madger

Another glowing review for Julian!! I am now referring to Julian as ‘the legend’. I had spent 5 years waiting until I could afford to get some cupboards built in, and I couldn’t be happier. I am often allergic to overbearing advice when it comes to work I have commissioned and am paying for, but I found Julian’s advice so helpful. He offered his opinion about my plans in a very constructive way, and helped me come up with a much better plan. His ideas were better than mine! Not something I usually like to admit. The work was exemplary, and he cleared up beautifully. He was communicative and a pleasure to deal with. I am so delighted with my cupboards and floating shelves. He doesn’t paint them, but I think that is better, as it’s a specialist job, and it means you can either save money and paint them yourself, or get a painter and decorator to paint them properly. He is a brilliant carpenter. The only problem now is that I have so much more hanging space thanks to his advice, that I may not get rid of all the old clothes I can no longer fit into! Anyway, highly highly recommended if you need fitted carpentry cupboards or shelves, and want to work with someone who cares about the outcome. Thank you so much Julian!

Happy ending, the rescue charity which rehomed Kiki has confirmed she Bast been reunited with her new family (who are buying a tracking device!). They were very shaken. Amazing work by Liam of Dawgs pet sitting who had managed to get her to a local vet before she escaped again, and all the amazing people who searched for her.

Hoping for sightings and please do post here if there are any. And if anyone sees her, please do try to get hold of her. Battersea are in touch with the owner so they are the best people to call but we have people on a local dog owners group who might be able to jump in a car to get her and keep her until her owner can get to her.

Very obviously has scarred skin, a rescue from abroad, medium size apparently

Please circulate: a very poorly looking dog, who is called Kiki, a rescue from abroad, skin in terrible condition, looks very obviously poorly, is on the run in east Dulwich. She was found earlier on Dulwich Park, taken by a kind person on a local dog owners whatsapp group to a vet, owner located, but has slipped her collar when the kindly person was putting her back in his van after the vets visit. This has just happened. Lordship Lane and headed towards Lycott Grove. Please circulate and reply here if you find her? I can post on the WhatsApp group if anyone sees her. Please try to catch her if you see her. Just spoken to Battersea dogs home. They have had a call from the owner reporting her missing. Please call Battersea if you find her and try to keep her safe. Battersea and the owner are in touch.

I just wanted to highly recommend Critter Solutions. I had a determined, and large, rodent which had managed to burrow through, extraordinarily, from the neighbouring house into my kitchen, where it made itself comfortable beneath my kitchen units, occasionally trying to break through the plinth into the room. Without going into all the gruesome details, and there are some, Roger and his son were just amazing. Roger was kind, and offered practical advice and assistance. Unlike many of the big commercial companies, he did not immediately charge a standard set fee and didn't immediately just go for the poison option (explaining that it would make my kitchen unbearable over christmas, which I hadn't thought about, stupidly). Much as I love animals, this one could not stay in my house. And it was determined to do just that. So he instead laid traps and - again - without sharing the fairly gruesome details, that approach contained the problem until my builder could come and remove the units, and seal up the hole(s) with mesh and cement, before putting them all back again. It was a fairly queasy few weeks, a battle between me and the rat, and Roger's calm, experienced and practical approach made it bearable. He has decades of experience, and I can't recommend them highly enough. After about 8 hours of cleaning, I now feel I can use the drawers and cupboards again which had been particularly favoured by my house guest. What a lovely Christmas story this is; I didn't intend to share quite so many details! Though have withheld the worst. But, in short, if you find yourself reduced to a quivering wreck and all your sugar is being eaten by a distant relative of my own, lately departed, rodent, then Roger is your man.

John has just done his third job for me; once again carried out with consummate skill, turned up when he said he would, a pleasure to have around, and did a brilliant job, yet again. Highly recommended.

Hello, has anyone else found that insurers are turning them down in this area for home insurance due to higher numbers of subsidence claims in the area? I have more cracks than usual but don?t think it?s subsidence, ?just? super dry summers on clay and sodden winters. Be great to hear other people?s experiences recently and how they dealt with it.

yes, John did some brilliant plastering for me a couple of years back too. He was easy to have around, a nice guy, and beautiful work.

This is so useful, thank you! I am looking into a rear extension so wouldn't have the difficulties of purchasing any additional parts of the building so it looks like the bit where you had to get their 'licence to alter' took about 6 months?

Thank you so much to both contributors, hugely appreciated!

Hello, I wondered if anyone could give me some advice? Has anyone whose actual Freeholder is Southwark managed to build a rear extension to their flat? I just wondered if anyone had managed it or encountered extra difficulties and what Southwark's attitude towards them generally is. Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

Hello, we are a small block in East Dulwich and last night someone got in to our communal area and slashed all our bike tyres. Has anyone else had anything similar happen recently? Just trying to work out if it's a one off incident of casual vandalism or part of a trend?

I was very sad to hear this. He was a wonderful book seller and it?s a wonderful shop. So glad it will continue. I?ll miss his presence on the Lane. With all sympathy to his loved ones.

Apologies ED Boost, it just seemed very coincidental timing! I speak with such passion in favour of local businesses because I?ve lived here since 1999 and use, and love, the local businesses all the time. I?m puzzled by your perception that many people don?t realise how hard it is to run a shop here. That?s precisely the discussion we?re having! That?s precisely why I wrote at length about the economic impact a City backed large chain has upon local businesses who struggle to pay their ever increasing rents. The landlords put up their rents when they see they may be able to attract chains with the sort of corporate expenditure impossible for smaller businesses to afford. So dedicated local traders do all the hard work to establish varied local shops and businesses, but are then undercut by huge investment entities trading as chains which then move into an area off the back of the local traders? success and determination. And then the usual spiral, which I outlined in my previous post, ensues. Local business owners deserve more Council support and the whole rates system needs reforming as high street traders have been hit hard while internet vendors escape the increases. We all use internet shopping, but what about the elderly, the isolated, people who need and value local shops for easy to obtain services? Not to mention the local community forged between the traders and people who use their shops and restaurants. I agree absolutely that it?s extremely hard to run a shop. That?s why I think we have to be clear about the hard economic reality of a chain?s business model, and its impact upon local services. Unless local people can afford to establish and run local businesses then retail is placed solely in the hands of gigantic investment companies who fund the major chains, or individuals with independent income who can afford to set up an independent shop paying inflated rents and rates. That in turn impacts on social mobility, and means families who have lived and traded in an area for decades can no longer afford to stay and trade and are pushed out, fracturing a deeply established community and leaving enterprise and business available solely to the rich. That is a pretty sad state of affairs.