Trousaprezz

I've been an amateur musician all of my life and last year had the opportunity to travel to Australia for a month to play on an album an old friend of mine was recording. The sessions went well - all of the other players were pros so I had to really be on the money! Anyway, though I have long had digital files of the album I have recently received a vinyl copy - one of only 100 pressed. Although it cost him a small fortune, my buddy in Oz is delighted with the results and regards the vinyl version as the definitive listening experience. All well and good, except...I don't possess any of the hardware required to actually play the album. I think you can guess what's coming... Are there any audio aficionados out there who would be kind enough to host a playthrough on my behalf? It's a double album that contains a wide range of musical styles - edgy pop, ballads, rockers, jazzy instrumentals and moments of avant-garde that defy categorisation so would suit someone with eclectic taste. I'm happy to drop the album off to anyone who replies so that they can have an upfront listen first. I appreciate that this is a bit of an odd request and, to be honest, I'm not expecting much (if any) of a response; it's just I really want to be able to email my friend in Sydney and let him know my thoughts about the album. He's emailed me several times already and I have to keep telling him that I haven't listened to it yet...

Could you give a description of the driver and car and, if possible, registration number? This individual is clearly a danger to other road users and deserves to be named and shamed. NB: From next month the Highway Code is being updated to include a 'hierarchy of road users' - let's hope the Met are up to speed with the changes... https://www.theorytestpro.co.uk/posts/explained-the-highway-code-s-new-road-user-hierarchy/

Agree 100% with Gumshoe, a privatised company engaged in what is most definitely a public service and, as Sue says, the closing of the East Dulwich office has made things infinitely worse as well. Whilst I?ve been working at home I?ve seen the reality of the laissez faire economy applied to the delivery sector in all its glory, with vans emblazoned with all the competing logos ? Royal Mail, Parcelforce, UPS, DHL, DPD (often more than one of these!) circling my block looking for parking spaces...then there are the unmarked white vans used by Amazon, Hermes and Yodel and finally individuals in battered private cars with packages all over the back seat. And don?t even mention the ubiquitous Ocado vans! I suppose it?s the logical conclusion of deregulation and, while there is clearly enough work to justify such competition, there is a certain irony when two drivers from different companies end up knocking at the same front door (if only to take a parcel for a neighbour who isn?t in?).

Going to sound a little like the devil?s advocate here but...a friend of mine works for Royal Mail, not at Highshore Road but in south London and she had given me some insight. Apparently the entire year (since mid-Feb) has been like one long Christmas period, with mail traffic ? particularly parcels ? being well in excess of normal levels. The ?real? Christmas pressure period started much earlier than usual when the network was already struggling to cope with the demands put on it. The country is in the midst of a worsening pandemic and staffing remains an issue ? people have had to self isolate when a family member has tested positive, etc and posties have also gone sick because hey have contracted Covid. My friend knows of two colleagues who have died from Covid. She says that social distancing in her office is impossible ? the amount of work coming in on a daily basis means that fire regulations are probably not even being met, so it?s not a question of employing more people because there is simply no space to put them. From what I gather, certain types of delivery are considered priority and have to be cleared on a daily basis so a backlog of less urgent deliveries inevitably builds up as every day brings another avalanche of fresh priority work. My friend says that whilst her and her colleagues worked long hours each day it was simply impossible to keep on top of everything and what did go out on delivery (and therefore what stayed inside) was down to the manager?s discretion. She and her colleagues ended up tired and stressed and her own Christmas was non-existent (familiar tales of not getting to the supermarket until the shelves were near empty); she was so knackered and fed up that she felt she was letting her own family down at what is, after all, a family-orientated time of year. She also pointed out that, like the rest of us, she has a home address and her mail has also been delayed and sporadic ? there?s not some secret postie-only route that remains open for employee?s mail! It sounds to me like Royal Mail?s network and working methods has been severely challenged by all that?s occurred this year and it?s been unable to keep pace with the way things have panned out. It?s a big organisation, so the time it would take to implement structural changes might well coincide with the ending of the pandemic and a return to some kind of normality ? or is this the new normal? Like so much of 2020, the present and future is riddled with uncertainty. I doubt many of you would blame overloaded hospitals on the doctors and nurses working there; Royal Mail is obviously not an emergency service but I know how hard the organisation has worked this year in the most trying of circumstances and I am prepared to cut it some slack.

I don't work for Aneto but I do go there most days for coffee, etc. All through the lockdown Damiano and his team have remained open for takeaways and have also begun selling fresh produce. Despite their best efforts, the lockdown has - unsurprisingly - taken its toll. A crowdfunding page has been set up with the aim of relaunching the business later on this year. I appreciate that Aneto is not to everybody's taste but I wouldn't be happy to see it disappear. I have donated to the fund myself and am posting this to raise awareness to those of you in SE22 who feel the same way as me. https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/help-keep-aneto-cafe-open

If it's not too late to comment on this thread... I'm currently midway through extensive brace treatment (top and bottom). I came to it very late (I'm in my 50s) and I got quotes from several orthodontists before committing (including one for Invisalign). Pricewise they all came in at a similar amount so I went with the outfit that made me feel most comfortable. This turned out to be Haynes Dental in Tulse Hill and I'm certain I made a good choice as the orthodontist is calm, kind, patient and generous with her time...she really does make me feel as though I'm the only mouth she has to work on with each visit, despite a evidence to the contrary waiting in the reception area! I can't recommend her and the rest of the staff highly enough. I'm having Fast Braces which should take 12 months at the most to complete (and my teeth were very crooked at the outset) - clear brackets on top and regular train tracks on the bottom. It's easy to get to from East Dulwich as well - a couple of stops by train and then a short walk from Tulse Hill station.

I've come up with a concept for a new Saturday night TV show called ?Exhibition Parking ? live from Earl?s Court?. Contestants would be selected for their choice of disproportionately large cars along with a seemingly complete lack of parking ability...with hilarious results. I?ve witnessed a few ideal candidates heaving their ridiculous 4x4s around the narrow streets of East Dulwich this weekend. Anyone fancy representing their community on a big stage?

Please share make and model of car and colour and year (won't incriminate you)...sounds like someone to watch out for. If your version of events is true - and I see no reason to doubt you - then the driver should hang his head in shame. And yes, the police should definitely have been involved. Sickening, but sadly all too typical on the roads these days. I hope the lad involved is OK and not too shaken up.

You can hire a room with a kit at Antenna Studios in Crystal Palace or Overdrive Studios in Deptford.

A postie from the SE22 office lives near me (not in SE22) and I bumped into them earlier. They don't want to be identified but this is their insider's view... "The move was forced upon us by Royal Mail. We didn?t ask for it and Peckham didn?t either. While the Peckham office is bigger than Silvester Road it?s already crowded with unsorted parcels after just one week. Because of the travel time between getting from Highshore Road to the delivery point in SE22 and doing the reverse at the end of duty people have been unable to complete their deliveries. You?d think that Royal Mail would have considered this and put in resources to cover it but surprise surprise they didn?t and they don?t seem to have any plan to sort it. It?s a proper shambles and the management that dreamt up this ridiculous situation and then forced it through need to take responsibility and the more customers that complain to Royal Mail and write to the MP the better."

I work in ED and often witness selfish and dangerous driving. This morning 7am I was driving up Barry Road having turned in from Peckham Rye. Ahead of me was a Mercedes on a ?62 plate who repeatedly attempted to overtake the vehicle in front. He/she didn?t manage it before I turned off at Underhill Road but was still looking to. This was trumped by a woman in a Land Rover of some description on an ?18 plate (I find it difficult to tell the new Land Rover / Range Rover models apart as they?re all so bloody vulgar) at 11.30am at the traffic lights by M&S. A bus and another vehicle behind it had stopped as the lights were, erm, red, so she simply pulled out and overtook them both, timing it so that as the lights turned green she could cut back across in front of the bus and roar off in the direction of the library. I could on on...I see incidents of this nature every day and am thankful but at the same time a little perplexed that there isn?t a fatality or life changing injury accident every few days. Of course, this sort of driving behaviour is not limited to the environs of East Dulwich; what I struggle to understand or accept is the assumption that because a car is big/new/expensive/whatever that the occupant?s time is more important than anyone else?s. Will any amount of road calming change this mindset?