embracefinancial

Hi. The London Bridge trains were every 30 mins this morning instead of every 15 mins. But then a train was cancelled due to no crew being available, so it was an hour between trains. I'd get the bus or go to Peckham Rye so you've got the option of going to Blackfriars instead if the London Bridge train doesn't show up.

On Monday they said they will be 5 carriages until at least September. Not sure what the plan is then.

I'm just doing my renewal at the moment. The email states that the permit expires on 29 May at 23.59. However, the renewal website says that the permit expires on 30 May, so I can see how this is misleading. Looking back at correspondence, it looks like the controlled parking started on 30 March 2020 (which was a Monday). Southwark gave me an extra 2 months as the parking wasn't enforced until 30 May. But it seems that the choice to start the permits on the Monday rather than on the 1st of the month has made the inconsistent dates even more misleading. I'm taking screen shots of the renewal process and will gladly share them with anyone who may find them useful.

I saw a similar incident a couple of years ago. A couple came along with a black bin bag full of bread that was thick with blue mould and stank. They just emptied it over the railings and walked off. I thought it was most strange, as it isn't hard to get rid of food waste in Southwark, so walking half way across Peckham Rye Park to get rid of it seemed unnecessary. But they didn't hang around to see the ducks eat the bread either. Very strange.

There's been roadworks on that junction at last 3 times in the past year.... I've been on to Thames Water. They say they worked on it today (?) and they can't shut the water off as the shut-off valve is broken. They hope to fix the valve by the morning at the latest.

It's definitely been bubbling up through a crack in the road for several weeks. TW has a website where you can report the leak and describe the severity, from a damp patch to houses underwater. I guess they then decide whether to bother fixing it or not, depending on the number of reports and the severity of the leak. https://www.thameswater.co.uk/leak/

The Goose Green junction has been seeping water for well over a month now. Thames Water have finally come along to fix it and have made a huge improvement after two days of roadworks. Hopefully they've just gone off to get some equipment - surely they can't leave it like this overnight. It's been like this for over an hour now and there's no sight of any workers.

I received a huge pile of post today, including Christmas cards that were posted as early as 6th December. All in all, probably over ?10 in postage wasted due to Royal Mail's slow service, not to mention the cost of the cards and the time and effort that went into sending them. I wonder how many ?millions this translates to across the country.

It has felt like we haven't received any post for weeks. I was starting to wonder if my neighbours were hiding our mail. Then we received TWO deliveries today. One was all circulars / bills which were pretty up to date and the other was a mix of circulars and older personal mail. We also received a card that had been posted on 7 December. It seems they may be working on keeping the current mail up to date and starting to eat into the backlog - maybe they are under pressure from their business customers to get the junkmail backlog up to date.

I put our tree out late on Friday night (not blocking the footpath or road) and it had gone by Saturday morning, so I guess they just pick them up if they are passing and have space in the lorry. I think it took a week or so last year.

Just went to Dulwich Library and it is closed due to a health and safety incident. Then went to Grove Vale, which is closed on a Wednesday. Not a very successful library trip.

We've used Keely's Denmark Hill stall several times when passing. Great produce and reasonably priced. Keely said that she runs a mailing list where you can choose from the day's produce and arrange delivery. The details on her card say.... Denmark Hill Station Tue-Fri 6am-5pm North Cross Road Saturday 8am-4pm Closed Sunday and Monday [email protected] ....not sure how current this information is though.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm using discogs to catalogue them and will probably upload the list on here when it's finished. If a charity store doesn't want them (not looking promising at the moment) I'll give the forum first dibs before heading to Old Kent Road.

Thanks - I noticed them when I was googling at the weekend, so it's good to get a second opinion.

There's been a temporary bus stop near the Soames Street junction for a couple of weeks. A 40 double decker stopped on the junction for 5 mins or so late one night, just before the bus stop appeared, but I haven't seen any more buses since then. Maybe the bus stop has just been moved in high spirits and the double decker was a coincidence, but I'd love to know what's going on (as would my 4-year-old, who keeps asking why it's there).

Hi - I'm sorting out a load of old records and I'm probably going to have several hundred old 12" singles to dispose of. These will all be pretty rubbish - mainly dance promo singles from 2000-2003ish. There's no gems (yet) that I would sell individually, or that a collector would jump on in a charity shop / car boot sale. I don't think that a charity shop would really welcome 200+ bad records that nobody has ever heard of. I need the space so I don't have time to ebay them all gradually, or make them into ash trays and quirky bowls. I'm reluctant to landfill them, but I think that may be the only option. If so, should I recycle all of the sleeves, or is there a chance that someone will still make use of them if I leave them in their sleeves at the Recycling Centre? I might put them in the road when we get a dry weekend to see if there's any takers, but then it's off to the Recycling Centre. I'd welcome any suggestions / experience from people who have been in this situation. Thanks.

It's gone down here in Bellenden Road every day this week, several times, but not for long each time. Today it went off at around 9.30am and has not come back on. I've called the faults line several times and each time the automated system has suggested a different fix before cutting me off. I called again after trying all of the fixes and it now says they are aware of a fault in the area, which should be fixed by 3pm. I'm not holding out much hope.

I had to go to Ikea in Croydon TWICE last week. I usually do anything possible to avoid Ikea but had to return some items within the returns period. Tuesday lunch - queue barriers were still up, but no queue. Parked right outside the door. Quiet inside but getting busier by the time I left. Wednesday morning - some queue barriers had been taken down but still no queue. Busier than Tuesday, and bigger family groups. Inside the store, none of the customers have any concept of social distancing, pushing past you and leaning over you. The staff are very good. Some customers were being quite rude to the poor woman who was directing people from the checkout queue to the available checkouts, even though there were very few people in the queue and it was moving quickly. Collecting large items is a pain, as you are not allowed in the collection bay and have to stand in the rain while someone fetches your stuff. The "bistro" is open but food selection is extremely limited and not worth the wait. I'd only recommend going if you absolutely need to. But I'd say that in normal times too.

If I went out early in the morning, I could rarely park in our street when returning home. We're not *that* close to the station so I was surprised that the CPZ has made such a difference. This is Bellenden Road just after the signs went up. I agree that parking outside your house isn't a right, but it's nice to park nearby when you're juggling shopping, a 4-year-old and all of his stuff. I can also confirm that the traffic wardens have been out in force this week. Haven't noticed any parking tickets on Bellenden Road, but plenty on Muschamp, Marsden, Ondine, etc.

It's badly thought through and dangerous. As Oakhurst Grove is closed off at the East Dulwich Road end, it's a quiet street as traffic wouldn't usually choose to take the long detour through The Gardens. So kids play on the pavements and occasionally in the road on bikes. There's no excuse for good road safety sense, but residents have not been warned about this sudden influx in traffic. As the diversion is one-way, the traffic comes down the street in waves, and at high speeds if there is nothing blocking the road. This morning, I was trying to get out to the Tyrrell Road end and had to reverse all the way to the East Dulwich Road end twice because vans were too wide to pass and couldn't reverse due to the amount of traffic backed up behind them. I eventually had to turn around and drive out through The Gardens too. A bit later, a Clarke's coach was trying to get around the bend from Tyrrell Road. I didn't hang around to see if it got through so it might still be there.

It's a big shame as it is/was a truly independent, owner-run business. Damiano and his team (especially the long-serving members) have always looked after us impeccably and tirelessly. The breakfasts are great - the poached eggs are perfect every time. The coffee is also fab, with a perfect balance between rocket fuel and smooth/mellow, but it's also taught me that good coffee is only as good as the barista - Amandine always made the best, IMO. I appreciate that it wasn't everyone's cup of tea but it will be a shame to see another independent business go.

Thanks! Happy New Year!

Hi. Does anyone know if One Tree Hill is busy on New Year's Eve? The gap in the trees is quite small, so I guess that the view could be restricted if it's busy). Thanks.

I've just been through Herne Hill station and a team is aiming to beat the current Guinness World Record for the most people taking part in a colours by number painting. They are looking for more adults and children to complete the painting, and anyone who takes part will be registered against the record if it is successful. You can just turn up and colour in a square today until 8pm. There's a bit more info here: http://love.lambeth.gov.uk/herne-hill-mural-win-guinness-world-record/

Seems OK here now too