immyp

Looking for a window cleaner who doesn't overcharge. I've had a great window cleaner who charged a reasonable £40 to do all the outside windows, but sadly he's now retired. The quotes I've had recently have been around the £70+ mark which seems pretty steep for 30-40 minutes! I checked Checkatrade who say the average cost should be £35-£45 for up to an hour of window cleaning, so if anyone can recommend one, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.

Tom is a picture-hanging maestro! He did a great job hanging various pictures including helping me work out a suitable configuration for a stair wall. He was friendly, reliable, punctual and tidy. Highly recommend. My home now looks like an art gallery! Thanks Tom 🙂

Leon has just completed a job for me which he did perfectly. He was good at communicating and securing an available date. I found him to be punctual, helpful and efficient with a friendly demeanor. He went above and beyond and I’m really glad to have found a reliable and trustworthy electrician. I highly recommend him!

I want to recommend Derek who has been gardening professionally for over 20 years. He recently did a job for me and I found him to be reliable, thorough and affordable. He is based in SE15 and can do most aspects of gardening be it general maintenance, hedge-cutting, planting, pruning, creating beds etc. Derek: 07376 041 321

I have used Garvey Plumbing on several occasions and can totally vouch for their great service and reliability. Even if Lee is busy, he?ll help send a colleague and always replies to messages quickly. Highly recommend.

Thank you so much for raising this. I am completely appalled at Southwark going ahead and not even acknowledging the school's entirely reasonable proposal. This is a very serious issue, especially when it involves putting school children at risk from a privacy and safeguarding aspect, let alone the inevitable disruption the renovation works will cause. I will be sending a very firm email voicing my concerns to the Councillors imminently!

Haha! Thanks rendelharris, much appreciated. Glad I'm not the only one having a thrilling Monday!

Strange question I know, but does anyone know what size (litre-wise) the wheelie bins are here in Southwark? I want to order a wheelie bin 'shed' but don't know if we have the regular 140l or the larger 240l bins. First world problems and all that :) But any help appreciated!

I heard this on the radio too the other day and thought it sounded like a great idea! Although it could probably spark 'Poo Rage' as the dodgy dog-owners and their friends will no doubt take revenge if they find out who exactly snitched on them to the council.

Quaint & Belle on Bellenden Road are also closing down and having a huge sale..

I know this post will annoy some people, and I apologise to anyone who finds it offensive, but I had to find somewhere to vent my anger at the amount of dog mess that is littering our pavements lately. Especially on Adys Road which is a busy 'thoroughfare' for school children. I'm sure most dog owners are respectable and decent enough to clean up after their dogs, but can those who think it's okay to let their dogs just s**t all over the pavements and leave it there, please clean it up! This is a nice neighbourhood and we should be able to walk the streets without dodging dog mess. It's bad enough that the foxes do their business willy nilly on the pavements as they're a law unto themselves. But dog owners are responsible for their dogs' actions, and there are enough parks and green spaces, usually with dog litter bins, so there's no excuse. Rant over.

Hello, I'm hoping someone can help. I've just been let down by my babysitter for tonight which has really left me in the lurch. So if anyone can recommend a reliable, trustworthy babysitter who's free to babysit an easygoing 3 year old boy in SE15 this evening, I'd be so grateful! They need to arrive at 7.15pm and I should be back by midnight (or I turn into a pumpkin!)Please PM me asap if anyone can help. Thank you EDF!

Another big thumbs up for Patrick. He did a fantastic job removing my giant acacia tree as well as pruning several other trees, an overgrown bamboo and tidying the front hedge. All single handedly, swiftly and a very reasonable rate. I highly recommend him!

Another massive thumbs-up for LEE GARVEY! Having just moved house, he's been brilliant in helping install new radiators and minor plumbing issues. Fast, reliable and doesn't rip you off. I totally recommend him! 07881 277385

Thanks everyone, you've been a real help. I finally spoke to a Planning person at the local council who confirmed (as have several of you) that planning permission is not required but a certificate of Lawfulness is highly advised. So I'm in the process of applying for that. LondonMix - the property we're buying isn't actually Victorian so it doesn't have a side return, hence just extending the current kitchen. If it did have a side return, you're right, I'd definitely be extending that :)

You are too kind! Thanks so much for providing such helpful and detailed information. Very much appreciated!

Calling anyone who has had or is having any kind of extension work done. I'm looking to have a very simple kitchen extension done in April. Nothing fancy, not even a side-return. Literally knocking down the kitchen wall and extending out into the garden by 2 metres. But before I can go ahead, the builder needs me to confirm 100% whether I need to alert the council and obtain planning permission. As far as I know (which isn't much when it comes to these situations), if you extend out 3m or less and it remains single story, then you don't need planning permission. But even though I've called Southwark Council, I am none the wiser as they just told me to go to a Planning Portal website for details and that was pretty mind boggling, so I'm none the wiser and stressing as time is running out before work can start. So if anyone can give me any useful tips or point me in the right direction on exactly what I need to do planning-wise in order to go ahead with the extension and keep it all above board, I would be hugely grateful! Thank you.

Thanks for all your positive responses. Yes, I think you're right - it's best I just take everything direct to the charity shop. But I don't have a car, hence thinking the charity bag was a good option. But the buggy will be my Charity Chariot! And thanks Jessie for the TRAID tip. That's a great idea, especially for a big clear out. Probably moving next year so that's great to know when there will be a guaranteed huge pile of stuff. Thanks everyone!

Hello. If you're one of those people who likes to do their bit for charity by popping old clothes and bric-a-brac into those charity aid bags that get popped through your letterbox, then listen up. I regularly fill these up and leave the bag outside my door late at night prior to the given collection day. And every morning it's been collected. Which leaves me feeling happy and content that I've done a little bit to help. But to my absolute horror and massive disappointment today, I realised that some scumbag neighbour has in fact been half-inching the bags. Well, last night's bag at least. I left a full bag of good quality clothes, accessories, kids' clothes etc in the bag and noticed it had been collected when I went downstairs this morning. But when I walked down the street around mid morning, I noticed a load of clothes in a pile on a neighbours' wall a few doors down, and as I got nearer, I realised they were in fact MY clothes and belongings from the charity bag! The bag had been nicked, the 'good stuff' had been taken and the unwanted items discarded on the wall and street. Not even put back in the charity bag so the aid collectors at least had something to collect. It's despicable behaviour and horrible to think that whilst some people who get the charity bags through their letterbox see it as a chance to do something good. There are others thinking, 'aha, I'll scour the doorways in the middle of the night and take the donations before the collection people arrive!' So, I'm venting this frustration just so you're aware there is sadly a charity bag thief loose around Wingfield Street/Maxted Road. Has anybody else experienced this? Maybe it's been going on for ages and I've just been oblivious to it. But now I'll think twice about donating via that method. Someone suggested alerting the police which seems a bit heavy-handed, although it is in fact theft. So if it happens again, maybe that's the best option.

Calling all dog lovers! Bit of a long shot, but if anyone can help... My parents are visiting next week with their super cute dog, a miniature poodle/dachshund cross. But as I have two elderly cats, sadly the dog can't stay here as I fear it'll put my cats noses out of joint and prompt them to run off. So if you fancy borrowing an adorable, friendly mutt for a couple of days (and nights), then please let me know asap. It will be from the afternoon of Wed 9th until the morning of Fri 11th July, although he can spend a few hours with us during the day on Thur if that makes it easier. My parents will obviously provide his food, bedding etc and I'm sure they'd be happy to pay a few quid as a thank you too :) I will obviously need some sort of references if possible. If you can help, please get in touch. Many thanks.