Penguin68

re dating - the following certainly confirms a date in or post 1996 The aspiration was to provide a bus along the length of Underhill Road, and this was partly achieved from early in 1996 as the P13 was diverted along Upland Road and Underhill Road. It became possible to serve the full length of Underhill Road later that year, although buses towards Streatham have to make a small diversion via Melfort (sic) Road due to turning restrictions. This from:- http://uktransport.wikia.com/wiki/London_Buses_route_P13

I think that there are in fact 2 teams, one who is brown bin every week, one who alternates blue with green (I see them each week so I can be sure that's true on my road) - so catching both teams in one day will cover all 3 bins. It's best, if you can, to tip them (if you intend to) directly - leaving money in a card is open to misappropriation. But if you're not about, an envelope taped to the inside of the lid - which they should always see when they put the bin up for emptying, might be OK. If you are tipping direct, give the money to the driver if you can - I know of a problem when one of the loaders started pocketing, not pooling, tips he got. I don't think everyone, or even most people, do tip around me (I may be wrong on that)- but that shouldn't stop you (doesn't me) if you think that's the right thing to do. They're not public servants anyway - they work for the private contractor Veolia - and work over most, but not all, bank holidays. Edited to add - they certainly haven't turned down tips over the last 25+ years I've lived in ED

There is a P13 in Underhill Road, so it's definitely post 1988, 1998 is plausible, but I can't believe Barry, (and everywhere else) is so little parked up.

It does seem chaotic, but if they've got so many ill than that seems more force majeur than any 'institutional' problem. Bad time of year for it. The ones that are there seem very willing and helpful

Having had no delivery Friday/ Saturday I called in on the sorting office in Sylvester Road this morning to collect my mail, if there was any, (there was, lots) and found out there that they had had 9 posties off sick. There was a delivery locally today, but if you are missing post (no delivery, not just something expected not in your delivery) then this may be the reason. 'My' postie today was weighed down with stuff, so I assume that missed deliveries are now being delivered, but it may happen again (or may be happening on another round today). At the sorting office they were entirely happy to hand over the delayed post - so if you've had no delivery and there is something you are urgently expecting, you could always try the sorting office. On Wednesdays (only) they are open morning and afternoon, otherwise just mornings (from 8:00 am)

The proposals for residents parking (that have been regularly defeated) have reduced the number of spaces allocated in the roads effected. Unless the number of permits is also very restricted your chances of parking close to your house will still be diminished (indeed, where there are multiple small zones, then if you can't park in 'your own' you may have to drive considerable distances to get to an unrestricted road). Where the zones are large, then your chances of parking reasonably close are better, but probably no better than having no zone at all. One of the roads close to ED station (that I know quite well) is only really parked-up at night, and not during the day when commuters using ED station might be expected to be using side streets to park. So the parking pressure may well be a function of the number of people with cars (including multiple car households) who actually live in your area. Residents parking will not help in this circumstance, unless permits are savagely restricted.

If the bee seems somewhat imobile and you can place her somewhere sunny that will help her get moving, or even offer her some honey - generally bumble bees like this, and at this time of the year, know where they will over-winter, if they can get there (their strength is sapped by cold/ wet)

As did the laundrette in the parade where LL turns into London Road (next to Barcelona) in the late summer. Will there be anywhere left who can clean a suit in ED and environs?

Particularly as, if this speculation is true, they will be feeding traffic past the new primary school in the old police station.

Otta Apology willingly accepted - I needed to clarify anyway what might appear annoying and irritate old hands when seeing new users' posts. Obviously some topics are (very reasonably) refreshed as circumstances change, and reviving long dead threads can be less than helpful. DFox - I'm not sure I've ever resented, or even noticed, new users, unless they either say they are or (by the nature of their post) make me check. The people who think that this is 'a local forum for local people' (OK, I know it is, but the League of Gentlemen reference is I hope obvious) must be relatively few and far between.

That one actually annoys me. So bloody what if it's been discussed before I don't have any personal issue with some re-appearance - after time I am sure there will be new 'best Indian take-aways/ restaurants) etc, - a subject worth re-visiting regularly - but I do find some 'can anyone recommend a plumber' questions in this particular forum annoying when a simple search would take them to multiple recommendations in a more appropriate part of the site - it does, I'm afraid, just look lazy.

New people tend to be 'attacked' if:- They appear suddenly and immediately strongly endorse a local commercial enterprise - they are suspected of partiality They open with very challenging or tendentious statements which appear to wish to stimulate or trigger heated debate - 'Why is everyone in ED a racist?' 'Is ED worse than Peckham?' - Possible troll Their first post is immediately rude or dismissive of a regular poster (or even another new poster) - Possible troll They seem to be picking up where a known and now disappeared troll left off. Possible re-occuring troll. Sometimes entirely genuine first posters get caught by suspicions that they belong in the first 4 categories. There is also annoyance when a very common topic is re-newed, when a simple search might well have found relevant threads. That's probably just people reacting to what seems like a lazy attitude.

Whilst I have no particular brief for Virgin Media - a broken cable affecting 500+ customers is quite likely to be the result of third party activity (JCB through the cable) rather than an investment failure. Most of their co-ax infrastructure is no older then 30 years (most much younger, particularly any fibre they have in the sustem) - for their type of cable that's not long and should last if not interfered with - but cutting through it will always be a problem. Problems with switches, line cards and software (where technology is fast moving) are more likely an investment/ upgrade problem. But a pipe is a pipe.

In built-up areas (and boy are we increasingly a built up area) services capacity is an issue - increased demands on either liquid waste removal, or indeed water supply, may bring undue pressures on existing residents - resulting either in failure or, where capacity has to be increased, long and disruptive street works. The same used to be true of land-line availability (and to some extent still is, although different types of pair gain, VOIP and fibre technology are allowing greater capacities within existing infrastructure). ED is old enough that much of its infrastructure is (give or take renewals) 100+ years old - much is giving out through regular wear-and-tear - think how often we have a water leak somewhere - and it was designed around lower levels of usage. It is important in giving planning permission for replacement works, where one habitation is being replaced by two or more, that the existing service capacity be checked to ensure that it is sufficient. [This is less an issue on real greenfield sites where new capacity will form part of the construction plan].

I think Chez Nico was in Queenstown Road (Battersea) by 1979 - I hadn't known (WikeP apart) he had ever operated in Dulwich - we then lived in Prince of Wales Drive just round the corner

Or rather, they think they are deploying that expertise to different ends than they (the posters) would choose. Undoubtedly the Estate has made mistakes, and has proven itself a difficult 'landlord' in terms of the way it has stopped some developments, or even minor changes - but equally, and arguably, it has helped preserve some of the local charms within Dulwich. As well as directly supporting (to an extent) a few schools in the public sector, it should be remembered that the private schools it supports also (and additionally) support public sector education. Maybe not enough, but certainly some. Inevitably the Estate (as opposed to the schools it supports) is more focussed on managing that estate to preserve and enhance value so that it can use that money for the charitable ends it was set up to address, rather than on itself directly impacting education (save through its schools). It is entirely possible to challenge and argue individual actions of the Estate (particularly its current development plans) but overall, in the last few centuries, it has been a general force for good.

The old myth of chalk markings used to be that tramps and beggars would mark up houses where they might expect a soft touch, often (and this shows its age) because the maid or cook would be sympathetic. Or indeed where they might expect the dogs to be set on them, as a warning. I am happy to stand corrected, but I would place this at the vandalism, rather than the burglary, end of the crime spectrum.

We have lost most of our pubs. EDT being the only real pub left on LL. The (old style) CPT was a traditional pub, even in its purple phase - it's replacement has managed to win Time Out's local pub of the year - although I entirely understand and respect the attraction of a traditional south London boozer it's been a long time since I've been a regular at one (I used to be, 30 years or so ago). Demography, and customer needs, change. There will always be people left behind when the zeitgeist shifts (i have been, on occasion) - but in the end the market wins out. It may be that the EDT's unique position in LL will preserve it, as sufficient willing customers stay with it (I hope so) - but if it fails through lack of custom, well that's the way the twice cooked pastry crumbles. It's interesting that, despite the shifts, the Patch appears to have followed the Mag and and the Magnolia - which may be an issue of another retail paradigm - location, location, location. I went there 3 times - always enjoyed it, never wanted to be a regular.

So, what I see as the story is:- 1. The school moved to the new site, knowing that the adjacent fields could be used by them as long as DE didn't want them, but that this was a 'grace and favour' option. 2. They moved, possibly hoping that DE wouldn't in fact want to use the land, or perhaps encouraged (as Mr Barber has raised), that the council which could change the status of the land, would change that status to education purposes only - I am not sure of the timing of all this, but I assume that it is very possible that their move happened when a different regime was in control of the council. 3. In fact, the gamble that they took (that they would have ad lib use of the land which stood outside their agreement with DE) hasn't paid off, and the Estate does want to use the land which is theirs and isn't (and never was) part of the school. 4. Although there can be arguments about land usage and 'custom and practice', the amount of lapsed time when the school has been using the land (which isn't and never was theirs) for sports purposes is in no way long enough for such an argument to be made. The title of this thread is misleading - the land was not 'school playing fields' but unused land which the DE allowed the school to use until it was needed, and never formed part of the curtilage of the school. What must be a concern is if the school made any 'informed' assumptions about either their long term access to the land, or of any possible change of council denomination of the land usage based on third party advice, rather than their own judgement and risk analysis.

One of the (slight) problems with cleaning ghost records is that this is frequently done by checking whether patients have attended surgeries/ had prescriptions etc., and cleaning out those who haven't for some years. When I was younger (much) I would go years without needing to see a doctor or receive treatment - I was a healthy young adult - but I was still a patient of a GP practice (earning money for them by being on their list) and wouldn't have wanted to be punished by being excluded because I was well. So in cleaning it is important not (just) to base your cleaning on attendance records - it is the healthy young who effectively subsidise the old unwell (which is now me) - by generating capitation fee income without generating cost. Having said that, it would be far easier to judge effectiveness if we had a 'proper' patient base to work from. A practice with a lot of ghost patients is being heavily subsidised at the expence of practices whose lists are clean. It would also allow good practice to be properly identified - copying a practice with apparently good results (taking into account only their nominal lists) but which is actually serving far fewer patients may give a distorted view of good practice.

Can I just now make a plea, Burro e Salvia from Shoreditch, OK, but, please, NO HIPSTERS.

I hope you haven't had any work done to your flat recently - I'm afraid a nail through internal wiring is a quite common cause of faults in the home (as is wiring chewed by animals, or even a junction box kicked or knocked whilst hoovering!)

My BT 'infinity' (ha, not so much) is down completely and my landline dead If both of these are down this is almost certainly a problem in the local network - either a severed or a completely disconnected cable, probably at the flexibility point (cabinet) closest to you. BT Infinity takes fibre to the cabinet, which is then taken through the final few yards over copper pair to your house, together with your (copper all the way, mainly in ED although there may be some local optical fibre) phone link to the exchange. If you have neither phone nor broad band then it suggests a cabinet problem (or a problem on the twisted pair between the cabinet and your own home or into your home). It could even be something as simple as the physical connecter between your home wiring and the local loop drop, or the home wiring itself. I wouldn't normally expect a problem like that to be exchange based - if you are on infinity and have lost both phone and digital services. My understanding of the way FTTC works is that voice and data are separately routed until the final link to your home.

I'm actually in Underhill (near Overhill) and my Infinity, as I have said, is fine. Is the problem on standard (old-style) ADSL services?

I am on BT Infinity - and no problems that I have noticed - BT Vision runs smoothly, as does 'normal' BB usage.