Parker's Folly

As I'm sure you are all aware, quite a lot of money is being spent widening the Walworth Road pavements, in the process narrowing the actual road and in my opinion, causing chaos. I don't live around there, but is there really a need to widen pavements along there? The traffic is so heavy along that road that surely it could cause bottlenecks in future? Who knows, if they plant palm trees there as well, it could become the Sunset Boulevard of London, with Dulwich and Cystal Palace neatly placed to take on the mantel of Hollywood Hills!

Depends what you are looking for. If you're single or a couple who's only interested in bars, pubs and a bit of food, then that grid of roads right off Lordship Lane might attract. If you're a family who wants to get away from the bustle and parking problems nearer Lordship Lane, smallish houses and small gardens, then the roads further up the hill might appeal, such as Friern, Underhill, and Upland. These have much larger plots and are geared towards bigger families. On the subject of transport, East Dulwich Station is not the be-all and end-all of transport in this area. Its only useful if you want to get to London Bridge or if you work in the City. I personally find Peckham Rye Station far better in term s of options, as you have trains going to Victoria, London Bridge and Blackfriars. From where I live, this station is a maximum of 10 minutes away on the no.12 bus. If you aren't lazy, Lordship Lane is a maximum 15-20 minutes walk away from these "remoter" streets, probably even less if you happen to do any sort of exercise and are fitter.

How about twisting Al Fayed's arm to open a little outpost of Harrods out here too? And while we're at it, a Virgin Megastore.

I agree with most of the above, but I also find these places extremely cramped. There's hardly room to swing a cat in there and even out on the "terrace" I see they've managed to squeeze in 5 tables - great for eavesdropping maybe, but not if you like a quiet and confidential conversation with your loved one.

I had some of that fairtrade chocolate from Coop the other day and frankly, it wasn't very good. Rather bland I thought. In my humble opinion, give me Green & Blacks, Lindt, anything Belgian, or even Charbonnel et Walker. Hey, maybe even some of those are fairtrade for all I know, although probably not.

Keith Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I hope not but I'm starting to think so, CID don't > know or arn't saying same as Peckham station. Keith mate, you don't believe in crop circles and UFOs as well, do you?

kingtubby Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > They are building something in the old carpark > area, I thought it looked a bit like changing > rooms (for the football teams etc).. I think this is going to be a cafe - there are planning notices about this dotted around the park entrances.

The olympics are goiong to overrun by lots of millions, mark my words. Then the shortfall will be made up by you and me and 8 million other Londoners. Once that is caught up, then we might see attention turning to our neck of the woods.

So which type of people are buying here now? By the tone of your message, I assume you think its the wrong sort of type?

Quaywe Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > OK EDF'er, > > I was browsing around ED on Streetmap the other > day to see if there was anything I hadn't yet > discovered about our beloved ED. I ended up > looking over Peckham Rye Park/Common and noticed > something interesting; did you know that Peckham > Rye Park (the nice part of the green) and Common > are actually (mostly) within SE22? So why the > crap name? Is it because it's named after the > road (which is also in SE22) rather than the > suburb? > > I know that Peckham Rye Common/Park has a bad > perception with a lot of people, especially us ED > snobs who would rather venture to Dulwich Park > instead (if you like prams and dog poo). > Personally I love Peckham Rye Park - it's a hidden > treasure that not many people know about. They > see the Common (the Peckham end of the green) and > think it's all just a blank green for people to > play footy on, but it's not. The Park is > beautiful with a pond, private areas to picnic, > lovely gardens, ducks and playgrounds. > > I wonder what everyone's thoughts would be on > renaming Peckham Rye Park/Common to East Dulwich > Park/Common > ( http://www.foprp.org.uk/ blood begins to boil > I'm sure)? I think it would improve the > perception of the Park with ED'ers AND it would > simply be aligning it to the suburb in which it > actually IS - East Dulwich! Not to mention what > it would do for ED house prices near it. > > So forumites - what do you think? Am I off my > rocker or do I have a point? > > Check it out: > http://streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=534750&y=17475 > 0&z=1&sv=534750,174750&st=4&ar=N&mapp=newmap.srf&s > earchp=newsearch.srf Personally I've never found this park inferior to Dulwich Park. As a person who enjoys outdoors, since moving to this part of London I've made a concerted effort to discover as many green spaces as possible, so I've explored these two parks along with Horniman Gardens, the fantastic Dulwich and Sydenham Woods, Crystal Palace Park, Nunhead Cemetery and even One Tree Hill. I know a lot of these aren't in SE22 but they are lovely anyway. Peckham Rye used to be a lot bigger than it is now, and if I'm not mistaken, even the land stretching up to Goose Green once formed part of the greater common land, before being eaten up by housing development in the late 19th century.

I'm afraid that lightbulbs poking above my lampshades des make a practical difference to us. Its annoying and hurts my eyes and its an inferior quality lighting with a funny caste. I'm sorry if that bugs you, but surely if these clever people can come up with energy saving light, they can invent smaller bulbs too.

Jamie Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I just watched this film for the first time last > night and I was shocked by the scale of the issue > and how long the knowledge has been denied the > human race. > As my own personal follow up to the programme I > would like to know if everyone on this forum uses > Low energy bulbs? > I would also like to campaign for people to stop > using their cars to get around ED. I must say > after seeing this film I worry that we are not > individually and as a collective doing nearly > enough. > Anyone else have any thoughts or has seen the > film? I'll use energy saving lightbulbs if you can recommend any that don't protrude above the majority of my standing lamps and table lamps, as it looks so unsightly, never mind blinding my family most of the time. I'll also consider the switch if you could recommend a way around the clash they often have with dimmer switches.

Alan Dale Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Whilst I am proud of my work in Neighbours I must > also draw your attention to my more lucrative > roles in the OC and Ugly Betty. > > @Spymum- there aren't many family homes in > Camberwell within our budget. We have seen a few > in East Dulwich but whilst they seem a bit more > affordable they are hampered by very limited > transport links. > > It would defeat the object a bit if I moved down > the Hill then had to walk back up every day to get > to work. > > Are there any transport improvements expected? Dear Mr Dale While Dulwich does not have the transport hub that is Camberwell Green, we do have East Dulwich, North Dulwich and Peckham Rye stations within close proximity to most corners of our world, plus a lot of buses pass through. We can catch the 185 to Victoria, 176 to Aldwych and 40 to Aldgate via London Bridge, and the 12 to Oxford Circus. And the 63 to Kings Cross now that I think of it. So no tube, but transport links not as bad as one might think. Regards

Amelie Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > This might be related to the original railway > station that was located in Camberwell and was > replaced by the now East Dulwich station; there is > a painting of the original station by Walter > Sickert (?). I have seen the painting but can't > now remember where or where it is currently held. Are you not perhaps thinking of Camille Pisarro's painting of the old Lordship Lane Station?

Jeremy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I hate Foxtons. They are thieving scum, and I mean > that literally! If they come to LL, I will > personally wage war on them!! I'll join you - I hate them too. By the way, do we really need another estate agent on LL? That would increase the number to about 10, not?

ClareC Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The Court Lane gate was closed this morning when > it is usually open, does anyone know why? Also, > anyone know what the nice houses in the park were > built / used for and why they are boarded up? I would assume the houses would have originally been lodgings for the park keeper and staff, but I am not 100% certain.

Jeremy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Some kind of brawl spilled over into the street... > several police cars on the scene. One of the guys > involved started "attacking" cars parked along > Crystal Palace Rd. > > That place is a dump, lots of the punters are > chavs & pikeys, and I hope they get priced out of > ED. They won't get priced out cos they're all on housing benefits anyway

Ant Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The CPT is two pubs in one, really. The new bit > and the old bit. I like the old bit best. > > Plough Homecraft, the DIY place up by the library, > is excellent. Very well stocked, with > knowledgeable and helpful staff. Only thing that irritates me about the Plough Homecraft place is how the staff all smoke inside, especially around flammable substances. Actually, now that I think about it, the staff at the Costcutter opposite the library smoke inside too, which is even worse, as its all around foods.

I really enjoy Omrith on Forest Hill Road.

Not sure about the Rye, but I ate at the Greyhound in the village last night and the food was awful. We both ordered sausage and mash. The sausage was overdone: crisp and rubbery, while I honestly believe that the "organic maris piper mashed potatoes" was simply reconstituted powdered potato. It had the consistency of polenta and was disgusting. I'm disappointed, as I used to enjoy their food a couple of years ago, but in my opinion has gone downhill since. I still enjoy having a drink there though.

QZ Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hmm need to ask how someone produces clothes so > cheaply (and high volume driving price down is not > entirely the right answer) > > ?30 for one T over longer term = better quality, > less wastage > ?5 x 4 for four Ts over short term.... > > Different horses, different courses ;-) As I think I mentioned before, there is a 0% chance of them ever coming out to Dulwich anyway, but I suppose what I was trying to get across is that everyone on this board makes such a big deal of the newcomers with "money" and the old inhabitants with "none", that I thought H&M would be a good compromise: very reasonable prices, yet quite trendy, to suit all the "Claphamites", but also affordable for the existing natives of East Dulwich. (td) (tu)

Jeremy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > H&M clothes fall to bits - but if you want > something which is essentially disposable, then I > guess it's fine. They're not the best quality, but when you consider what you pay for them, are they that bad? I bought a pair of jeans and a few t-shirts in October and they are all still going strong, almost 6 months on! If you're layering for example, a few ?5 t-shirts do the trick - who really cares what they look like underneath during winter. Better than paying ?30 a pop at a more upmarket place in my opinion.

bald marauder Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I heard that white stuff were having some problems > agreeing the terms of the lease. > They had been planning to open by end of March - > though that must look pretty unlikely now. > It would be nicer to have an independent boutique > selling a selection of different brands - but I > guess it's difficult to please everyone even with > this approach. Ed's on North Cross Road for > example has a small selection of menswear, but > nothing that quite appeals to me. Does anyone buy > stuff from there? I don't even know what I would > want from a local boutique really, so much men's > clothing is disappointing/expensive or both. But > it would be nice to have more choice than we've > currently got... I'd like to see an H&M opening here, except that is highly unlikely as they tend to open stores in large premises. Their clothes are trendy yet extremely reasonable and cover a wide range, to suit children, men, women and pregnant women. Brilliant I'd say.

HATE: - Too many estate agents, and their fancy little VW's and Mini Coopers with flash signage theron. - The poxy kebab, chicken & fish, etc fast food outlets. - The police station (only its brutalist facade really) - St Thomas More Hall - what the hell goes on inside that place: Bingo? LOVE: - Seacow - Cafe Nero (sorry...) - The library - Hisar WOULD LIKE TO SEE: - A bookstore that also has internet facilities and a coffee shop/cafe, with reasonable prices. - A CD store with a good vinyl selection as well, at a reasonable price. - Waitrose - H&M (ha ha - fat chance) - Carluccio's cafe

ratty Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If you hate is so much, stick to Iceland! :p I tell you what I would like to see is a Waitrose somewhere locally, if not on Lordship Lane, at least within a mile's radius. I know some people probably think its too posh or pricey, but I for one used to love shopping there when I lived in Ealing a few years ago. I know there's one in Bromley and in Beckenham, but that's too far away.