Ganapati

Have you thought of Lee Green? The area around Manor Park. It's very close to Blackheath Village and yet prices are far more reasonable. You get the facilities of Blackheath without the attitude.

I was passing through Bellenden Road today and it struck me that it just seems so blah there. Maybe I'm missing something, but I remember looking at the Bellenden area in 2002, and it seemed more "up and coming". Now it seems a bit stuck in a rut. Am I wrong? Businesses don't seem to last very long on this road either. I'm thinking of the original Peckham Experiment that used to do really lovely breakfasts.

I agree the One O'Clock club should have been fixed ages ago, but the point is unless community members speak up themselves it gets ignored. We can't wait for the council to float down benevolently and think it needs fixing. Too MUCH needs fixing. They've obviously got to prioritise and I for one would rather see their first priority be the One O Clock club not the playground, which is fine. Seriously, what would you like to see there? My daughter and her friends seem to like the playground area just fine. And as for the adventure park, what's going on with that?

I like the playground bit too. It certainly isn't as bad as some playgrounds we've visited. Plus I'd rather have the council money going to the One O'Clock club, which gives the kids a place to go when it rains. It could be a really nice meeting place for local families; I hope their funding has gone through.

AllforNun--How about dropping the personal attacks on your fellow forumers? Is it really necessary?

Maybe the sale fell through?

First of all, there aren't "all sorts of people (addicts)" using the DMC at present. According to the article in the SLPone of the partners of the centre says they serve only about 5 or 6 of them. Second of all, it looks like ED isn't the only place where objections have been raised over drug treatment facilities, so we maybe should drop the snide remarks about pristine ED not wanting to get "dirty". According to this article also of the SLP, residents of this council estate didn't want one in their neck of the woods either. And in this article, 500 Peckham/Nunhead residents didn't want a needle exchange near their patch either. Not saying it's right, just pointing out that needle exchanges aren't exactly popular ANYWHERE. And why I'm defending the "pristine" residents of ED when I live in the dreaded Nunhead, I don't know!

Well, I'm glad someone brought this up, because there are apparently plans afoot to transform the One O'Clock Club, which anyone who has ever been to will admit is pretty shabby. Apparently, some of the tree roots have cracked some of the walls of the main building and its been "condemned" (according to the woman who runs the club. They are currently trying to get funding under the Cleaner, Greener, Safer Initiative from the council to redo the whole thing. I don't know if it got approved (meeting was a few days ago). It was a little worrying though, because the woman who runs the club wanted to chop the big trees down and build a bigger building. I hope they consult a proper architect etc. before they do anything. I'm sure though the council will demand that they do. Right? As for the little children's park. It is tiny, and it's fine for under 4's, but not great for much older.

When I read Ko's very wise postings it makes me laugh to think we've all got hot under the collar about this. DMC probably is just tacking on an additional revenue stream, and probably no one will even know it's a needle exchange, or very few will. Anyway, still should be open and transparent about it.

Of course places change--doesn't anyone remember what Lordship Lane used to be called in the late 80's? And I guess the reference to Telegraph Hill must be tongue in cheek, bc those houses around the park cost a bloody fortune. We saw one for 700K that needed complete doing up.

This is true! I *walk* to ED several times a week from dreaded Nunhead. Still, not the same as rolling out of bed and having it on your doorstep.

Oh come on Keef! It's not right next door is it. Anyway, as Bawdy Nan and Ko so wisely pointed out it's about the DMC offering a service that was an add-on rather than one they thought through.

So when is this cafe OPENING??? Any news?

I think it could be placed elsewhere besides the nursery. And I do think someone made the point a while back that you wouldn't place a nursery next to a pub, so why the needle exchange. Anyway, isn't this really about the DMC not consulting with residents? And can we just agree on one thing that heroin use is not a good idea? Please don't tell me that people have a right to poison their bodies, fine, technically yes, but I think when we start saying there is "nothing intrinsically wrong about being a heroin user" we start crossing into "enabling"--to use therapy-speak. As Chav pointed out people often turn to it because of underlying mental issues, depression problems etc. There is obviously something wrong if you have to turn to a drug, known for its powerfully addictive, destructive effect to ease the burdens of your life.

Keef--you're exactly right. Diabetics vs. heroin users. Still, apologies to spade, it's a tenuous comparison.

Spade--You said in your post that you wondered "if there would be such a big hoo ha if the needle exchange was opened just for them [diabetics], or is it just that you dont like the possible idea of hoards of drug users descending on crystal place road..." This is where the comparison comes from. Of course no one would care about the diabetics as opposed to the heroin users.

Spangles--my neighbours moved from Battersea. You don't have to like Nunhead, it's fine. Was just curious.

Not sure how you got defensiveness or hostility from my "What's wrong with Nunhead?" question. It was actually asked in a curious way. Of course Nunhead has its pros and cons. And the reason why there seems to be a lot of Nunheaders on here, is that so many have moved from ED, or gasp, Battersea and Clapham!

What's wrong with Nunhead?

Yes, but if you are going to talk about them in the same breath as Cajuns, then surely he was referring to American hillbillies. :))

Actually, hillbillies used to refer to people from Appalachia and the Ozark mountains, but I think the term got co-opted and is now a blanket term for redneck.

Sean--Oh I like the rant. Couldn't have said it better myself!

From the buyer's standpoint, I think they are incredibly aggressive. We were interested in seeing a house where Foxton's was the only agent. I rang them, and after being "channeled" through a series of hoops (you must give your details first) to get to even SPEAK to anyone about the property, I started getting the hard sell from their agent. They were having a block viewing and we could not make the time. We were then going to be away for the next few days. The agent kept saying we were going to regret going away and not jumping at the chance, and that the property was going to be under offer in a matter of hours of the first viewing and would most likely go to sealed bids, blah blah blah. Now bear in mind, this is when the whole Northern Rock meltdown was happening. Two weeks later the property is still on the market, and the agent continues to call with the same patter about the "hot" property and the "keen interest" in it. Not only that, he actually tried the "divide and conquer" approach with my husband and me, ringing each of us within minutes of the other if the first person hadn't given him a response he wanted to hear. UNBELIEVABLE.

oh wow I don't think I've ever read such an annoyed post from you Sean.

Chav, all I'm saying is that insulin and heroin should not be compared. I think you're veering into conspiracy territory with your comment about "[in] our system we are supposed to hand power for pretty much all of our functions to 'professionals' and allow them to dictate which drugs we are allowed to be medicated with or addicted to." If someone has mental health issues, is it really wise for them to "self-medicate" with heroin? (Not saying it's wise to take Seroxat (since I'm not a "professional"). And if you're going to take the decision to self-medicate in your own hands and ignore what the "professionals" say, should you really then be going to them for help when you're in over your head? Just playing devils advocate. I'm not sure how to take your comment about the big drug companies. Are you trying to imply that bc no big pharma company makes heroin and there are no juicy profits to be made from it that the NHS simply doesn't want "us" to have it? Bc, actually, heroin is used by the NHS, but under the medical name diamorphine, and there is a big British pharma company manufacturing it. Can we just call a spade a spade and agree that heroin is not nice and that residents have a right to know what the medical center is up to without being accused of hysteria etc? I personally agree with your statement that it's the DMC trying to just make more revenue and what's annoying about the whole thing is that they didn't see the need to consult with their neighbours.