Oglandia

a final whinge from me (so 'Whinga Hatas' please look the other way) if you pay your fine at the Council's risibly named "Parking Shop" on Old Kent Road there is no damn place to park. Anyone been booked while paying a fine? To quote Ian Curtis (whose old house I can see as I type) "Where will it end?"

there's room for everything here - I'm sure we agree on that Sean. Let's not set the bar too high for forum discussion. Even on the non-lounge threads we are ultimately talking about e-hot air from people (me included) who should be out and about instead of noodling in front of a screen apart from the empathic belly laughs seanmlow gave me over his Cigar-gate bust, this latest Meldrew adventure (Which again I wholly relate to) has yielded the hilarious photoshopped Rye Lane pictures ... which have an added piquancy as we moved up to Macclesfield last week. Oglandia no more. Sorry - back to the topic someone

SeanMacGabhann Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > stb... glad we made up after the recent street > fight > > I'm not saying I don't drop litter, speed or drive > the wrong way down one way streets. but I am > saying if I did I wouldn't claim immunity if > caught. and I wouldn't go on a public discussion > board to state a claim for some imagined > victimhood. > > don't get me wrong... anyone is within their > rights to do so. but why would they? conversely, why surf a public discussion board for whinge threads when you are avowedly against e-whingeing, then choose to read the whinge threads ... and then go on to whinge about the whingeing? Now I'm whingeing about your whingeing about the whingeing. But I love the whinge threads, that's why I'm posting here. If you really don't Sean, try not reading them and post elsewhere.

Think its a good idea. My 85 yr old neighbour was clipped by a bike on the pavement as she turned the corner from Oglander into Grove VAle . Its really knocked her confidence....

Have lived on maxted Rd and now on Oglander for the past 10 years. Love the area. Great for using SE22 facilities but with all the extra Rye Lane options (African snails anyone? and good Vietnamese food shop in Choumert Market) and better transport. Personally I think the area is more architecturally diverse with a good mix of interesting people too. I'm not saying East Dulwich is a bit monotonous or smug or anything.....

SeanMacGabhann Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I believe I posted much the same thing just today > Oglandia when I said "we are all criminals" > > The difference here is that most of us are able to > hold our hands up if caught - ?75 for the fine is > a lot, but as I've asked several times - what > would anyone do instead to curb litter? > > It's a direct question but people seem happier to > resort to petty insult-calling - although "Jello > Biafra's 'suede denim secret police'." has > something of wit about it, it's still a > diversionary thing too much to do in 'meat space' to really get onto this on your scale SeanMcG (are you offline often enough to even see the litter?) but the answer is there if you want to see it - the originator of the topic accepts that a fine is ok but understandably bitches the amount. so how about a warning / escalation (i.e.lower fine) approach for those prepared to listen and not abuse the red anorakers? 10 quid? it has an equal evidence base (zero) to 75 quid and is fairer

great thread seanmlow! back to the original point - ?75 nicker is way too much. I'm amazed by the levels of piety by some posters on this forum - these are truly Jello Biafra's 'suede denim secret police'. Presumably they never ever break the law - breach copyright on the photocopier, tape or bootleg music, tax-dodge, cross the road in the wrong place in the clean-streeted USA, cycle the wrong way up 1-way streets en route to quiet Sunday morning shifts, or breach any of the many other silly little nitpicking cash-raising regulations that spoil life. ;-)

gerry that's awful. hope everyone's ok. We've been down here 12 years with little hassle but sh!t can happen any time. A close friend had her pram kicked over and a guy sticking his hand in her face like he wanted to rip her cheek off in Nunhead Cemetery back in 03. The baby screaming brought her round out of the trance and she fought him off. She is a remarkable woman in every way. She saw him in E Dulwich and Peckham but gave up ringing the cops after being advised to tail him (with baby - yeah right). Then she saw him going into his parents' house 15 or so doors up from hers and she made the call. The cops finally got involved and she had good support in the trial. It was his word vs hers - they believed her. Turned out he was on parole for rape. He got 4 years (out in 2). She sold up in a hurry and moved house 200 miles away never to return.

Seanmlow I'm 100% in your corner. 75 quid is ridiculous. And for all you lot squeaking about littering - wake up and smell the soot, this is London not Dingley Dell Hamlet Shropshire. He was actually making the f**king place smell better.

Great idea - its a good cycle access point with the pedestrian crossing nearby and not much traffic. Good luck!

I presented a 10 minute slideshow with overheads of my brother (the groom) in 70s knitwear, purple cords, dodgy facial hair etc which gained lots of easy laughs and seemed to jolly it along. My tuppence ha'penny is to learn your speech (cue cards work best for me) so you have a foundation to improvise a bit on the day if you want to

re ?sillywoman? ? the media reports on the Healthcare Commission review of maternity services had St Thomas? as the only service in London that was above average. I think that means ?better? is better than ?fair?.

awwwww .... thanks PGC .... [blushing profusely]

Which library - Peckham? (it is a bit edgy down there at night)

This was a funny little twist to the tale wasn't it? http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3216678.ece Presumably the Home Secretary fancied a doner (not in the Abrahams stylee) and popped over the road to the absurdly friendly Sam's kebabs on the corner of Bellenden and Maxted (where you can get hummous and salad in a pitta and the equivalent of your body mass in chips for something ridiculous like 2 quid). The armed bobbys accompany, naturally ... and she tries to hang the whole trip on the end of a blurt about London being unsafe ... ?

Frisco Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > "... attack happened in October and the yellow > witness appeal boards have been up what, a week or > 2? > > " > > If they've made arrests, it's possible that that > they're looking for potential witnesses in order > to pursue a successful prosecution, rather than to > assist the apprehension of the suspects. So the > timing of the boards going up could make very good > sense. > > However, it's a pity that the police don't seem to > have moved beyond those yellow signs and towards > making use of websites like EDF. agree about using here. but not clear why getting boards up at the time is a no no (unless this is so common there'd be boards everywhere)

... attack happened in October and the yellow witness appeal boards have been up what, a week or 2? [big sigh]

what happened to the Bellenden Viet cafe - did I miss something?

PinarelloFan Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > lozzyloz Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > I went to Herne Hill Bicycles 2 weeks ago after > > being dissatisfied with Edwardes only to see a > > sign on the door saying they no longer do > repairs. > > Ended up going to Finches in Forest Hill after > > hours of frustration trying to do the repair > > myself!! > > I spoke to the owner today (I'm not the owner by > the way). Herne Hill Bicycles still do repairs, > and their excellent mechanic Ron continues to work > there. However, they do prioritise. If you bought > your bike at the shop, or are a regular customer, > you'll be given priority. Given that they're only > a small shop, with a maximum of two people working > there at any one time, that seems pretty > reasonable. From my own experience, and I've used > a number of bike shops and mechanics to repair or > service my bikes, Herne Hill Bicycles offers > consistently good value in the cycle service > department and I now wouldn't go anywhere else. thanks for clearing that up lozzyloz. i bought my Ridgey from there and have spent 100s there rather than use a chain like Evans. its just a proper bike shop. Edwardes is easier for me location wise and i find them cheerful and good value. Having a chain put on by a mechanic with a fag in his mouth was oddly uplifting (pre-July 07)

the little bike shop at Herne Hill is great but doesn't do repairs. all his stuff is quality though and he's a v likeable fellow. mlteenie on this thread is highly recommended by Forumites for the tune up side of things

ed_pete Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Oglandia - I've been using this route for 18 > months or so and I've not had any trouble yet. > The closest I've come was the other week when > another cyclist reprimamed me for cycling too fast > and ringing my bell to alert pedestrians! It can > seem a bit scary on the winter evenings but there > seems to me quite a regular volume of other > cyclists between 5 & 7pm - I tend to believe that > there is safety in numbers. I got told off for NOT ringing my bell (quite rightly, I think, i should've tinkled). Have used this route in the dead of night without incident ... but was rattled that one time

has anyone had any bother on the E Surrey canal path? I hit some kind of 'roadblock' set up by 4 or 5 mid teen looking kids (one had his face completely bandanna'ed). I had to slow right down and one of them ran at me from behind and tried to unhook my pannier (which as usual was full of crap but which looked like a laptop pannier). this was 4.30/5ish in daylight over summer. I have heard similar tales - and that stuff has been thrown at cyclists. this is the only grief i've had on this route in 2+ years though

but his son is called 'Rafe' so he must be an *rse

Netto car park is serious outlaw territory. Lidl every time - less brand names but better (German) beer & chocolate. Just watch out for the 90 minute car parking scam

I suspected as much (that steel was better). Ramble some more mlteenie. Do you do E Dulwich based servicing? I got my Ridgeback from the lovely fellow in Herne Hill but he does not service any more. I have been massively taken to the cleaners by On Your Bike at london Bridge for a ?180 'service' which started out at some manageable sum - ?40 or ?50. They insisted on replacing perfectly OK chain - recently fitted by Edwardes; insisted slightly buckled wheel had to be replaced - no attempt at fixing it; stuck new sprocket cassette on altho the original was fine; then retuned my gears dodgily so that the chain rode up and knackered my rear wheel costing me ?45 later on. I'd enquired innocently about getting the handlebars higher up. Needless to say this meant getting a new ?50 part. I virtually had to wrestle the scrawny Kraut mechanic off the bike before he fitted it. At this stage - approaching ?200 down and with them waving new expenditure at me - I just had to get out before they mugged me any more. Another couple of parts off the shysters and i'd have been better off just chucking the thing and buying new. It only cost ?160 to service our 3.5 ton VW westfalia!