Penguin68

The problem with the stretch that runs up to Sainsbury's is that the dotted line starts far too late. If the inside lane was 'buses and left turn only' (and very clearly marked as such) - as it is in the stretch of Lordship Lane which runs up to the Barry Road left turn - people (buses, cars etc.) would be in the correct lane for their allowed manoeuvre. Then photograph and fine any (non bus) vehicle which is in the left hand lane and doesn't turn left. As it is, the very short stretch of dotted line looks like a revenue generation road marking, rather than one concerned with traffic direction and through flow. This way you also avoid late turns by cars which may put cyclists in jeopardy.

I think Spinach is replacing Le Chandelier - which I assume can now be mentioned on the forum!

Oh, that's a shame, I had hoped they were building a subway under Lordship Lane so they could get rid of some of those dammed crossing points!

But in the meantime...two dogs have fallen seriously ill, one fatally, (anecdotally) closely following incidents in Peckham Rye where the dogs were assumed to have ingested something. A reasonable prima facie assumption is that the dogs were effected by something in the park - whether that was a rodenticide or something else (fungus?) toxic is unclear. At the least the area where the most recent incident possibly occurred should be examined, presumably by park gardening staff who may be able to identify possible culprits (misplaced rat poison or toxic mushrooms) should they be present as a matter of urgency. If nothing is found that doesn't necessarily rule out the incident(s) being park related, but at least it has been checked.

To whit...

In general the landlord should clear drain/ waste-pipe blockages which are a function of inherent problems with drainage, but where these problems are caused by the tenants usage then the tenants should pay. It is important that this is made clear by the landlord at the time that a plumber is called in - and that the plumber is specifically asked to identify the cause. Pet hair blockages will undoubtedly be the responsibility of the tenant, unless the plumber can confirm that there is an inherent problem with the plumbing set-up (an inappropriately sized outlet pipe, for instance). [An issue which could be the landlord's would be the clearance of a blockage caused by a previous tenant.] It is normally understood that landlords should make repairs which are the result of normal wear and tear etc. but such frequent blockages do not seem like that, unless for instance the drain itself has been compromised by damage (roots into drains are not uncommon for more major blockages). Keeping internal waste pipes clear might well be considered part of a tenant's duty of care (which would include keeping the flat clean etc.) But best to discuss this up-front rather than entering into a row by employing a plumber without letting them know that problems at their door should be paid by them. You/ your agent should have a deposit from them which (in the worst case) you might call on.

I think it's quite clear what most of the discussion here is about. A dog has died, suddenly and quite horribly, very possibly (but not certainly) after exposure to something toxic in Peckham Rye. This may have been misplaced rat poison (in which case the council needs to investigate pronto) or - possibly - a toxic fungus - in which case such investigation is also important. It is also possible (but not probable) that the death was caused by an infection - only a proper set of lab tests can determine what actually caused the death, and therefore what follow-up/ remedies need to be applied to avoid any occurrence. I think we can all agree that actions to avoid another dog suffering in this way would be good, but until the actual cause can be established it is difficult to know what these actions would optimally be (nor what other dog owners should be looking out for). Posters have simply been suggesting that jumping to any conclusion - however 'probable' that might be without evidence - may mean that something important is being missed. I would certainly say that keeping dogs close to you, and intervening if they seem to want to be eating something in the park would be a good idea. But what exactly to watch out for is at the moment moot. I would not wish the horror and tragedy that has hit the first owner should be visited on another.

The time-line on this is that the vet did not start to treat the dog until Sunday (as far as I can see) - it is thus most unlikely that he/ she could have got definitive test results back (it's not like CSI when you get results in the next shot) - therefore he/ she made a reasonable assumption that the symptoms (and x-ray evidence) were most likely to be poisoning based on the speed of the onset of sickness and its symptoms. These symptoms are also, apparently, noticed in infections (such as Alabama Rot). Until (and if) there are tests to identify definitively the cause of death it is a reasonable precaution to assume the most likely cause - poison - although this could well be a tragic accident (with rat poison inadvertently moved to where dogs might get it) rather than any intent. I doubt (outwith appropriate tests) that the vet could, at this stage, 'confirm' it's poison - amongst other things I doubt that they normally carry appropriate testing kits for such screening. It is worth pointing out that it would need a huge dose of warfarin to kill, so quickly, even a quite small dog. Rats take some time to die from ingesting it (normally dying from internal haemorrhage). That suggests that it may have been a far quicker acting toxin, or a mixture of toxins. Amended to say - this was a cross-post with rendalharris - I agree that fungal toxins can act in this way - if it was a fungus/ mushroom then it is worth checking (and quite quickly) - this sadly may not be the only dog to be poisoned if such mushrooms are growing locally. People also can pick, eat and die from poisonous mushrooms.

As this is a consultation the the loss of trains to Gatwick from SE London is absolutely something that should be fed back as part of the consultation - and the more voices (ideally supported by our councillors and MP) to that effect the better. At a time when the use of public transport is more important, and when Gatwick might still be the preferred supplier of an additional London airport runway, there is no excuse to let this one slip by. Edited to say - I believe the relevant question to respond to is Q60 here https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/2018timetableconsultation - it is well hidden.

sells dog roses which could be trained to climb over walls as a prickly deterrent! Also blackberries! Mahonia ( https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/details?plantid=1232 ) and holly also provide deterrents, - and are evergreen and have nice flowers (mahonia) and berries (both). They are good winter companions for roses and blackberries (both deciduous) and less invasive than blackberries. Amended to add that some Mahonias are winter flowering - which can a be a bonus.

Clearly trees are a real amenity (although I'm afraid the exotic species listed above may be even more vulnerable to the sort of mindless vandalism we occasionally get) but it would be good to know what is the cost/ budget for a tree planted in an existing space (i.e. replacement tree) and what it costs additionally (i.e. labour and planning costs) to introduce a tree into a new site? I suppose the first set of costs would be (1) buying a tree - presumably 3-5 years old for one of sufficient size (2) labour to plant tree (and clear old tree roots etc. if necessary) and (3) on-cost of managing planted tree annualised over expected tree-life. At a time of stretched council budgets trees will cost money - although as the concomitant well-being produced by having tree-lined roads cannot probably be accurately measured as a costed amount it is probably not possibly to offset that cost with some putative down-stream cost benefit because people are happier. [if you assumed your well-being was improved on a monetary basis by as little as 10p a year per tree in a street you frequent that would probably amount - assuming say only 200 residents sufficiently regularly impacted by the tree to 'count' - to ?20 a year of contribution to local well being - or perhaps ?1200 per tree over a 60 year tree life.]

Is there any possibility that we could campaign for productive replacement trees -- nut or fruit trees? Sadly both types of tree, once fecund, will tend to produce fruits which fall and create trip or slip hazards - and which will make street cleaning more problematic. Trees which blossom, or which (and which?) have strong autumn colours would be good - or evergreens which do not have significant leaf fall. Limes should be avoided (their sap is dreadful on pavements or cars). Trees which have berries which are taken by birds would be a good compromise (rowans are frequently grown - their fruits don't fall so spectacularly).

Target Arms also sold antique (back to early 19c. militaria) and uniforms (and antique oriental weapons, not 'samaurai replica' - much of their stock was not WWII or related. But, in terms of sheer volume, there is a lot of WWII stuff about, so it's not surprising they stocked quite a lot of that.

We are frequently told not to use phones in the street to avoid having them stolen. We are also told not to use them whilst driving - we are not good at taking instruction!

Overground to Canada Water; Jubilee Line to London Bridge. Avoid disappointment.

Shirley Greenwood (who played Maggie in London's Burning) used to work in an antiques/ curio shop in Forest Hill, as I recall, almost opposite Forest Hill Station, when not filming.

A bit of a thread hijack - but if anyone (additionally) has grape vines which are productive there is a South London company which will (with those of others) create a wine - you get bottles of wine in relation to the weight of grapes offered http://m.urbanwineco.co.uk/ - the wine they produce each year is (ironically) named Chateau Tooting but differs each year as the grapes and quantities offered differ.

US Air-force B52s used to fly over my house in Oxford on training flights - very low level flights (things used to be shaken off shelves) and they were carrying nuclear weapons. Civil aircraft flight paths over ED are a doddle...

I'm still confused kbabes, how does a freezer 'make' ice cubes? One every twenty minutes? What does that mean? More modern (American style) fridges have ice making machinery (they have to be plumbed-in, or you add water to a reservoir) which produces ice cubes, sequentially. This is an alternative to using an ice tray. They also often offer iced water - all accessible without having to open the fridge/ freezer itself. Marvels of modern kitchen technology.

A few minor changes to the menu, More pizza and pasta, fewer 'second plates' including no fish on the second course and no risotto. What we had was very good (in a Lorenzo style) seemed freshly prepared and was well seasoned. Vegetables (in a pasta) were very much al dente and fresh tasting.

If it is open the Bethlehem Hospital (Bedlam) museum in Beckenham is well worth a visit - one of the contenders for Museum of the Year last year (lost to the V&A) - It is small but full of interesting stuff - parking is normally OK outside. It is still a working hospital. Edited to say - sorry - this isn't one of its open Saturdays (first and last of month) http://museumofthemind.org.uk/visit

Put out slug pellets around the room perimeter - particularly near any external door or window (if you don't have any pets) Or salt.

As this development has been so much in the public gaze (and scrutinised by at least one councillor) such a suggestion is very unlikely (and very possibly libelous) in this case. Far more likely I'm afraid is the application of a utilitarian approach (greatest good for greatest number) where the immediate neighbours' needs are being trumped by those of the rest of ED - who 'want' a flagship shop and (more importantly perhaps) don't want a blighted empty shop space. The Iceland space was a retail curiosity - too large for a small shop, not large enough for a retailer other than Iceland - where most of the storage could be done in the open retail space in freezers. The only design option was to loose the parking spaces behind and pretend delivery wasn't going to be an issue. That way LL keeps up its profile - which is actually good for both residents and other local retailers, and bad only for a relatively small group of immediate neighbours. Which is, of course, very sad for them.

Thames Water had to replace pipework for me (and my neighbour) earlier this year (in Underhill - the old lead pipes had fractured). It was about a 20-25ft run and they used a mole - took about 30 minutes for each house - no surface disruption (other than digging 'receiving' pits at both ends). It seemed a very simple process and worked perfectly both times . The pipework actually into the house had already been replaced after an earlier incident (for me, anyway). It's a far quicker process than dig and bury.

Oh, come on - straight croissants are easier to pack (you get more in to a carton or display area) - this is all about supermarket 'efficiency' and cost saving, and nothing to do with customer preference. (Actually, you get more into the oven as well, so additional efficiency opportunities). I have never seen anyone (other than a child showing off) eat a croissant from one end to the other, breaking it up and dealing with each piece is always the preference I have noticed. And many people eat a plain (butter) croissant with coffee and don't add additional butter and jam.