Brian up the hill

Don’t forget that Forest Hill Rd is closed completely by Piermont Green thanks to yet another leak, so no 63 bus south of Rye Lane and 363 on diversion up Barry Rd. Also there’s a large hole at the top of Forest Hill Rd at the junction with Honor Oak Rd and traffic control, again courtesy of TW. At this rate, the area will be cutoff from the rest of London, as it will be surrounded by a moat. I wonder if anyone has costed how much T.W. costs London as a result of their frequent and endless failures. Still, shareholder dividends and management bonuses all courtesy of a captive market. As Private Eye would say, trebles all round!

And they serve bougatsa!

The refurb has made it brighter and smarter with greater emphasis on weights and other exercise. Seems that cardio is restricted to the quarter of the floor area as you enter. This seems fair enough as I rarely saw more than half the cardio equipment being used at any one time. I have been told that some cardio will be on the newly created gallery space overlooking the main gym floor. Free weights area looks bigger and there is a good range of resistance machines offering to exercise most muscle groups. There are some new types such as a squat machine, whereas core machines for abs and back seem to have disappeared. I have been told that some machines have yet to arrive. Overall, it’s a great improvement. To say it’s still a dump is unfair and untrue. The alternative would be to traipse over to Beckenham where David Lloyd will charge you the same for two months’s membership as you would pay for a year at DLC.

Yes, Southwark Leisure sent an email (see below) to tell me that it’s was reopening on Christmas Eve but that had to be postponed due to the chlorine leak. They’ve been good keeping me updated by email. The website also gives details. Get Ready – Dulwich Leisure Centre gym is about to open! Ho ho ho! Santa has delivered the ultimate gift of fitness just in time for Christmas. We are beyond excited to announce that the brand new gym at Dulwich Leisure Centre will be opening on 24 December! Please note the opening times on this day are 7am to 3pm. We know our Dulwich members have been eagerly awaiting this moment, and we deeply appreciate your patience and understanding. Trust us, it’s been worth the wait! You’re going to absolutely love the new facilities! £2m Gym Refurbishment across seven centres This marks the completion of our £2m refurbishment project across our centres. The feedback has been really positive overall, and it’s been fantastic to see so many of you exploring different centres. To ensure you get the most out of the new equipment, we’ll be hosting additional induction sessions and gym floor classes in the New Year. Let’s kick start your New Year’s resolutions together! Dulwich Update: Main gym complete: The downstairs gym is now complete with cutting-edge equipment, a fresh, modern design, and more functional space. Inspiring BOX12 circuit coming soon: We’re taking your fitness up a level with our brand new BOX12 circuit on the balcony opening in the New Year. If you’ve experienced the BOX12 studio in Camberwell, you know what’s coming. If not, prepare to be inspired by this innovative training! Book Your New Gym Induction: We’re hosting sessions to help you get comfortable with the new equipment and understand how to best use it to help you reach your fitness goals. Book now on the Southwark Leisure App or website. Thank you Thank you once again for your patience while we’ve been working to complete the gym refurbishments. We can’t wait for you to step inside, beat the January rush, and start your new year fitness journey with a bang! Best Regards, Phillippa Gillespie General Manager Dulwich Leisure Centre Southwark Leisure.

Last year I ordered a coffee grinder as a Christmas present, to be sent to a friend in a Greece. The order was made in mid-November. Unfortunately, the retailer sent it by UPS. There started a grindingly frustrating two months of being caught in the Möbius Loop of UPS bureaucracy and incompetence. They kept claiming that the address couldn’t be found and despite having two telephone numbers, not once did they phone the recipient. Then I changed the delivery to an estate agent’s office in the nearby main village, situated on the main street with clear address, telephone numbers and signs. Again, they claimed not to be able to find the address, which was farcical. Yet again, they made no attempt to phone to check. Eventually, the parcel was delivered at the end of January and yes, a vital part was broken. It was clear that the parcel was lying around in a depot and was chucked in a corner to be covered with other boxes and packets. When I tried to claim the cost of replacing the broken part, they indulged in the sort of passive aggressive stalling that corporate behemoths like them are so good at. Eventually I gave up and took the spare part with me when visiting. I have to say that they are the worst company I’ve ever dealt with, along with Scottish Power. I wouldn’t trust them to deliver anything and make sure I tell anyone who wants to listen that they should avoid them like the plague!

Yes, the footbridge is indeed re-opened, with a nice new surface and the Pissaro panel returned to its rightful place, looking in the same direction as the painting. A pair of painters were finishing off the latticework panels today. This should allow the severely damaged banks of the cutting to recover from four years of trampling.

Recently flew with British Airways and the cabin crew had to put a brave face on having to serve meals and drinks whilst a baby crawled up the aisle whilst the parents looked on with unalloyed pride. Later the father paraded up and down with the baby in a sling, again getting in the way of the cabin crew. Hey ho.

I’M SORRY BUT IT SEEMS THAT THE BRIDGE ISN’T OPEN YET. There have been people trespassing on it which gave the impression that it was. The machinery and other plant need to be removed using Cox’s Walk. I apologise for jumping the gun on this one.

Great news! Cox’s Walk Footbridge has reopened and earlier than expected. Proof positive. (photo courtesy of P. Hedge)

The previous post (Sept 30) has a link to Southwark which says the end of October with the bridge reopening once all plant has been removed, which would be November.

Male and female stag beetles in the garden. Great to see them and have recorded their sighting with the People’s Trust for Endangered Species and the `London Wildlife Trust’s websites.

The bridge work is continuing. The brick abutments have to be removed, new concrete footing installed and the whole thing rebuilt. I imagine, this is before the superstructure of the bridge van be replaced. See photo attached. I doubt it will be finished before the autumn. As for quad bikes getting in, I can’t see how. The western entrance from Cox’s Walk is closed off completely, the eastern entrance is narrow and accessed by steps and a steep hill and it would be impossible to get in via the Crescent Wood Rd gate. Where do these ideas come from?!

The last I heard was that an artificial wood is being used for the superstructure. I believe the bridge was rebuilt sometime in the 1980s so it’s evident that natural wood does not last very long in such a damp location. This alternative material is coming from Australia and has been delayed due to the Red Sea being closed and international shipping being diverted around the Cape.

Ice melting at the North Pole would make no difference to the sea-level as it is floating on water, which it displaces. Land ice, such as that found in Greenland and Scandinavia, would, of course cause a rise in sea-level. Same applies to the continental ice on Antarctica but not the ice flows offshore. It’s also worth remembering that as the sea warms, it will expand so creating another cause of sea-levels rising. This can increase the salinity of ground water near the cost so rendering it unsuitable for drinking unless processed in desalination plants, which use enormous amounts of energy. So, given the complex web of cause and effect with the climate emergency, there is never a simple answer.

It looks like the entrance to the Wood from the eastern side of Cox’s Walk/Lapsewood Walk is still open. Not sure is it will close in the future but still ok for access today.

For those the many who use Dulwich and Sydenham Hill Woods, be aware that from today, access via Cox’s Walk will be closed from the Grove Tavern entrance. This is to allow heavy machinery to move along Cox’s Walk to the bridge which is being rebuilt. It looks from the attached map that this applies also to the Lapsewood Walk entrance, where it seems that the steps down will be closed from the seat on the corner to the kissing gate on the eastern side of the bridge. This means that entry to the Wood can be made only from Crescent Wood Road, Grange Lane and Low Cross Wood Lane. The bridge reconstruction is scheduled to be completed in March. Project Notification Cox's Walk Footbridge Refurbishment.pdf

And another! My water bill is about 35-40% of what it would have been had I still been paying water rates. As to activation, although a few years ago now, I seem to remember that I was under the impression that activation would happen automatically. After a few months of nothing, I contacted Thames Water who said I had to request activation. Don’t ask me why they didn’t make that clear from the outset! However, the money paid in water rates was used against my account so the first year’s charges were negligible.

As I understand it business rates are set by central government. Half of the money raised goes to the council, the other half to the Treasury to be redistributed as local government grants, allegedly.

It was a mess long before Southwark took back the contract.

Mulumbu must be in a very privileged area of Lewisham! I’m in LBL, just over the border from Southwark and we’ve lost many street trees over the years and they have never been replaced. In think Lewisham have a stake in the tarmac industry. Out comes the tree, in plops the tarmac! I am impressed with the care and comprehensive planting of street trees in Southwark, well the southern end at least, as that is my own experience. I do agree with Malumbu’s complaint about Lewisham pavements.

When using the Find a Walk-in COVID vaccination point, don’t use the Age Range filter as it seems to send you far away. The Medicos Pharmacy next to the Jenner Health Centre on Stanstead Rd. and the chemist in Croxley Rd., West Dulwich are both offering boosters. Otherwise, yes, there seem to be plenty in New Cross/Lewisham area and Brixton/Tulse Hill/ Norwood but a bit sparse around Dulwich. And yes, I had my COVID booster on Monday morning by walking into the Medicos Pharmacy. No queue and fast, friendly and efficient.

This might be interesting for those who enjoy the local nature reserves and those who haven’t discovered them yet…..

Just to let those who maybe interested know that this Sunday is the Sydenham Wood Open Day, 11:00-15:00. Activities include: Pond dipping (11:00-12:30 and 13:30-14:30) Bug hunting (as above) Childrens’ crafts (11:00-15:00) Face painting unfortunately cancelled as the face painter can no longer make it. Tree trail (all day) Caterpillar carving Cake stall.

Second video 5;01, doesn’t he jump the lights, having just criticised another cyclist for stopping on the crossing? Physician heal thyself!

Yesterday, traffic lights were in place and contraflow operating on Forest Hill Rd.