kellyscartoons

I feel I am qualified to answer this question as I am something of a chip afficianado. When I was a teenager I lived on chips and toast and I even insisted my mum make me egg and chips for christmas dinner in spite of the fact that she would be cooking a traditional christmas dinner for 10 people. My favourite local chip shop is actually in Tulse Hill opposite the second hand car dealers. Very traditional and consistently good. I used to like the chip shop at the top of Denmark Hill despite the fact that you always had to wait for chips when you went in there, which was a good thing because they were always fresh. It's been taken over now so not sure what it's like. Brilliant Chip shop up near the Mount Pleasant sorting office.Proper old fashioned with formica tables and white tea cups run by Italians.Not mad about the one in half moon lane either to be honest. Chips I've got there in the past were cold. Olleys is vastly over rated and I have always thought this. I haven't used it for ages. Those stupid bloody paper cones done it for me (do they still use them). Also turning it all posh and making into a restaurant gave me the hump. Another thing when it comes to chips, and I know it's terribly non PC, but I have yet to get a decent bag of chips in a Chinese Chip shop. Dunno why, perhaps the oil they use is different. I suspect they are not fully committed to chips as they usually have a chinese food menu as well and this is reflected in the quality of chips.

Apologies, I should have stated the many council properties that USED to be in the area.Of course these days the council properties are probably few and far between. Sir,you may well be a local character,but I think a distinction needs to be made between 'local characters' and the raving lunatics that seem to have been described in this thread.

Many of the people you mention probably are care in the community cases (with the exception of DIY hair man) and the reason for the fact there may be many in the area is twofold. One reason is the proximity to the Maudsley hospital and the other is the fact that not so long ago East Dulwich was a very working class area and many of these people would have been housed in the many council properties in the area. Despite the yummy mummys,posh Delis and Gaurdian readers who seem to have taken over the area there is still a dark undercurrent in East Dulwich.