intexasatthe moment

Thanks for letting us know . My mother is in that area and had a similar bogus caller - it was 18 months ago but very similar description and story .

What kind of bins have you got now ?

Can I ask which end of Bellenden ? Worried about my elderly mum who lives in that area .

There's quite a lot of anxiety about smart meters ( see here http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/other_subjects/a1327330-Anyone-having-a-gas-leccy-meter-replaced-with-a-Smart-Meter-Something-you-need-to-know ). Whether that anxiety is justified or not I don't know .

Personally ,as an ex nursery worker ,I would suggest something other than chocolates or similar fattening food . Smellies ,flowers ( my favourite ) ,planted bulb ,pretty tree decoration .

This is silly I know ,but I miss my bike so badly . Talk about you dont know what you miss till it's gone which sure gives my age away . I tried to put my loss behind me and bought a massively expensive Trek hybrid from Balfe's ,tried to ignore how ugly the big fat tubes and cluttered handle bars were ....but could not ignore the leaden ride . Thought it was just me but now I'm engaged on the search for a second hand mixtie ( small frame ) 531 tubing I realise that what the frame is made of affects the ride . Oh ,how could I have been so stupid ,why didn't I keep my lovely Revell 1970's bike ( had from new for 40 years ) inside . I had no idea how special it was ,just loved to ride it . And will be a pig to replace as it was small . Keep your bikes indoors .

Poor you ,you must be exhausted . Semolina was always a fall back in our house .

and buying sugar for it in Poundland Peckham today ? If so you must be the kind person who helped my elderly mum who was looking for the Nationwide building society . I don't know if you read the EDF ,but in case you do - thank you ,it's such kindnesses that make life easier .

Annette :)-D womanofdulwich - thanks ,will try that ( have to google first ,have vague idea ) we can use thick Gordon Brown type pens .

Ok - dined out last year for the first time as elderly mother can't manage the stairs to my flat to " enjoy " our usual Xmas day . Was thrilled by reduction in shopping ,planning etc that dining out entailed . But ....felt the need for something to fill the silences ,jolly us along . So this year I'm thinking musical crackers ,boggle . The social mix is not ideal - 19 year old son ,me and partner ,91 year old mother ( visually impaired ,no social skills ,patronising and always sure she's right ). Any suggestions for table top party games to while away the time ,or ( we can always dream ) help us be festive ?

When I've been without internet access ,in extremis ,I've used other methods available to me - library ,internet cafes . But no internet access and no phone contact seem odd to me .

It can be a very time consuming process handing things in to the police . The last time I tried I gave up after half an hour of waiting to see someone at the counter and simply left the bag ( prescription drugs of many kinds ) on the seat and left .

Oh thank goodness . And thank goodness for the kind sensible Turkish cafe people . The care home must be beside themselves - if it's the one I think it is ,they are really excellent and caring . I bet arrangements for that fire exit to be alarmed will be in hand sharpish .

Please ,lets not let this thread get distracted and distorted into another of Hugenot's sparring contests . Just asking like .

Ah ,I see . Yes ,I have a feeling ( having used them with my mother in a wheelchair ) that the bendy buses do provide better space for wheelchairs and pushchairs than the double deckers . Though I've always avoided peak times when the wheelchair is involved . But have often seen people with pushchairs having to wait for another bendy bus at busy times so think this happens less because of design of bus and more a feature of rush hour .

In my view everything in life is " political " , no need to get hot and bothered and treat the description as an accusation or criticism . And no need for people to "defend " themselves against a perceived insult .

first mate - yes patronising and paternalistic . Blaming the council for conniving to delay weather dependent work when the weather has been wet and listening, if rather late, to locals about Grove Vale isn't very fair or likely to encourage them to listen again. Leaving aside my view that the argument is being misrepresented in the first half of this sentence ,it's the last bit that gets me . " encourage them to listen again " if the kiddies are, in our view , disrepectful we'll stop listening to them. Why does Southwark need encouraging to listen ? Aren't they elected ? Aren't they supposed to be listening ? IME local authorities do what they like ,after they've spent money pretending to consult ,so good on all of you who are exposing this and trying to achieve a wider consultation .

Getting to Peckham Rye Train station in the morning is now a nightmare on the 12 compared to how it ever was on the bendy bus. in what way ?

one who has just delivered > their handicapped relative/ neighbour somewhere > and has to get to work, That seems very unlikely from such a selfish @#$%&, and where is their blue badge? If you're in the process of picking up/dropping off a disabled person you display their blue badge ,but you can't use someone else's blue badge as a parking permit allowing you to park in restricted areas .

Yup ,another unshaken house here . Unless it's the rain we've had making the ground different .

I used to rather enjoy tessellating and ordering my recycling stuff so that it was nice and tidy and fitting neatly into the bin and bag . But now I lob it all into the bin - much greater volume .

I have to agree with many of the comments about how badly these changes are working . Buses going north ( ? i think ) towards DK hill have to stop to allow traffic from other direction to pass . Driving towards Goose Green roundabout there seem to be a lack of direction signs and cars suddenly find themselves pulling out into middle of road and into the flow of traffic coming towards them . Perhaps this is the desired outcome ?

Mainly I help her ,it's a bit tricky now though because she has a collection on Monday ,and sunday is the one day I don't visit . But her neighbours are really helpful . But I do wonder about others in the borough who's relatives aren't close and who lack rapport with neighbours .

Just to add that IME ( as an Omeprazole user ) mirrored by 2 relatives - there is a tendenacy for prescribers to opt for ranitadine ( and to move Omeprazole users to ranitadine ) because it is a cheaper drug .

sophiesofa - there is no system ( not sure how there could be ) biggest problem for my 91 year old mother is getting the refuse out ,never mind putting containers back.