Nigello

Hello, The Goodrich Road mural has been painted on. It is the background paint that has been damaged, but not the art itself. Do you have the spare paint you and before? If not, would you like me to ask the owner to deal with it? I remember you painted over the tagging last time quickly, so I am hoping you will be able to do the same this time. Best wishes, Nigel

I failed to get an on-day appt on Tuesday but did on Wednesday by phoning at 0800. The receptionist remembered me from the day before, had a bit of a laugh with me when she accidentally added ten years to my age and she got me a time that suited me. The doctor was late seeing me - half an hour - but the previous patients were taking a very long time. He was courteous, thorough and explained what he was looking for and what he found. 4/5 to DMC (on this occasion).

It's not ridiculous. It's perfectly doable, as indeed is demonstrated by the X68: as long as people know it's an express service, fair enough. X services stop at some stops to let passengers off but not on. The 40, 176 and 185 tend to shed their load once they've been past ED Station and Denmark Hill Station, so that should be acknowledged by the bus firms. Outrage is overused, anyway.

Some routes should use smaller vehicles at non-peak times of the day and at night to help prevent such jams. I'm a fan of buses but think that some routes could also do with express services (like a 176 that only stops at Dulwich Library, Post Office, ED Station, Demark Hill, Camberwell Green, Morrison's Walworth Rd, Elephant etc). Can't ever see it happening, though, because the firms in question are hardly known for their flexibility and customer-service.

The tree pits I mentioned here on Goodrich Road have been filled with new (small) trees - three in all. Any other successes? Thanks to all those who helped in getting them planted at Southwark Council.

Take a pic, add the @handle of the estate agent and add that of the local paper or Metro etc. I think it might work if you've tried all other methods.

Whenever I have been in contact with her (or her staff - you can never tell) - it has been a fuss-free and professional affair. I think she is a good constituency MP.

I hope they will have conductors on them, otherwise the USP of the Routemaster - being able to hop on and off at will - is negated. (Only those vehicles with a conductor on them can have their back door open other than at bus stops.)

Tap water in Britain is of the highest standard and tastes at the very least palatable, and usually much more than that. It's not free - we all pay for it in water rates/charges - but it sure beats buying expensive, bottled water that's transported by road and rail and which is usually bottled in plastic.

Crapola Pasta Sell-By Grotti Risotti

It's a long road - perhaps 2/3 of a mile - but hardly busy, unless you are there when the school starts and finishes. It is particularly quiet from Friern Road up to Donkey Alley. Interestingly (well, to me) it's a good 1 or 2C colder in the winter mornings than at, say, E Dulwich station, probably because it's on a hill. At night near to the school it is often almost silent (until the planes come gliding in at 0415, but that's another story and one that doesn't bother me much).

#Waitrose

Greece blinked first. Great analysis from BBC's Mark Lowen, who said that PM realised he was riding high in the polls so pragmatically used his popularity as a buffer against widespread criticism of accommodation of what EU (Merkel etc) wanted. In doing so he might lose some supporters on the far-left but so be it.

Rang Virgin (150 from Virgin line) and got ?7.50 off the bill for the slow connection. Also saved ?17/month by going for 50 rather than 60 (thinking that I am only getting half that anyway) and getting new TiVo box and ditching paper bills. Worth ringing to save ??.

If only the wardens and PCNs were as vigilant on Rye Lane itself, where illegal parking on double yellows is almost perpetual.

I agree with WW, who said Treating the practice badly is not an adult reaction to being treated badly in the first place. That's schoolyard behaviour. If you can't make an appointment, ring or text or go online to tell them. It's your responsibility! DMC does need improvement on several fronts, but so do some people whose beggar thy neighbour attitude is childish and corrosive.

Tesco is good. It piggbacks O2 and is cheap and you can collect Tesco points too.

339 Lordship Lane (near the Crystal Palace Road bus stop, southbound) 52 Sylvester Road

I agree about the buses. The default position of many drivers is to be an "amber gambler"; some burn the red lights. I've complained to the driver a couple of times when they've gone through red. I encourage others to do the same.

It's an ongoing problem, I am afraid. Plenty of drivers think that burning a red light, even in slow-moving traffic, is the only way to go. A coach nearly ran me over at Waterloo after *accelerating* through a red light a few weeks ago. (I got the reg plate, complained and she was disciplined, according to the firm.) Best you can do is do the same and keep your eyes peeled.

Thanks rch. Would this thread not be useful to persuade the powers that be that we would like the pits filled in before the 1m x 1m rule is imposed. THe empty pits look forlorn: at least have the manners to fill them in with concrete or a paving flag, council!

I'm hoping that not all of these empty pits are ones that have already been condemned to a barren future. (I PMd James so he knows that this list is here.)

I am not surprised it is coming, but I do think it just a tad "previous" to coin an old-fashioned use of the word. Just look at the rate of change in many places off Rye Lane and understand that Foxton's is going for a place that's best placed for footfall and - probably - cheapish rents for its latest venture. In the same way that Lordship Lane itself isn't the place people want to live, but in the surrounding area, people won't really want to live on Rye Lane but in the streets off it instead, so the location of the estate agent's itself is not that relevant. The pace of change is quicker than in SE22 but this part of SE15 is starting from a lower base. Give it a couple of years or so and the whole area from Dulwich Library down to its Peckham equivalent will be much more of a muchness.

207 Friern Road

If not replaced with a tree, then what about putting a replacement nearby? BTW, there is a nice, new mini-copse (OK, that's going too far - a handful of new saplings) on the corner of Peckham Rye and E Dulwich Rd.