Sue

But when was it posted?! I haven't posted any this year. I can't bring myself to pay the exorbitant cost of the stamps, and at least I can sort of honestly blame it on illness. If I can't hand deliver them, I send e-cards. I know it's not the same, but it's very much easier. And as for the people who still send pages of closely handwritten letters .... very admirable in terms of the hours it must have taken them to write them, but they remind me of those spoofs eg x has just passed all their many important exams with the highest marks possible, y has just walked round the world in a week, z has just become the first person ever to be knighted twice, we are about to fly off for our fifteenth exotic holiday this year ....... Or else (or sometimes and) they are full of who has had what illnesses and accidents and other catastrophes. Is this just my relatives and distant friends? Am I somehow attracting these reams of handwritten paper?

Oh, I didn't know that! I didn't move here till 1991 (I think) but the NCR incarnation must have been around that time? Unless my failing memory is even worse than I thought it was, sob.

I just googled, and apparently there's another branch of the Soho Street Govinda's in Theobald's Road. I had no idea.

Off topic (ish) but does anyone else remember when Blue Mountain opened? They had chocolate coated coffee beans and a range of coffee beans sold loose, and I can't remember whether it was freshly baked bread or rolls or croissants or something else, but my then partner used to go and buy it/them in the morning. And behind the part with the counter, it was divided into several little rooms, all different colours and styles. There was another room upstairs, though I can't remember if that was open from the beginning It was great. It went through many incarnations after that, before eventually sadly closing, but I liked the first one best. Also off topic (ish) there was a Greek? Turkish? deli opposite. My then partner bought some yoghurt there once, and when he got it home he found it was months (I think) past its sell by date. He took it back. The guy in the shop opened it up, looked at it, sniffed it and said "There's nothing wrong with that." 😂

Was that the Hare Krishna place? I can't remember exactly where it was (or maybe still is) but it was somewhere around Oxford Street.

The "for sale" section on this forum lets people offer things for free or cheaply. And the "wanted" section let's people ask for things they want or need, for free or cheaply. There are also existing schemes like Freecycle, and also local food banks. And there is (or was) a local scheme where you can bring things to be repaired free. I think it is/was based in Nunhead. Isn't that simpler than having a barter system? You might have something to give away, but the person who wants it might not have anything you want. Or have I misunderstood how it works? I can see that offering services free might not fit into existing schemes, but depending on what they were, what would happen if things went horribly wrong eg someone wrecked your house? Sorry if the above sounds very negative.

I'm wondering why they would do that? Because surely positive reviews could only help them, and if they thought they might get negative reviews, shouldn't they have been addressing the reasons that might be (unless someone had an unwarranted grudge against them)? But in any case, how could they have stopped people posting reviews on here? PS I have corrected your typo! 😃

Ah yes, that's right. Didn't Chandelier sell a huge range of different kinds of tea? That militaria shop was bonkers.

Unless I have misunderstood the notice at the park entrance nearest to Barry Road, dogs In Peckham Rye Park have to be on leads at all times EXCEPT in certain areas, which are clearly signposted. That's in the park, not on the grass of the Rye itself. I don't have a dog, so I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

It was our Singaround which was "tonight" (at the time of posting), not the turning on of the Lordship Lane Christmas lights, about which we had no privileged knowledge 🤣

My friend and I once did a cocktail crawl down Lordship Lane. I think we started at Black Cherry (now Franco Manca). It got off to a good start when I knocked mine over and had to buy another one. Liquorish was in there somewhere. The crawl ended with me carrying a chair and her a set of glasses, both bought from an antique shop at some point on the crawl, can't remember where and long gone. Was it where Spinach is now? Somewhere round there. The antique shop, not Spinach!

Crikey, blast from the blast 😮

Oh, I am rarely in Dulwich Village or outside the church on Carlton Avenue, so I wouldn't have seen flyers or posters 😭 Will make a note for next year, thanks. We miss the Christmas Eve carol service that used to be held at the church by Goose Green 😭

Was this publicised anywhere? We would have loved to have gone to this 😭

The seller should tell you if the house has been underpinned or has had other stabilising work done (eg resin injection) or if they are aware of any other issues. You need to ask relevant questions about each house you view, and if you see cracks ask if they know the reason. If they seem to be holding information back, push until you get it. Also, if you make an offer on a house get a proper full structural survey done by someone you trust. Don't just rely on a survey done for mortgage reasons (if you need a mortgage). If there is a cellar/coal hole and/or a loft, make sure the surveyor looks at them properly. If the owner has blocked access, eg with stuff stored under the stairs or a carpet over a trap door access to the cellar, get it unblocked so the surveyor can get to it. If you have a feeling there is something wrong, there probably is. I speak from bitter experience.