Nigello

Good news! Perhaps the Clock House could do the same, given that it's named after its clock.

I think the council ought to employ a "grandfather clause" and allow trees in the traditional-size pits to be replaced if they are damaged at any point (and to review the new size rules as well).

It seems that the new size for tree pits is something of a one-off on the part of Southwark, if my conversations with tree personnel at the council are correct. Most other councils do not adopt this policy, I believe. More info on why the new rules are being adopted are needed.

The ex-launderette is going to be something organic, according to the bloke I spoke to in there a few weeks ago (reported above). Can the strip sustain any more coffe shops?

There was a huge tailback all the way from Oval to Camberwell Green and up Denmark Hill yesterday. I really think that those ivolved in making the mess should have worked on Sundays and also suspended the bus-only route this weekend. It was bad to see hundreds of vehicles puthering out smoke and noxious particles, knowing that some of them would have been sent on this route because of the blocking off of Loughborough Junction.

Sounds like a somewhat (stereo)typical reaction from a US upper-middle-class (for that is what being an MD etc makes you in the money-based class system over in the States) dentist. She has a point: nobody is making the bad-toothed person not take care of their teeth but s/he is much more likely to be poorly informed than a middle-class person (by which I mean, in States vernacular, anyone with a mortgage and a job). I have friends brought up in the '70s and '80s who have about one filling each. I think all of them were from areas where water was fluoridated. Education is important and should be given freely and early in the child's life but personal and parental responsibility has to take over.

Why not fit two dead locks and window locks too? Do a search on here for locksmiths and see whether one could come out today. Ring 101 and report it.

Bottom line - SE22/15/5/21/23 etc needs more public transport, ideally a Tube link (unlikely and costly and lengthy even if possible) or at least buses that correspond with usage (so more buses/expresses at peak times, fewer/smaller vehicles at other times). An ED/London Bridge/Charing X route would be great, but unlikely. A Camberwell rail station would be great and surely not that hard to arrange? More flats = more people trying to get to more places....

Camberwell/W Road is already helping to solve the problem of lack of housing: just look at the large developments as you go down from Camberwell Green. However, being part of the solution to that problem means adding to the one of transport because there will be hundreds more people wanting to get to and from their new homes. I really hope Camberwell does get some form of rail transport, being it "BR", Tube or Overground. I'm so longing for a faster option that I'd even settle for a guided bus....

The two large and deep puddles at the junction of CP and ED Roads and Adys and ED roads are caused by blocked drains, it appears. I have asked Cllr Barber to look into it. (Insert groan here.)

It is not necessary at all. The rules are in place, the authority exists - all it takes is the continued and steady application of the current powers. It's this kind of committeeisation that makes my heart sink and puts me off any kind of organised "community" involvement. It oozes treacle-speed progress and a love of process over action. Just ask yourself, "what would your mother have done?" - where "mother" represents any common sensical person who doesn't suffer from any form of cultural/social cringe - and you may well find that she would have either had a word herself and/or contacted the council over transgressors.

Maybe she doesn't like Americanisms! (take vs have). She sounds a right charmer, so good on your for challenging her. Take a pic, threaten to send it to the local purveyor of the best in "know it alls" - EDF! Sometimes you just have to do your best and accept that it's not always good enough and don't let it stop you from doing your best again.

I don't think anyone denies that a cleaner, greener Peckham is a good idea but I do think that most right-minded people are sceptical of "community committees" rather than the use of already established laws, social norms and council wherewithal to get the job done. My Pooterish litter-picking won't solve the problem but it does demonstrate that immediate action can have an immediate effect, even if it is limited in scope and scale. If only one in ten of us reported grot spots, asked shop owners to dispose of rubbish along established guidelines and keep our own immediate environments clean - imagine the effect. This does not negate the need for, nor detract from the good work of, the authorities, which should be contacted when there is a problem with litter, fly tipping or the local environment.

Eileen, I really don't think it needs a committee! Just fine folk who drop litter and tell the owners/workers of shops that litter and fly tip to stop and fine them if they don't. Tell them about the facilities that exist already and then do it a few times again so that the penny drops. Leave literature for the owner and make sure that s/he understands why it's important and what penalties there are for non-compliance. Get the local newspapers to report on it and make a point of thanking those that play by the rules. If you want to get to work immediately, get down to Choumert Road and hang around for about fifteen minutes and you'll see up-close SE15 littering/tipping at its most blatant. (I did my little bit a couple of hours ago by collecting a few cans and putting them in one of the all-too-lacking litter bins nearby.) It really is not difficult and should not require yet another layer of bureaucracy, let alone another post - paid or otherwise.

I agree. The pavement that ought to have been done first (apart from the ponding valleys outside my house and those of my neighbours) is that opposite the Picturehouse, where puddles inches deep form when we have moderate-to-heavy rain.

Don't pay for bags and use newspaper or a clapped out tea-towel or kitchen roll etc. instead. It's not hard and you'll be doing the environment a (very small) favour.

Just make the prices a little bit dearer, so little that none will notice, and then pay a decent wage and offer bonuses. Seems fair and simple and, who knows, people may feel so relieved that there is no service charge that they may, er, leave a tip - a gratuity that is really is freely given!

James, Why should council or charity funding be used to "help" Network Rail/TOC to clear up what it should be doing itself? If the sidings are the responsibility of either (or both), then it should be up to that body to keep them litter free. How about a small grant to help the elderly/disabled etc who cannot keep their garden trees/bushes tidy to do so? It may then spur on others who are able but slack.

Or don't tip and ask the owner to add a few pence to each item on the menu and then remove the 10 or 12.5 or 15% "discretionary" charge which s/he knows most people won't ask to be removed. Tipping is backward, patronising and tawdry. Socially enforced (on pain of embarrassment) is even worse.

Ed_pete - great idea, though I really think Network Rail or the associated rail firm should be doing that. Ring up either/both to get action!

I agree, Sue. As for kids (small, able to sit on laps of parents/older kids) - please don't let them take away a seat from a fare-paying adult. I've asked parents to please put toddler on their lap so I can have a seat and don't feel unchivalrous for asking.

How about a twice-yearly attack at weeds and overgrowing trees/bushes. Perhaps this is meant to happen already, but, in my experience, it does not happen as much as it should. Don't like the lights idea, but a few extra around Christmas and New Year would be good. Like the idea of fenching off the back of Londis.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02gfs7y

Petitou had a basket outside yesterday in which there were lots of apples and a sign asking people to help themselves. Not sure what variety they were but they looked perfect for stewing and cake-making, so I took some.

Glacial - Iceland - the irony!