NormalForNorfolk

http://www.dulwichsociety.com/news/1229-sainsburys It won't be. It will be open one half an hour earlier in the morning and one hour later in the evening than Shepherd's. Shepherd's also has deliveries - supplies of American cup cake frosting don't get dropped by fairies. The shop will be the same size as at present and serve the same purpose. Deliveries will pale into insignificance compared with the traffic about to be inflicted on us by S.G. Smith development which, for the record, I opposed very vocally because I don't trust the Dulwich Estate further than I can spit. I care very much about the community I live in but thriving communities also need decent services and infrastructure - they don't thrive by being preserved in aspic. I too will examine the planning application carefully when it arrives but think this one will turn out to be a non-issue. Also, for the record. I was joking about under-age drinking in the Dog but didn't think I'd need to spell that out.

http://www.dulwichsociety.com/journal-archive/72-summer-2011/646-chairmans-comment196 Off topic but this is amusing on the madness of the Dulwich Estate and why we now have the Crossing to Nowhere at the roundabout. It's worth noting that the "land" in question is a triangular bit of grass barely big enough to graze a couple of sheep on.

Quite. I often think E Alleyn must be turning in his grave.

Will no one think of the children?! Honestly, you seriously think that having a Sainsbury's will mean drunk school children rampaging round the streets of leafy Dulwich in their uniforms? C'mon. The young people round here seem to have better things to do and I'm still hopeful (triumph over experience though that is) that we will one day have a pub again and the kids can go back to doing their under age drinking in there in the time honoured tradition. Sainsbury's has a Think 25 policy which means that, although you can legally buy alcohol at 18, they won't sell it to you unless you can prove it or you look over 25. Shepherds, as far as I know, has no such policy, is also open late and sells booze but it's proper dodgy and ridiculously overpriced. Alternatively, there's the pretensions of Dulwich Vintners which is merely overpriced. As a grown-up, I'll be more than happy to nip out for a reasonably priced bottle of red of a gloomy Wednesday evening. I'm beginning to suspect that the people who object to this have alternatives in the "just popping out", walking distance shop but would prefer Dulwich Village to keep Shepherds so they can nip in once a year and gush over how quaint and eclectic it is. Anyhow, delightful though this badinage is, it's a done deal. The estate has done what it always does and maximised its profits. We are getting a Sainsbury's local, opening in January. Hurrah!

Well that's a custom more honoured in the breach than the observance. Have you seen the hideous new developments at the village end of court lane or the plans for the Audi garage? The Scheme of Management aside, the objectives of the Dulwich Estate are to maximise income for its beneficiaries i.e. the foundation schools, chapel and almshouses. It cannot (and does not) compromise that for the benefit or convenience of residents. In other words, it doesn't have to give a stuff about the locals. The frontage of the proposed Sainsbury's is no more or less offensive than the ridiculously generic (and largely empty) Caf? Rouge or ten-a-penny Pizza Express. I spoke to the staff again this evening and they seem more than happy about it. Shepherd's is literally a waste of space and, given that it should remain a grocery store and no smaller company could afford it, the Estate has, for once, approved something which is of some use to the people who actually live here.

It will be the single most useful thing to have happened in the village for a long time. Enough artisan this and quirky that. We have an overpriced tile shop, an overpriced wine shop, seventeen places to buy croissant in the morning (overpriced, natch) and no pub. Yes, it's dull but groceries are a pretty dull part of life. As for Shepherds - I don't need a tube of chestnut puree all that often and, when I do, I'm prepared to travel. Their poor staff work with decrepit fridges that pump out heat and all they have is a gazillion fans to circulate the hot air. The stuff in them is often out of date or downright mouldy and the electricity bills must be huge! It's not an independent, it's part of Londis and, according to the staff, "head office" couldn't care less. Independents stopped being able to afford the rents in Dulwich Village a long time ago. As long as Sainsbury's employ them and keep their shop front something less than neon, I, for one, welcome our new Sainsbury's overlords.