derwentgrove

I for one am glad that Louisa ventured inside. By contrast I feel distinctly let down that Dulwich Fox did not offer us a post-Jaflong dirty protest in the produce aisle. BTW Louisa, if you had upgraded from Prosecco to Champagne and acquired an M & S card today you would have been offered some free roses.

Just back from my first visit to the new M & S Food Hall where I discovered that: 1. It was very busy indeed, having opened for the first time at 10am today. This was not helped by the average customer bringing 2.5 young children to share the opening day excitement. Hopefully this will drop off once it is appreciated that Percy Pigs are (wisely) not positioned near the tills. 2. The staff were friendly and helpful. I cannot recall being greeted with a cheery hello or handed a basket at the Co-Op or Sainsbury's before. 3. The range was good: plenty of dinner ideas but also a decent range of fruit & veg and other essentials. 4. The tills were working. 5. There was no sign of Louisa or Dulwich Fox picketing outside. I suspected they would do well but now I am pretty confident about that. I would take some convincing to return to the Co-Op ever again.

I second the recommendation for Hamish and 'A Cut Above': he and his team took down a tree in the back garden for me today. I was impressed by their level of professionalism and the end cosmetic result is astonishing (the use of the stump grinder means that you would not guess a tree had ever been there!)

That's right. Back from the North now. Was anyone present when RMT personnel finally opened the gates? Heavy Feb 14?

I sent them an email and had an automatic reply promising a response within 20 working days! I'm almost tempted to join Twitter - but then again, I'm not sure I would trust myself on that medium after more than one glass of wine. :)

So the first train of the day (6:02) was more or less running on time this morning - but East Dulwich station was locked up. Is this Southern incompetence or have I missed something? Can I suggest that everyone else inconvenienced (there were a dozen of us who gallingly watched the train go past above us) gets in touch with Southern to complain? I'm now going to miss a pre-booked train to Manchester. Great start to the week!

James, a small refuse related query if I may. I returned from holiday on 5 January and noticed multiple Southwark blue bags of leaves (presumably swept up by Southwark street cleaning staff) outside 10/12 and 28/30 Derwent Grove. They are still there today, a fortnight later. I rang the Council last week and was told they would be collected asap but the routine refuse collection team left them there again this morning. It is only a minor issue but I'd be grateful if you could chase this (passers-by are starting to treat both piles of bags as a general refuse heap and are adding items of their own). Many thanks.

The Cherry Tree has just gone up further in my estimation.

We took a friend for lunch here on Christmas Day and had a lovely time. Many thanks to Richard, Emma and the team.

Surely Louisa's performance at the end of the recent Paddy Power commercial justifies de-lounging in its own right?

Good spoof thread this. Can anyone think why Louisa shouldn't now be de-lounged?

I was pleasantly surprised to see that The Bishop had re-opened last night, ahead of schedule following the refurbishment. Popped in for a pint with the other Mr Derwent Grove and we liked the new look. Nothing too drastic but a new colour scheme, some smart new furniture. They also seem to have lowered the bar/tables in the windows which means that a short-arse like me stands a better chance of being served and also has the added benefit of letting in a bit more natural light through the windows. Didn't check out the food menu or the facilities so not sure if they have also undergone any form of upgrade.

I agree. I was absolutely delighted by the result. Louisa: not all blow-ins are lefties these days. :)

I dropped by this afternoon (there have to be some advantages to being self employed!) What they have done with the interior is impressive. The staff also seemed friendly but were (inevitably) finding their feet. The seats in screen 2 upstairs were comfortable and the smell of fresh paint not too overwhelming. This being SE22, one of those watching the film had brought a baby (to a 15 certificate): a practice that I hope is stamped out immediately.

LondonMix, please do share the link on the updated planning documents (I can't see anything new on the Southwark website relating to the application reference that was granted last year). PS - If Louisa is going to PM useful information of this sort, is it perhaps time to reconsider the decision to 'Lounge' her?

Good to see that the Luddites are alive and well...

In case anyone else was wondering, the Southwark Noise Team are on the case and awaiting a locksmith at the property concerned.

Another thumbs up for Steve. He responded to my voicemail promptly, arranged to visit within 24 hours and then fixed my washing machine door handle efficiently and for sensible money.

I tried out Yama Momo last night with my husband. I suspect they will do well. Although it was their (slightly delayed) opening night, the food was really good and the service was both friendly and attentive.

So it looks as if the 'soft opening' of Yama Momo (formerly Adventure Bar) is upon us tomorrow: http://www.yamamomo.co.uk/ Quite impressed if that is right because it looked very much a work in progress as recently as last week.

An Iceland customer - I'm guessing probably not an infirm pensioner on a low income - was kind enough to abandon one of their shopping trolleys at the end of my road the week before last. To be fair to Iceland, they did eventually collect it (10 days after I phoned to report that it was there). I'm hoping for better things from the M & S clientele in due course!

I can't pretend to be familiar with the whole of the planning history (other than that gleamed from this thread) but it sounds as if Louisa is probably correct. If those with (no doubt sincere) concerns had focussed on the imposition of conditions from the outset - rather than objecting outright - it seems less likely that there would have been (a) an appeal and (b) findings made by the inspector on appeal which last night's committee were advised they should not depart from. Isn't that the lesson to take away for future developments?

> Again, where is James? The Southwark website suggests that Cllr Barber is only a 'reserve' member of the planning committee. Unless that is out of date information there is presumably no guarantee he will be attending as a voting member on Tuesday. No doubt he will clarify the position...

The planning officer's report (on balance supporting the proposal) is now on the site: http://planningonline.southwark.gov.uk/DocsOnline/Documents/373928_1.pdf

I understand that this application will be determined at a meeting on 22 July. Officers have recommended that the application be *granted* with an (as yet unspecified) unilateral undertaking. However the full report is to follow on the Southwark website in the next 48 hours.