Gen17

Thanks Bob. Well spotted. I will call him too at some point tomorrow.

Yay! Glad he is ok and will be reunited with his family. Battersea are brilliant (and so is the good soul who took him there). :))

Thanks Bob! Too kind... Hope to see you all again on the 6th.

I would like to know how many potential studs are on here too!!! ;-)

OMG....I so love that!!!! Thank you Boosboss. I am grinning from ear to ear! Would have loved to have been there. Going to watch it again now...>:D<

I agree Karter....but even so, it'll be a great night I'm sure. :)

Is anyone else getting quite disturbed reading this....? ::o

Wow, what a good person she was. How awful for you to be so distraught in a public place. But sometimes you just cannot tell when it's going to happen. I hope you are recovering well and that the doctors have solved the problem for you. Hopefully the lady, or someone that knows her, will read this.

Being told I can't do something just makes me want to do it even more...I wonder if anyone has ever managed the triple zombie challenge? Having said all that, I don't think it'll be me trying it on the 6th. I would have to know you all much better before I got that wasted in front of you ;-)

How can they stop you having more than two zombies? Do they stamp your hand or something? :-S

Thanks for arranging it again, Gorgia. I'll be there! :)) Those cocktails look lovely!

Indiepanda and Louisiana, Fab dating tales! Made me chuckle. The worst of many bad dates for me was when my date (about our 4th meeting) told me off - yes, as if I was a 3 year old - for not having any cash on me to pay for dinner at somewhere that didn't take cards (of which I had plenty). He thought that as he'd paid for the cinema tickets, dinner was on me and got REALLY stroppy when he ended up having to pay. Everything else had been 50:50 up til then...but it just made me realise how much effort he was spending on making sure everything was "fair". I'd like to say that I told him there and then that he was an anally retentive boring b@st'rd and to stick his cinema tickets where the sun didn't shine, but I was in shock. Needless to say, I didn't agree to a 5th date.

I think us singletons need to promote ourselves and our single friends. By the way - very brave to start a thread like this Miles! You have just done J4ames a good turn - think he might owe you a drink now. Looking forward to meeting such a catch! ;-) I will also bring my single friend Kate along to the next drinks.

Yes, I can see the benefits of not tagging. People should be encouraged to come along to figure out who's who. Don't know if I was going about it the wrong way - but I concentrated on learning real names and although I remember a few of the screen names too, I am now a bit lost. I definitely spoke to more people than the screen names I recognise. But I suppose it all adds to the fun! Don't be offended if I don't seem to remember you just from your screen names...:-$

I ate there on Thursday night. First time in about 3 years and only went as I had heard it had been refurbished. I too, was disappointed. It looks great and the finish on the redurb is really good - take is from a surveyor (well, nearly) who looks at the details. But shame they didn't spend a bit more money on the chef/menu/staff training. It was practically empty - a bit unusual for a Thursday night, non? Maybe just its location? I had the pate followed by the chicken and chorizo pot. Perhaps my mistake for ordering two things that came with bread, but I did think the breads might be different. Instead it was the same, very dull, thick browm wedge that accompanied both. Don't get me wrong - I like brown breads, soda breads, wholemeal breads sour dough breads etc but this was just plain boring. The pate and the pot dish were ok, but nothing speacial. Prices were quite high for a pub. Didn't feel like value for money at all. And the waitress was a bit strange. I too felt the watchful eye a bit too much and was bombarded with the 'is everything ok' questions. But maybe that was because it was so empty? The bar area was not huge. Its tables (approx 8) would soon fill up with drinkers at busy times (if there are any). And after that, its the restaurant or the garden. OK for summer, but maybe not now as its so damn cold. I would go back for a drink, but not to eat. It is well located for us dog walkers but I doubt they'd let the dogs come in. So for me, that makes it a summer pub, or a quick drink in the winter. Having said that, I would probably go to another pub to have that drink that wouldn't involve walking up hill or driving my car. Never done a pub/restaurant review before. This is fun. Feel the power!!! (Evil laugh)

Awww, thanks BB. It was great meeting you and everyone else too. You just put a big smile on my face! :)) Now where are the photos that Outoffocus took? Does he manage to tag people in them? It would help no end!!!

Your mum is one brave woman, RosieH. I think if I had been ram-raided, mugged and held at gunpoint I'd be deciding to call it a day. If it's not Royal Mail closing down the rural post offices, it's that people can't feel safe running them. If she carries on, she deserves to receive danger money. Glad all is well and you are feeling a bit better now.

mockney piers Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > Oh and Gen, sorry that both me and missus Mockney > badgered you about your dopplegangerness!! (the > one on the left) > Actually that's great to know. Is she available for hire the next time I am double-booked? Could also be a reciprocal thing...

I had a great night! Thank you all for making me so welcome. :) What a great bunch of people. I will definitley be coming again. I can safely say to all other first-timers flying solo that it is well worth ignoring your nerves and coming along. So what normally happens with the photos? Do they get added to this thread???

I'm going to be brave and come along too. I'm also a first-timer. Looking forward to seeing you all in person!

There is a pack of about 15 that visit my garden in Sydenham most days. So beautiful....enjoy!

I completely agree Bob. If the house is ever knocked down - and I sincerely hope it isn't - then it shouldn't be during his ownership and for him to profit from. It is clear what his intentions have been all along - to destabilise the building, force it's demolition and build new flats. As if the area needs any more bloody flats!!! Anyway, if the owner gets his own way then it just encourages other corrupt developers to think they can get away with destroying pieces of architectural heritage to make way for bland, poorly constructed, shoe-box sized flats. I know what I'd rather look at and/or live in. By the way - I'm back! Took a short break over Christmas, but the research starts again tomorrow. I have a book that is 4.5" thick that I hope will tell us how to up the anti.

Good evening everyone. Hope you are having more exciting Saturday nights than me! I am currenly burried in my building heritage coursework which, you'll be pleased to hear, revolves around formulating a conservation plan for 549 Lordship Lane. Although some good is coming out of my deadline....I still haven't had time to find the rope with which the current owner is hanging himself. But rest assured, I will find it!!! I have the book that will give me the answers. When I do, I suspect we will need to write to the council to insist that they investigate the matter. My coursework deadline is Friday 12th December, and after that I will be able to devote myself to the legal side of the matter. I will be back with more as soon as I can. Gen

Thanks Redrouge! In answer to your question Bob... This is what I have uncovered today using the Southwark Council advanced planning search tool...The owners applied five times between 1997 and 1998 to demolish the original building and construct new flats, each time it was refused. In 1999 the following application was granted (application no. 99/AP/1958): Conversion of existing building into 5 self contained flats and erection of a two storey building of 4 self contained flats and associated car parking. Neither is exclusive of the other, so there is a breech of the planning permission and I'm not an expert, but I think the new build is illegal and should not be occupied...perhaps the council have a right to insist it is pulled down too. In addition to that planning permission, a listed building consent should have been obtained - and I dare say that would have listed the conditions placed upon the planning permission. I can't find that on the internet though....might need to go into the council offices to prove it. I got a book out of the uni library today (Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monumnets by Charles Mynors). It focuses on the the legal position surrounding them. I haven't had time to read it in full yet, but it might suggest a way forward and I will, of course, update you all as soon as I can.

The law certainly implies that they have acted illegally and in my mind, that means the building (new flats) should be pulled down and that the registered owner of 549 Lordship Lane should be brough to trial. The council need to apply the law and get tough. All this cr@p about not being able to contact the owner is rubbish. Half an hour spent on the internet will show anyone where he and his business partner (the owner of the new flats and also his supposed agent) both live in Croydon. Anyone that does that search will also see that the pair of them are obviously dubious landlords as some of their tenants had to take them to court to ensure a 'right to manage' for their flats in Esher. Quite how they managed to slip through the courts during that case in 2007 without being brought to rights over the house in Dulwich for which various legal notices existed is beyond me! Here is an extract copied from buildingconservation.com regarding enforcement: "It is a criminal offence to carry out any works of alteration or extension to a listed building in any manner which would affect its special interest, internally or externally. So too is the demolition of all or part of a listed building or of a building in a conservation area. Carrying out such works without permission leaves the owner, developer and building contractor liable to prosecution, fines and even imprisonment. The local authority can also require the person responsible to restore the building to its state before work commenced or to carry out works to mitigate the effects of the damage under a 'listed building enforcement notice'. Where a building which is listed or in a conservation area is allowed to fall so far into disrepair that it is at risk, local authorities are able to serve an 'urgent works notice'. This enables the local authority to carry out any works which are 'urgently necessary' and then recover the cost from the owner. However, urgent works notices can only be served where buildings are unoccupied or on those parts of a building which are unoccupied. Further powers are available under a 'repairs notice' where a listed building is not being properly preserved. If no action is taken as a result, the local authority may then seek the authorisation of the Secretary of State for a compulsory purchase order. In those rare instances where the threat of acquisition is insufficient to prompt action, the local authority can acquire the building for immediate sale to a building preservation trust." I believe that the council have proposed the compulsory purchase order and have a conservation charity/trust waiting to take on responsibility for the works, but it is now down to government funding - the secretary of state. I wonder how the criminal charges against the current owner need to proceed? Do the public need to lobby not just to get the CPO through, but also to get the council to start the legal proceedings against the owner too? Is there a concerned lawyer in the Dulwich area reading this that can advise?