Nigello

What is DN bus stop?

Good decision. (An equally good decision would then be to decline calls on public transport and other public places so that you don't get ear/head/hair cancer and fellow members of the public don't get cheesed off.)

Phone conversations with the phone on speaker, especially in confined spaces. (See also - miffed off looks and stroppy remarks when you ask perpetrators to cut the volume.)

Do ToastED/Brickhouse add a service charge for daytime drinks/breakfasts? I don't drink normal coffee but the decaf at La Scala is good (as is their breakfast tea, but I don't know which brand it is).

There are some charities that will take both tapes and recorder. I think there is even a thread on this forum. Why not contact them and ask them to collect?

Maybe the parents ought to have picked up the glass and allowed their children and other children to play in safety. A responsible adult ought to be able to remove a relatively small amount of rubbish - even broken glass - without coming to any harm, but most folk simply CBA. (I speak as someone who CBA and who does pick up cans, bottles etc.) I agree, though, that the police ought to be told and asked to patrol there at the times in question.

Ham House in/near Richmond is good and is open from midday till four, usually.

A new pizzeria, brought to you by the Peddler people, will be opening in a fortnight on Bellenden Road, where the short-lived Trio cafe/children's play area was, according to the man I spoke to in there. I think it will be called something like "Beautiful Boy Pizza". Seems light and airy and roomy inside. Good luck!

The one just behind the church near to Brockwell Lido was very good, too.

RRR, I share your frustrations and cannot see it getting better, what with the uptick in numbers of people moving to SE22 and on bus routes that serve it. (Have you seen the hundreds of new flats, which are very welcome, along Camberwell and into Walworth?) This is what I wrote on an earlier thread. (NB email address that may help): I wrote to Helen Hayes earlier this year (March, I think). She passed on my queries and concerns (and suggestions, such as more buses or express versions at certain times) to Mike Brown, the London Transport Commissioner who in turn wrote back to me (via Fiona Lampard whose title is Assembly Management Manager, Government and Stakeholder Relations, Group Public Affairs (her capitals). In essence, what I learnt is that Camberwell station could be reopened but it would have a knock-on effect on other train movements and that it is being looked into; that 40s and 176s "are well used during peak periods but....below capacity as passengers can board these buses at these times. There is not sufficient demand to justify the cost of introducing more buses along the routes. The major cause of bus delays is traffic congestion, rather than dwell time at stops. Therefore an express service would not necessarily be quicker than a service that stops more regularly." So, if you want to get in touch with Mike Brown vis-a-vis the extra pressure on bus routes given the Southern debacle, please do so via [email protected] . Why not copy in the Mayor and Helen Hayes too?

The council cannot/will not even put right poor work done by its own contractors (see ponding along shops opposite ED Picture House on LL and near to Goodrich School) so I am not surprised it won't always hold outside firms responsible for their actions.

A staff memberat the library told me that the new five-per-person limit was because there was a shortage of bags from the manufacturers. The library person told me that some people would come back to try to get more - another ten, the old (extravagant) limit - or say they were picking up for a housebound relative.

Saw a very small bird - about the size of a champagne cork - at ground level on Choumert Road. It disappeared into a hedge. It was dun coloured and very fast. Was it a wren? As for jays, I saw one about seven years ago in my back garden and none has been there since. I think I saw one last weekend on Court Lane in the gardens near the private road.

The shop next to Mr Bao had its shutters up and people were inside this morning, measuring up. Not sure what it will be.

The pavement outside Jade (145 Lordship Lane) and around that area is very poor; it's cracked and whenever we get a reasonably heavy downpour it ponds. Can't the uneven bits just be filled in with concrete to be made level. It won't be pretty but it's better than having two inch puddles along an already narrow bit of footpath.

One of the check out staff said that money was taken from all the tills (pointing to the normal ones, not the self-service ones).

"That accordion player will move on." - In new threads and with a full book and CD library, it seems! It's not a nice thing to do, nabbing items given to be sold for charity.

I miss Play for Today, BBC2 Shakespeare and Moliere (with big stars, or soon-to-be stars) and those other, one-off plays (like Brick is Beautiful). TTTT, good as The Fall and Happy Valley/Broadchurch are, I am sick of murder and crime.

Christmas Card adverts in the Mind shop window. Ho ho ho.

Ah, that's a valid reason. T he large mural on the wall near to The Plough (Queen Bee) had to be painted over after repairs but the owners then allowed a repaint, which looks equally as good. Hopefully the owners may consider having a new image there.

Louisa's

It is the one that was a trippy trip through a garden, yes. I really liked it but have no idea why it was painted over. (I only saw its absence from a car at the weekend so couldn't stop to try to find out more from anyone at the house.)

Romany creams are not really called that, are they? (I'd've thought they must be "members of certain travelling commmunities creams" at least.) To keep it on thread, it will be interesting to see whether CoOp changes for the better with the opening of the new branch of not-just-any-supermarket.

The very eye-catching full-wall mural on the side of the house next to the community centre on Crystal Palace Road (near to the medical centre) is no more. In its place is a large expanse of magnolia.

If the front of your house gets the sun during the day, close the blinds/curtains (I also hang big towels over the back of the closed shutters to prevent more heat building up) and open open windows at the back of the house (and vice-versa). Open the front windows once the sun sets. (I think I read that on here somewhere and tried it and it works.)