alethea

Well said Mamora, had tried to say the same thing myself, but you put it a lot better.

[quote=Cassius "I'd like to repeat exactly what Dave, UK just said. Only I'd like to add that I'd put a Berlin Wall type structure round Peckham (since the area has nothing of any interest inside it) and put them all inside it." It is quite worrying that there are a bunch of people on this forum who are quite frankly racist, who exactly are 'them'? I don't think anyone would dispute how terrible this is and for those residents on Barry road it must be a concern but some of the comments even in jest are unhelpful. It's exactly these views that help re-enforce stereotypes.

As a resident of Peckham, I have never had any trouble. It's the only place in London where people have always offered to help me with my buggy up the stairs, which is more than can be said for the likes of Notting Hill. The transport links are better than those in ED and you do get more for your money, you also get some really interesting properties, it's just about finding the right streets. Peckham gets a bad rap on this forum, it's not perfect but where is.

Oh, and the 3 to 1 bet. I personally wouldn't touch that one, but then I am a notoriously hopeless gambler. When nothing is at stake I seem to call the fight perfectly. If I've money on it, you can be assured I'll get it wrong.

Alethea's husband again. Hmmm! I can't agree that it was solely down to the volume of punches Jeremy. Lacy sustained a truly horrible beating and if you are light fisted, even volume wouldn't cause such apparently permanent damage. Calzaghe ruined Lacy. There is of course the fact that if they were pitty patty punches, given the way the fight was looking in the first 3 rounds Lacy would have happily walked through them to land his own and very likely finished the fight. Lacy's left hook and overhand right were destructive and terrible to behold when he had the opportunity to set his feet and turn his shots over. If I were him in that fight I'd have resolved to take a few to get those ones in. He didn't because Calzaghe was causing him not just pain but damage from the very early rounds. Joe is a painfully underrated fighter. He hits harder than most people assume. For the record although I like him, I'm not what you could consider a fan, so I've no agenda. Take as a comparison the upcoming Hatton/Malignaggi fight. No doubt who is the better boxer there, but I think that Hatton will eventually catch up with Malignaggi who is undoubtedly the better boxer, simply because Paulie is unlikely to have the pop in his hands to keep Hatton off for long enough. Take his fight with Cotto as a demonstration of what I mean. I've no argument that Calzaghe isn't a one shot knock out merchant, but this is true of some great fighters with a high KO ratio due to them wearing their opponent down through volume and sustained power. I am specifically thinking of Hagler. If you can recall the run up to Hagler vs Hearns, you'll remember who the puncher in the fight was thought to be. Noted boxing scribe Hugh McIlvanney picked Hearns to prevail over Hagler for this reason, but Hagler was a class of one man in 1985.

This is Alethea's husband answering to this. My second post. I don't often contribute as I think there are too many people being mean, snotty and trying to needlessly score cheap points, but I am an ex-boxer and so can for once contribute with some degree of gravitas. Calzaghe will win this, but only just. As Jeremy says, Jones has faded badly since his weight hopping a few years back, but if he is just 50% of his prime on the night, Joe will have his hands seriously full. I can't agree with you though Jeremy that Calzaghe isn't a hard puncher. Jeff Lacy's face didn't get like that because Joe can't punch. I think what you might be right in suggesting is however, that he's not a concussive one punch knock out merchant like Tommy Hearns or Julian Jackson were, and you would be right in that respect, but he is mistakenly labeled a slapper because he throws hooks with his knuckles vertically aligned - imagine how you grasp the bar of a door handle if you are struggling to understand what I am trying to describe. This is frowned upon in the amateurs as it is sometimes assumed that you are hitting with the palm of the glove instead of the white, but believe me - I'll take getting hit as an amateur would over how Joe throws his all day long. His hands are notoriously brittle these days (I can't understand why though, Dean Powell Wraps his hands and I'd say he is the best in the game at that) hence why the low KO ratio of late. However, boxing is that most uncertain of sports, and results change on the throw of a single punch and Jones being relatively recently the world P4P will always be in the fight and could win it. in 2008 when Jones in 39 and Calzaghe is 36, I'll take Calzaghe.

Hello This is actually Alethea's husband adding to this, but I would say a couple of things on this subject. Firstly, I would imagine that actually very few people on this forum are actually native Londoners born and bred, and with that in mind I would say that any opinion offered is subject to personal taste in line with where we all grew up. If you're a Manc' then nothing can compare to curries in Rusholme which I would add are usually pretty impressive, if you are from Birmingham, your expectations will be in line with what is common to there, etc, etc. What I am saying is that my personal expectations are in line with the typical Glaswegian expectations of a curry - nuclear hot, pizza sized chapatis and chicken pakora. For me, if it doesn't do these, it's not a proper curry. Of course I realise that this is highly subjective and I have broadened my tastes in the 13 years I've lived in London. For the record, I find places that offer all three of the above few and far between south of Manchester. I would think that most of us have expectations related to the curries that we grew up on. Authenticity probably does not really come into it at all. For delivering against all of my three criteria, The Mirash is the hands down winner. I have recently tried the Jaflong and that was good too. The main was possibily better than The Mirash, but the chicken pakora and chapatis were nowhere near as good. Tried The Coriander in the past and IMO it was barely to be considered a curry. I would give their madras to my 19 month old son without worrying too much, but as I say, your taste is very likely different to mine. The quality was fine, but a bit wimpy for my liking. For the record, I have no idea if The Mirash is a good dine in experience. I tend to order out. Tandoori nights was really nice when we ate in, I would say the best all round main course and you could tell that the care and attention that went into the food was considerable, but from memory (and I am open to being corrected as being an ex-boxer my memory is very patchy these days as a result) it definitely didn't offer chicken pakora and possibly not chapatis. They also don't deliver and I cannot fathom why as I would certainly give them a shot now and then. Given that they fulfill only one of my Glasgow Gibson Street Curry Criteria, this is saying a lot. I have no other local experience to comment on, but on the subject of Brick Lane, it is there that my expectations are met 99.9%. Cafe Naz is as close to a Glaswegian curry house as I have seen outside of Glasgow. Just my two-pence worth...

I used to travel to paddington everyday, Siduhe is right about the trains and the good thing about getting on the tube is that you always get a seat with is being at the end of the line. The walk from the train to the tube does take a few mins but I'd rather get that than the bus anyday. Alternatively, train to victoria and circle line to paddington. TFL are right though it doesn't take forever. Ax

I had a funny one the other day I overheard a group of young lads giving me marks out of ten when I was getting my car, and funnily I got a 10 but got knocked down to an 8 because I had a ford focus. Wasn't quite sure whether to be chuffed or not.

Stabbings are happening all over london, just the other week a 7 month pregnant woman was stabbed to death by an enraged ex in Islington, but you don't always hear about them as at the moment it's about teenage stabbings. However people talk about people pulling together, but just the other week I was reading on the forum about a macdonalds on lordship lane being a bad idea, leave it to peckham do not want to encourage hooded youths etc. I'm not suggesting that a macdonalds is a good idea but a 'not in my area' attitude isn't always the most helpful it just re-enforces divides. I think it's fair to say that one of the main reasons for what's happening in society is social depravity and poverty, the haves and the have nots, how that's tackled is the difficulty. Drugs in south London are not necessarily tackled in the right way and kids aspirations are misguided. But had this been on the other side of Bellenden road would people be so shocked by it?

having had the misfortune of working at maccy d's to earn the extra cash at uni, heh not all of us get bankrolled, you might be re-assured to know that many a night I would spend cleaning EVERYTHING, they are obsessive, some nights cleaning for hours after it closed. So if anyone wants to know how you get shiny stainless steel i'm your expert.