lbsmith73

Barber please stop with your complete and utter drivel, you have have seen one complaint and yet again you fly to the rescue to suit your own agenda, remember the CPZ the list of failures is long and well documented. The club is a thriving success which supports the wider community so should be celebrated and encouraged. My house backs onto a football club with floodlights, I was very supportive when they installed their new 3G pitch as it meant no short sighted Cllr could agree to build any homes. Why you are commenting on the number of hours kids need when sleeping is beyond me, please stop.

Rio in the changing room pre-match https://www.instagram.com/p/_wmrL8tgxq/

I normally get there about 2.30pm

No wonder the Lib Dems got a hiding at the last election, perhaps Barber and his party should come down to see how to drum up (excuse the pun!!) more support, I am sure we could stretch to offering 8 free tickets!

Green Goose, wow I must have touched a nerve there! I don't think I have ever been called a jealous socialist but I will take it as a compliment. I can't believe you are tripping out the same old tosh Mr Gove used to spout about standings in the world educational league tables and look what happened to him! May I suggest you look at how well state (or comprehensives as you call them) schools perform, particularly in areas such as London. Paying to go private does not buy you a first class education it buys you a place in society. Why are there so little state school students at Oxford and Cambridge? Is it because they are not bright enough? Or is it because they don't mix in the right environment for them to be accepted? Yes we are way behind America, but not in quality of our education but in our attitudes that those who are privileged, bright or not, get far more opportunities (Mr cameron et al). It is nice to see America leading the way that it is not about where you come from it is about your abilities that count (Barack Obama!!).

People really do write some ill informed comments about this topic. I am a deputy head teacher in a state school in a selective borough with grammar schools. We have a truly comprehensive intake from A* students to students with complex needs. I am proud to serve our local community and if we really want to create a level playing field then why not get rid of private and selective schools and let all children go to their local schools? And if parents got involved and showed more support then you just might see all our schools thriving! Regards the comments that private schools do so much to help their poorer state school friends, well I have experienced this first hand and quite frankly the co-opted governors from one elite private school that I experienced had no idea about the challenges and issues we faced and I found it rather patronising. As for their teachers supporting state schools, all I can say the teachers I work with have a much higher level of understanding of how to maximise the potential of all their students not just those who are easy to work with (and they have to be qualified!) Regards opening their facilities to the local community, yes they do have clubs but these are not subsidised. I have children who attend clubs at these schools and we pay a considerable amount in fees, which if I am not mistaken, the majority of which goes to the private schools. Their facilities, which have been built with tax payers money (in directly through their joke of a charitable status), act as an important revenue stream and generate vast sums of income. I am sure they do some worth while activities in the local community but I hardly think they are really reaching out to all parts of the community. I understand we live in a free market economy and if people wish to pay for services then so be it. What I can't understand is when the private sector (in this case independent schools) think all they have to do is help a few old ladies, allow the local primary school to see how the other half live and have a few middle class sports clubs use their facilities on a weekend is reason to justify it's charitable existence. I would prefer they keep themselves separate and let them survive on the fees they charge. Other private businesses do not get the luxuries afforded to private schools and if they don't generate the income they go to the wall. It's seems these schools can certainly have their cake and eat it, but one day they might just choke!

Just thought I would add my thoughts on this thread having sold my house recently. We put our property (5 bed house) on the market in January 2014 with KFH, they were very slick with their sales pitch and promised me the world, in my heart of hearts I knew they were over valuing my house but like so many people I got blinded by the pound signs in front of my eyes! Well I went with them none the less and had a really bad experience, they had one nice agent who was very helpful and she knew from the start it was priced too high but couldn't admit it. The other agents that showed clients round were useless, on the times I was there in the background I was shocked by their lack of knowledge about the area and their rush to get clients onto the next property. We had one offer which was not serious and way below the asking price and this was after 12 weeks with them. I switched to Property In Dulwich and they were brilliant (I can't recommend them enough)they are local and know the area inside out and managed my expectations well. They marketed the property with a guide price which was well below the original asking price KFH had suggested and within two weeks it went to sealed bid and went much higher than we expected. Our plan was to move to Norfolk but we got cold feet and have decided to stay in London. We are moving at the end of this month (we are moving into a flat for a short period) and have been looking at other properties in SE22. What I have noticed it has really calmed down since we sold our property at the end of March. We have had a couple offers accepted in the last two months which were well below the asking the price however they didn't workout. Prices are definitely levelling off and it some cases starting to fall, people are not prepared to pay the silly prices anymore and I think sellers have to be more realistic about what they are going to get regards asking prices. I feel fortunate to have sold when I did as I know I would not get anywhere near the price my house achieved in March if it went back on the market now. All in all whether you like them or not using estate agents is a lottery my only bit advice is to manage your own expectations as too often you get carried away which can lead to frustration and stress!

Hi, I was on the scene just after it happened, I helped them cyclist to the side of the road and sat with him until the ambulance arrived. He hit the car door as a women opened it. He must have been travelling very fast as he ended up in some way from the car in the middle of the road.

just to be warned, a teenager tried to steal my bike when i left it in the front garden to pop back into my house to get something. I came out and he was riding my bike down the road, i chased him down forest hill rd and into park, I was about to catch him when he jumped off my bike and ran into the woods. Bike safe but i was a bit out of breath!

James, do you not have anything better to do apart from stir up trouble? I suppose you need to get your one minute of fame before the Lib Dems bite the dust!

The best way is on a bicycle I do it every day and it takes 30 min