copleston_charlie

Will check it out, but I know a lot of people cite this as the definitive volume http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Rivers-London-Effects-Londoners/dp/094866715X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305548490&sr=8-1 would be interested to see what this new volume adds, apart from a very similar title.

I had a ceiling taken down and reboarded, and it is normally a very messy mob, with a large amount of dust going into the air. I'd advocate clearing the room as much as you can, perhaps sealing any objects you don't want to move in a couple of layers of thick polythene, gaffer taped. Hanging dust sheets etc over the doors to try to minimise the dirt getting elsewhere, but you'll have to face it, it's going to get messy as the builders will be pulling the ceiling down and keeping your house clean won't always be their first priority. so you can expect to get a thin layer of dust throughout the same floor, and to consider the room it's happening in as a bit of a bomb site. (Unless you're in a new build, in which case you won't have 100 years plus dust and god knows what else waiting for you on top of your ceiling!)

I'd also recommend cycling gloves, don't have to be too pricey to start with, but they make life a lot easier, and protect your hands if you do fall off.

Just to add, you can obviously vary the route top maintain interest/optimise your journey time, but perhaps it's testing it out on a couple of saturdays/sundays just to get the feel for it before facing it in the rush hour? If you haven't cycle commuted before this will help you get the hang on your bike when there isn't so much traffic around, and help you get a feel for the lie of the land. I'd advise against buying anything new for ?200 - lots of people get turned off cycling by starting with a cheap bike and finding it's not doing the job. You should either look at second hand, or perhaps thinking of paying a little bit more and starting off with a fast hybrid with road tyres on it. You might find this gives you a bit more of stable platform to start on compared to a road bike anyway, and if you stick with it, sell it off in a couple of months and get the bike of your dreams! Clothes wise - if you wear a suit etc you could keep a couple of suits and a stock of shirts at work and get them cleaned there. Keeping shoes and a coat etc at work and just bringing in the other items with you would also help. And ride safely, as already mentioned, allow plenty of time, don't race anyone else, and stay aware of what else is going on around you. Enjoy - I've been commuting around London for nearly 20 years, rain or shine, still love it.

My commute hell! I met a woman on the platform at East Dulwich station, we started chatting, and by South Bermondsey, well, one thing led to another and before we knew it we were making mad, passionate love in front of a carriage full of shocked commuters! But we couldn't stop ourselves! I later found out this woman was my mum!! And she deals crack! And drives trains!

Perhaps, in the spirit of sharing, Holly can tell us if she's ever done anything (Anything!) interesting while working for Natmags? I might be more inclined to reveal my incredible commuting stories if she starts things off.

Sorry to hear about the break-in, always distressing. To add to the backup discussion, if your wireless router is somewhere out of the way, you can buy a Network Attached Storage device, (NAS) for around ?100. It's basically a large external hard disc you connect to your router, and once set up your laptop would just view it as another hard drive. You can copy all your files onto it wirelessly and it's out the way. Add an extra level of paranoid protection by spending ?50 on another 1TB external drive, backing up everything onto that every week or two and leaving it with a friend close by. Everyone should back up there hard drives as a matter of routine, as, unfortunately, they never last forever and will at some point die on you. Whether that's due to their inevitable mechanical failure or a little toerag nicking your laptop and selling it for ?20 to buy another rock of crack/eigth of weed/bottle of alcopops/ is a a moot point.

Your original question asked if every house had one. I guess if your house had a cellar, maybe people would have sheltered in that?

Depends how early in the morning, but well before 8 or returning late at night, I've done this route in under 30 mins. Cut through Peckham, Southampton Way, 'through' Burgess Park, Thurlow St to cut round the back of Walworth Rd to elephant and Castle, over Waterloo Bridge, round Aldwych and up Kingsway, round Russell Sq and up to Euston Road, schlepp along Euston rd and up the West side of Regent's Park, up Avenue Rd to Swiss Cottage, Finchley Rd and Hendon Way and off you go. It sounds complex, but looks better on a map ;-)

I think was one of the benefits of the informal running club which was mentioned on here a few months back. Is it worth trying to kick that off again on a midweek night? Meet at the corner of East Dulwich Road/Peckham Rye? You've also got the Dulwich runners who go charging around en masse.

Another vote for a 35mm 1.8 or 50mm 1.8 prime lens. a) they're cheap b) big max aperture, (so you can shoot indoors over the winter months without a flash) - blows the background out of focus so lovely for portraits c) Check the reviews but you should find the 50mm 1.8 has pretty sharp optics d) The fact you don't have a zoom will force you to think more closely about the composition of the shot, rather than just zooming away and snapping. (Nowt wrong with zooms, it's just nice to try something different sometimes) e) Not too risky. If you buy the official Canon lenses you can use them for a few months and then flog them if you don't like them and you'll still get a decent resale price.

You've done the right thing about getting him into halls in the first year - the primary objective here is to make as many friends as possible - of both sexes - and halls are the best place for doing that. Don't worry about the cooking, he'll be forced to cook when he gets hungry and will learn things off friends. Academically, although the second and third years will count for more, some sage advice is to make sure he finds out how the course assessment is being done and focus on that. Are there weekly tutorials to attend - make sure you at least turn up and do some preparation. There's plenty of opportunity for tossing about, he just needs to know when the core pieces of work need to be done and plan the mucking about/lost weeks on booze around that so he doesn't get thrown out next June.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the fact that the scenes in his wife's rather nice Georgian house were all shot on Camberwell Grove? Or does the fact this is miles away from East Dulwich render this information as superfluous?

Yup, got to cross the river somewhere. I head down Camberwell Grove, as it's green, and not too busy, go left, up Camberwell New Road - which isn't too bad at busy times are the cars don't move much. Right at Kennington, before the Oval, and then cut through up to the river. Onto Albert Embankment and cross Lambeth Bridge, and again the traffic is normally gridlocked and decent buslane and cycle lane across the bridge. Right to Parliament Square and up Whitehall to Trafalgar Square. Plusses - lots of cyclists on the route which always helps.

Sorry to hear about the mugging, sounds nasty, hope he gets over it and doesn't take it personally. In other news, avoid the ?50 'biked shaped objects' - http://www.bikemonkey.net/?p=7169

That is indeed the location of the semi-mythical 'River Peck'. http://londonist.com/2009/01/lost_rivers_from_above_the_peck.php

I've had the Tokina 12-24 on a Nikon DSLR gear for a couple of years now. the main reason I got it against buying Nikon was it was about half the price, and for a lens I didn't plan on using that often, seemed like a good compromise. I really like it, solid build - I've carted round in my camera bagt for a couple of years and it works fine, have taken some lovely shots with it but you have to watch for lens flare. Good review of what you're after here http://www.kenrockwell.com/tokina/11-16mm.htm

I think it's safer just to avoid this area - it's not worth the risk?

Use soundboard instead of plasterboard - thicker, denser plasterboard which helps with noise insulation, you can order it from travis perkins IIRC. You can then get pads of insulation which are denser than the looser 'default' insultation you'll find at B & Q. I think it might still be fibreglass/rockwool but it's easier to cut and fit into a void in the partition. You might be able to wedge in two layers on top of each other. I did this in my last house and seemed to work fine, but I have no idea how this does/doesn't fit building regs ;-)

Erm, perennial problem I know, but the disabled spaces near the store entrance should be for blue badge holders, not for people in a hurry/can't be arsed to walk far. I've never seen even a token effort to enforce this despite some threatening signs. Perhaps they could 'name and shame' the top offenders in popular local online forum? Or maybe fine people who park in those spaces when they shouldn't, and use the money raised to subsidise a product a month as voted for by the punters. "This month raspberries are 10p - thanks to the anti-social gits who've been parking in the disabled spaces" - and the packs could have mugshots of the offenders on them? Can you suggest this ideas to him? Other than that, have always found the staff very helpful there.

Sorry to hear that, I've had too many bikes nicked down the years to ever leave one out in London again, even if it is locked. The basic rule is not to leave anything you want stolen in the street, bike locks aren't often much of a problem for the tea-leaves, so if you don't want it stolen, keep it indoors. If you don't have much room, be inventive! You can get huge wall hook things from B&Q to hang it in your hallway. Paint it a nice colour and hang it in your son's bedroom as a conversation piece. Do a deal with a neighbour with a shed or side-return and get it in there. I've even seen people use those old washer rack type things on a pulley to hoist their bikes up against the ceiling. Seinfeld had his bike hanging up in his flat, if it's good enough for him!

I think you'd have to conclude it's just not worth the risk of riding in this area, especially after dark, and even in groups. Whilst i haven't been attacked directly, I've had things thrown at me on a number of occasions in this area, so avoid it like the plague these days.

This brings to mind a shop in 'the other place' (Dulwich Village) which calls itself 'The Organically Minded Grocer' - which kind-of gets you off the hook if what you're selling isn't actually organic. "I've been thinking a lot about selling some organic stuff - maybe one day I will". The Bossman seems to sell a nicely eclectic selection, some organic stuff, and a great range of nut brown ales too.

"Then again there are also nice bus drivers like the one driving the 185 this morning who was about to drive off but opened his doors again to let me on when he spotted me running along." I've always thought, wrongly as it turns out, that this would be the 'basic level of behviour' you'd expect from a bus driver - letting people onto the bus.

Doh! Had my credit card stopped a couple of days ago - as someone was trying to use 'my card' in Germany and Denmark. I too had been into Grove Vale Texaco in the preceeding week - but also various other East Dulwich haunts.