Huguenot

Really, the plot thickens... What's the Hazchem all about???

To Lidl with you, heathen... ;-)

You can play snukka at the Consitutional Hall opposite the hopsital on ED Grove

Hanging Room. Like it. ;-)

The more the merrier, there's no such thing as a newbie as the forum's only been active for a couple of months!! Might even persuade my other half, but only if mockney can persuade his... CC, will you be married by then??

Yep, plenty of kids kicking around footballs on the sidelines ;-) .

Mockney, any chance you can do us a match report??

I heard rumours that Chris may be injured as well - is there anyone out there who can help us resolve this disquieting canard?

Well I think those kind of scores are astounding - that must be 5% of the local population. Just imagine, next time you're in Somerfield half a dozen of the people around you are EDFers... Oddly enough in a previous life I headed up sales for Yahoo! UK & Ireland. In these trying times I aim not to get out of bed for less than ten pounds a day, but I have been known to be susceptible to beer-related bribes. If you'd like to chat then mail me - we might be able to get a local business to cover part of your serving costs! :)

Where do you buy your booze snorks, and why do you think it's better?

Mark, I reckon you were right to choose that, I prefer this layout now to the ones that worked the other way! On another note I notice that our own Moriarty, the SE5 forum, allow users a photo by-line and score peeps by stars depending on their effectiveness at McDonalds. Is that quite fun? We did this when I was over in Beijing and it caused no end of hilarity ;-)

Was that..... no, no must have been the wind...

That's bizarre, it doesn't strike me as entirely kosher if it's happening at the weekend? Did you see who was doing it?

Nope

Oh, and no brawling, if you or your kids accidentally niggle a fellow supporter say 'Sorry, yeah, but for crissakes, [the opposition] have had an up and down season, I was hoping for Dickson to give us another hat-trick today, he must have had almost twenty this season...? Shut UP Barry.... I'll calm him down...' Chris Dickson looks like this: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/137/360734235_bb1211a1af_m.jpg

Alrighty.. Head to Sainsbury, left at the lights on Champion Hill etc., and as you're (quite literally) about to swerve right into Sainsbury's carpark instead head left into the football ground carpark. There, upon locking your vehicle if you have one :) step through the only turnstile at a cost of 7.50 sterling into a fabulous world of football. The world's your oyster: the covered stand on your right isn't ticket allocated, so take the best seats available. The mighty opposition contingent (all ten of them) will generally grab a terraces view behind one or other of the goals. Usual zoo rules apply: don't feed 'em. The stand's great, as it's covered it's good for watching come rain or shine! As the game commences, settle and start barracking. Try to do this gently at first, and follow the mood of the crowd. If they start victimising a member of the opposition with unusual physical characteristics, look about you with concern in the first instance and then quietly follow suit. If you do this right, by the middle of the second half the victim will have developed a potty mouth, which means you've won. If you start to say anything rude and you realise the crowd's gone silent, just turn it into a theatrical sneeze - it doesn't do to get isolated. If you find yourself supporting the opposition and give an involuntary cheer when they offer an unsuccesful shot, don't worry - pretend you were cheering an effective defensive manoeuver. If you're caught out by the goal going in, punch your thigh saying 'yisss', stand up and repeat the action 'yisss...yisss...' as you leave the ground retiring to the Black Cherry wearing a hat, and then call a cab. The half-time bar is accessible through the eastern (carpark) end of the upper tier of the grandstand, so it's easiest to mozy up there a couple of minutes before the half time whistle to be at the bar at the earliest opportunity. They have a temporary down-tools for the last 25mins of the game. In the bar they've got a couple of big screens to give you the heads up on half-time footie elsewhere. Coffee, tea and burgers etc. are served throughout the game from a ground-floor doorway underneath the east end of the stadium (beneath the entrance to the bar). After the game it's generally considered right and proper to resolve the most contentious issues at the bar of the Vale. Unless you're barred (Mockney). The teams might even rock up so you can offer performance-based niggles. They're also great with kids there (the barstaff, not the teams). After having thus filled their dance-card, those in their twenties can retreat to the scrimmage in the EDT and beyond! There's not usually a lot of before game boozing, as it's quite healthy entertainment, but I guess die-hards could go to the Vale as well. Beyond all that, it's just brilliant, have a great time! No real rules, it's only what you make it! ;-)

They're playing at home this Saturday 20th Jan against Sittingbourne. 3pm KO. We managed a crowd of over 500 last match, a seasonal record, so it would be great to beat it this weekend. Dulwich Hamlet are sitting tentatively at the top of the table but it's all painfully close... http://www.dulwichhamletfc.co.uk/league-table.php especially as Dartford have got a game in hand. Sittingbourne are squatting just outside the play-off spots, but with two games in hand over the Pink and Blues. It'll be a tight well-fought match seasoned with enough keystone kop moments to entertain the hardiest footballing cynic. For ditherers not sure whether to commit or not, it's often possible to recover your ticket-gate investment by running a sweepstake amongst friends on how many balls disappear ne'er to be found over the wall into the adjacent backgardens. Record last year was 8, but numbers have been lower this season. There's also fantastic burgers of indeterminate origin and a half-time bar with footie results from around the nation. If you squint a little it's better than a corporate box at Upton Park. Bring your own prawn sandwiches. For the more aesthetically motivated, the strip is very attractive, the thighs firm and the sexuality raw.. This is our prolific striker Chris Dickson... http://farm1.static.flickr.com/137/360734235_bb1211a1af_m.jpg

I asked the outfitters today, and although they wouldn't tell me who it was, they told me they were outfitting it as a clothes store. It's all opened up inside, with pine-effect double doors leading out to the back yard. Here's a candid shot... http://farm1.static.flickr.com/135/360674194_deb7660804_m.jpg There doesn't seem to be much sign of a bar or counter and those all-white walls and spotlights would suggest that a trendy shop was the most likely occupier... Batdog, mebbe they'll do a Kaftan and some mystic stones for you on special???

This one, entrance on Zenoria Street? http://farm1.static.flickr.com/158/360674128_3395997b0d_m.jpg I guess they've given it a Lordship Lane address for convenience?

Indeedy, sorry for any confusion; I wasn't trying to imply a gay bar was elitist, inappropriate or undesirable. I was suggesting that it (and some of the other ideas) could be perceived as separatist and would become a focus of complaint for residents who felt newcomers were excluding them from the local community facilities. As for gay men meeting each other, it may surprise you that most of the people in the current local watering holes don't want to sleep with me either. See this thread for similar comedy consequences http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?9,1513 . I don't see why we should create separatist establishments for any of us if it's likely to prove a handicap to integration. I understand that this could seem personal from your perspective, but I'm applying it to any and all forms of social discrimation. I guess you were being glib about cottaging, as I couldn't recommend it unless with 25,000 others in West London. Your best bet could be the friends of friends, friends of workmates, friends of 'ex'es, dinner parties, blind dating, internet dating strategy that everyone else has to go through! ::o

;-)

And thus the balkanisation of East Dulwich ensued... families torn apart and neighbour set against neighbour... ;-) I can see TD's frustration, and I've got a lot of sympathy. I'm not sure that the focus is right. East Dulwich has had a net outflow of residents since the 1920s when the basic housing stock was fixed, so this situation is nothing new. ED's only 100 years old, and there's been boom and bust every twenty years or so since. From the very first residents all of our families have been johnny-come-lately at one time or another, and suffered prejudice and abuse for it. That's not a good reason to keep repeating the cycle. In the last couple of decades we've had a turnover in the type of resident in all central London areas as majority employment moved from blue collar industries to white collar financial and technology roles. It's not even necessarily to do with outsiders moving in, a vast number of city jobs went to the kids from East End blue collar families. House prices aren't driven by tossers, but by localised high employment, economic growth and environmental factors. New residents don't want to evict current residents, and they don't want to pay high prices. They just want to find somewhere affordable within touching distance of work; supply and demand does the rest. We're all victims. Between the mid sixties and the mid nineties ED was pretty much an ignored area of inner-London but didn't suffer quite as much as some areas from urban ruin (like the Elephant) because the transport links were so poor. Housing was reasonably widely available because nobody wanted to live here.... the entire high street was effectively shut down, and things like the cinema went with them. It's great when change brings new life to an area, but we've got a major problem if the new residents fail to respect and integrate with longer term locals. I said it before on this post, but the creation of "exclusive" commercial outlets to make us feel "super special" are all about segregating society. This includes snooty, twee, over-priced foods and bars catering to people of a particular sexual orientation. In a pretty liberal community like ED there's no need for it. More importantly I'm afraid that if we pursue a strategy of smug 'self-actualisation' that excludes large swathes of local residents, then the outlets are likely to be a focus of that discontent. It's nothing to do with anybody's rights to have what they want, and all to do with a shared obligation for making ED great for everyone. TD's frustration is a symptom, not the problem.

Hand it back - you should be overjoyed that his initial generosity gave you two years of free tunes and not begrudge that his change in fortune means that he'd like it returned. Frankly I'd have offered it back before he even asked, comfortable in the notion that he trusted me not to trash it, and I delivered on the promise! We shouldn't spend our lives prowling in our mates' footsteps, hoping that we can catch them out linguistically and snatch their hard-earned posessions for ourselves!! Don't try and keep it - prove yourself a worthy recipient of other people's trust!

Mockney, you've been browsing my wardrobe again! I trust this meets the dress code...? http://farm1.static.flickr.com/151/359621581_90d9d617ff_m.jpg Dulwichmum I don't recall clearly, but isn't that your lithe legs sashaying in the reflection?

I'm good for the 27th. Do I need to bring canapes - we should confirm quick before the fiancee finds out and co-ordinates a counter proposal...?