Frisco

"I went to St John's & St Clement's when it was on Northcross / Archdale Road" Is that the one that had the deputy dead who left after he was featured in one of the Sunday tabloids?

"Apparently there wasn't anything wrong with it on the inside!" Oh there was! The remaining original part has been tarted up a bit now though, and it's a much better experience when I have to go there for blood tests.

A lot of of Dulwich Hospital remains, including the entrance area which is quite attractive. I was surprised to find that the towers and onions/domes weren't listed already, and it's a pity that someone didn't come up with a design that incorporated these landmark architectural features. East Dulwich doesn't have that many to preserve, after all.

"Yesterday I got a letter back. Penalty cancelled "Due to lack of sufficien evidence" So, my question is this. IF there is now lack of sufficient evidence, wasn't that just a ticket issued in the hope I would just accept it?" This is exactly right, they do appear to issue incorrect tickets in the hope that a proportion of people will just pay up. Last year I got a photograph of my car parked in Southampton Row in Camden, claiming that I was parked in a bus lane. I telephoned and asked them where a bus lane was shown in the picture, the person said when perhaps it was a 'no loading' area. Of course, he was completely missing the point (and no hoping I would) in that the ticket didn't mention a no loading area, so was therefore invalid. The penalty charge notice had been issued by someone operating a remote camera at the junction with Theobalds Road, and although he was able to claim from a operations room miles away that I was parked in a non-existent bus lane, it required a site inspection to determine that there was neither a bus lane there, nor a no loading restriction in place at the time I had parked. It's disgraceful opportunistic money grabbing tactics, and they go for the easy option. My East Dulwich experience was on Lordship Lane at roughly 9pm one weekday night, when I had joined some friends for a drink (water in my case) in one of the new bars. I'm disabled and I have a blue badge, which means that I can park on yellow lines for a maximum of three hours. However, Blue Badges do not apply when there are kerb markings or signs indicting that no loading restriction are in place. On the night in question, I returned to my car to find I had a ticket, which said that I was parked in a place where the was a no loading restriction in place. I looked around for a sign or any kerb markings and couldn't find anything. I then noticed a very faint and unnoticeable yellow make on the kerb. I made written representations, and drew the state of the markings to the council's attention and they withdrew the penalty. However, they haven't done anything to change the faulty markings that I drew to their attention, and the situation remains the same for any unsuspecting person in my position to park there and get a ticket. I've no doubt that a proportion of those people will just pay up without question. They have us over a barrel, and in a position so that people have to prove their innocence.

I've been reading the East Dulwich Forum for a couple of months, but tonight I decided to join after reading some of the false assumptions and ignorance about Blue Badges, disabled parking spaces and the needs for disabled people generally. Just to be clear that anyone who parks in a marked disabled parking space is breaking the law, and, in my view, deserves to be fined. Also, in the new two tear parking fines, the fine for parking in a disabled parking bay without a Blue Badge is at the highest more serious level, so you'd be better off parking on yellow lines. As a disabled East Dulwich resident I have a particular interest in this, but I began to read this because I have no great liking for Southwark's parking attendants. However, having read some of the postings here, I've now begun to change my mind. If you saw me in the street, apart from the walking aid I sometimes have to use, you wouldn't know that I'm disabled. it's invisible, but extremely painful and it affects my whole body, making it difficult for me to walk or to stand for anything but a very short time. There are days when I'm unable to leave the house (sometimes I can't get out of bed), or when I couldn't do so without access to my car and to parking close to where I need to be. I also know the disabled parking spaces referred to, they are at the LL end of Ashbourne Grove at the side of the HSBC bank. There are always chancers using these parking spaces, whatever the time of day, and I'm actually very pleased to find out that Southwark are actually enforcing their use and issuing tickets to the ignorant and anti-social abusers. As for the abuse of Blue Badges, first of all no one can tell who is and isn't disabled by looking at them, but Blue Badges are not easy to obtain by genuinely disabled people. They are, however, abused by able-bodied people, who are not entitled to use them, or by people who have obtained them illegally, perhaps through theft. These people are more-or-less doing the same as those who abuse disabled spaces by casually parking in them. However, none of that mitigates against the casual abuse of disabled parking spaces by able-bodied people, who seem to justify their action by what they 'think' they see other people do, and which inevitably denies the opportunity to park to any disabled people who break the assumed 6pm curfew that some people seem to think we keep. Sorry my first posting on the EDF seems to be a lecture, but I was astounded by some of the crass ignorance and self-righteous justifications on this thread.