Nigello

Speak to the manager in person and, if you agree, tell him or her that the Covid era booking system is no longer needed and hasn’t been for two years.

Dulwich is not vibrant - it’s pleasant but rather beige (and that’s a good thing as it befits the nice leaafiness which many find attractive). So, a place to sit down is not likely to add to or create the liveliness you mistakenly allude to and even if it did, there are plenty of other options to rest one’s lower limbs. Money spent (wasted?) on this Icelandic saga-long junction malfunction could have been given to, say, an experimental micro-bus service. Court Lane has a wide, tree-lined carriageway, comparatively spacious footpaths, and deep front gardens that lead to well-insulated houses with much outside space at the rear, so a fair bit of any noise or air pollution would be absorbed (should the primary use of a thoroughfare - to allow travel - ever be reallocated to it).

Yes, by all means, but don’t use that praise as a shield against any valid criticism of that shop’s (or any other’s) blocking a footpath for pedestrians/wheelers (if that is the case).

People shouldn’t have to walk off the (relative) safety of the footpath (a public pedestrian highway) onto a road (that’s meant for motor vehicles and cyclists - though local experience would suggest otherwise on that last point!)

I’d have thought that the professional body that oversees chemists would like to know about that, even if it condones it so as to keep records as a way of putting pressure on whoever makes up the rules.

These and other railings near schools are often used by private firms to hang advertising on, meaning kids of primary school age cannot see what’s coming a distance away (because they are not tall enough to see over). This strikes me as a hazard.

Teabag tea, even the posh and dear stuff in nice packaging, is just dust. Leaf tea is so much better and you can adjust the amount you use to get your perfect brew.

Basher

I’ve had the misfortune to drink lots of Barry’s. It’s weak on flavour. M and S Gold leaf tea is great - either in a pot or a tea ball thing, left in the cup if needed. Teabags use the dregs (or whatever the dry version is) so leaf will always be better. Bung the cooled, wet leaves on your pot plants, garden or in the compost. ♻️ 🫖

And put an elasticated collar with bell on your cat so that needless deaths and maimings of small birds/mammals be avoided.

I think the council doesn’t make money from these events, other than enough to break even and to host more. It’s self-sufficiency, kind of thing.

Sparrow hawk? I think they’re more common than the other two but I’m not an expert.

Why mention skin tone? There are plenty of examples of middle- and working-class people of all heritages and the festival will attract all kinds of people and all kinds of people are capable of being good or bad citizens.

No - they were sitting on a bench.

Or it could be that unscrupulous firms were taking advantage of the facility which is funded by taxpayers and run by a council that has to work within finite means?

So, it will be left to rot? I’d like it to be removed after a week or so. Give me nature over plastic gaudiness any day.

It’s not gentrification to do a basic clean up and keep it so. It’s just bog-standard, base-level civility and respect. To deny that to the residents is wrong, especially if such lack of action is based on a desire to keep it “edgy” to attract drinkers, diners and shoppers, especially those with more money and/or come from outside the area.

The two big bins at the crossing near North X Rd and the little one at the bus stop nearby have gone. Seems odd, given they were often full of rubbish. I reported it on Fix My Street. (On another note, crow-proof bins do exist and would be very handy!)

It’s a positive attribute, especially when faced with the very punter-unfriendly absence of interest and input from the council re the locale. Good on them, but their profits could be bigger if the area they find themselves in were improved.

Yeah, that’s not my point. I explained that the locale is in unpleasant and uncared for, not the businesses (which I called “valiant” so you could deduce I was not against them at all but maybe you didn’t see that. I think they need support from the council in the shape of a sprucing up).

Why would anyone choose to go and eat on Rye Lane? It’s a dump and could be so much better (and lucrative) for all the valiant entrepreneurs if the council could take it upon itself to help this neglected (and poorer) area of the borough.

Take it back to the person in question. Tell him/her to expect a summons. It probably won’t happen again.

They’re annoying in that they’re usually in threes and dominate that busy corner.

Maybe - or a sparrowhawk or buzzard? V fast