BigED

Simonethebeaver - Unless you want the 185 or the 37, it's pretty grim. All of the followingt operators and their routes are likely to be affected: Abellio - 40, 484, P13 Arriva - 176, 197 Go Ahead - 12 From the article I saw on the Independent website, London Central was not listed as one of the affected companies which should mean that the 37 and 185 are running as normal. But I wouldn't bank on it. And I suspect they might be quite busy. And slow. Still, I'm all in favour of workers in key public services being able to withdraw their labour following a democratic vote without Cameron/Osborne's proposals for gerrymandering trades union ballots, so I'll just shuffle along with everyone else and take a good book to read. simonethebeaver Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > As a bus rather than train user, I am now looking > forward to chaos tomorrow morning as the trains > try to cope with additional demand. Does anyone > know which, if any, local bus routes are affected? > I've tried the TfL website but unhelpfully they > list the affected operators rather than routes, > and I've never been canny enough to notice which > operators I'm using.

A long time ago, in a part of London far far away, I worked in the NHS in primary care. One of the things we did was to compare GP patient records with local population figures - the former greatly outnumbered the latter. then we did what was called "ghosthunting", where the GP records would be cleaned up and have all the deceased patients removed (they were often easy to spot - the records showed hundreds of centenarians across the borough) as well as checking whether ones who had not been in contact for years were still living in the area. I've no idea what the arrangements are now, but in those days, GPs got paid partly on the basis of numbers of registered patients, so there was no incentive to clean up their records. All this got me to wondering. Bic Basher wrote: "Forest Hill Road - 12,620 DMC - 10,564. Source: NHS Choices." I looked up the 2011 ONS Census estimates (total population, all ages) for SE22 postcodes: 29,687. If just these two practices claim over 23,000 patients (i.e. not counting practices in The Gardens, Melbourne Road, Lordship Lane/306), I have to wonder whether we might still have a ghost problem in our GP records. (And I do understand that some of these practices will have patients living in other postcodes, but that cuts both ways).

...and it's not looking great at Dulwich Medical Centre: http://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/1-565650623%20GP%20IM%20V101.pdf Here's hoping the promised increased levels of inspection help to focus minds and actions. More information and links to other practices via this site: http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/our-intelligent-monitoring-gp-practices Oh, and remember, it's not a league table. Oh no, heaven forfend.

The prefabs on the corner of Friern and Underhill Road - is that where the allotments are now, or is it the old people's home, Lew Evans House? There is still an old chimney stack under one of the allotments, apparently. Could be yours, Johnny - or Francis Rossi's. On a related topic, does anyone know what the corner shops on Crystal Palace Road - the middle section near underhill road and the CPT as was? There are lots of houses with angled corners, presumably where the shop doors used to be. I know the one on the corner of Pellatt and CPR was a sub post office about ten years ago but haven't been able to find out about others. THANKS, BigED

worldwiser, another option if the council isn't doing its bit - try sending in a freedom of information request to Southwark Council asking: 1) please list details of all complaints to [name of council] relating to [name of premises] including, but not limited to, breaches of licence conditions and noise nuisance, over the period [DATE X to DATE Y]. 2) For each of these complaints, please list all action taken by [name of council] including, but not limited to, investigation of complaints, follow-up action and enforcement action. 3)Please provide a statement of [name of council]'s policy regarding the enforcement of licence conditions relating to premises licenced for the sale of alcohol and/or licenced for live or recorded music and dancing. Copy in your councillors on the request. That way you and they have a record of the communication. Don't just rely on the EDF - it's not a formal communication channel for councillors. Councils are legally obliged to respond to FOI requests provided they are not vexatious and do not give rise to a disproportionate amount of work for the council to be able to respond. Keep the request focused or break it up into two or more requests or change date ranges etc if you think they might try to say it is too difficult. If/when you get the info, cross-reference with any of your own notes of times/dates, complaints made, etc. And never ever give up. Licensees and council officers will assume that if the complaints stop that there is no problem. Keep up the pressure.

There were similar issues a couple of years ago when the Great Exhibition wanted to extend the terms of their licence. Concerned locals had a lot of input from Councillors James Barber (still a councillor) and Jonathan Mitchell (now an ex-councillor). In the first instance I would contact the council setting out the nature of the complaint, together with specific examples (dates, times) and copy in one or more of your local councillors. If the Patch is flouting the conditions of their licence then the council can do something about that. You can (not sure how but your councillors can help) apply for a review of the licence of there is evidence of ongoing/repeated non-complicance and/or excessive nuisance. For the most part, the Great Exhibition is a much better neighbour now than it had previously been and does a reasonable job of closing doors/windows and trying to contain the noise. The Actress is even better, though partly because the licence conditions imposed on the Actress were more onerous (though not remotely unreasonable). And although the pub (in some incarnation or other) was there first, the relaxation of licensing laws over the last 15 years has made a big difference to the hours of business (gone are the days when drinking-up time brought an end to consumption of alcohol at 11.10 pm) and the associated noise nuisance. The Patch might be on Lordship Lane but it is not close to the main drag of late night premises. Just because you're on LL does not give you licence to be a nuisance. And your punters will eventually comply if you repeat the requests (I can't remember the last time I saw someone smoking in a pub in this country). It has worked at the Great Exhibition and the Actress and I can't believe the drinkers at the Patch are all untame-able urban noise-bandits. Contact the council. Copy in your councillor(s). Keep a record of dates, times and any details. Keep asking staff to close doors and windows. And let the management know when they are in breach of the terms of their licence - conditions can be made more stringent as well as less.

I did. Once. Tapas do Brasil. There was nothing wrong with it, apart from a near total lack of customers. And I miss the Irish shop. I even liked the front window. But once the church closed down the hall next door there were suddenly no Irish events (music, dance, sport, language, wedding parties, etc) to provide a stream of customers getting their fix of red lemonade, Taytoes crisps, Barry's tea, Kimberley biscuits and the world famous* Clonakilty black pudding. (* not really)

Sorry. It was a poor joke. I just couldn't help myself.

It's quite a loss to the area. Still, maybe it would be a good opportunity for M&S. Or Waitrose.

I have no problem with IHT - you worked for your money, not your offspring or other beneficiaries of your will. It's not a tax on the recipient's earned income but on an unearned windfall. If IHT troubles people so much, they should spend it during their lifetime.

El Pibe Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > tbh absolutely every NYE has been a massive > anticlimax since the old days of The Fox in > Willian. > I've been at home with good friends for 7 years on > the trot now. better booze, no queuing four deep > at the bar, sciatica, I'm losing my memory, my > memory isn't as good as it used to > be...slippers.....death....... No wonder NYE was rubbish if you were going to the Fox in Willian. You should have gone to the three horseshoes. Mind you, if you were under 50 you might not have got in.

mikeb Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- ...some inexplicable > council office that never seems to be open (like > Foxton's used to be)? > > > Wasn't Foston's the location of the DSS office, rather that some inexplicable council office? That served a useful function when there were more people signing on in East Dulwich. Since the DSS office closed, people have to trek all the way to Peckham. And we are left with Foxton's.

DaveR Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > To be fair, Jigsaw is essentially a successful > independent rather than a 'homogenised high st > major'. Well, it's not homogenised in that the company does have different interior designs for different shops. But the content is pretty well homogenised across stores. And I guess I (in common with many) haven't actually defined what I mean by "independent" (otherwise I couldn't have so much fun slagging off majors). As you say, DaveR, it is successful and, in as much as it remains privately owned, is independent. However, with over 80 stores in the UK plus overseas outlets too, it is pretty major to my way of thinking. Louisa - the solution is to use small independents when they sell things we like at prices that seem reasonable. And yes, some will go to the wall from time to time, either because they aren't doing enough business or because of rent/rate hikes. Whatever my thoughts about individual businesses small or large, I don't find it a cause for celebration when the majors (yes, including Jigsaw) start taking over small, local high streets as well as dominating the main shopping streets of bigger towns and cities across the UK. Chains and independents may indeed "bounce off one another" for a while, but as a comparison of Lordship Lane now versus 20 years ago (or for a more advanced example, Northcote Road, Battersea) will show, a place where independents have thrived will slowly but surely be taken over by the chains until one day, we will wake up and find ourselves on just another transmogrified identikit high street. I'll be popping in to Farmer's and the Irish Shop while I still can...

Yeah, always great news when independent shops and small local chains close down and get replaced by homogenised high street majors. Not.

Phone Colin of K&O pest control. Money well spent, I think. And in the meantime, keep all potential food sources in glass jard or tins (or at least in sturdy plastic boxes) and keep your kitchen areas spotless. No need to give them a free feed.

My advice is first to check with the council to find out whether you need planning permission or, conversely, what (if anything) you would be able to do without planning permission. There would certainly be restrictions if your work space could be a living space - so having a kitchen or toilet/washing facilities might make your life harder. And there may also be restrictions on building materials so you could ask the council about that too. Presumably you are going to need electrics if you are running a business, so that would probably need to be signed off by an accredited electrician and possibly by the council too. And bear in mind your neighbours - if the eventual structure blocks their light or privacy they may have reasonable grounds for objection to a planning application if your plans don't fall within permitted developments. Knowing the constraints that the council's planning requirements might put on you might help narrow down your options.

Houseoflego Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I did appeal! but apparently 'stopped', 'parked', > or 'waiting', are all the same. So be warned ED! I thought the point was that you were neither stopped, partked NOR waiting - you were in a line of traffic that was stationary for a period. You hadn't stopped; you hadn't parked; and if I understand it, you weren't waiting (e.g. for someone to come out of a shop). If you were just in a traffic queue, you should take it further.

When I saw him, the junction cabinet was closed and I didn't see any wires coming from the cabinet. And when I walked by, he was playing what looked like a youtube music video. I suspect it isn't anything sinister and if he is using a hotspot legitimately then there is no problem. And if people password protect access to their internet/wifi connections then there needn't be any problem.

GinaG3 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Looking on BT hotspots there is actually a hotspot > right on that corner, Dulwich is a dense hotspot > area, they are everywhere. I can see 12 hotspots > on Crystal Palace road alone. Well well well. Shows how up-to-date I am. I still say it's an odd place to stop and use a laptop, but I agree that, with GinaG3's info, there is no reason to assume the guy is using someone else's wifi/broadband connections without consent. That said, I'm still making sure my password is on.

If you don't already have it protected, it might be worth putting password protection on your broadband. There's a young guy hangs around regularly near the junction of Silvester Road and Crystal Palace Road with his laptop. From what I could see he's just watching youtube but he is there for an hour or two at a time. I realise that there may be an entirely innocent explanation for someone propping their laptop on a telephone juntion box and surfing the net, but I don't see a mobile/dongle attachment so I assume he's not surfing using his own provision (and it would be an odd place to stop if he were). So, if it's your broadband he's chipping into, put a password on. He may not be doing anything sinister, but who else is using your broadband, and for what? I assume this guy doesn't know he can use the library for free.

Isn't this the same place that was previously a RightMove (I think), and before that a Halifax Property Services? If it is, it's been an estate agent since at least the mid 90s. I'd be more concerned about the places that had been more useful and spiritually uplifting establishments but had more recently fallen into the eighth circle of hell that is the realm of the estate agent. And I'm with Sue on McD and KFC. Why we would we want awful chain food when we could have similarly awful offerings from independent local providers. I assume that's what Sue was driving at, anyway.

Couldn't find anything on Southwark site but this on gov.uk: "There are no laws against having a bonfire, but there are laws for the nuisance they can cause." https://www.gov.uk/garden-bonfires-rules

I think you're allowed to have a fire in an incinerator. Don't know if there are time constraints on that. Also, if you're near allotments, they are allowed to have small bonfires. Don't know how you're meant to define "small" though.

No.

Technically, the chairs and tables were hired rather than loaned. And, technically, the centre is run by the charity East Dulwich Communtiy Centre Association, rather than by the council or by all of us. But there are still 6 or 7 chairs missing. We've not had that happen before at the Big Lunch - we usually end up with stuff that people have forgotten.