Colonel Blimp

The works are due to be completed by tomorrow, Friday 1st April. However, from a health and safety point of view, the playground will be inspected on Monday 4th May. If it passes its inspection, then it will be opened. Until then, it is dangerous for anyone, adult or child, to enter locked or cordoned off areas of the playground, and the police and community wardens have been asked to speak to anyone found in such areas. An official opening of the playground is scheduled for Saturday 9th April, between 11.00am and 2.00pm. Further information on this will soon be made available.

When water mysteriously appears in your cellar Thames Water should be contacted. The most likely cause is a nearby blocked/collapsed drain or sewer, so the water could pose a significant health risk. I would inform Thames Water, and argue, that the cellar contains sewage water and let them prove otherwise. They'll try everything to wriggle out of it, but usually it turns out to be their responsibility. All the best.

Just to clarify the funding situation for the current works being carried out at the Goose Green Playground: The Friends of Goose Green (FoGG) submitted Cleaner Greener Safer applications to South Camberwell, Nunhead & Peckham Rye (N&PR), and Dulwich Community Councils, for funding towards the cost of upgrading the playground. The only Community Council that responded to us was N&PR. With the CGS funding we have received, together with a successful application to the Government's Playbuilder scheme, and also our application to the Lottery's Community Spaces scheme, FoGG has been able to secure sufficient funds to rebuild the playground so that it is fit for the community's young people, in the 21st century. The project has been, and continues to be, driven by the Friends of Goose Green. The plans for the works have been posted in each of the notice boards on the Green. It is also worth noting that the equipment being replaced is no longer supported by their manufacturers.

I think it ought to be offered to TfL as a secure emergency nature rest stop for their bus personnel. I have previously read about the woeful facilities available, especially for drivers on routes 12, 63, 78, and I'm sure that having this emergency option would enhance the quality, and comfort, of the drivers' work-life.

I really can't understand the hysteria, and lather, that posters on this forum frequently allow themselves to become involved in. The description of the uniform gives no indication as to which school this miscreant attends, or should have been attending at 12:15pm. Someone could easily have said the description sounds like a Dulwich College student and I'm sure all the usual suspects on this forum would have been enthusiastically leaping on the band wagon, and making all the usual stupid suggestions we've come to expect. There is no positive identification of the school in the description; there was nothing in the description to say that this miserable urchin can be facially positively identified; there is nothing in the description to suggest that he had an identifiable willy; so what do you expect to achieve by notifying any school? What is being expected of any school that is notified of this incident? Look, the sensible thing to do, until a more positive identification can be achieved, is to let the wardens get on with their jobs having been notified of the incident. And finally, calm down and ease up on the mass hysteria.

Here's a short passage from a very useful website that gives all the low-down arising from doggy owners, and walkers, who through their indiscriminate, and inconsiderate, conduct do not pick up after their dogs, but walk away ignoring their dog's doggy-poo deposits. Basically, it says the fox ain't to blame for deposits on the Green. If the fox is also a carrier, surely dogs can?t be blamed for toxocariasis? The fox is considered to be a significant host for T. canis in the UK and, therefore, the presence of foxes needs to be taken into account when control of toxocariasis is being considered. However, foxes will not defecate in open spaces, and the debate that states that toxocariasis in humans is as much due to foxes as dogs is misleading. It is believed that the majority of infections arise from parks and play areas where foxes would not defecate. For more information on doggy-poo, visit the following website: http://www.encams.org/uploads/publications/dogfoul.pdf

MB, Contact Thames Water and inform them that you have sewage water in your cellar. Insist that they sort it out. This type of problem is usually caused by a blockage in their main drain. Be firm! All the best.

Years ago, I was involved with a local primary school that used GG for its summer f?te. GG is a lovely spot for that sort of event, but eventually I stopped the school using GG because of the large amount of dog-poo we had to contend with when setting up the event. I have always considered GG to be a dog's toilet; made so by irresponsible owners. This is truly a sad state of affairs because GG is a wonderful community facility that is currently being used as a dog's toilet by too many irresponsible dog owners. Over the years, communities have become more expressive of their needs, and local councils have had to become more responsive to the views of their communities. Hence it is now possible for this community to express its views, which I'm sure will be listened to and may well shape the final outcome to deliver the most comprehensive use of GG by the community. A 6 month process is in place, after which the community will be given an opportunity to state their views and/or preferences. It's good to read the various views posted here, and I hope that by reading them we will all benefit by broadening our thoughts on what constitutes a satisfactory solution to the 'GG problem'. There is no need to for us to be throwing brickbats at each other. A sensible debate, and a bit of compromise, is all that's required. Let us all agree that the demons in all of this are the irresponsible owners who do not clear-up after their dogs have made a mess on Goose Green.

Good Lord! Aren't you a negative lot! Yes, it would appear that MGMP (Melbourne Grove Medical Practice) is not currently operating up to speed, but what positive achievement can be expected to result from bellyaching about it to the good people of East Dulwich? I've always had good service from there and so feel that if things are not to my liking, then I should inform them of this, and have the patience to wait for a solution. When I phone the surgery for an appointment, an automated voice informs me that if I have an emergency then I should visit A&E, or phone for an ambulance. If my child had consumed a polifilla meal, then I would have considered that to be an emergency and taken them immediately to A&E. Similarly, I would consider abnormally swollen appendages following an operation to be a worrying emergency. I'm doubtful whether the Forum's administrators have any influence over the management and practices at MGMP. Therefore, can I direct the bellyachers to the MGMP website, and in particular to the 'Your voice' tab where they can direct their complaints/concerns directly to Concordia, the organisation that runs MGMP. If MGMP then fails to improve their service, after a reasonable length of time, I'll happily join up as a leading bellyacher. ?That's the way to do it!? - (Mr Punch) Blimp (off).

Yup! Everyome seems to have had a good time at the festival, despite the weather. I looked out from the EDT's beer tent, from time to time, and saw lots of people getting wet, outside, and seeming to be enjoying themselves. If the weather had been brighter and drier no doubt there would have been lots more people, and they could have sat on the grass and sampled the food on offer while supping a cool drink. Now, Southwark have done a wonderful job in dividing the Green into a 'peoples' area, say, and a Dogs Toilet. So, why is the Festival held in the Dog's toilet area, especially with children running around and enjoying the free space? I had a great time, but I'm just wondering whether it would have been as enjoyable if the sun had been out and I had sat on something nasty in the grass, or leaning back had stuck my elbow in something unpleasant. I'm just thinking ahead to next year.