Bic Basher

It doesn't help that Google Maps and Waze send drivers along Underhill/Overhill/Belvoir/Wood Vale during the evening rush.

I was in a cab on Thursday going to Lower Sydenham and the driver was sent along all of those roads at 5pm to avoid The Grove junction.

Pre-LTN, the driving map apps would also send cabs down Melbourne Grove to avoid Goose Green and the main shopping area on LL.

I've cycled down Underhill and CPR and don't go thinking about how many passengers are in each vehicle.

As I've started cycling again since last summer, my confidence has grown enough for me to use most main roads including LL, Peckham Rye, Denmark Hill, Camberwell Road, Peckham Road etc, although I still don't have the confidence to cycle towards the Grove from Sydenham Hill to Dulwich Common because of the contraflow to the Common and the built up traffic waiting at the lights to LL.

However it's basic common sense when cycling to share the road with other vehicles either on main roads or side roads. I still have to share the road with cars on Melbourne Grove for example which is inside the ED LTN, so while it's quieter, it certainly is far from the car-free utopia those think it is.

Barclays are closing two more branches in Southwark.

Walworth Road - 13th April.

Tower Bridge Road - 19th April.

This will leave the borough with just two branches, London Bridge and Peckham.

The Forest Hill Thames Water works by the petrol station were completed today.

If you do want to catch the tube at Brixton it’s very easy to cycle there (around 10 minutes from the village). You can take a Lime bike (electric hire bike) for the same cost as a bus ticket)

 

23p per minute on Lime works out at 2.30 plus a £1 unlocking fee for 10 minutes, a bus fare is £1.65 with unlimited changes between buses for 62 minutes. The Lime ride passes work out better value for money, 60 minutes for £4.99 which are valid for three days or £9.99 for 120 minutes with no unlocking fees.

What about Crystal Palace ? Up by the triangle?

 

Crystal Palace has overground + trains, but a bit of a distance from SE23?

 

And the 122 bus to Forest Hill which takes around 15-20 mins depending on the traffic. Cycling or driving to Forest Hill would be faster but I wouldn't say it's that far from CP.

Only in Dulwich can a project be such a monumental balls-up and they vote the Labour councillors back in!

A ton of junk mail today and letters posted from December 16th and 21st.

Forest Hill hasn't seen anywhere near the amount of gentrification that East Dulwich has. Yes there's some expensive housing around the Horniman Gardens part of SE23, but the town centre itself hasn't seen the massive gentrification that the shopping area of ED has.

Peckham has pockets of gentrification, such as the the area around Bellenden Road, but otherwise it's still a wonderful mix of people of all backgrounds.

I'm just inside SE22 at the Forest Hill end, but use Forest Hill station to get into town. It doesn't take that long to get into Zone 1 and the train service on the London Overground is usually very reliable with the connections to the tube or Elizabeth line.

But if you decide to live in ED or Forest Hill, both have rail services nearby or bus connections into the West End or City.

East Dulwich is Nappy Valley - there are loads of families with young kids. Dulwich Village is more expensive. West Dulwich feels a bit more suburban and has fewer amenities imho.

Dulwich Park is great for kids - and if they go to a catchment school they'll often bump into their classmates from school, which is nice. Peckham Rye playground is great in summer (a bit bleak in winter tbh) and Goose Green playpark is always busy (which is good). There's a bunch of schools and pre-schools - state and private.

Transport links to the City are good: mostly the train to London Bridge from East Dulwich amd North Dulwich, but you also have Thameslink nearby, the 42 bus, and easy bike routes too.

It is not cheap. If you are lucky enough to afford a place that's right next to a park and your kids' school, you'll be laughing. Like anywhere in London - try to live somewhere you don't need to use a car frequently or ever...

It is generally safe and quiet (despite some shrill noises on here). There are approximately 4000 coffee, bread, and pizza shops on Lordship Lane. Big Sainsbury's nearby - plenty of other little and specialist shops.

I don't know Blackheath at all - I'm sure it's nice.

What kind of place do you live in now and do you want somewhere similar...?

Thank you so much.

We live in a house in Hammersmith at the moment. It was ok until last year when my mother became seriously ill.

She lives in Honor Oak Park. She lives alone and has been diagnosed with an illness that has left her with mobility issues and severe pain, and she is hardly ever able to leave the house.

So I want to live somewhere close to her home, in an area that would be good for the kids. Would Brixton be the closest tube station to Dulwich? Just thinking about the best way to get to work from there.

 

Brixton is the closest tube station to here with bus connections using the 37 from ED or the P4 from the far end of LL, but there's also the London Overground from either Denmark Hill (a short bus ride from the Goose Green end), Peckham Rye, Forest Hill or Honor Oak Park, which provides a regular service to Canada Water for the Jubilee line, Shadwell for the DLR and Whitechapel for the Elizabeth line.

There are tube style frequencies from Forest Hill and Honor Oak Park every 7-8 minutes and every 15 minutes from Peckham Rye and Denmark Hill.

Denmark Hill and Peckham Rye are also served by Thameslink and Southeastern with trains to Victoria, Blackfriars and during the peaks as far as Kentish Town serving St. Pancras International.

First time since November that one of my regular snack subscriptions arrived on time today.

Does this now mean, ED has no banks at all? As the Barclays has closed on LL, I assume the ATMS have gone too?

 

Yes, there are no banks in the whole of SE22 at all.

That stretch of LL has two free ATMs at the Co-op and the Post Office, while others at Payless, Lordship Food and Wine and Ronnie's on East Dulwich Grove charge.

Other free ATMs in SE22 include Barry's Food and Wine in Barry Road, Sainsbury's Local by The Plough, Tesco Express on ED Road, Sainsbury's DKH and the PO in Forest Hill Road.

It appears to be localised as my broadband from the Dulwich exchange has been working normally all day.

Post Office has been doing some of this for some time

 

Most banks offer PO Counter services for basic banking, but the issue is some of the smaller post offices sometimes don't have enough cash in the float to do the transaction. This happened when there was the brief move of the Sub PO near The Plough moved into a convenience store opposite Dulwich Library. They eventually gave up the franchise with no replacement.

The other I've experience at East Dulwich PO is that they don't always have enough of the notes you want your cash paid in, so it's just easier to travel to another bank branch where they have enough cash in all demoniations.

Finally some post this week and Private Eye being through my door the same week it was published!

I've had no post at all this week.

There's no new submissions for 364-366 Lordship Lane on the Southwark Planning register.

Mitcham still showing up as the nearest Barclays Local, so it looks like the LL Surgery agreement fell through.

No post for two weeks over the hill (Forest Hill sorting office) - desparately waiting for important mail.

 

Again, they have similar issues to ED with Sydenham sorting office moving into Forest Hill Sorting Office.

I'd contact the local Cllrs for Goose Green Ward if you live in that ward/

Post for me has been much improved. Half a dozen letters including one posted on Tuesday arrived this afternoon.

One package arrived one day late, another which is a Tracked 24 sent yesterday arrived on time.

I received a solitary bank statement today. No Christmas cards etc.

I live near the skate park and it's a great use of a former car park. What I like about the skate park is that it's community led and the users are respectful of the space and the local area. Skaters who come down here are considerate and use the local shops.