Otto

had a look downstairs at the new shop last night - great to have - bought a new cd by a local band...nice to have that opportunity... otto

they have eaten a great amount of my wardrobe as well as a beloved kilt. i have left all the nice things - cashmere, etc...out in a light filled room - they seem to like to eat in the dark... i've done all of the above and we still have them... @#$%$$^% otto ps cedar blocks they sell in that everything store on lordship lane - the one with cleaning stuff and storage stuff out front...they also hate lavender so lavender liner paper or little lavender scent things at sainsburys help a bit...

Hi I bought one. I did not make it through the book as it was not my kind of read, but, I thought perhaps she would be good at writing for a teen audience as she had interesting character development...the writing needs a bit of help, but, she does certainly have something. Anyway, good for self-initiative, and, she was a lovely woman. xo, s

It's a fantastic woodlands walking place anytime worth a visit! great for kids...not the new part, but the old part. xo, otto

yes...I saw many lost looking people staring in the window very sadly... Come back Green and Blue...we miss you terribly... xo, s

I had to go to another wine shop this evening and it was just not as fun, or full of interesting choices...and i really want a pie & salad... it does seem to be a case of the worst luck ever for a passionate business. boo. fingers crossed all works out - I don't think i can live without green and blue... xo, otto

I think newly gentrified ED has lots of people with babies still. We'll see shortly where they end up. My two are also in a Dulwich private school, and, there are a number of classmates from peckham, camberwell, brixton, east dulwich, forest hill, streatham, as well as further afield - greenwich, wandsworth, clapham, etc... Hot topic...best, otto

you can buy montezuma chocolate in green and blue wine shop! otto

As a resident near the station I generally ride a bike or walk everywhere, but, sometimes need the car. It is almost always difficult to park, and, with two small children, groceries, etc - it can be a serious nightmare. As an alternative proposal, what if the residents of elsie rd, tell grove, melbourne, ashborne etc volunteer to let a commuter chain a bike to the fence in front of their house??? I'd be happy to sponsor someone who would normally drive to the station or for lane shopping to leave their bike locked in front of mine - without responsiblity for it of course... I do realize this is a utopian suggestion but it could be done...but, otherwise, I do favor a zoned CPZ or some kind of herne hill style solution if it eased parking in this area of ED. Otto

You will not find anything "middle" in the lower east side...it is a recently gentrified (but still edgy) area and will have high end (rivington hotel - v. v. nice and cool), or, incredibly dodgy. For the most part, most of lower manhattan (chelsea, soho, tribeca, nolita, etc) will be high, or, low hotel-wise. You will find mid-priced hotels in midtown (that makes more sense than it should...). There is the W hotel near 14th street that is decent, and, a bit less than the others downtown...and it is in a pretty well-located spot for transport and walking. I'm an ex-new yorker and I'd recommend a walk over the brooklyn bridge, chinatown, ps1 museum, candy at dean and deluca (broadway and prince st), walkers bar in tribeca (good food and drink - not expensive)... enjoy your travels, otto

there looks like some hope for G&B - some digging happening outside the shop next door today... i miss G&B...hope it is soon resolved...

yes...car clamped on our street today...the disk had expired in december...

G&B has opened up an interesting independent business which I think is a very nice addition to Lordship Lane. I would be incredibly sad if they disappeared. Let's hope for the best for them. Otto

JAGS pool most excellent - it is filled with children and families during sat and sunday days...evenings are great for adults. Anyone can join, but, there is usually a waiting list for membership as it is v. popular...The fees include use of gym, classes, tennis, etc. There is a discound available if you have a child at JAGs but it is marginal.

for a bit of fun -- Anyone care to edit the East Dulwich page of Wikipedia??? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Dulwich -- Otto

We live nearish the station and ll, and, as east dulwich has gotton more popular, our street has become almost impossible to park on (4 years ago it was not too bad). It is worse on rainy days and days after football matches so I am guessing lazy commuters...I've two small children and it is not terribly fun when you can't park anywhere remotely close to the house with groceries, school gear, tired children, etc. Many a time I've had to double park in the middle of the road and block traffic to unload the groceries whilst the children are screaming...then i get back in the car and circle for 20minutes for a spot, then we all get out and walk to the house...yuck. The best solution so far is I try to cycle or walk everywhere instead, but, there are times when I have to drive. I would actually welcome some kind of residents permit if it discouraged commuter parking on our street. Ironically, we bought our house for the benefit of not having to drive to get to the station, shops, etc...and now we hesitate to ever ever ever move our car...would ditch the car but it is necessary sometimes...

Oh dear...G&B a favorite...how sad... The best course of action for both the shop and east dulwichites is perhaps to buy copious amounts of wine and cider thus giving the shop extra cash and keeping ourselves in the holiday spirit!

Hi I cycle with my two children to and from school. We ride a tandem, my 6 year old son in the front, and my other 3 year old in a childs' seat in the back -- I'm in the middle. We go about two miles through rush hour kid-to-school-traffic from East Dulwich through Dulwich Village to two different DCPS schools. It is much quicker than driving, and, a fantastic way to get to school. We are quite slow as the children are heavy (it is all uphill in the a.m.), and I am terribly cautious, so it takes us about twenty minutes. Most of the traffic is well-familiar with the spectacle of three of us on a bike, and, even the buses are polite. We on rare occasion are forced onto the pavement as there is no way of staying on the road sometimes (construction, etc). When we are on the pavement we go at a pedestrian pace and are super-mindful. I have to use common sense as to what is safe for a 3 and 6 year old and it is a journey which requires utmost alertness and good judgement - e.g. I don't do it with a hangover, illness, etc... oh - and the weather this week - please stop!

Hi As the bowling green is in back of our house, my husband and our ex-neighbor joined for fun. (they are fairly young guys) There was a box on the membership form one had to tick to say "I am a member of the conservative party" or something to that effect. My husband and his pal decided to photocopy the form without this sentence or box, filled it in, paid dues and signed up. They then had a great time with snooker and cheap beer. Unfortunately, our neighbor moved, so, my husband let his membership lapse. We would certainly sign up again -- it is a relic which would be great fun if other younger members joined. Any campaign to reshape/resurrect this club would be fantastic. They do "interview" prospective members - I think the guys just had a drink with someone and were welcomed. The downfall for it is I believe women have to join as "wives of"...I did pay a pound to join as "the wife" but I never ended up going...