The Minkey

Can't work out exactly where it's coming from but it's somewhere near the reservoir. Band practise or someone obsessed with that particular track? Whichever, it's worming its way into my brain in a really unpleasant way.

Run a search. You'll find such a thread already exists.

I spotted over 40 of them on a single plant in my garden, all different varieties madly mating with each other.

To clarify, my neighbour got his information from the police who turned up following the getaway of the two youths. It was the police who told him they were investigating a stabbing. It's unclear whether it was one person hurt or two, or how badly.

You need to apply for permission if the fence bordering a highway, or footpath bordering a highway, is over 1 metre high: https://www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/commonprojects/fenceswallsgates/

I'm very wary of spreading rumour. The men we saw were definitely spooked by the police sirens, they ran back to the car and sped off with no regard for the fact the tyre was completely useless. The normal response would be to pull over and check out the damage. The police car came off Brenchley and went down Athenlay so I don't think it was connected with the accident as it was going in the wrong direction for access to the Cemetary :-(

Not so sure it was just gossip. The neighbour I was standing outside chatting to when the shouting started has since told me he'd spoken to the police later that afternoon: two fatalities, one vehicle abandoned at the scene and the vehicle we witnessed the guys get into and try to speed off down the road with a ruptured tyre abandoned down the bottom.

The kind of moths we are talking about love dark conditions and their larvae can subsist on dust so they may well be living on the detritus under the floorboards.

A fierce argument took place at the junction of Athenlay and Kelvington Road that same afternoon. Two guys shouting the odds out on the street. A grey car then pulled up outside No 40 with such force, it ruptured the front tyre hitting the pavement. The driver got out and joined in. As the sound of sirens approached, the driver and one of the guys involved in the argument jumped back into the car and attempted to speed off down Kelvington with its tyre flapping. The other guy they'd been arguing with went back into the house. The police car shot down Athenlay. Could that incident have been connected with the OP?

Two years ago, a property on my street went for 345k. Last November, one went for 485k which seemed an incredible increase for such a short period of time, yet a mere 5 months later, another property is up for sale at 625k. Overheated market, yes I think so.

"And for want of those monies, I fear that East Dulwich will stay a slum, albeit a more expensive one" - says someone who has no idea what a real slum is.

I'm amazed that so many people have reported witnessing this and seem to have been concerned by it yet said nothing at the time.

I have a Petsafe microchip cat flap, and it's doing an excellent job. I no longer come down of a morning to find a stranger black cat curled up on my chair. You need a power point relatively nearby as they run off the mains.

In the meantime, get a cat litter tray so your two can do their business safely and cleanly.

Ah yes, the standard thing if you end up in A&E is that everyone who arrives to attend to you asks a very similar set of questions. To someone with dementia, this can be extremely tiring and worsens confusion - in my friend's case, she simply becomes unable to answer so I do it for her. However, I dread to think how she would fare if I weren't there to fill in the gaps in her memory. So it would be useful when dealing with dementia patients, if any information gathered during the visit could be noted then subsequent people could refer to it without the need to ask the patient the same questions all over again.

I have attended Kings A&E numerous times over the past couple of years as escort to an elderly friend. The first time I took her in following her second fall in a week, with an undiagnosed gallbladder infection. She had a big lump on her side which they said needed scanning but they were prepared to release her home that night and let the GP arrange for scans. I kicked up a polite fuss and said I didn't think it safe to send her home given she was running a fever and was extremely unwell in my opinion. Fortunately, they listened as the overnight obs proved that to be the case. She stayed in for 5 1/2 weeks. During that time, although the nursing staff were great, her food and drink placed within reach etc (unlike a previous stay in Lewisham), although I was listed as next of kin to be able to deal with her doctors, I found it very difficult to find someone who could report on her prognosis/progress and eventually resorted to making an appointment to talk to one of the doctors responsible for her care. During the course of her stay, because she'd become extremely confused, she was given a brain scan. I was told the results were OK only to find out during a chance conversation a couple of weeks later, the scans had showed changes consistent with an Alz type dementia. This was the first time it was mentioned. Her memory had been getting a bit flaky but at 96, that's not so unusual and we hadn't been too worried about it. So communication and quality of that communication proved to be an issue. Not only in the hospital but afterwards when a referral to the Memory Team failed to materialise and she recieved no care in that area until I got social services involved last year. This was a great pity as we hadn't been made aware there were medications that could be given that could slow down the progression of the Alz. and so they weren't begun until 18 months or so after the diagnosis by which time it was much more overt. It was decided not to put her through the ordeal of a gallbladder removal given her advanced age so she was fitted with a choloplast bag to contain exudate from her gallbladder which was draining through a hole in her abdomen. We weren't told it would need changing. It remained in place until it began stinking to high heaven, a smell of rot so strong, it hit you as you walked through her front door. The Community Nursing team hadn't been informed it needed changing, or that they'd need to order the bags. Fortunately, the day after I went round there, noticed the smell, disposed of the bag, got her cleaned up as best as possible, and applied a temporary dressing, she had an appt for a liver scan so I contacted Suite 7 who said to bring her in directly after her scan to be checked over. Again, a situation arising from poor communication but top points for flexibility and fitting her in without an appointment. She's had several falls since then, some of which have required her to be checked over at A&E, with variable results. One time, having been in A&E for some time already, I left her in a cubicle having informed a nurse she needed a bedpan. Having waited for it to arrive, I thought it safe to go get a sandwich, I returned 10 minutes or so later, to find the call light on outside her room and the poor woman scarlet in the face still holding herself up off the full pan with shaking arms because no one had responded to the alarm. Another time, she was sent in by her GP for IV antibiotics to try get on top of the cellulitis that had developed on one of her legs due to a skin break she got during a fall. The oral antibiotics weren't cutting it. She was sent home instead with another prescription for oral antibiotics. As dementia can be made so much worse in the presence of infection with the risk a person may not return to baseline function, it was very frustrating as indeed she was experiencing a more profound episode of dementia while the cellulitis was present. I didn't get the impression the doctor who saw her was aware of the implications. Thing is, a timely intervention could make all the difference for a dementia sufferer living alone as progression due to infection with the possibility of permanent worsening could result in them having to go into a care home. A major issue with Kings is patient transport waiting times. Back then at the tailend of 2011, the target waiting time for patients to wait to go home was set at 1 hour, but we often waited 2 hours or more in the departure lounge area. We spoke to people who had been there 3 hours or more. Had she been on her own, there would have been no one to ask for water or to assist a person with mobility issues to get to the toilet. The estimated waiting time is now 2 hours if I remember correctly from a recent appointment. I think it's fantastic there is transport for patients unable to get there under their own steam, but the stress of these prolonged waiting times in an unfamiliar environment exacerbates the dementia and it takes days for them to get back to baseline with all the extra care that involves. A couple of weeks ago, at almost 98 years of age, she had her first appointment at King's Elderly Care Assessment Unit. It couldn't have been more different, a dedicated transport team meant she was able to make a timely return journey home. It made all the difference to her subsequent well being and recovery from the journey to hospital. A couple of days ago, her GP referred her for another hospital appointment. I asked it it might be possible for her to be referred through the Elderly Care Unit again seeing as they are equipped to deal with such elderly people and it would make attending an appointment a much less traumatic experience. I dearly wish it could be possible, but I doubt it will be. Sorry for the length of this, and it's rather stream of consciousness nature. I have to go out and don't have time to compose a more concise/eloquent response. My own experience of Kings - by which I mean my own appointments at Haemotology and the Breast Clinic have been good but I'm able to get there under my own steam. I've a niggling feeling I've missed something important, I'll post later if I remember what it is.

Eating stinky food on buses and leaving the waste behind is ignorant and selfish regardless of which socio-economic group a person belongs to.

A Labour Mayor didn't and won't approve an extension because the areas involved are rock solid Labour?

"I though the bedroom tax had been adjusted to take into account disabled room use? " No, Cameron seems to think disabled people in need of a space to store equipment are exempt, but it's not true. Reform may well have been needed but it should have been phased in such a way that vulnerable people were not left destitute, or so scared of destitution they kill themselves, imo. What a world.

On the rubbish front: Last Saturday afternoon, I popped out to get a few things and saw a stack of 40+ cardboard boxes heaped out on the pavement at the junction of Highshore Rd and Rye Lane. Had there been an obligation to flatten them, it would have taken up far less space and been less of an eyesore, and they could have been stacked somewhere a little more discreet until close of play.

Morleys in Brixton seems to be bucking the trend.

Like Ponderwoman, I enjoy both areas. Peckham for practical shopping: Morrisons, Lidl, Supersavers, Boots, Persepolis, the chinese supermarket, occasionally the irish butcher. The stores specialising in asian/african goods are great for dried goods, spices, and some fruit and veg. I like ED for its charity shops, gift and card shops, food treats, hardware stores, coffee, cake, and dining.

Probably way too late for your Valentine's meal, but my suggestion would have been to make Spaghetti with Gorgonzola Sage your main course. It's just so tasty, simple and quick to prepare. You can have it all done and dusted in the time it takes to cook the pasta. I can't find the original recipe I followed but this one is pretty close, though I'm a bit more generous with the sage and use gorgonzola dulce as opposed to the stronger one which isn't stated: http://flavorofitalyblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/spaghetti-with-gorgonzola-sage-sauce.html

True, considered would have been more accurate. Anyway moving on, it's reached its target so a debate may be on the cards. Long overdue, imo. As for countries with more successful drug policies, Portugal seems to have had some success with theirs since they moved to decriminalise: http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html Other than that, it's worth keeping an eye on Uruguay which legalised cannabis last December, and those US states that have done the same.

Is it Elephant & Castle pink?