Dulwich Gail's bakery will open on Xmas Day in "shameful" move

[Castleton]

4 hours ago, beansprout said:

Personally, prefer Romeo Jones… staff consistent as is food! 

Romeo Jones is sadly no more...

[beansprout]

Oh, thanks for that.. was only there three months ago..

[Earl Aelfheah]

5 hours ago, Rockets said:

Big bakery in the parade of shops near Rocca in Dulwich Village

And one just off lordship lane next to chilli and garlic

…and loads all over London. 

It’s a bland chain.

[bobbly]

More shameful that  independent Romeo Jones was driven out by Gails....

[alice]

People make choices and then they complain about the results

[Sue]

45 minutes ago, alice said:

People make choices and then they complain about the results

Possibly not the same people though!

[beansprout]

Well according to a newspaper article, Gail’s is opening 10 shops in London,,, yup Dulwich is named 10/5 I seem to recall with others in London opening at 7 am…!, Guess that is to capture workers coming off all night shift. Offering free mince pies until they run out..

So very sad to hear about Romeo Jones… been a customer since the opening, any idea where Patrick has gone or details… please pm me. 
 

What is going to be in its place…. Will be around in Jan…umm village is changing….

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

9 hours ago, bobbly said:

More shameful that  independent Romeo Jones was driven out by Gails....

To be honest, pal, it's not good being a fan of a local business and then not go there.

One on hand, the barber shop literally next door to Romeo Jones started serving coffee. The Crown and Greyhound and Rocca serve coffee. Redemption Coffee opened up not far away, and then also Megan's next door to that. DVillage was serving coffee (but wasn't very popular), as was Au Ciel (which is). Maybe also Heritage Cheese, I don't know. There's also Flotsam and Jetsam doing coffee and sandwiches at Dulwich Picture Gallery in the other direction. The whole of Dulwich Village serves coffee.

And yet on the other hand, there are enough punters to support all good coffee shops. With the exception of Rocca and Megan's (which are both big spaces) and C&G (which does coffee like everything else - slow and with bad service), all these places regularly get queues out the door. Gail's often has big queues and yet very few people crossed the street to Romeo Jones (which was much better)...

Half the staff at Gail's are perfectly fine and efficient. The other half are pretty offhand and rude. It's certainly not welcoming or friendly service. But they're certainly hard working, and no doubt raking the money in for Luke Johnson...

[Insuflo]

I’m not a Gail’s fan but there’s no reason a business shouldn’t open on Christmas Day. However, nobody should be compelled to work the day which, given the widespread coverage of Gail’s questionable employment practices, has to be a possibility here. 

The only business I ever use on the 25th is maybe a pub and that’s a rarity these days but buses running would be very welcome for visiting etc. But the swings in the park should definitely remain chained up. Are parks even open on Christmas Day?

[malumbu]

There's probably a bigger discussion on why we celebrate Christmas (pagan/religious festival) and why everything has to shut down.  I've enjoyed Xmas days in Spain, Mexico and France where some businesses and restaurants are open, and in a number of non-Christrian countries.  In both sets of occasions it has been festive, but not over the top and the Spanish seem to have a more relaxed attitude in a country where the church is probably more important than the UK.  A Lounge conversation. 

I'll no doubt be popping into the Forest Hill Road supermarket on Xmas day for things we have forgotten, with many others in a similar situation who grew up in the Christian faith (I've long since been an atheist). 

 

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

3 hours ago, Insuflo said:

But the swings in the park should definitely remain chained up. 

Eh?!?!

[beansprout]

Easy enough to check if park is open..

Strange  comment about swings being chained up..

 

Must be rampant on that parade and accommodation over… 

 

[Angelina]

The park and swings should absolutely be open and accessible for everyone. 

[vladi]

I would be interested to learn if Gail's hike their prices on Christmas day. I don't go to Gail's (as I prefer Christophers on HM Lane) but if anyone does go and detects a bit of price gouging, please let us all know.

[Insuflo]

1 hour ago, beansprout said:

Easy enough to check if park is open..

Strange  comment about swings being chained up..

Hardly strange; arcane perhaps. It used to be a common practice in many towns for the swings, roundabouts etc in parks to be chained up by the council on Sundays, so that they didn’t provide a source of reckless pleasure on the sabbath. The outrage that a cake shop should open on Christmas Day reminded me of this.

The policy had pretty much died out in England and Wales by the 70’s but is still in force in parts of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.

[spark67]

I,m not a fan of Gales; but a lot of food serving premises open on Xmas day , so not unusual, worked in catering for nearly 40 years and staff usually get extra pay… My niece who is in her last year of college & wants to go travelling next summer, is waitressing in a restaurant near where she lives on Xmas day & Boxing Day for £20 per hour to boost her travelling fund. Back in the day I worked New Year’s Day 2000, & had my pay bumped to £50 per hour, happy days (wasn’t forced I volunteered)

[David Peckham]

6 hours ago, malumbu said:

There's probably a bigger discussion on why we celebrate Christmas (pagan/religious festival) and why everything has to shut down.  I've enjoyed Xmas days in Spain, Mexico and France where some businesses and restaurants are open, and in a number of non-Christrian countries.  In both sets of occasions it has been festive, but not over the top and the Spanish seem to have a more relaxed attitude in a country where the church is probably more important than the UK.  A Lounge conversation. 

I'll no doubt be popping into the Forest Hill Road supermarket on Xmas day for things we have forgotten, with many others in a similar situation who grew up in the Christian faith (I've long since been an atheist). 

 

It's Christmas, Mal, I'd like to think admin may be a bit looser at this time of year. Goodwill to all men and all that, even Scousers, the French and some Canadians.

Have an easy-peeler, a Morrisons own brand Cinzano and lemonade, a toke on this beauty, listen to my post-dubstep-style mash-up of 'Little Donkey' and Frankie Knuckles' 'Your Love' and let the thread go where it will.

We're strangely reverential about the Christmas period in this country.

Christmas Day in Spain is a bit different, the big day is 'Kings' Day' on the 6th of January. 

I've spent a couple of Christmases in a tiny village in the Sierra Nevada outside Granada with an (English) ex-girlfriend's family and it's exhausting to celebrate both British and Spanish style. You start on Christmas Eve, then Christmas Day, Boxing Day, a village fiesta apropos of nothing to do with Christmas, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, the neighbouring village's fiesta, and only then the big day of Kings' on the 6th. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone that's posted on the 'Fireworks' thread, I thought is was a reenactmentent of Guernica.

Thankfully, Coviran - it's a bit like Spar used to be - do an excellent 'Feliz Navidad' fiesta package of six bottles of local red, six white, 24 bottles of Alhambra beer and an okay-quality Serrano jamon (with stand and knife) for about the price of a decent round in the EDT. One fiesta deal every couple of days works well.

Christmas Day in Toronto is like any other day, just  even duller - Sunday-service transport and the  LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) shop is shut. Those who take their drinking seriously need to plan ahead. They also have a strange custom of going to the pictures on Christmas Day evening, rather than watching 'Oliver!' and trying to fleece your niece for her Christmas cash in a game of Connect Four.

It's a bit different in Goa, but brilliant. It was a Portuguese colony, so they go mad on it. It's quite magical. I spent one Christmas Day where, after seeing the previous night's hangover off with a prawn caldine and a bottle of local coconut feni, the tide ebbed away to reveal the most perfect, flat wicket for a game of tape-ball cricket.

25 or so a side, ravers versus locals, I batted in the middle order and was building a solid, if unspectacular, innings until I hit a pull shot of such exquisite timing it still visits me in my dreams, only to be caught at square leg by a little, local lad, bollocks-deep in the surf and wearing a Santa hat.

Christmas isn't what it used to be.

Keep the parks open!

[malumbu]

Did Xmas in Southern India years ago, odd having piped carols when there was no actual celebration.  Cuba was nice and chilled.  Viet Nam before mass tourism on a very quiet beach.  Mexico/ Oaxaca was lovely and sunny with a radish festival too.  Iceland was exactly that - cold and very icy and we got snowed in.  My favourite in Spain was Granada and going down to the beach (and swimming) on Xmas day.  Did the same in Morocco.  Central Nigeria was a different one with lots of singing and dancing at a three hour church service and all the bright colours.  Two times in small resorts in France skiing, once with an absolute bucket full of snow on Xmas evening.  Mountain restaurants open.

London dull in comparison.  Not that I am competing of course.

[CPR Dave]

That's a lot of ham to get through every two days, fellow Dave.

[beansprout]

The overseas ones sound so good….oh to be young again and free….

Can always go to serpentine for annual swim!!