Cuthbert Dibble

would echo most of the comments here about variations within the SE15 postcode - roads such as Oglander, Ondine, Adys, Maxted, Muschamp, Marsden etc could all in my view be described as being in East Dulwich, except for the fact they have se15 postcodes which means that technically they aren't. Not sure what your budget is but there are flats to rent/for sale on Muschamp at the moment which is a fab road....

you can see what the wind's going to be doing on this website - http://www.xcweather.co.uk/. Many amateur pilots use it. Just drag the arrow over Heathrow - as you can see we've got a few more peaceful days to come....

I know I've mentioned this before but just to clarify... Planes land into the wind (so they don't land too fast basically). 70% of the time approx, the wind at Heathrow is westerly, which means that to land into it the planes have to fly over London, often East Dulwich.... But if it's easterly (as it is right now, and will be until Thurdsay at least according to the forecast) they land from the west, into the wind, ie over Reading, Windsor etc..... They take off towards us, but usually fly off in a different direction before flying over South East London. So that's why it's quiet right now - enjoy while it lasts!

well - we can all look forward to a week of quiet - easterly winds forecast Sunday til Thursday (at least) = no Heathrow bound planes over our lovely town. (Although there'll probably be a few heading for City Airport instead) enjoy the uninterupted sleep everybody!

I reckon Frisco and macroban are in fact the same (slightly odd) person.

Best way to stop foxes getting in your garden? Wee round the borders. They hate the smell. And, hey, it's fun!

I have to say I find it odd when some people who live in SE22 imply that the Bellenden Road area/any place with a SE15 postcode is in a far off, scarey area called "Peckham" which you would be well advised to stay clear of (as has happened in another thread in particular). Were you to walk out of East Dulwich station and head towards Goose Green - few would deny that you were in fact very much in, as the name of the station implies, East Dulwich. If however, whilst passing the end of Oglander or Ondine Road you happened to plant one of your feet about 2 feet to the left (maybe to avoid an errant dog turd) that foot would be in Peckham - as the SE15 postcode boundary ends there. Gangs of feral youths would no doubt appear and attack that foot with massive knives and guns - cos that's what happens in Peckham isn't it? The fact is the "Peckham residents" who live on these, and other roads (Marsden, Muschamp, Adys etc) live about a five minute walk away from the most interesting, lively end of Lordship Lane. Wheras many East Dulwich residents "proper" who live, say, further towards Forest Hill may have an SE22 postcode, but probably have to get a bus/drive/walk about a mile in order to sample the delights of the East Dulwich Deli, EDT and, er, Foxtons. To conclude then... - Although I know the term "East Dulwich borders" reeks of estate agents speak, it probably is an accurate description of this part of SE15 right up to and (controversial I know) including Bellenden Road. - It's really nice.

re Snorky's use of Foxtons as somewhere for the snorklets to run around in (top idea by the way) - could we organise some kind of flash-mob-Foxtons type thing, whereby Forum members bring themselves, their kiddies and pets along to the branch at an alloted time - and all gather to watch Sky News on their big screen, whilst the children play on the pretty coloured chairs (or visa versa). I think it would be really funny - we might even make it onto BBC London News with Rizla Teeth.

Avoid using estate agents' in-house mortgage brokers, or any they recommend. You'll never get the best deal as they rarely, if ever offer fully independent advice - and you may well have to pay a fee! A complete, unnecessary waste of money. If they imply that you're more likely to get the property if you use their broker then report the Agent to the National Association of Estate Agents. It's illegal - and seems to happen quite regularly. London and Country Mortgages are widely recognised by MoneySavingExpert.Com and numerous others as the best, impartial, fee-free mortgage brokers. I've used them twice and they are excellent.

for anyone bothered by these things - we've got some lovely easterly winds settled in for the next few days - so the weather might be pants - but hey, no (heathrow) planes over ED til Thursday probably. Hurrah!

Easterley winds you see.....

The dishcloth sellers are a pain and I agree it's best to politely and firmly tell them to go away. I suspect if you do buy something there's a chance that word will go around that they struck lucky, and they'll come back in due course. For Jehova's Witness' and religious cold callers - try this. On opening the door, they will start spouting their usual guff about joining the family of God, 144000 places in heaven, blahdy blah. Say nothing. Simply stare at them. They will probably look somewhat confused as this reponse isn't in the script. They may ask you another question, babble on a bit more about how your quality of life could be improved etc etc. Remain silent. Continue to stare at them intently with a blank expression on your face. Carry this on for as long as necessary - Eventually they'll make some kind of concluding comment, say goodbye and head off down the path, possibly trying to hand you a leaflet as they do so. Do not take it. Continue staring at them in silence. And then (making sure you've put the front door on latch or you have keys with you) - FOLLOW THEM. In silence. Staring at them, as you do so. Down the road if necessary. Keep looking at them right in the eyes. It'll freak 'em out and they'll never come back.

Geekery alert - hacan.org.uk has some good info on this.... There are a number of variables but, if you're under the Heathrow flightpath (as opposed to City) - you can at least know in advance whether the early morning planes will be waking you up - by watching the weather forecast the night before. If the wind arrows are pointing east (ie a westerly wind - something which happens around 70% of the time on average) then I'm afraid you should get the earplugs on standby. The planes will land into that wind, probably over East Dulwich. Several come in from the Far East from around 5-6am. In the morning Heathrow uses both runways (we're under the approach for the southern runway I believe) HOWEVER - if its easterly winds forecast (which often happens if it's clear weather blowing in from the continent - ie arrows pointing west) then - yipee! - stand by to enjoy your lie in uninterupted. The planes will approach from the west instead (Windsor etc - why on earth did they build the castle so near the airport??) This happens around 30% of the time. So sometimes during a period of sustained easterly winds there may be no Heathrow planes flying over our lovely town at all (this happened last summer for about a week I recall) Now all you have to do is to get your neighbour to switch off their sodding car alarm.

Given the broad range of moans displayed on this forum, size, architectural style, the horror that children will be allowed to play sport on Peckham Rye, etc etc I have a sneaking suspicion that when the plans are eventually resubmitted the now familiar chorus of disapproval will swell once more.... I do hope I'm pleasantly surprised....

congratulations everyone - I hope you are all really pleased with yourselves, meanwhile hundreds of local parents and children now face at least a year's further delay before this local school will be built. This having campaigned for years already. Time to crack open the champers I'd say. At this rate it might open in time for my grandchildren....

I once had trouble selling my flat in another part of London.....I had tried a couple of local agents who weren't proactive and didn't bother to keep me updated with the effort they were making to sell it (possibly because there wasn't much). I had to chase them the whole time and after a few months I simply gave up. Eventually I took a deep breath, held my nose and signed up with Foxtons. Their agent was a bit of a "geezer" and kept referring to the flat as a "unit" (which I found really annoying) - however the "unit" sold for full asking price within a week. I don't work for Foxtons, and don't particularly like estate agents. Most of the difficulties I have heard about with the company appear to focus on their lettings side and I'm in no position to comment about that. But like 'em or loathe 'em, the desperate desire amongst their commission-hungry employees gets them working hard on behalf of the seller. I agree that's not good news for buyers, struggling first-time purchasers etc, but to lay those issues at the door of one company is bizarre. East Dulwich has 'boomed' without a Foxtons, which suggests it happens even when they don't operate in a particular area. I agree the Whistleblower programme portrayed them in a pretty dodgy light, but according to a couple of reports I read it actually boosted their takings. I can't believe such tactics are/were confined to them. In any case, if you want to sell a property in East Dulwich right now save yourself thousands and buy a sandwich board / do a leaflet drop / or advertise on this forum. That'll probably do it.....

Where do you meet? Green (Man) and Blue? E (D) T?

"The ED Paranormal Society???" Cool!

I didn't see it but on the Stephen Nolan show on Radio 5 Live someone from East Dulwich rang in to report similar sightings - others called in later with similar tales, nobody knew what it was..... You can probably hear it via the BBC interweb-I-Player thingy on the Beeb website....

"Cuthbert Dibble misrepresents the position of the people he is accusing of being "Nimbys" " No I don't. I was reacting to what had been written here and giving examples of the variety of reasons put forward as to why the plans should be opposed, so wide ranging they struck me as examples of - yes you've guessed it. Rob, the fact that you don't go along with Macroban's slippery slope scenario doesn't mean he didn't post it and that it wasn't part of the "anti" position on this thread. I totally agree however that it is lame for Harris not to come along to the meeting and to put forward their views on such an important topic. They cetainly should have done so and have probably made the whole situation worse. I can sense a boycott of Carpet Right is in the offing.

Build a statue, or seven, or twenty

Neighbours moaned - how very uncool

Michael Eavis walked by and said "cor"

Small may well be beautiful but the number of local parents tearing their hair out over secondary school places is big, and getting bigger. Charter is way over subscribed, more and more are having to look at Lambeth, Lewisham and further afield - the problem is getting worse each year. In my opinion a secondary school of 950 pupils isn't actually that huge - there were 1200 at mine and schools of a thousand pupils or more are common. Of course more outdoor space would be lovely but the site can't be magically expanded. Why four storeys? Well maybe that's the most efficient use of space. And despite statements to the contrary I maintain there are loads of Nimby attitudes on display on the forum. Those against the plans seem to have a variety of reasons as to why they are A Bad Thing. Size, the possibility Piermont Green may be concreted over to provide a "drop off point" (?), modern architecture next to Victorian terraces, the lack of outdoor space and the horror that parts of Peckham Rye might actually be used for sports, traffic on Northcross Road (???), someone has even provided a handy cut out and keep worst-case scenario guide as to the dreadful things that might happen.... That is Nimbyism if ever I saw it. You seem to be saying - we're not Nimbys, we want a school, but it has to be the type of building we like and it has to house the number of pupils we find acceptable (and you can't even seem to agree on that) The building of a school is never going to be an ongoing collaboration between council and local community in which the latter chip in suggestions for architectural styles, class sizes etc. Nothing would ever get done. It's a state school which the local community needs and has been campaigning for for years. Its got to be big because of the growing number of local children. Yes it will have an impact on the surrounding area, yes some views will be spoilt and were this a Tescos or a block of flats - the social need for which are practically non-existent - then I would agree with your moans about the consultation process. It's not, so I don't.

incredible - after years of campaigning for a new secondary school for local boys there is now a campaign to stop it - or at least force it through more and more layers of consulations, investigations and, inevitably, delays. This has to be one of the most ludicrous examples of nimbyism I've heard of and those involved should take a long hard look at themsleves. Could some of the members of the "Edge" campaign be so kind as to suggest alternate locations? (I am at least assuming you accept the urgent need for such a school in East Dulwich). I would be fascinated to see where they are, I am guessing most will be at least half a mile of so from your back yards. 950 pupils too many? Oh so sorry. How many would you like? 448? 24? 949? Do you have any idea how long people have been pleading for more secondary school places in the area? Maybe some members of the "Edge" are lucky enough to go private but for some of us that's not an option . And before you ask, yes I live nearby and will be affected by any increase in traffic that may ensue. Howevever I accept that as an inevitable consequence of living in a society that believes providing sufficient school places for local children is a good thing.