Amelie

I am not sure but I think the Local History library may be at the John Harvard Library on Borough High Street.

The Green. Hmm, been twice. Once when it first opened, truly dire. Second after internal revamp, questionable service, good food once cocked-up order sorted out. However, truly dire singer who clearly thought she was a jazz diva manqu? who spent the best part of an hour murdering classic songs.

The new build that went up where the TA barracks used to be on London Road has a set of 'To Let' signs outside it, presumably the expensive flats there were bought by the BTL crowd. I don't know how much joy they are having trying to find tenants.

If faulty road markings have not been repainted I suggest that people write to the Highways Agency and ask if this amounts to breach of statutory duty by LBS. If they say yes, copy the letter to the CEO of Southwark and give her a fixed time to make good. The Audit Commission's CPA assessment is coming up in September .................

Most of the roads in East and West Dulwich were built speculatively when the railway came here, however many of the houses built on the roads remained empty for a long time before people finally started moving here. I don't think it was to do with 'class' per se, after all lots of wealthy merchants moved to Dulwich Village after the new Southwark Bridge was built. Their irritation at not being able to send their sons to Dulwich College was one of the reasons for the school being re-schemed by the Charity Commission.

Without wishing to sound like a braggart, I bought my 1 bed flat at the Harvester end of ED 4 years ago for ?155K. I had it valued a few weeks ago as I was thinking about moving and was told by 3 of the local agents that I could sell it for ?250K with ease. Great news for me in terms of equity but utterly ridiculous when looked at coolly. On top of which to get another similar flat I would have to spend ?250K, in this area which is where I want to be, and even more if I wanted a garden (which I do).

It seems to me that there is an issue to be considered with Academies: education is now centrally controlled, the powers which local authorities used to have over their local schools have been steadily whittled away since the 1940s. This has also meant that head teachers also have less autonomy than they once had. This has in turn led to schools lacking facilities and equipment and well-qualified teachers, because no-one had the power to authorise the expenditure necessary. Hence the quantum differential in standards between state owned schools (with honourable exceptions) and the private schools, which were by and large well-funded and generally never answerable to local authorities (apart from statutory requirements) because of their independent status. However, Academies do have the independence and monies available to provide the standard of education that parents want for their children. This must pose a real dilemma for parents who disapprove of the way in which academies have been set up and funded, but want their children to be properly and thoroughly educated. It's at times like this that I am glad that I don't have to make these decisions, after all which comes first: principles or child?

I have heard the Boudicca legend too, it would mean that the Iceni and their allies would have crossed the Thames going south. This is possible but Londinium then did not extend much beyond what is now the City of London, although there were cemeteries in Southwark, you have to wonder if there would have been anything for the tribes to destroy. Perhaps it was the 'let's drive them into the sea' theory. There is nothing in the subsequent accounts, admittedly written much later, that suggests that the Thames was crossed by the tribes during the uprising. It is strange however that they burned Londinium to the ground and then appear not to have done much more afterward. Exhaustion perhaps or being surprised by the lack of opposition. Britain was heavily forested right up to the Middle Ages, Epping Forest is a shadow of its former self, it is classified as Ancient Woodland and dates from about 8000BC and used to cover almost the whole of Essex.

Tessa Jowell has been demoted not given a new job, with some small part of her former Secretaryship left to her, and as she is never here, pays no attention to her constituency and does not even have the good manners to live here I have absolutely no sympathy for her. I have lived in West and East Dulwich for most of my life. I can remember when Sid Silkin was the local MP, also notable for his impression of the Invisible Representative, and I don't think we have ever had an MP who actually took the role seriously. What the area has done to deserve this is a mystery.

I thought Kingsdale was supposed to have improved hugely after a change in its status, similar to the Charter School which was William Penn. What has gone wrong?

The Effra runs above ground in Belair Park, which was flooded years ago due to heavy rain causing the river to burst its banks.

If anyone is interested there is a long review in this week's Times Literary Supplement of a book on the spread of the Black Death, which was Yersinia Pestis. The review is fascinating and does state that the spread of/type of the plague is disputed. http://tls.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25340-2432149,00.html

Where are the Gardens?

Building on known plague pits was illegal until the end of the 1970s either because plague did survive in the soil or was believed to.

I thought that Lord Harris of Peckham was the head figure, he certainly said as much as on the Today programme earlier this week. Perhaps you should try him.

Can I suggest that those people who are unhappy with the Harris academy people for withholding information should complain to the CEO? Sometimes causing embarassment can work wonders. In the alternative you could always complain to LBS and make clear that you will take this up with the Ombudsman and the Secretary of State.

The plague pits, as far as I know, are under Peckham Rye and Gipsy Hill Field; this is the reason that no development was permitted on the site of former plague pits until the 1980s. Some poor soul discovered the hard way that plague survives in the soil, like anthrax, and development was banned for 300 years. Oddly enough however this does not appear to have honoured in Aldgate, large parts of which were the City of London's plague pit.

I lived in Thorpewood Avenue as a child and we had a WWII bunker in our back garden, it became too damp to use for anything eventually and my Dad and a friend spent a Sunday with a hired pneumatic drill knocking down the top so we could reclaim that part of the garden.

Dear Dom I suggest that you contact the freeholder (details will be on the Land Registry site for a small charge) and ask if they can reunite you with your property.

The regulator's details: Contact PostcommPostcomm Hercules House 6 Hercules Road London SE1 7DB Tel: + 44 (0)20 7593 2100 Fax: + 44 (0)20 7593 2142 Email: [email protected] How to make a complaint (you have to deal with Royal Mail first): Royal Mailwww.royalmail.com Contact details: Royal Mail Customer Services FREEPOST 20 Turner Road St Rollox Business & Retail Park Glasgow G21 1AA Customer service tel: 08457 740 740 (Monday to Friday: 8am - 7:30pm, Saturday: 8am - 2:30pm) Mail integrity codeOne of Postcomm's most important jobs is to make sure that mail is safe and secure. We have the power to prosecute individuals and licensed operators who do not properly looks after the mail in their care, and we can also prosecute any non-licensed mail operator carrying mail unlawfully. Our mail integrity code (pdf, 95KB) sets out what licensed operators must do in practice to keep mail safe and secure. It came into force on 1 January 2006, when the mail market opened to full competition and is compulsory for all licensed operators. The code covers: recruitment policy - This must be set out in writing and must include requirements for applicants to declare any criminal convictions, cautions or conditional discharges relating to postal matters, or dishonest conduct in general. The recruitment policy must also set out how the operator will check information provided by applicants, to ensure their identity, residence and previous work history. training policy - Operators must make employees aware of their individual obligations for security of the mail, and must provide initial and ongoing training so they can do their job competently. disciplinary procedures - Operators must set out details of the standard of conduct expected of each employee. security of mail - Licensed operators must set out details of the measures they have put in place - and the actions they have taken - to prevent problems occurring with the security of mail in their premises, vehicles and equipment. information and reporting requirements - Operators must set out procedures for reporting and dealing with mail integrity problems (pdf, 85KB). agents and sub-contractors - The mail integrity code includes procedures that licensed operators must follow when they are dealing with franchisees, agents or sub-contractors. A full list of related documents is available on the mail integrity code consultation page.

Have you tried writing to the regulator?

I used to work in Essex and there was a chain of estate agents locally that was known as 'Bastards and Thieves' because it rhymed with their name. I was reliably informed that the nickname was entirely deserved.

The noise made round here by the police and the ambulance service drives me mad, and if you complain they effectively allege that you are jeopardising public safety by asking them to turn it down. I keep meaning to write to Ken and ask him to do something about it, but am not convinced it would achieve anything.

The lists held by Dulwich College and Alleyn's may only be of their pupils, then again they might not, I still think it is worth a try.

You could try Dulwich College chapel for a list of the fallen as well, there is a substantial monument outside the chapel - if there is a list it is most likely to be held either at the Chapel or at St Barnabas, Dulwich College and Alleyn's have both had a CCF for many years so there may be lists there too.