QZ

Interesting one. I love the selection of books that they have at the shop but the presentation is all bad. The addage "dont judge a book by its cover" is screaming out to be used, ironically, in this case. The dripping ceiling / bucket on the floor has been there for ohhh about 2 years now??! Must be some serious leak ;-) I much prefer going into a bookshop, browsing and getting recommendations. I am happy (most of the time) to pay the price of the book rather than the soulless-ness of Amazon ordering. I reckon I avarage about 8 books per visit on a regular basis and these are full price purchases. Please please just tidy it up - clean the windows, get rid of the clutter by the windows and a lick of paint. It could be such a little hive of book worms (not sure that a hive is the correct collective noun for book worms - wordsmiths, any suggestions?) :))

I second the 16th please. Thats if I don't get the jitters about meeting all these new people...now I sound like a basket case. Really need to get a grip. :-$

..an aside CC - please give an update after tomorrow evening - I am unable to attend and therefore another missed opportunity to see who is who on this forum! Enjoy QZ

Poor you. It is v annoying. Hope they sort it out quickly Some banks seem pretty good at the whole customer profiling thing and therefore contacting you when something doesnt match your spending habits but it's a little bit big bruv isn't it?! ::o

:-$ Ahem...I am, indeed, a lady

Michael Walsh glazing are great. We have used them on several occassions and they have always been friendly / timely / well priced. QZ

J - what are your suggestions and I will let you know if I can contribute :))

Nero, can I counter you? My fav bit of ED is Goose Green in about 3 weeks when the daffs start coming up :)) Sorry for going off topic......

I saw John Snow interviewing the Trident vice chair on C4 and it was interesting. Jamie, your point re people needing more than "here's a job" is interesting. Maybe some of the disaffected-ness of younger people is that they don't understand, for whatever reason, that you have to work (in the multiple sense i.e. physically, mentally) to earn (be that either ?, respect or reputation). Stalking the streets, as many do, does not assist in finding a meaning to life and in a lot of cases is counter-productive in that it seems to glamourise an innate dumbness that these younger people then affect (specifically talking as though they have the verabl recall of a 6 year old). I don't think that there is one root cause and therefore it is incredibly complex to try and solve. :( Whilst I am not suggesting for one minute that this is a solution, has anyone seen Battle Royale? The premise being that disaffected youth get so bad (set in Japan) that they send groups to an island and run the most violent survival of the fittest programme..one survivor returns to tell their story to other kids in the hope that scaring them witless is the way to prevent it. Extreme.

CEDG - pray tell us what the yoot of today use to indicate when one is stoned. B) Your reference point of 70's northern slang is not wholly correct so maybe the moral for you is check your facts. You are incorrect. Here's a crazy thought - why not offer an insight to how to help rather than being obstreperous? :)) SM - it is indeed terrifying situation and I for one don't know where you start to address the myriad of problems that are associated with this horrible-ness

Well I went to new fish shop on Saturday and thought it was fab - and I don't even really like fish that much!! Well done me :))

Those paper things do work but can be a bit of a faff :)) ..if someone has small children with an entrepenurial (sp!!) streak they could be on to an absolute winner! (see me for hire of paper machine haha ;-) ) Wood is fine to burn as it emits white smoke - it is dirty smoke that is the problem, or so the chimney sweep who came here in December told me. Cheap coal doesnt really exist. A recent trip up north and the bags at petrol stations were the same price. More jumpers is the only answer

That is such a shame - did you ask them to not smoke whilst you were eating? As a recent-ish ex smoker I sympathise but all you can do until the new laws come in is ask. Take away is still great from there and in the comfort of your own home :))

Cook the Goose? Green Kitchens? Goose Green? Possibilities are endless - I am not good with surprises!!

Ibo, considering that you seem to be particulary scratchy about ED / its residents / any change to you / anyone who has ambition etc you appear to be spending a large proportion of your time today griping about it. Just an observation.

No one is denying that the Bish is better than the Forresters. The complaint is the rubbish (and smell) that is generated and not cleared away on a a daily basis. And I will pop in and see if Mark is around to just give him a neighbourly nudge about it as they are good guys and will hopefully do something about it soon. ..scary but hysterical thought re loonies running up and down lorders avec pants on heads :)) when does this usually occur ??

Chris Check out the thread re estate agents in the other section of the forum (wanted / recommended etc) - sorry, my lack of technical expertise with this machine means I am struggling to cut and paste it in for you! Do you know ED at all? Any pre-requisites for the property / area then maybe we can tell you which streets / areas would suit you.

I am sure there are but you could always start one :)) I am always worried that if I join a book club I will have to read either some tres naff fiction or some dullard classic and invariably don't go but I love love love reading slightly off-beat fiction / non-fiction

Rah! The Stinking Bishop as we have re-named it - Its so unsightly - and smelly to walk past there each morning, I totally agree. Not sure what has happened though Mr H - it didn't used to be quite so bad but the last few months it is pretty rank. Maybe we should pop in and tell them rather than just moan about it Alhtough its not the only unsightly / messy thing on that road at the moment either!:(

Annoyingly I didn't write down the name of the company - certainly wasn't Southwark council but I guess they sub-contract it anyway. The high street and surrounding streets really need more trees - if only to detract from the abundant litter everywhere....

Tree-horror! More of the smaller trees were being uprooted and taken away at the weekend on Lorders..what is going on??? Makes me so sad! :'(

Kate, thanks for the posting. Appreciate the time taken to respond and the offer of the tasting.

I am with Mr & Mrs Rob on this...went there when they opened to ask about a suitable red to have with thai / malasian food to which they were rather indignant (i.e. you just dont drink red wine with it)..Nicolas works every time!

Thanks for the advice, really helpful. I will follow up :))

Hi Does anyboady know much about these meetings - who chairs them, where they are and what the general format is? Someone in planning (southwark) told me that this is the forum I need to attend re various planning / other ED issues. Thanks!