, 19 and 20 that are out, but it certainly is rather dark. Usually still enough people about between 6pm and 7pm to feel ok though.

I'm looking for a recommendation of someone to rebuild the leaning pillar between my and my neighbours front wall, rebuild the front wall and remove about half the concrete covering the front garden so that I can have a flower bed or hedge. If you want to recommend yourself, that's ok as long as you can provide at least two references from people who will be willing to talk to me.

Aria sorted out a dripping tap, a tap that wouldn't turn off and replaced a valve on another tap. He turned up on time, was efficient and charged what he said he would, we'd use him again and in fact may do soon.

The last couple of quotes I've had for work have been subject to me paying quite a large proportion of the final cost (a third or half) up front - apparently for materials etc. I understand that a contractor might find it difficult to buy materials before I've paid anything, and might fear that I might cancel or simply not pay. But I also feel nervous about passing money to someone, even with good references, before they have done anything. On previous occasions I have agreed with the contractor to pay a supplier direct for whatever they have ordered for my job, and I'm happy to do so - the contractor could go off with the materials and not do my job but I don't feel it is likely. Do all contractors now ask for a high proportion of the cost at the start? What do others think?

Someone like this asked me for money in Nunhead a couple of months ago - he was on the other side of Nunhead Lane from me, near the crossroads with Linden Grove, pushing a bike. I noticed that he let some people walk past him on his side of the road, but called over to me, presumably because I was on my own. I advised him to go to the chemist 30 meters (?) further on, as they could help him better. He then swore at me and kept walking, as did I. I had heard about the scam, and his reaction to me suggests it was a scam.

yes we had a good service from Dave: I'd spent ages at the weekend trying to clear a blocked kitchen outlet, he couldn't come on the Sunday afternoon when i rang, but did answer the phone and came as agreed on Monday morning. he cleared it and charged ?45 which is not bad compared to others.