The Minkey

Yes the Co-op will still be there, but I find it to be on par with corner shop prices unless something's on a special deal. It's just too expensive if you're having to watch the pennies. Iceland is just about the last grocery store on LL catering for people on limited incomes. For that alone, it gets my vote.

"Hi all, I don't think it could be totally cycle/pedestrian separated as people get off buses and cross the road." The existing change of surface with the addition of a small kerb to separate it from the pavement may have acted as a much better change of use indicator. As it is, there is nothing at all to warn the visually impaired.

That sounds rather grim, Prunella, hope you are OK now. Did they identify what the poison was or were you guessing? I'm just wondering because Poison Ivy is supposedly not found in the UK. Hope it doesn't put you off the foraging.

Yes, it was the bus chat that marked us out as relative neighbours, for some reason I pinned the cat thing to you too - my useless memory! I only got one letter about three weeks or so ago. It would be good if after this survey, Thames Water are able to tell us where the sewer pipes run. I tried to find out when buying the house but neither the council nor TW knew. My neighbour tells me there used to be a manhole cover out back of my house which would have been access for 4 houses. It's not there now so if she's right, someone has covered it over with concrete :-( I was thinking of putting decking down out back so it would be handy to know where those pipes are.

Sounds like the same letter I got AQ - I think we live fairly nearby eachother (didn't you once kindly offer to catsit for me?) - I don't recall an invite to a drop in session. Just had the one letter.

Bizarrely, his brother Johnny was accused of assaulting and raping a psychiatric patient at Springfield Hospital in Tooting in the 1970s.

AQ: I'm also now on a very limited income and I can second that about the supermarket special offers. It's really worth checking out the non-offer items as it's sometimes the case that they work out cheaper. Doesn't make much sense but I've found it to be true. For fruit and veg, Lewisham Market and Rye Lane are much better than supermarkets, e.g. I got 12 red peppers for a quid last time I went to Lewisham, and a big pineapple for 60p. Depends what's in season, but there are some great deals to be found outside the supermarkets.

Can you create some kind of ramp for the hog to get out should it fall in the pond. They can swim, but they would eventually drown if they can't get out? Unless you've sealed the boundaries of your garden when you got the garden done, it's probably getting in and out OK - they are quite good climbers. It should be going into hibernation around about now. This site has a little more information: http://www.overthegardengate.net/wildlife/hedgehog.asp

"Iceland is fine! Long may it stay and long may the great staff in there have jobs." Totally agree.

Jason's cut my hair four or five times now and I've always been delighted with the results. Thoroughly recommend him.

If you mean the shop at the end of the little undercover shopping centre, it's a Morrisons.

Sorry to hear about this. Between you and the manager, and anyone sitting at your table, you should be able to furnish a decent description so worth reporting it to the police I would have thought.

Although I do do a supermarket shop the majority of my fruit and veg shopping is from Lewisham Market or Rye Lane; wholefoods and deli stuff from independents in Brixton; toiletries and cleaning products from discount shops on Rye Lane; online retailer for cat food. Apart from Iceland and the Coop, I tend to use the stores on LL for occasional treats and gifts.

If there were victims of his behaviour, then it may help them to have their story come out. The stories don't surprise me unfortunately, I heard something unpleasant about him back in the early eighties. A lad I was friendly for a time told me of an inappropriate incident that had happened while he was still at school which involved Jimmy Saville and a girl who was under the age of consent. It's so long ago, I can't remember the details but it was certainly being talked about back then.

It was an extremely poorly conceived idea given that given it's alongside a single lane bus route and people cross between the backed up buses from where they can't see oncoming cyclists. Worse, if you are unfamiliar with that section of town, get off a bus and go to cross the road, how are you expected to know you aren't simply crossing onto the pavement, the cycle path is simply not evident enough.

Thanks for the explanation. As far as I can tell I did it correctly. I found a switchover guide for my TV yesterday which says to select the Auto Retune option which is what I did. It completely clears old channels and repopulates from scratch. I'll see if I can find any more information. Not been too bothered til now, it's been quite nice having a break from TV but with the darker evenings creeping in the idea of curling up on the sofa in front of the box is becoming increasingly attractive ;-)

Sue: I do have the the channels listed, the problem is that they eithe return 'no signal' or the picture is so broken up it's unwatchable. That's very interesting Bic Basher. What were those of us with an HD Ready TV meant to do to retune, do you know?

Yes, I retuned after each switchover date, and several times since. I wouldn't have thought it necessary to move the aerial either but I gave it a try to see if it would help. It didn't. I tried one of those booster type aerials too but that was even worse. The plethora of new but crap channels on my TV list doesn't compensate for the loss of all the BBCs, ITVs etc. Bizarrely, I can get 5USA fine.

It's been repositioned in every location its lead will allow. No joy. I've retuned the TV many times too.

I have hardly watched TV since the Digital Switchover ruined my reception of all the channels I used to watch: No BBC or ITV channels, no Film4 etc. I have a lot of channels listed but most are unwatchable either due to picture quality or content. I have the same indoor ariel I had prior to the change. Anyone else found their reception degraded?

Why on earth does it exclude tenants overstaying a lease I wonder?

Conversely, as a pedestrian, I find the cycle lane really dangerous. If one is crossing between two stationery buses, you have to know you are walking onto a cycle lane. If one is unacquainted with that part of Rye Lane, it's really bad news. Given that it is what it is, it's beholden on cyclist and pedestrian both to be extra vigilent when using that stretch.

Part of the reason we are experiencing a decline in bird populations is because we are destroying their habitats so whether or not one thinks it appropriate for these particular chicks to have been rescued it is entirely appropriate for tree surgeons to be pulled up on this point because leaving a nest in place but completely exposed is not an acceptable solution. The best time for pollarding according to the RHS is late winter / early spring which neatly gets round the issue of nesting birds.

There will always be people who don't see the point in doing a good thing.

This appears to be the councinl tree surgeon's workaround: Leave the nest in place with no cover whatsoever. I saw similar in a pollarded tree on the road leading up from Brockley towards Shannon's Garden Centre.