indiepanda

am v glad to hear they are staying in the area - excellent service, would hate to see them leave.

Yes, I love the street art round here - especially the Stiks - they've been here for a while now but they still make me smile every time I see them.

You find yourself working with your old boss's son, who was a new baby when you first started work and is now at university. That happened to me last summer - was quite odd. I knew really I was approaching 40 but being confronted with someone who was as old as my work life really drove it home.

Think psychologists would say there's an element which is genetic and an element that's up to you - much like your likelihood of getting various illnesses which have a genetic component. I used to be quite a Victor Meldrew when I was younger but am much more positive now, at least in part because I've worked at being more positive - was terrified of turning into my miserable mother who stresses about everything and anything (most of it in her imagination rather than real)

I don't think they think that much about what happened to the other monarchs who had that name - if they did Charles is much worse a name than James - first one got executed after a bloody civil war and the second was a randy old goat by all accounts. Come to that Harry is really called Henry - the last Henry (VIII) had six wives, two of them he had executed and two he divorced. Even William I was last to successfully invade the UK - responsible for a significant amount of blood shed in this country. Hardly any traditional Royal name is untainted by some pretty bad history associated with at least one of the monarchs with that name. Elizabeth possibly the one exception but that's not much use for a boy!

Otta Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Being close to family becomes a lot more desirable > when you factor in free childcare needs. For some people, yes - but as I'd said earlier in the thread, I don't have or plan to have kids. In any case, even if I lived round the corner from my parents there wouldn't be any childcare on offer, free or otherwise.

*Bob* Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I agree London would probably be pointless without > at least two sides of the work/family/friends > triangle in place. I have two sides of the triangle in place and the other side (family) are close enough (but not too close!). But London is about the best place in the country to find work and make friends so unless you have a burning desire to be close to family, that makes London a pretty good bet for anyone who can afford it.

Definitely an element of truth in what Mr Ben says - one of my best friends who lives locally is trying to juggle wanting a bigger house / garden for their 3 kids versus wanting to stay in East Dulwich - the only reason they'd have for leaving is that it's hard to make the financials stack up here. I have no plans to move on, but then I am single with no intention of ever having children so I have enough space for my needs. I used to live outside of London and I was bored to tears having so few single people to hang out with, and such a dire social life I was in no danger of meeting a man either. I'll be sad if some of my friends move on, but enough to leave. No... not for the forseeable future. I like being near the art galleries, museums, theatres etc and I have other friends who don't have families and won't be moving on either. Living here I am frequently juggling plans in my diary, out of town I was far too familiar with the plot of Casualty as I hardly ever went out on Saturday evenings. The one good thing about having lived outside of London was that I had got on the housing ladder in my 20s so I had the profit from my first two homes to put into my place in ED. It has surprised me how much houses seem to have gone up round here in the last two and a half years since I bought mine. Seen a few on my row go up for sale recently at prices that look quite high compared to what I paid (hard to compare exactly as all have different extensions), and they've all sold within about 2 months. Not sure I'd have been able to get a mortgage on my place now!

StraferJack Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > wasn't a bad day at all was it? So much so that > Sunday was spent not moving, with a range of plans > all getting shelved same here, barely shifted from the sofa

Great afternoon / evening out, thanks to those who organised.

I'm planning to come, what time are we kicking off at the Plough?

Might not be very literary but I expect most of us read Enid Blyton at school - she was born on Lordship Lane and lived there for 30 years. http://www.heathersblytonpages.com/photoalbum_homes.html

I've sold in winter and summer, both times house went quickly, I think at least in part because I was quite realistic about pricing and didn't try to push to get a really high price. Having said that, usual guidance is sell in spring or autumn as market slows down in summer and around Christmas/New Year. Main thing is to show property at its best. It might be a cliche but untidy front gardens, peeling paint on front doors etc all starts to put people off before they even get in - wonder if there might be more significant less visible issues (damp / boiler about to pack up etc). If putting off sale for a while enables you to tidy up a bit (if needed) that might be worthwhile. I've seen three houses go up for sale within 100 yards of mine in the last month or so and two are sporting "sold" signs at the moment and the other was for a while but is back on the market. The prices are much higher than I paid for mine two and a half years ago, even allowing for differences in spec (some have been extended / others not). Obviously don't know what price they went for yet, but will watch with interest as will be hoping to negotiate a better mortgage deal later in the year by arguing a reduced loan to value ratio.

Wonder what series 2 will bring?

HelBel65 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > http://wasteservices.southwark.gov.uk/index.asp thanks - that's very useful.

Alan Medic Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > I think the biggest problem with suppliers is it > seems impossible to compare like for like or is it > a case of doing more research? I think provided you know your actual consumption and what plan you are on with your current provider it's quite easy to compare suppliers using sites like uswitch. I've been pretty slack at taking meter readings but after getting stung with a bill for ?1300 for 6 weeks of gas (I protested and ended up not paying) I take them regularly now - once I have a year's worth I will be comparing prices. http://www.uswitch.com/

For goodness sake Rianoo, the "second hand story" was from the girlfriend of the guy who was attacked. It's hardly like some random person who heard about it via hearsay. OP - I hope your boyfriend is ok and that the police catch the people who attacked him soon.

Two more houses for sales along the row - adjacent halves - looks like I am getting some new neighbours: http://www.kfh.co.uk/residential-properties/houses-for-sale/london-east-dulwich-se22-underhill-road/2115282/ http://www.rocodells.co.uk/Property/Residential/for-sale/London/East-Dulwich/Underhill-Road/203und.aspx Have to say I find it fascinating seeing what others have done with theirs - better way of getting ideas than looking at property / design magazines. I need to work out which one in the row is the one that has been turned into a 4 bedroom house and get the details of their architect, it looks fab.

I would like somewhere like whole foods market or planet organic - somewhere with a cafe I can get healthy food to eat on the spot as well as buying to take home and plenty of gluten and dairy free options.

The allotments are still out the back, but the old broken buildings which I assumed were garages have been replaced by two new build houses - eco style wood clad with flat roofs and huge windows.

If someone is spending ?80 on wine I think it would be reasonable to give them a cheap canvas bag. It's all very well having an environmental policy but if it puts people off shopping with you it's hardly good business.

I know - it's given me some ideas of what I could do with mine if I ever have the money.

I would like a shop which caters to people with allergies/food intolerances plus cafe attached - something like Whole Foods or Planet Organic, though would be nice if it wasn't quite as expensive as those places.

captainhook Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > alice - in this case, the windows along the > terrace are heavily rebated into cement (or > similar) render frames. Any wood or UPVC frames > are in reality 3 inches INSIDE these cement > frames. The gaps mentioned are those between > these cement architraves. > Never did really understand how UPVC companies > manage to pursuade people to put up with so much > less glass, and so much more frame! > > indiepanda - (hello neighbour!) We thought the > same of ours - odd that it is identical in every > way to those in the terrace which were always > listed as being halves... Partition walls are all > constructed in the same "interesting" manner... > > Lovely houses by the way. Great place to live. > (Great neighbours too!) Hello! Yes, it is odd, I was starting to wonder if my memory was playing tricks on me last night re it having been one house but I found the deeds and it's quite clear. Maybe some people just bought both halves when they were built??

For 199 / 199a we have a deed of covenant re maintenance of shared areas which states that the properties "aforesaid formally comprised a single property" and that "the said properties have been subdivided in such a way as to include certain common parts". The split dates back to 1968. I guess it's theoretically possible that it started out as two houses and then at some point both sides were bought by one person, and then it was then split back into two houses in 1968, but it was definitely was a single property for a time!