panda boy

Nero, Ahh, well appearances would have been deceptive! Shame i can't try and convince you to go there now...! Will have to try MPC though, sounds good. By the way Karter, can you compare their pizzas to the ones served in The Gowlet? Those are damn fine pizzas...

(Thats not to say i'll be sad about Lorenzo's appearing there. I'll certainly go along as soon as possible to test their authentic Italian cooking...)

"I never went to 2 Trees. What was it like, apart from awful." Nero. How can you say two trees was 'awful' when you say you never went there?? Doesn't really make any sense. Personally i loved it; Inexpensive. Not a chain. Individual. Friendly... ... and good food. Ok the atmosphere was a little 'quiet', but that was ok if you just want an intimate quiet night out, especially when you don't want to be surrounded by people with pushchairs, born again non-smokers, and people who talk with excessive volume about property prices or how much money they've made that day... (oops almost on to a rant there...) I can't be alone in missing it?

Is it going to be where the Two Trees Lounge used to be? (RIP Two Trees...)

Just seen the eggs benedict threads. Can't believe nobody has mentioned the Bishop? They do a fantastic benedict, with or without spinach and bacon. The only sad thing is they only do them at the weekend, until 1pm... (Although if they served them every day i would be very large and very poor...)

Is it seriously going to become a 'salon de the'? Any idea's what it's going to be called? (Don't know of many tea shop chains or franchises!) ;-)

They do seem to have mini amplifiers attached to them to emphasise the awful racket they produce. They must break some noise pollution laws? I have a bag of nails, you want a handful?

On go on Keef, spill the beans, whats more pretentious than 72?

All we need to find are deeds that declare ED as an independent principality, then we can set the road blocks up...

Spymum, feel free to use the phrase as liberally as you can. It is the truth. And madworld, i'm waiting for the new forest hill section with baited breath, i'll keep my eyes peeled... Time to get back up tree for a nap...

Totally ridiculous. Park where you can. I've had a slight to do with a neighbour who was complaining that others were parking too close to their *generic hatchback*, which they wern't at all. All it did was p**s people off and tempt them to deliberately park too close to them in a reaction over the pettiness of the complaint. I find smiling and nodding while backing away works with these people. No point in having a conversation about it really. (As if their (filthy) *generic hatcchback* is anything special...) And like you chuff, it was the first thing they've said when they moved in. In fact it's the only thing they've said. I liked dulwich mums suggestions, but you forgot about having a crane installed in the front and simply lifting the car above head height every night...

You mean you're a person mad world? Damn, i thought i was addressing the whole mad world. (panda boy is a work thing, working too long hours, eyes resemble panda eyes, as they do now. I don't actually sit in trees and eat shoots, that much anymore...) And what are your ideas on the forest hill section?

Its a real shame it's gone. Was run by a lovely guy, very friendly. Wasn't too pricey, good food, interesting decor. Shame it didnt have an outside bit round the back instead of on the road. Been there for donkey's years too, survived all sorts of things. Now it's gone for good. *sigh* Wonder what that's going to be...! A Fat Face? An even more expensive kitchen shop? No, i've got it, a 4x4 showroom!!

More bars and restaurants? Wow. What are we missing that we havn't already got? Ok a couple of other world cuisine places wouldn't go amiss. Then again it may be a question of lookinag after what we've got before we wish for more. I for one am still mourning the loss of two trees that closed before christmas and never opened again. Served a great tagine...

And i'm with MadWorld on this. Agree 100% (Got your PM, ta)

This very morning a shop keeper was telling me that some shops down the highstreet can pull in ?30,000 PER WEEK... (No names mentioned, but towards the goose green end...) I still lean towards having a record shop though. Firstly if the book shop can survive with it's eclectic collection of reading material, and Roulier White hasn't folded in the 1st year, then i see proof that if a shop sells what people want it can do well. I understand the need for a cheap pants shop though, and as it isn't just one empty shop we're talking about, maybe both underwear and music could live happily in harmony?

Hmmmm, ok very fair point. There is always the internet though, or mail order for such essentials? Do we really need a whole shop to cater for these things? (I know what you mean about ?20 cupcake tins though!)

I'm not knocking John Lewis, it is a quality store. But as it is a department store, (huge, large range of all sorts of things, many floors etc...) how would an small express version work? What 'essentials' could it possibly offer that can't be found locally already?

The majority of the suggestions of what people want to see on the highstreet fill me with cold fear, (a starbucks? are you all mad? How much more caffiene does the highstreet need? With the addition of Nero, there are now plenty of places to get good coffee, why spoil it with yet another example of the anti-christ's tea room?) The best suggestion so far has to be an independant music / record shop. (Madworld; i too have been pondering this idea, maybe your other half and myself could discuss further?) A John Lewis? You are all mad!!!

Just for the record the burgers in the Bishop are fantastic, probably the best around. Each one freshly made from minced fillets of beef, so you can have it cooked rare. If a 'Gourmet' burger place informed me they couldn't cook a burger rare then i'd be a little confused as to why they call themselves a gourmet kitchen? (Apart from the obvious marketing reasons...)

I'm sure that very few people on this forum would ever admit to such an offence, (even one that now carries even harsher penalties), but it can't just be me thats driven to distraction, (no pun intended) by people driving around ED while on the phone. Not being holier than thou about it, i'm trying to make a conscious effort to not answer/use my phone while driving, especially down residential roads, (or any road for that matter.) (It's actually quite easy when you try.) Either pull over when you can, or (horror) not answer the phone and call back later when you're not in control of over a ton of steel and glass, (or 2 tonnes if driving a 4x4.) Don't want to sound like i'm ranting, but it must be, (naturally bad driving not withstanding) one of the most annoying habits I experience, on a daily basis on the local roads. Any views appreciated...!?

JL. Confusion returning... The bus stop im banging on about must be less than 10-15 years old. Looks fairly newish, hence my confusion... (Unless there's some form of wired time-lapse council thing about re-newing bus-stops that aren't in use anymore? Wouldn't suprise me. Probably a once a year thing to keep their bus-stop budgets topped up?)

Thanks again Jah. Do you remember when it was last actually used as a bus stop? I can't remember ever having seen a bus go down there... (Mystery almost solved, mild confusion almost cleared up now...!)

Ah, that would make a certain kind of sense. Thanks Jah Lush. But i still think the bus planning division were wildely optimistic about their chances of getting their busses round that corner without incident... It would be bits of 4x4 bumper for days! (Also a bus load of people being disgorged right on top of the bins from the Bishop, especially in summer - nice!)

Does anyone have any idea what the bus-stop round the corner from the Bishop (Crawthew Grove) is actually for? Buses don't go down there, to my knowledge never have, and probably never will. (Mainly due to the usually fantastic parking on the corner a little way up..!) Maybe the plan the bus-stop planters were reading was upside down...?