Louisa

I have NOTHING against chains, I made that point earlier. I love Iceland! My objection is toward the way in which a chain, notably White Stuff, has tried to give the impression they are somehow different and not a typical High Street name! They came to LL and will path the way for other chains. They are expanding, and they are in no way an independent small group of shops. Offering discounts and trying to pretend they love ED is my biggest issue. Plus the fact they think they can charge loads more for the same tat you could get at Primark for half the price! (that does not make them ethical btw)

AB; Can you not come up with any other privaetly owned businesses which remain in the hands of the owner? Morrisons perhaps? Body Shop (may have been sold now)... Owner interest is not the point, look at facebook!! A chain is a chain, however you want to dress it up in frilly knickers.

'And, hey Louisa, where do you get off? Where on earth do you get your anger from? If you haven't got anything nice to say (which is usually the case) don't bother.' Anger? I was not angry at all. I was making a point to the team at White Stuff. Jah chose to step in and personally attack me by claiming that I usually cannot say anything nice. Well I sincerely appologise that I cant just live and let live, have no opinions, see the world through rose tinted glasses. No one tells me there is a time and place to make a point. That post on behalf of White Stuff was a deliberate attempt to encourage everyone to give positive feedback about the chain opening up along LL. What they claim to be a small independent business opening up locally for the good of the area, selling overpriced 'ethical' clothing, is in fact a growing business opening up new stores all the time. I expect an appology from Jah because as you rightly say Sean 'there is no need to get personal in public'. Maybe then I will appologise for my comment.

Surely the police station will be replaced by a residential block of houses/flats?

Jah Lush I dont need to, you always talk rubbish on here. Which post shall I exhume?

Spitfire is my current favourite, I dont really enjoy Lager, it was not available in pubs in this country at one time and I think it has lowered the standards for real beers ales and stouts.

It wont be long til M&S take over Somerfield in my opinion.

templeton, I am not against White Stuff. I am against the post which they put up to try and gain free advertising aa few new customers.Ifny other chain did this you would all be up in arms.Iceland are chain yes, but they offer decent deals and the quality of the food is good. The snobbery xressedysomeon here against Iceland is unfounded, as most have never shopped there. White Stuff may well be somewhere I choose to shop, but I dislike the way they are trying to take the route of being fair trade against sweat shops and fashionable to the mobile young middle classes, and then over charging people for their goods which are probably cheaper in Primark or M&S.

I reckon I have a valid point. What would you guys be saying if M&S or Bhs opened up a store locally and got someone from the marketing department to make the claim they are in effect a small local business providing compettion for the small 'indies;, when in fact we all know they are following the same route as every other chain did. They are opening up new stores as we speak across the country, this is how all the big names started, and given 5 years they wont be far off from having a store on every major High Street across the land! I dont mind chains myself, but dont try pretending to us that you're a small independent business offering discounts to people to get us all on side. It's disingenuous and it makes me cringe. I am not going to shy away like Jah Lush and pretend it's great, give it a few years and other chains will be queueing up to join the LL club to provide dull lifeless clothing for posh mothers with more money than sense. I am not against success, far from it, but I am against the tactics of transforming retail in an underhand way. Why are the rents so high on the corner shop btw? hmmmm

'at what stage does an independent become too successful to be deemed acceptable?' When it is no longer an indepdent but a large high street name across the whole of the UK, and also in Europe..

Oh ok Jah Lush, so i'll just avoid the issues and pretend everything is fine and there isnt any disingenuous marketing going on here. You need to go to specsavers if you really cant see what this is all about.

I find it amusing how White Stuff feel the need to stick a junior member of staff onto a forum such as this and try to warm us to the new store with a discount of sorts. You claim you will be competition for the indies? You talk as though you are selling clothes from a couple of local London based stores, when in fact you have stores all over the UK and in France! You are a large chain in the making, why try to hide that fact? You avoid the High Street, but in turn attract High Street names! lol You point out you have no 'sweatshop bargains' - does this mean you will be selling overpriced goods for yummies and their offspring? Where do other people go to buy clothing? I shall be coming in for a cup of tea, and you can have a piece of my mind whilst i'm in there! regards, Louisa :)

Iceland do what it says on the label. Somerfield and Sainsburys do not. Getting rid of Iceland so you can create an organic 'butchers, bakers and candlestick makers' scenario is just discrimination against the working classes as far as I am concerned. I would say there are other retail spaces to look at which fit the bill for a waitrose or independent food speciality shop. Iceland are much better than sainsburys waitrose or any UK supermarket in terms of organic and GM free, it's something they guarantee on a large percentage of products, which you are paying less for here, but without the glamour of middle class labels like 'extra special' or 'the best' or 'luxury'.

Who wants to live forever by Queen

Why are so many people hung up on the idea of a gay bar, why not just mix in any pub and if you fancy someone approach them in there, whats the worst that can happen? Surely being gay has come a long way since the days of seedy hangouts in soho? Good grief..

As far as I know the gate lodges are only as old as the park itself, but they certainly hold something from beyond the grave. Many mediums have come across a lady in a straw hat who they believe to be a bee keeper or some sort. The area was once farmland, and no historic links to honey making or bee keeping in Dulwich have been found, though 3 seperate psychics with no links have come across the presence of the same person at the picture gallery entrance to the park.

The ED Paranormal Society (unofficial title) meets monthly at the Library, although we used to gather at various locations around ED/the Village/Peckham Rye.It all started after the regular psychic meetings and reading sessions there. We have been all over ED, including the parks and open spaces, churches and old buildings. Some of the best hauntings have been found in Dulwich Park, especially the two former park lodging cottages.

Too right! It's a picnic area not a place to cook up a hot meal over open flames, especially when there might be kids around! I'd have hosed them down if they had refused to leave (if I were the park keeper).

The ED Paranormal Society have done investigations into UFO sightings in the past. We once did a gathering at the top of the hill overlooking Hornimans park and London. I wish I had been aware of this sighting, would have been great to see and investigate. Did anyone get any photographs?

Why replace Iceland with Waitrose as opposed to Somerfield? It's a more suitable retail space for a Waitrose as Iceland is too small anyway! Think things through before you suggest them please!

I'd ditch all of the above and either go to Ladywell Baths in Catford, or to the Glades pool at the indoor shopping centre in Bromley.

The false perception of other countries is bizarre. I remember being in the states back in the early 1980's when being British was almost criminal in certain communities in Detroit, New York and Boston. Now following the great Mr Blair's political love affair with the President, the Brits are looked upon as a great bunch, everyone talks to you and warms to you because you support the 'war on terror' nonsense. The strerotypes are all wrong, and it angers me how so many people jump on them when they feel the time has come to box an entire nation of people together because of some of the political decisions or a few. Not all Irish folk are members of the IRA, and not all British people are members of the Labour party!

If I had been on the bus i'd have grabbed the girl by her nose and marched her off the bus and chucked her into the gutter, what a piece of filth.

Android17 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > What???? Sorry Android, I may have been too hasty in saying they could make a decent wine ;-)

Brendan, glad to hear you guys have been tamed, shame you cant make a decent lager though ;-) (Castle lager is it?), along with the Aussies and Americans. (and dont let us get confusing BEER with the chemical infused fizzy rubbish lager either!)