Penguin68

Actually, is this a high(er) tech version of 'Knock Down Ginger'?...

You won't get a text if the parcel is being sent to you as a gift. The purchaser might, but the person receiving the gift won't, as Amazon will only have delivery address details. But they should try to deliver first. It doesn't seem quite kosher to me.

sheff wrote on December 11th As it happens I've just seen someone get hit side on in there car attempting to pull out from that junction. This lunchtime. Mr Barber writes on December 12th The good news dramatically were crashes at this junction than the past. Really?

The dangerous Barry/ Underhill junction had ?build-outs? (much at the instigation of Mr Barber) in order to make the junction safer to cross for motorists in Underhill Road. These are ?protected? by road hatchings which should place parked vehicles a little away from the junction to improve visibility. However, and on both sides of Barry, I have noticed very large white vans parked up to the build-out and over the road hatchings ? making pulling out of Underhill to cross (particularly travelling south, away from the Whateley end) very hazardous. By the time you have edged out far enough into the road to see past the white vans, traffic is already on you. I would have thought the parking mavens employed by Southwark could have done something about this, although I note the sweet-heart deals between any and all builders and the council might well exempt them from any requirement to park properly. Actually, having large commercial vehicles parked at junctions obscuring visibility seems almost a requirement locally now ? maybe it?s a new bye-law I?ve missed.

The 26th December is NOT a bank holiday - you never have bank holidays on a Saturday - the bank holiday associated with boxing day (but the 26th is Boxing Day) is on Monday 28th.

Thanks for amending the title - far less worrying

'Hit and run' most frequently refers to personal injury - this is a more worrying headline than needs be. Not nice, but no one was hurt.

Housing is a limited resource, it cannot both meet the needs of people wanting to own their own homes and of those who wish to invest in residential property (for whatever reason, income today or a pension pot for the future). Unlike many European countries we have created home ownership expectations - so owning rather than renting is the aspirant norm. Taxation is an (albeit weak) attempt to try to balance these two demands. The loss of residential property in the centre of town to foreign (often non resident) investors, who are buying as a hedge against their own economies turning sour on them, and often effectively taking these properties out of the residential market (as no one lives in them) has made the situation far worse, particularly as these investors can afford to apply all the tax dodges going. Some prestige blocks in London are now marketed in e.g. Hong Kong before the UK - some are never marketed in the UK. But we should not allow exasperation at this type of behaviour to overflow into animus against ordinary joes who want to build a nest-egg for their own retirements in the UK.

How is it any of their business? How can they then triage if they don't? If you want e.g. to discuss your medication or side effects, then a telephone consult might be sufficient, or a chat with the pharmacist. If you are worried about a lump then there may be a greater urgency than if you are seeking a regular review. They want sufficient information to determine the urgency and nature of your needs. It may be that the practice nurse or pharmacist is actually your better first port of call than a GP, and may be more readily available. GPs having face-to-face appointments with patients who don't need to see them face-to-face, or who could be as effectively seen by another type of practitioner is one of the reasons why there is a shortage of appointments. Nurses and pharmacists are very good at handing on to a GP if there is something outside their competency.

So what happens if you use the equity in a BTL to put as a deposit on a residential? Is that a tax complication? - other than taking out an additional mortgage on the BTL I am not sure how else you would release the equity, other than selling it. Loading up the BTL with new debt simply means that when you come to sell you get less - as the mortgage holder gets back the loan. It will both reduce your tax bill, but also your returns. That made some sense when you could claim back mortgage interest on rental income (you could then leverage your borrowing) - which you still can for now, but increasingly less so. Also I am not sure the extent to which lenders will now lend in this sort of scenario. They probably will, but with higher interest and faster pay-back required.

Buying a reasonable quality ready to bake margherita base from Sainburies or similar, adding your own toppings (I like chorizo with jalapenos or anchovies with capers), drizzling a little olive oil over it, popping it into the oven for 10 minutes or so, and you have a great pizza for a fraction of the cost even of discounted deliveries, and in your own time and with assured ingredients.

In addition any capital works (new bathroom, new k*tchen etc.) you have undertaken - in order to bring it up to standard for letting etc. can be claimed against your capital gain. Redecoration, unless it forms part of a capital work, e.g. new painting of new plasterwork, would in the past be paid for out of the 10% annual wear-and-tear allowance against rental - although this is now being withdrawn. This does mean that you must keep records of work done.

I stand corrected

The focus was on BTL but the proposal is that a 3% extra stamp duty charge will be levied on second homes regardless of what they are used for. I am not sure this is right - by definition a second home is not thus available for third party use. The charge is on new buy-to-let and second homes, not second or additional properties per se. I believe that buying a new property as a ('first') home and subsequently/ consequently letting out your old property would not trigger the higher stamp duty. Nor would any action prior to April next year (2016). However, if you still retain a mortgage on your initial property then the 'right' to claim interest charges against rental revenues will be tapered, with the intent that interest charges will cease to be allowable landlord expenses.

I suspect that one of the problems with the practice is their method of allocating appointment slots. From what I have gathered (in part listening to conversations in the queue) only some of a GPs available slots are ?released? by the office manager at any one time to be booked. This, I imagine, was to avoid the possibility of people booking all the time slots ahead, and then no-showing. So only a few are trickle fed into the system at a time. This makes availability look sparse, although my family (4 adults) has never had a problem getting an appointment quickly when actually in the throes of illness. So if you want to see a doctor ?in three weeks time? there are probably very few slots available at any one time. The practice manager is almost certainly not monitoring the situation in real time (he/ she should be) in order to release more slots if they are all taken. The appointment staff cannot offer slots they cannot access. Hence both the reported problems and those countering by saying they aren?t having a problem. It depends, in part, I am guessing, whether you are asking for an appointment when the practice manager has just realised more slots, or not. There are algorithms which would make this work better.

Bues stripping short is often the result of road works which we seem to be particularly suffering recently - E&C, VHX. Road works clearly are c*cking up schedules, but the 176 stops (unexpectedly) either just before the Strand or Trafalgar Square, going into town; the 63 often in Peckham going out of town, both have already passed through the roadworks. And this has been going on for longer even than the cycleway works. Driver changes are almost inevitable for the 176 going into town at Camberwell. I often wonder whether the different drivers only know part of the route, but I am guessing it's a scheduled rest-stop - which of course drivers, as any workers, should have. The 176 is a long route.

A lot of buses serving ED inter alia also 'stop the bus short of ..(their).. usual destination(s)' - the 176 heading towards Tottenham Court Road and the 63 for Honor Oak (ish) - I would say 2 out of 9 have their initial destination changed en route. I am sure those using other buses regularly have similar experiences. Is this just an example of the disdain which TfL treats South East London - or do other areas suffer as poor a service I wonder?

Hi P68, Southwark Council is the planning authority. SO I am hopeful if the TfL plans look good that the freeholder and leaseholder will agree as part of any planning agreement. Is there any past evidence that the Dulwich Estate has agreed to alienate any part of their holdings? I can see why the leaseholder might wish to do so to improve pedestrian access, but I cannot see why the Estate would. Indeed I am not sure to what extent they would be allowed under the terms they operate under to alienate part of their land. The only practical route may be through compulsory purchase - but why would Southwark fund this?

Relinquishing some of the land for a wider road allowing a pedestrian island other than via a Compulsory Purchase Order will need the cooperation of the Dulwich Estate as freeholder and the leaseholder. So that ain't going to happen, is it? What they have they hold.

The offer of marking kits is only open to those in ED ward, other wards did not seek this funding. East Dulwich and ED ward are not contiguous.

How old was this man? You say he 'shuffled' which suggests some age. If he was old he may also have been confused, asking directions and then heading off another way can be a symptom of confusion, possibly age related and may not have been a threat to your boy. Is it possible that rather than asking for Crystal Palace Road he was wanting the road to Crystal Palace (which CPR really isn't)? Starting up CPR it would then be quickly clear this wasn't a route to Crystal Palace, hence his return. I do not think that you are wrong to be concerned, or to share these concerns with relevant authorities. But there may be other explanations for this man's behaviour than any which are actually threatening to your child. This is still intelligence which is worth sharing, but it may not actually turn out to be of concern to other parents. Hopefully.

Cllr. Barber reported just now: "At the Dulwich Community Council meeting the local Police Inspector commented on crime levels. Burglary - very slight rise in reported burglaries from an incredibly low reported burglary crime rate." This is clearly good, but I suspect the figures being discussed will have been drawn up at least 10 days ago - so probably the most recent occurrences haven't yet hit the books. And of course a significant increase over a few blocks will probably not have a great impact within a borough (or even ward) - being maybe a displacement of activity from one group of streets to another. So, locally, it may still feel like a significant increase, even if statistically it isn't.

Just a slight warning to those who have already been burgled - it's not uncommon for thieves to revisit former crime scenes a couple of months later to steal the (now modern and up-to-date) replacement goods bought on insurance (i.e. laptops and phones). Update and revise your security if you have been burgled. Also, if you have had windows broken remember that putty will take some time to harden, making it easier to lift out windows that have been repaired. Proper window locks (or even screwing shut street facing windows at least) are vital. But also remember that entry from gardens etc. is always possible. I remember a number of years ago (not in ED) when burglars managed to get into one house from the front, went through it, exited at the back and then hit a number of houses from their gardens - going through much more vulnerable patio doors etc. The ?good? news is that burglary teams (this spate of burglaries seems like a team is working) do move on after a few weeks, not least because they wish to avoid increased police vigilance.

No that's fine - ED residents can buy this to take to their second homes in the country...

Although it must also be remembered that the Dulwich Estate's policy of excluding the railway (as regards stations) from its environs will have contributed to growth outside the Estate's, well, estate. This will have helped stimulate housing growth outside that area. But yes, almost all Victorian urban growth (and later Edwardian) stepped out with the spread of mass transit.