DulwichMonkey

If you attend the baby clinic at the Gardens Surgery in East Dulwich, there is a meeting tomorrow afternoon at Locale to discuss the recent survey the practice carried out about the baby clinic and how it can be improved. I had an appointment with Dr Cliffe late last week and said I would spread the word but have been a bit slack so sorry about the short notice. But the details (taken from the surgery's flyer) are below in case you are free/interested. "Have a cup of tea and a chat about the Baby Clinic survey with Dr Jane Cliffe, Anne & Penny of the Health visiting team and Jenny, the Practice Manager at Locale, 58-60 East Dulwich Road on Tuesday 13th of March 2012, 2-3:30pm. We'd love to see you and hear your views about Baby Clinic. RSVP to reception" It says to RSVP to the surgery (tel 0208 693 4715) so call if you can but I am sure they will be happy for people to just turn up. Thanks Wife of Dulwichmonkey

I did manage to reattach the derailleur and get the bike going, simply by screwing it back on, but the gears weren't firing properly so I thought the person who had unscrewed it in the first place might have damaged it. Thieves tend not to have a lot of respect for other peoples property dontcha know. I took it to Balfes so that the experts could have a look and it turns out that it just needed a slight readjustment, done in two tics, and that put my mind at rest. Got to dash as I've lost the firing pin for my AK47, now I know I put it down somewhere...

As the individual responsible for most crimes committed in the East Dulwich/Peckham manor I would like to object to the way I have been characterised. As a recent graduate from Oxbridge College, London, I am fluent in Mandarin, Telugu, Yoruba and Aramaic and very rarely end a sentence with the phrase 'innit'. I favour a conservatively tailored Paul Smith suit and Church's brogues over hoodies and hi-tops, and always wear bicycle clips while riding my BMX on the pavement. My drug of choice is Laphroaig 15 year old malt and I am never seen strolling the 'hood without my trusty sword-stick. When rolling in my rag-top Benz I usually pump out some serious Wagner from my bass bins, straight outta Leipzig y'all, and am notorious for my drive-by arias. The incident referred to in the first posting probably relates to my recent daring break-in at Dulwich Gallery. Instead of stealing anything I merely hung a few Jack Vettriano canvasses next to the Dutch masters. This lead to cultural alarm bells ringing throughout the Village and necessitated the rozzers sticking on the blues and twos and shooting down Lordship Lane at great speed. Needless to say I gave the Old Bill the slip and am still on the loose. Please in the future refrain from pigeon-holing us Ordinary Decent Criminals. Instead embrace us as an adornment to your communities, invite us into your lives, but please, remember to leave the latch off. Respec' innit!

You're probably right Lenk and I do have locking skewers on my wheels but I didn't want to mess with my derailleur as it could affect the gear change or damage it in some way. Turning the bike so that the gears face towards the railings makes it harder for them to fiddle with exposed bits...at least so far.

Hi again! Thanks for all the advice and commiserations after my last post and sorry I couldn't make the neighbourhood meeting on the 1st of June. We got a visit from two nice Community officers offering advice and I have seen some Bike Police cruising round The Gardens so that's promising. Unfortunately I think The Gardens is still being targetted. I jumped on my bike last Monday to find that someone had disconnected the rear deraileur. They were probably trying to steal it but lost interest or were disturbed. Anyway I had to book in to Balfes Bikes who were busy until Friday so lost a week of cycling. Balfes were very good and despite being busy fixed it in two tics and for nothing - support this shop if you are a cyclist says I as they have been brilliant in the past too. I have now parked the bike the other way to make it harder to get to the deraileur. By the way the guy at Balfes said he had a Gardens person in recently who had their bike completely stripped down - for a laugh by kids he thinks - so it does happen. I did notice that a car near my bike had a side window broken and have also noticed two slightly suspicious customers 'staking out' the area, one in a bright orange hoodie, the other doing a few rounds on a bicycle. Who knows, maybe they just like the area. Anyway just to let people know. By the way does anyone know who owns the rather nice Lemond road bike parked against the railings. It's been there a few days with a rather weedy lock, with quick release wheels, a pump, Tiagra gears and a cycle computer just ripe for the knicking. If anyone owns it I would recommend keeping it inside or it won't last long. Just a suggestion. Must dash as I'm off to check on my bike. Ben

I saw your bike cover on the ground eca00cdy and hoped you'd gone out for a spin, what a bummer that they got your bike too. Dulwichbloke - I don't actually know who stole my bike or eca's but there is a gang of 3-5 young men usually 2 on bicycles who are not locals but walk/cycle round during the day paying close attention to bikes, checking behind houses etc. I tried calling the police last time but without calling 999 it's difficult to get through to anyone who's interested. These guys are not strictly committing a crime, although I suppose you could describe it as loitering with intent. I would love to think that there was a cast-iron way to stop bike thieves but there really isn't. Just keep your main frame and wheels locked with a decent set of locks in a place that is easy to keep an eye on, and if everyone keeps an eye out for everyone else that's the best we can do. By the way, I wouldn't recommend any of us 'having a go' - if you see someone acting really suspiciously call the police and wait for them to deal with it.

Well this is my first theft in four years so I'm not too upset, plus they got my old bike which I was sentimental about but which didn't owe me anything and I had been trying to sell. I've told the police and they've got back to me but not much hope I would imagine. I used three Kryptonite d-locks but they only needed to clip one and then unbolt my wheels. My other bike is more securely locked with special wheel locks as suggested. Bit of a bummer but could be worse. Now they've got an old bike with no wheels, you'd think it would be easier for them to just get a job as they will have to share the meagre profits with a five man gang plus their fagin. Ho hum. Thanks for the advice though and believe me The Gardens is still a lovely little place to live. Ben

Hi All Just a warning to anybody living in The Gardens or nearby, there is a gang of bike thieves working in the area. My bike was attached by three locks to the railings outside my flat, they snipped one lock and undid the bolts on my wheels, leaving them in situ. It's quite an old bike but in good nick, however without the wheels it will be a difficult sell for them. It's a grey/blue Ridgeback Speed, 17" frame, Shimano Deore gears, mini computer, about 3 and a bit years old. I know I'll probably never see it again but if you are offered it for sale I would like to know. The guys who may have been responsible have been seen several times casing the area and they may be back. I have another bike locked out there as I have no space inside, hopefully this is locked more securely. Just thought I'd let people know as there are some keen cyclists in the area. Hope this doesn't happen to anyone else as it's a real pain. Ben