Applespider

I am feeling jinxed travel-wise in 2010. Jan - was asked to get off train for saying something was f'ing ridiculous to a member of staff and being accused of being abusive as a result. Feb - Missed flight at Heathrow after missing security scan window by 3 minutes after a 50 minutes Tube delay. Annoyingly even after getting new ticket and going through security, original flight was still there. March - Nearly missed flight home after ski trip after getting stuck in a jam behind an accident April - Flight home from Jo'burg delayed by 14 hours Friday - supposed to be flying to Scotland at 6.30pm on BA. I'm highly doubtful and debating whether to even bother packing.

We were quoted a similar amount for a drop kerb outside our place. The annoying thing is that we would need two drops in order to make full use of the drive (as several of our neighbours have); one on either side of a tree. But we were told we could only get one on one side of the tree - the smaller side - because there were speed bumps too close to the other. This seems particularly stupid since currently there are no road markings to stop anyone parking right up to - or even on - the speed bumps so clearing some cars off the road with a drive to discourage parking in front of it, would seem to be a win-win. As it is, we regularly have idiots park across our 'drive' blocking the cars in without apparently any way to stop them.

The borough boundary between Southwark and Lewisham runs along the middle of my road. Shared services would seem to make sense though on some levels (e.g. an agreement to review/take action on things like street lighting, public bins and snow-clearing with a common frequency. Sometimes common sense manages to take over though so our Southwark street cleaner (never seen a Lewisham one) does sweep up the leaves on the Lewisham side of the road presumably on the grounds they'd blow over anyhow.

I was mugged a few years ago more or less in my driveway - I heard gravel crunch behind me, turned round and there was someone waiting to grab my bag. I was pretty jumpy for a while after that but strangely, it actually made me feel more confident about where I lived... Why? Because although at first I just told said mugger to f off, eventually I screamed. And 6 neighbours from the surrounding houses came out (blokes in their pants) to chase after him and check that I was OK. If I'd screamed to start with, he may not have got anything at all - and it made me feel better that I lived somewhere that when someone screams, people don't just ignore it. Police were great as were victim support - although as a single woman, being told to avoid walking after dark would limit life a tad. But I gave up on the alarm after too many accidents in the bag and because I didn't feel like it would generate the same response - I think people are immune these days to sirens for the most part. Taking it out on the bus along with the keys also made me feel weaker and more helpless. I'm now just pretty vigilant when I walk home and if it's particularly late, I walk home prepared to scream blue murder.

Tomorrow's World - all those jetpowered backpacks we thought we'd be commuting by in the 21st century Lots and lots of food stuffs that even kids would turn their noses up now Smash Angel Delight Prawn Cocktails and Chicken Kievs on restuarant menus Clothes not so much since they do have an alarming habit of coming back round. Although I don't recall seeing deelly-boppers outside of the 80s aside from hen-parties, so perhaps some things won't.

I've tried it... it's lethal stuff and a bit of an acquired taste... I'd suggest keeping the majority of your Guinness unadulterated.

The other reason for a big rise in dog poo could be all those people who got/bought puppies for Christmas, most of whom would have had their jabs and be going for walkies in Feb. I don't have a dog but occasionally walk my sister's retriever. Part of the routine for doing so is to stick a couple of poop bags in the pocket when you pick up the lead (sis stores them in the same place) - not having anything with you to do the job is a tacit admission that you had no intention of doing so. Only other thing I can suggest is perhaps having poop bag dispensers actually next to the poop bins or perhaps ask newsagents/corner shops if they would dish them out since libraries aren't always handy or open.

SimonM Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Most of them seem situated in sensible spots, but > I do wonder about the one halfway up the hill by > the cemtery fence on Underhill... For those who have to give up at that point? ;-)

Well done for stepping in. There's quite a bit of 'mock' fighting in the mornings at that stop with drivers often just refusing to let the kids on. No idea what school it is though, sorry.

The snowboard cross is great fun to watch though - utterly nuts. As is the moguls and freestyle skiing. Curling - I played it while at school and Uni (I even beat one of the Olympic gold-medal winning team on occasion) and while I loved playing it, it's not the greatest spectator sport.

TJ Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ?? > Of course, a grainy night shot taken at 3am will > solve everything. > That is, if they actually come that night! Would putting a motion-activated light up deter them because it draws attention or make it easier for them to find the line... At least then, if you heard them, you might get a shot of their hooded selves (not a generalisation that it's hoodies doing it - just that if you were committing theft, you'd probably wear something to hide your face)

Even if it hangs down, presumably they need to put their hands on it to position whatever they are cutting it with and hold the cut end to their container... So... could you cover the fuel line pipe in something sticky and/or unpleasant and see if that puts them off? Black oily stuff or treacle or something...

HAL9000 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Why not organise a singles-only Valentine?s dinner > and/or drinks night for Sunday? > > There's no reason why so many singletons should > spend the evening alone - is there? Aside from most bars/restaurants being packed out with smug couples... no. When one of my good pals was still single, we did on occasion go out on Valentine's Day, dressed to the nines, with deliberately overtly sexy outfits to a restaurant that was otherwise packed with couples - just to see how many arguments were caused when men's eyes strayed to the table of girls with lots of cleavage or leg that looked like they were having a ball. >:D<

Bear in mind that if an out of service bus runs along Wood Vale nearish the Horniman after midnight (which I believe they're not supposed to do), it can seem to make the place shudder slightly. ...although perhaps the monster hunts buses so that's when it's most active...

Mike, were you starting or ending at East Croydon? If you start outside your zones and finish inside or outside your zones, it manages to figure it all out. If you start inside your zones and finish outside, then you need the OEP... unless something has magically changed.

Fingers crossed that the inquiry goes Southwark's way - would love to see both something done to the house and the sods who've contributed to its decay through intentional neglect get what they deserve.

The milk probably isn't that different BUT the amount the supermarkets pay the farmer can vary enormously. I buy my milk from Ocado (Waitrose) because I know that Waitrose pay their farmers a fair amount and encourages them to plant/maintain hedgerows which has got to be good for the countryside as a whole. If that costs me an extra couple of pence a pint, then I'd rather that than end up in the potentially ludicrous scenario of having empty fields in the UK but having to import milk.

Izodia - if it's entirely outwith your zones (i.e. you have zone 1 and 2 and you're travelling zones 3-5), then you don't need an OEP, just enough PAYG cash. If your journey starts within your zones and finishes outside, then you do need an OEP. And I have found one on a machine at Victoria although since it's a 'free' thing, I really don't get why there can't be a special place to swipe it rather than wait in a queue with all those more time-consuming transactions that involve payment. If you start outside and end up inside your zones, again I don't think you need the OEP although I'm not entirely convinced how the charging will work on that one...

It is interesting but doesn't really help in terms of picking out 'dangerous' roads since there's no indication of how well used by cyclists the roads are. An accident 'blackspot' might have hundreds of cyclists through it on a daily basis and very low % of accidents whereas another road might only have two or three markers but only 10 cyclists have ever gone down it. Still... in terms of junctions to watch out, it is useful although looking at my route to work, the 'worst' ones are the ones that I'd have expected.

Seems to be circling from where Wood Vale meets Melford Road, over towards Dawsons Heights and then back round. Can't see where it's turning on the other side of the circle.

Is there any way of providing a lockable place in the main trading area/managers office? Even if it's a communal one but the manager/shift supervisor has the key so that people can lock their wallets up without having to clutter up the staff room? There are some very cheap basic 'spy' cameras available now that might be OK short-term until you find the culprit. One other thing, I'm not entirely sure on the legalities but don't you have to warn people if they are being monitored on camera?

You're very welcome to some sourdough starter - and my handy instruction sheet. It's got a white sourdough and a sourdough pizza recipe on there too - complete with all the tips that I learned the hard way! You can make all sorts with it - I did sourdough pancakes a few weekends ago for breakfast. Seriously, if you want some, let me know - I'm around for at least part of most weekends so could just put some of my extra in a pot for you. Not having a real larder, I keep mine in the fridge between bakings and then feed it on the Friday night for us on the Saturday morning so weekends are a good time to pick some up.

I seem to recall being told that there were sloes on One Tree Hill - but I've never remembered to actually go and look at the appropriate time...

I've tried the loaves from Lucas but found them good but not as good as I was expecting given the price. Now I bake my own sourdough bread every other weekend - so you can add a good organic bread flour to my kitchen staples and my sourdough starter. Once you have the starter going, it's surprisingly easy to make the actual bread and maintain the starter between uses. Orange-infused olive oil for salads also sits there although it's darned hard to find!

So if the main purpose is to get a bus to/from Honor Oak Park, does that mean that your proposal would be for it to be a day/evening service. What's the proposal for the N63? Allow it to carry on the route of the 363 to Crystal Palace or have half the night buses going to Brockley Rise and the other half to Crystal Palace or keep it only going to Brockley Rise? As a Wood Vale resident who wouldn't use the Honor Oak extension but does use the the N63 on occasion, I'd like a clear answer on this one before deciding whether I'm favour of the extension.