Boots to close Peckham

[Louisa]

I've been told Boots the chemist is planning on closing one of its oldest stores on Rye Lane. Does this mean that we are about to gain a new Boots along LL? I think it would be a shame for all the small independent chemists along with the co-op all of which offer a great service to the community.

[Michael Palaeologus]

I understand that the Peckham Boots site is to be taken over by an evangelical church so that the healing continues.

[Jonboy]

Can't say i agree. The chemists I've been into on LL could do with a thorough tidying up and a re-vitalised range of products to reflect the fact that outside the shop its 2007. IMO.

[James]

Oh no. Are you joking Michael? Surely there are enough bonkers churches in peckham already?

[georgia]

I doubt we'll get a Boots on LL but I would like one

[Jah Lush]

James, he's definitely joking...about Boots closing that is. However if you ever feel the need to join a church perhaps you'd care to join myself and others in worship at the Presleytarian Church Of Elvis The Divine.

[Brendan]

Hallelu - jah

[Jah Lush]

Indeed Brendan indeed. But, I've just been thinking perhaps we could open another church in Peckham that worships at the alter of Boots The Chemist. Free prescriptions for all who join hands in praise of the almighty Boots.

[Brendan]

Nah. It has been done. Although they all paint themselves orange at this time of the year and bugger off to Spain.

[Marmora Man]

Jonboy Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Can't say i agree. The chemists I've been into on

> LL could do with a thorough tidying up and a

> re-vitalised range of products to reflect the fact

> that outside the shop its 2007. IMO.

Try Macey's on Northcross Road. Inside still perhaps nearer the 50's but in a good way - ie service is customer orientated, goods are varied and available and they have those elusive odds & sods that big chains never stock, or only stock bubble wrap packages.

[ChavWivaLawDegree]

My chemists is horrible, the staff are not just unfriendly, they are hostile. Not gona name names, don't want a law suit, but it's not too far from a recently re-opened pub on LL!

[SeanMacGabhann]

I know the one CWALD - and I was going to post the same earlier. Basil Fawlty has nothing on them

TO avoid any lawsuit, this is not a matter of opinion - anyone can go in there and experience the same treatment. It's guaranteed

[Brendan]

Hmmm so the two of you also live somewhere near the library then. I know the one.

[Polly D]

I think I know the chemist you're talking about CWALD, SMG and B. I went in there the other day to ask about a mouthwash that my dentist had recommended that was particularly good for ulcers (not the one that stains your teeth and begins with a C...). I thought the pharmacist was so odd! He completely ignored what I was asking about and pretended not to know which brand I was on about and instead kept thrusting something else into my hand. I'm sure he knows what he's talking about but his manner was very bizarre that I was put off by his sales pitch and didn't buy anything, a sort of panic ensued.

I'd like to think I'd support the local one and not get excited about BOGOFs from Superdrug or Boots but frankly, I do ...

[Ultraconsultancy]

Boots has been in trouble as a business for some time - a trawl of the Nottingham Evening Post online will reveal just how pesimistic the locals are in its home town.

We all think of it as a chemist but in fact it has a dreadfully unfocused product profile, none of which it is any good at. And its pahrmacy and toiletries business is under attack from corner chemists [better hours] and superdrug. What once made it stand out - it's premium locations - have become a very heavy rental liability.

So it may well be that if Boots have a chance to close a millstone store in Peckham, they'll be glad of it.

UC

[SeanMacGabhann]

Polly D - is the C one bad for staining??? PM me the other one then please ;-)

UC - good shout on Boots. I've been vaguely aware of something not feeling right anytime I've been in during the last year (not often these days as I work in Katherine's Dock) - but you can tell there is a lack of direction.

[redrouge]

Ah yes, I know of that chemist this side of LL... Haven't been in there ever since they claimed they'd never heard of Vicks stuff for clearing blocked noses despite it being on the shelf behind them, and me pointing frantically at it. I don't quite understand it, why are they in denial of what we want?!... Very odd indeed...

I do like the one on Northcross Road - good selection of red hair dyes and nice face wash!

Though the Boots in Peckham will always have happy memories for me as a place where I'd buy random crap to build 'sculptures' out of when I went to Camberwell College of Art... But it was a bit of an odd place. Always got lost in there!

[bawdy-nan]

Weren't Boots just taken over by some Private Equity firm? If so I assume they're just draining the company of assets and sacking staff to line their golden pockets, er, I mean streamlining the business to run more effectively.

[Parker's Folly]

Michael Popodopoulous and friends - I don't see why you should "care" so much about Peckham when you don't even live there. What is it to you if there are lots of churches there? Would you be making the same jokes if there were 20 mosques there as well? The people of Peckham are entitled to do what they like, including worship at a church, whether it is evangelical or not.

Sorry if this is off topic, but then again, a chemist in an area which is not even East Dulwich is slightly off topic too.

[Administrator]

Good point - Lounged (it was going off topic anyway)

[Louisa]

-- moved topic --

[Jeremy]

I actually think they make a valid point (although off topic). People in other threads have moaned about the communities not integrating... but maybe this is not surprising when the lynchpin of some communities is so alien to many of us.

[SeanMacGabhann]

Parker's Folly - I would reverse the question - why should we NOT care what happens in Peckham? It's right next door to us - many of us visit it or travel through it every day. Many of us have friends there. etc etc

As for the church question - I used to live in E12 where mosques were pletiful - and I would happily make the same joke. You are absolutely correct that people are entitled to do what they wish - but to make a general joke about a proliferation of churches of any denomination is hardly worth getting upset about is it?

Of course, any establishment that exhorts me to "repent" or spend my time in eternal hell will always be the subject of my ire, be it in ED, Peckham or Baltimore.

[Frisco]

"The chemists I've been into on LL could do with a thorough tidying up and a re-vitalised range of products to reflect the fact that outside the shop its 2007. IMO."

OK it's not on LL, but chemist on Northcross Road has quite recently been modernised and seems quite good. The Peckham branch is probably the closest to me if I specifically needed to go to a Boots, but it's not very convenient for me so I go elsewhere. The last time I went there, the Peckham branch of Boots looked as though it needed a fair bit of tidying up and revitalisation too.

Also, I'm not sure Boots would particularly move to ED given that Sainsburys is having another go at running a pharmacy in the DKH store. The last time they tried it was in partnership with Boots, but they failed to get a licence to dispense prescriptions, and their new pharmacy might be hitting the same barrier too.

[tommy]

I agree with SeanMac - I think we should "care" what happens in Peckham - East Dulwich is not an island (no matter what the threads about raising water levels might say)

Also disagree that posts about Peckham should be lounged - but that's another matter