Lee Scoresby

I was told this afternoon that dogs are again being poisoned in Peckham Rye & Park - including a young healthy Weimaraner. Does anyone have information? This same twisted campaign appeared several years ago. Southwark Council's response was point blank refusal to investigate, or even commission testing of samples. No warning notices were ever displayed. Also. There has been giardiasis in dogs using the Park, presumably from the stagnant seasonal ponds. Giardia is a nastly little gut parasite, not dealt with by standard dosing. It can be dangerous to old or vulnerable dogs - and people can catch it. Again, does anyone have anything to share? Southwark could addressed this problem - at the least, posted warnings. Lee Scoresby

A friend of mine takes excellent b&w photos on a pre-digital camera. Now she's keen to learn how to print and manipulate her own images. That is, to learn some of those old-skool wet-chemical red-light darkroom skills: ... developing, fixing, enlarging, the different papers, spotting and dodging, printing. We need a personal recommendation ... A Southwark Education course? A college? Photo club? Other? Thanks, Lee Scoresby.

Looking for the best seamstress in ED or around. Or seamster. Tho I think this will be a woman. Open mind. The garments will be old and everyday. We're not talking couture. We're talking keeping old, worn, loved garments going. Making do, mending, appreciating. There was a brilliant Cypriot lady at Alpine Cleaners in Grove Vale but she moved. The mender at the drycleaners by the PO is OK, but I'm looking for frankly amazing. This person need not work at a dry cleaners, nor indeed, outside her or his home. Happy to pay for artistry. Don't want to be either ripped off or an exploiter. Simple as. Send me a PM or maybe just post. Thanks, Lee Scoresby.

Message to vladi (and probably teddboy): What angst? I'm a prospective customer looking for the appropriate ED provider. This is a core EDF function, so I'm disappointed the new moderator hasn't responded to this trollery. Other respondents: thanks. LS

(The moderator says this is the place, so here goes ...) Recommendation please: an ED beauty salon for facials, particularly microdermabrasion and the electric applications: toning (faradic), micro-current, etc. Maybe too, deep clean & rejuvenating rollering, and lymphatic suction. Cost isn't a maker/breaker. Looking for people who actually know their business - obvs. (No keener than anyone else to be stung or have my mug trashed.) Also ... as a beat-up old ruffian of the male persuasion, I do not suppose I'm in the 'mums of Dulwich mums' core clientele. Y'know, old men have their small vanities --- So the provider and other clients need to be comfortable with that. Grateful for advice. PM or just post it. Lee Scoresby

I am not yer core beauty-salon clientele. I want to ask EDF readers to recommend businesses offering particular treatments. The thing is ... where exactly should I locate this post? Lee Scoresby

Looking for a contractor to recommend and install a single unit at ground-floor to the rear: sliding glass door and window. We sometimes have a problem with 'neighbourhood noise' - put it like that. (Not helped by the uselessness of the Southwark noise nuisance team.) Fortunately, this noise is in the mid-upper part of the spectrum, rather than vibration, so glazing will stop it. So this new unit needs, in particular, excellent acoustic insulating capacity, altho thermal is also important. Not looking to be ripped off, obvs, but we're looking for quality rather than cheap n' cheerful. Had a glazing salesman round the other evening; what a clown! "Don't worry about acoustic performance, laminated is all you need." "Triple glazing? Thing of the past!" And then: "Have you heard the cricket scores!" Etc etc ... I have searched and reviewed EDF posts re glazing contractors, which has been useful, but it would be great to get some fresh (2022/3) word of mouth, as well as hearing from someone who had an acoustic requirement similar to ours. In fact, installing such a unit is reasonably bish-bosh. The challenge is locating a high-quality make and a reliable contractor. Oh yes, indeed ... Lee Scoresby

For many years I have donated to the Oxfam shop and bookshop, over in Half Moon Lane - for which Oxfam gets gift aid. I first took items there because staff always thanked me, simple as that - whereas elsewhere one might encounter incivility or even a blank refusal to accept what one had lugged in. I continued to donate throughout Oxfam's recent self-generated scandals. I took items over this afternoon. The lady was polite as ever . . . and yet, I feel I'm approaching a tipping point, not just with Oxfam but with similar major charities. They have 'boutiqued' themselves out of my affections. I am fed up with feeling that THEY are doing ME a favour by accepting what I bring in. I understand that people (not least in London) are ever more picky about 'pre-loved' items. I recognise the reported phenomenon of middle-class donors whose super-abundant sense of self-worth extends to the filthy tat and broken rubbish that they simply cannot bear to bin, insisting that 'someone' will want it. And yet -- This has been going on for years. I suggest that lousy, delusional management is to blame. Think of the advantages a charity outlet enjoys: Most of their staff are unpaid. Most of their stock is free. They often rent their premises on very advantageous terms. And they can allude to an ethical narrative beyond simple retail transaction. And yet . . . it seems their bosses yearn to manage 'real' retail. All of the self-importance, almost none of the real challenges. In a rational, human-based society - rather than the muppetocracy we endure - local government would run recycling depots in every neighbourhood, where one could look, not just for the items typically found in present-day charity shops, but surplus paint and building materials, refurbished electrical and electronic goods (shunned by charity shops, as we know), and offers of barter or simple assistance. Social good would be the point, not pathetic managerial ego. Lee Scoresby

Advised by a friendly fellow-EDF'er to post outside the Classified section, as more people shlep over here to The Lounge. So . . . Recently used a website to find a local-ish voice coach (Crystal Palace) - who blew me off the instant she heard what I wanted. Which didn't stop the website helping itself to a 'fee' from my account ... and again the next month - before I realised what was happening and blocked them. I won't name the site but I see extremely negative and accurate reviews online. I'm looking for face-to-face (not remote) sessions to maximise the clarity of my diction (absolutely not to 'sound posh'), also my vocal projection. Further - tho it's a secondary consideration - to lose the vestigal accent of my long ago non-UK youth (because it's just not 'me' anymore). Hoping there's someone who can help me. Surprised it's not easier in a great big city like London. Send me a PM. Lee Scoresby

Why have you blocked my post to the thread regarding the renewed imposition of the so-called 'Gala' on Peckham Rye Park this summer? Lee Scoresby

I noticed this thread in passing and feel impelled to correct the astonishing naivete and 'historical amnesia' expressed here. Please refer to EDF threads from earlier years to be educated. Every summer for years now, this crew of North-London public-school tossers has been allowed to inflict their rave misery on the Park and a wide area around, with the connivence of nameless-faceless Southwark officials and spineless, invisible local councillors. I invite you to try to identify who 'We Are the Gala' actually is ... good luck with that. I invite you to try to discover the terms of the relevant contract: you will find it concealed behind so-called 'commercial confidentiality' (LOL). I invite you ask for a meaningful response from your ward councillors ... again, good luck with that (LOL again). To the extended hours of extraordinarily loud and unpleasant bass noise, vibration and echo, add: the felling beforehand of healthy, beautiful trees to allow these idiots access ... then weeks of: strutting security thugs ... large areas denied to local people ... and disruption from heavy equipment ... followed by: widespread faecal deposits, needles and rubbish in the bushes ... and extensive ground damage which is never, ever properly remediated aftewards. (Priceless excuse from a previous year: "Oh, well no, we didn't use the roller - it was somewhere else that day." MEGA-MEGA LOL) My family always evacuates our home for that weekend - which I very deeply resent having to do. I feel sorry for the old people, the housebound and others unable to get away. It is an absolute betrayal by 'our' council. Promises are made every year - they're just empty PR to allow them to get away with this abuse one more time. This is a very powerful example of an unaccountable authority and the absence of any meaningful local democracy. I'm sure Southwark does receive a flood of complaints every year. The thing is: they don't give a tinker's cuss - it's factored in. You can see how much they care ... they just keep doing it. Until residents organise and force this to stop - using the law courts, for example - it will continue. To those newcomers and others who think I'm exaggerating, I say simply: you'll see. And yes, the community event down on the Rye on the last day is fine. Because it's meant to be - it's cover for what has gone beforehand. Lee Scoresby

Very happy to add my own experience to those described above. Niko was recommended by a sparky whom I trust. Recently, when other local plumbers weren't even responding to texts, he got back to me, took an interest and gave me some good initial advice. We had a couple of dodgy taps - one of those 'small' jobs that's very annoying and needs sorting. Which Niko did. Not to mention he's good for a chat and a laugh - and god knows we need a bit of that in these times. Efarist?, Niko. Lee Scoresby

I was en route to a medical appointment. This has been haunting me ever since, believe me. But ... even if I had confronted her, such are the freaked-up times in which we live, I might just have gotten MYSELF into a lot of bother. Plus, I had no way of identifying where she lives, not wanting to follow her there --- P68, of the 3 organisations I mentioned, the jolly old RSPCA is the one I have zero respect for. Too many horror stories out there. I tried to get them to deal with an abused dog several years ago. Prolonged neglect at the back of a house whose address I gave them: that is, a sitting duck for investigation and action. Not a whisper back from them to this day! What they ARE very good at is PR - and that's about it for the useless old RSPCA. I'm not saying an EDF reader does or does not know this person. I am certainly suggesting that we all live in not many degrees of separation from very many others. To be plain: someone reading this might know someone who lives in that area, or someone who knows someone - and so it goes like that, like a web or a ripple. A few texts or calls out to people we know CAN jog a neighbour of this obviously unwell woman and get this poor animal to safety. That I absolutely believe. Lee Scoresby

Seen just before 2pm: A woman got off a 343 at the bus stop after Solomon's Passage on the corner of Peckham Rye (Nunhead side) and East Dulwich Rd with traffic lights. She had a young dog, probably a Lab or similar. The dog could hardly walk and was in a terrible state; either its rear left leg was broken or its rear left hip was displaced. She had a chain wrapped tightly round its muzzle and repeatedly leaned over it, screaming abuse and threatening. It seemed like a very nice dog but the poor creature was in UTTER UTTER MISERY. The woman was in her late 30s or 40s with thick reddish-brown hair. It is possible she is mentally ill or has a personality disorder. Someone in that neighbourhood KNOWS EXACTLY who this post is about. I urge that person, or those people, to step up to their moral responsibility and call either the police, Southwark ASB or the RSPCA NOW! None of these organisations is brilliant, to say the least, but you must try and keep trying! As you read these words, this conscious, sensitive creature is suffering hideously. If no-one says or does anything it is totally predictable that it will die a prolonged and horrible death. Somebody knows --- Lee Scoresby.

Latest news that the faceless-nameless ones at Southwark Parks Management would really rather you didn't know about: Having utterly failed to reinstate what was once a lively community of older local bowlers at the green in the park, 'senior managers' now intend to privatise that entire section, handing it over to some chancer to knock up a mini-golf course. Price for a round? Somewhere round eight to 12 pounds. No-one is asking us, the local people and park users, what we think, of course not. Many will see hiving off to private interests as a betrayal in principle, and this particular money-spinning lark as crass and inappropriate. If Southwark really cannot get their act together to re-establish bowling the green should be returned to parkland. Southwark's secret intentions, of course, are exactly the opposite: they have the established goal of handing over major chunks of our park to the Harris Academy corporation. The bowling green is the thin end of a very wide wedge. Overall, I suggest, Southwark's stewardshp of the Park and Rye remains as dismal as ever. Items: They continue to allow football teams to trash the fields. They refuse to end their ludicrous 'jihad on dogs' and take even modest steps to make these core park-users welcome: why, for example, is there no drinking trough for dogs at the new building at Homestall Rd? Completely outrageous. The chainsaws have been out, day after day; while some tree removals were clearly necessary, it seems that when they want a tree gone - to facility music events for example, or the parking of contractor vehicles - there is no tree in the park so healthy that 'dieback' could not be discovered in it, hohoho-hollow-ho. And without a huge bung from the National Lottery these bozos have not the slightest interest in, you know, actually PLANTING new trees. Rather, careful observers may have detected that a concerted, undeclared effort is underway to attenuate all areas of tree and other vegetation, evidently to allow continuous sightlines through the park from all angles, so as to faciliate policing (in the general sense). This vandalism completely undoes the thought and effort of many past generations to carefully enfold so very many private, beautiful spaces like an intricate puzzle within what is really not a large area. Again, did anyone ask us about this? And here's the doozy for locals and park lovers ... having concealed with grass-seeding their failure to repair the considerable, serious ground damage caused by last May's appalling (and 'commercially confidential' hoho) 'music event', Southwark is going to do it all over again at the end of this month. Watch and see the mayhem and squalor, the strutting security thugs, the noise-assault, the vegetated areas thick with fecal matter, the damage to the natural fabric of the park ... Lovely Park and Rye, brilliant space, DESPITE Southwark. Needs protection from its supposed municipal 'stewards'. Could be so so so much better --- Lee Scoresby.

Some years ago I posted my great satisfaction with this excellent micro-gym on the bend of Melbourne Grove near ED train station. I had arthritis in my lower back and an osteo recommended I try it. I have been going ever since: the arthritis is ancient history; High Vibes is an essential part of my fitness and wellbeing - as it is for many others around ED. A vibrating-plate platform signals to the body to work harder to maintain stability (though you yourself hardly notice this); muscles contract up to 50 times a second, blood flows to the exercising area, fat is targeted. You exercise as hard as in any gym but your effort is maximised. Relaxing massage is also part of a session. Gianni established the business nine years ago. He was an excellent, caring trainer and has many friends among his clientele. Family commitments meant he handed over recently to Tariq, who turns out to be a blast of fresh energy while being equally skilled and caring. Tariq has extended hours of opening, introduced new moves into routines, and is planning all sorts of health and fitness related events at the studio. I urge anyone looking for a local, time-manageable, friendly, un-'gymmy' gym routine to try the free taster session at High Vibes and find out if power plates is for you. To be clear, my only connection to High Vibes is as a longtime satisfied customer. Lee Scoresby

This is the season for fungi in parks and gardens. The species shown in the attached image have been appearing in planted beds in the open, drier spaces under larger shrubs. I am not a mycologist at all, so I would be interested if someone were able to identify it and say something about it: is it poisonous? If not, can one cook with them? Lee Scoresby

I am looking for perhaps 3 or 4 native Spanish speakers - preferably from Spain - to take part in a very quick and easy experiment by EDF private message or email. I am trying to work out about a word-joke how evident or how concealed it is within a fictional name from a novel. As a native English speaker I cannot decide this by myself. Please send me an EDF private message to begin. The experiment will then involve may 2 more private messages (or emails if you prefer) each between us, back and forth. It should take perhaps, 2 or 3 minutes of your time. I will fully explain what I am doing, at the end. This is NOT a job or a big commitment or a trick or a joke. Just an honest request by a researcher. Thanks, Lee Scoresby.

Our residents' association is offering the following regular service contracts and one-off jobs. The first (sweeping) job only requires our being certain the contractor is reliable. It might suit a fit young person looking to make a little money. All the other work requires GENUINE references and experience. 1. Sweeping an L-shaped driveway and forecourt area on a 6-weekly basis, with additional servicing to deal with seasonal leaf-fall, as necessary. Broom and bins provided. 2. Seasonally removing weeds in the same area. This will require the application of herbicide but also some physical weeding and removal. 3. Lifting tiles, filling (probably with sand) and replacing the tiles efficiently and swiftly to remove a slight linear depression in the driveway. 4. Constructing and fitting a replacement door for a brick meter shed, including an FB padlock. Please send me a personal message if you are interested. No time-wasters or cowboys please. LS

Our residents' association previously contracted a wheelie-bin cleansing service. This arrangement ended several years ago but we are now looking for a suitable operator to undertake this work again. The person who oversaw the previous contract does not recall if service was two-weekly or monthly. Nor has she retained details of the contractor: if you think it might have been you, and you are interested in re-applying, please contact me via a private message. We will likewise be grateful to received GENUINE PERSONAL recommendations from other service users (residents' associations, for example, or individuals), and to learn the present levels of charging for this work. We also invite direct approaches from companies, so long as these are supported by GENUINE references. The successful company will need to offer a quote for both two-weekly and monthly servicing, either now or later if more details are needed. The work requires use of the appropriate specialist cleansing equipment, including steam and/or hot water. It also means being aware of Southwark's local bin emptying timetable. The contract involves wheelie bins, situated at the street end of our shared driveway, off a side road. Access is very good. There are about 6 or 7 (green) refuse bins, about 4 or 5 (brown) organic waste bins, and about 5 (blue) recycling bins - which are somewhat less prone to fouling. Contractors, please send me a personal message if you are interested. Other service users, please either just post or you could also send me a PM if you preferred. LS

Aria and Danny came round when agreed and did a good job. Nice chaps. Recommended. LS

Gary Vu. 07872-178-044. Top man. Speedy or what. Others can vouch for him too. LS

Sorry, should have been more specific. Just a (vertical style) kitchen tap fitting leaking under the sink. But this info is all good, for my future reference and for others reading. Thanks, LS.

Can anyone recommend from PERSONAL experience a plumber working locally? Thanks, Lee Scoresby.

Just to point out to EDF'ers that the local Labour machine moved very rapidly - within just several hours - to blunt and appropriate even this modest critical discussion of their operation. Labour trusties evidently posted under several identities, employing textbook elements of rhetorical diversion and bad faith: There is insinuation (who suggested that councillors respond to uncivil messages?) and sleight of hand, so that "not getting the response you want" is somehow the same as no response at all. ("Anyway - nudge-nudge - it's just those dog owners making trouble again.") Then you the public are held to blame for failing to rush around sufficiently to make the system work. (?Not trying hard enough, plebs!?) Most of all, there is disingenuous upsidedown insistence that this or that party manifesto of the moment expresses - exclusively and exactly - the sacred democratic will. That rejecting this nonsense is "moaning and groaning". (From where else do we hear this sort of toxic language now?) For our representatives actually to respond to our daily problems, opinions, objections and ideas would result in their being "torn apart" according to 'cella'. Well! Poor little petals, eh? That must be avoided - at all costs! Which all leads to Penguin68's truly grotesque remarks about the "great danger" of a "disruptive party" overturning the status quo. Sweet Jesus. I would call that overdue democratic renewal. A democratic system is for the people, not the people for the system. Our toolbox, not our master. In contrast, James Barber sets out (26 July, 10:26AM) in simple, chilling detail just how the present party system and those within it operate, entirely insulated from those they supposedly serve. Part 2 of the Labour operation comes into play with the appearance of Cllr McCash?s posts. Good luck to him, seriously. If he is as genuine and hardworking as he wishes to appear, he will garner the sort of reputation James Barber has. If not, he will be found out. (And as to reputations, Penguin68, "proud rebel? Hamvas is best known right now as the me-too to anti-dog wingnut Barrie Hargrove.) Colville9, your swipe at James Barber is delusional. Politics is not a church choir. It is the endless negotiation of difference and of public planning. Why should he not refer to this or that party, or - not least at local level - to this or that individual? He was a highly regarded councillor, not some painted plaster saint. Quite, quite bizarre! (Perhaps without his intending it) Barber's remark, that Labour are happy to shoot down good ideas from the Lib Dems, reminds us that not just party monopolies but tired long-term duopolies ? such as Southwark has been for many decades ? is equally against the public interest. Because I do not doubt that the Lib Dems were happy to scotch Labour suggestions when they were in power. I have no sympathy for the idea that councillors are 'too busy' to reply to messages. If she or he has no time to pee, she or he must vacate the pot for someone who does! Otherwise she or he is simply a party placeholder, political filler, a blocker, preventing the proper representation of that ward. Busy efficient councillors may take a little time to reply to messages but they do reply ? and more, they take appropriate action. No, what we are discussing here is indifference, silence, the permanent refusal to engage. To confuse these two is - yet again - disingenuous, another sleight of hand. And of course - sigh - at a certain point, 'cella' offers us a patronising declaration about how lucky we all are and what a precious jewel is democracy. Well, y'know, democratic is as democratic actually does. Which is where this thread came in. Lee Scoresby