richfish

And you can use this http://www.londonlibraries.org/servlets/home to search all of the London public library catalogues as well as to reserve books in Southwark (or in any other borough now which is pretty remarkable). I don't think that is difficult at all. Libraries are a public space and reconciling different types of people's varying styles of use is never going to be easy. I find tolerance, good manners and a generosity of spirit helps.

I have been here 10 years (north end of Hindmans/Tyrrel Road), its a lovely place to live, calm but varied. Never had any late night trouble at all and it feels safe (though some roads would benefit from better street lighting I suspect). Have had the usual periodic bike thefts but no car vandalism or break-ins. Clockhouse is an OK pub, Rye Hotal is nice too, likewise Gowlett and does great pizzas but service can be crap, the Rye is great and never feels too packed and now has a cafe. You are better placed for Peckham Rye station which gives you more transport choices than ED but is not always a pleasant travel experience, the 63 and 12 buses are amongst the best in the area. If you work in town though it is generally an hour journey in rushhour whether bus or train (unless you happen to work right next to Ldn Bridge or Blackfriars). This drove me mad after a couple of years and I now try to cycle as much as possible. The other downside is that you are more of a treck to Lordship Lane and access to grocery stores (though couple of small shops on ED Road and one on N Barry Road), restaurants etc. Fusion gym is very handy for this part of ED and I think is good value with a nice atmosphere if not the cleanest place in the world. Don't know anything about schools.

I couldn't agree more with Nero. Said train is a good route but the train doesn't run after 9pm in the evening, let alone at weekends. And its hardly frequent in the morning rush hour either - I think I am right in saying that it can be nearly 30 minutes between trains at core peak time. What a marvelous service! Factor in the often horrendous time spent trying to buy a ticket at Peckham Rye station (I am not a daily traveller so don't have a travelcard and you can't use Oyster PrePay at these stations) and the journey time is certainly well over an hour, get your timing wrong and it is well over that length of time. It is a joke - this is Zone 2 - I could probably do it in half the time if I lived in Croydon. You would definitely get my vote Laurie if you can do something about this as the public transport service from SE22 to central London has been getting steadily worse in the 10 years I have lived here whether it is overcrowding, frequency of service, buying a ticket, or just how bad it all smells - in fact it is the one thing that will make me move! If you work in town and have a reasonably long working week and/or socialise after work it is a nightmare.

I think that sounds like a good idea too. Good luck. Any improvements to the ever deteriorating network of public transport in SE22 are welcome in my view. Apparently there are plans to reduce the already pathetic frequency of trains from East Dulwich to London Bridge which has already had peak morning hour reductions. Madness. Can you campaign for that to be changed too please?

I agree we need some sort of rail or public transport passenger group for the area. Lambeth have a really good one I think, perhaps they could help out with setting one up or widen their area? Where is the meeting to be held? I generally cycle to work in Clerkenwell but use the train once/twice a week either because of early meetings or late nights out. It is absurd that the service from ED at peak hours is effectively a reduced service - I took this up with Southern who said they realised the problem but could not do anything about it as the reason is congestion at London Bridge! I agree that we also need to lobby for an increased service in the evening, 3 an hour would be better than what we have now, 4 an hour would be even better. Then there is the lack of Oyster pre-pay which for interim travellers like myself means that I pay more for my transport costs than anyone else in a zone 2 area unless I travel enough to buy a peak hours travel card. And lastly the station - its disgusting and the ticket machine is beyond a joke - reminds me of pre 1990's eastern europe. I have taken these points up with Val Shawcross AM who is sympathetic but doesn't seem to have any real power to effect change. And the Council just don't seem even interested let alone willing to do something. Lets hope citizen action can do something.