Hackblade

Did this route for years and there are limitless options but the quickest is up Dog kennel Hill and take the main road through Camberwell and on to Vauxhall Bridge, then along the Embankment and it doesn't particularly matter which right turn you take then up to Hammersmith. it will depend exactly where you need to go. There are some lovely variations - including the 'four parks' route that takes in Dulwich park, Brockwell park, Battersea Park and Brmopton cemetery. Adds about 10 mins but lovely. Whatever route you do it will be quicker than public transport.

This is a very bad junction but to be fair this is the first one for a while.

Does anyone have any knowledge about how much a 2-bed flat in E Dulwich is likely to fetch for a short-term let over the Olympics, or how to go about finding a potential tenant? There is a lot of hot air about tourists being prepared to pay big bucks to stay here but I have no idea how likely this is.

Come on, the CPT was a right heap! It's my local and I occasionally went but it wasn't very good. Good luck to whoever is investing money into doing it up.

Does anyone know if the trains are running OK from Peckham Rye?

Jo is a star

Well said, Nicholas Spears. Couldn't agree more.

We had a decent meal there Boxing Day. Not great, but perfectly good by pub standards.

I quite like it

From speaking to the staff at the pub I get the impression the idea is a complete non-starter.

Condolences to a fellow East Dulwich Blade

I live in other flats on Underhill Road, closer to Lordship Lane, and agree ?369k is absurd.

James - my partner had a scare yesterday when some kids bombing around on bikes at Goose Green playground narrowly missed colliding with our 18-month old daughter. He was going at quite a pace, which is obviously inappropriate in a playground where tiny children are toddling around. Is there anyone we could take this up with? Thanks.

James - I have just caught up with this thread after being away on holiday and wanted to say thanks for looking into the dumbbell issue. I'm still not sure Fusion is the gym for me but I am grateful to you for taking the matter on and 30kg dumbbells are certainly better than 18kg ones. Monster Gym in Cheshunt has them up to 150kg but that's another story... Fusion is a charity that works in partnership with the council. Presumably the council provided the funds for the refurb... are the profits shared?

Unbelievable... obviously us malcontents are all meat heads whose patronage isn't wanted. Loz - I am a member at Hamlets and quite like it but Fusion is closer and I would have been interested in a joint membership with my partner but there is no way I will even consider it if they don't have decent free weights. 18kg... pathetic. Luxury - I know I have a bee in my bonnet about this. I write about fitness and go to a lot of gyms and this is one of my bugbears. The fact that they have 100 machines and not any decent free weights makes it even worse... couldn't they have 80 machines and some decent free weights? A good all-round fitness programme should include more than cardio (which many of us do outside the gym anyway).

So they actually have paid for heavier weights and have decided not to use them? Surely this isn't true...

James - thanks for your comment and offer. I'm on family holiday this weekend so I won't be able to come down but I think my comments make clear what I think is missing and why. I'm all for people undertaking regular cardio - I run and cycle. But an all-round fitness programme should also incorporate resistance training and from the sound of things Fusion, like many chain gyms, isn't catering very well for this. I'm afraid I don't understand your sentence: "That many of the cardio exercises will increase any lack of strength to a level we need for good all round health". It seems to suggest cardio is the best solution to lack of strength for most people and I would certainly disagree with this if this is what you are saying.

Nashoi - fair point but I don't think a Smith machine alone is enough to do a proper workout, even for most serious trainers. You can do so many more exercises with dumbbells and free weights and derive greater benefits. I was hoping against hope that Fusion would buck the trend of most chains and be a serious gym but by the sounds of things it isn't. These kind of gyms-lites are more money-making ventures designed to appeal to people who don't want to push themselves. I suspect they contribute to health problems as much as solving them by encouraging a kind of 'let's just turn up and go through the motions' mentality rather than providing a facility aimed at helping people take their training to the next level.

Nashoi - most men on a decent strength programme should be able to dumbbell press more than 20kg a side in 3 to 6 months. I know quite a few women who can do that much. It's just regular, serious trainers who won't be able to derive much benefit from Fusion - and all for the sake of a few more quid on some decent dumbbells. Iy won't just be a few intimidating grunters (who are actually usually just decent guys who train hard) kept away.

Thanks Slims... that's saved me the bother of a visit to check it out. The classic mistake. Lord knows how much they have spent on this refurb but in one foolish decision they have alienated the majority of the male population (and a good few women) who want to include serious strength training in their fitness programmes. I certainly won't consider joining if the heaviest dumbbell is 20kg. I have heard this so often, particularly from chain gyms... we don't want to attract 'the grunters' or 'we're worried about health and safety'. But ultimately they have to decide whether they are serious about helping people get fit or only making money. And it seems they have chosen the latter.

Dee - I have looked at most gyms around the area and now go to Hamlets. It's a bit shabby around the edges but it's cheap and it's probably the best of a bad bunch for free weights. I would be interested to know how heavy the free weights in the new Fusion gym go up to or whether they have made the classic mistake of spending huge sums on a new gym only to ruin it by not having any dumbbells beyond 20kg or 30kg. You really don't need lots of fancy equipment for a gym but you do need some decent weights.

True - but either way it's very fast.

Charing Cross is about the easiest place to get to in central London from East Dulwich on public transport. Take one of the very frequent trains from Peckham Rye to London Bridge (journey time 12 minutes) then change platforms (don't need to go through any ticket barriers) to Charing Cross (5 minutes). Once your journey starts you can be in Charing Cross in 20 minutes, all being well.

The absolute key for me is some decent heavy dumbbells going up to at least 30kg. I'm not a hardcore freak but most gyms do not cater adequately for even average guys because they only contain light free weights that limit progress.

Well done, dully, you have established your own impeccable anti-racist credentials while simultaneously stirring up fresh racial controversy.