Bellenden Belle

Lucky Sevens at the Gowlett....great tunes, lovely atmosphere, and if you bring your own records you get to play DJ.

Or how about the Lodge - above the EDT? A great space, really suited to parties, and often under-used.

david_carnell Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > They'd require slow, gentle cooking to get 'em > tender though. Darling I know you prefer the older lady, but really!

Huggers Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Private schools have charitable status, but giving > them your money is not a donation- its a fee. Yes - that was exactly my point. Charitable status does not mean that every transaction is a donation. In exactly the same way that buying the Big Issue is a purchase not a donation.

Jeremy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > "The Big Issue Foundation is a registered > charity", and "exists to offer homeless and > vulnerably housed people the opportunity to earn a > legitimate income". > > People don't generally buy it for the content. > They buy it in good faith that the money is > helping out someone in need. Firstly - many organisations are registered charities, which also have earned income streams and are seen as businesses above all else - albeit non profit-making ones. Think private schools, theatres and churches for example. And actually if you're buying the Big Issue then you absolutely should think about it in terms of buying a product. That's part of the ethos too - that people are no longer begging or asking for charity; instead they are putting in a day's work (albeit for a pitiful salary) and asking you to support them by making a purchase. By viewing it as a commercial transaction, you are actually giving that person some dignity. And yes, since they'v earned that money - they can spend it any way they like. There are plenty of homeless charities out there if you want to make a donation Jeremy.

Quite right Gimme....this thread is just littered with assumptions and prejudices. If you don't want to give money, that's absolutely fine - but why do people think they have the right to question whether someone has a mobile or buys pampers - or even quite frankly drink or drugs? As someone who has spent a short period in a homeless shelter, I can say I probably wouldn't have fitted anybody's image of homelessness - but people dont know anyone's full story. And rarely do they bother to ask.

Mark's spot on ...it's not a dodgy area at all - far from it. I actually make a point of walking back from Peckham Rye station rather than East Dulwich station because there are more people about so, for me at least, it feels safer.

Agree with Bellenden area ....wouldn't live anywhere else. Great transport links, some lovely local stores, a good local (The Gowlett) and none of the noise from Lordship Lane. I found the gardens were significantly larger than in East Dulwich when I was looking.

I saw the documentary this article was related to. It was indeed incredible to watch - it showed very ordinary people just following very simple instructions, focusing on the task (pressing a button to start an electric shock) and putting their trust in the "authority figure" in his white coat that told them that everything was going to be okay. It's important to note that there was never any mention of the word "torture" and the experiment demonstrated more participants inability to question the consequences of their actions rather than demonstrating any inherent evil. It showed how the majority of participants, even when their instincts told them they should be concerned, were not confident enough to trust themselves and instead handed responsibility over to the person leading the experiment.

Sue Sylvester from Glee is very now. And you can practise a snarling look of disdain and be a complete bitch the entire day - all in character of course. I'm sure someone here might help us with a picture for inspiration.

Tosca Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Lordship Lane we are not, and > don't want to be, and the problem for Bellenden > area residents will be the drunken people on our > streets in the wee small hours. We have until > 30th March to object - go to Licensing Southwark > and look for a download on how to lodge an > objection. As a local resident I'm in two minds about this actually. The Gowlett also has late opening hours - and I don't think the local area has suffered as a result. Coming back after a night out, we often quite fancy a nightcap, yet can't face Lordship Lane. It all depends on the kind of atmosphere the pub creates, surely? I really don't see the Lordship Lane Friday night mentality transferring to Bellenden Road - there just isn't enough footfall and those out on the lash will always prefer a street where they can bar-hop.

Standing in the Peckham Rye waiting room as I type.....it smells like a dentist surgery. In particular pink mouthwash. Sets my teeth on edge.

Hoorah for Station Manager Barry!

Quids, SeanMc and Mr Ben...how can a girl say no?

MrBen Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I would but, well...I've moved on. All the cool > kids have. Now now MrBen...don't start that again....I honestly and truly didn't mean it like that and have been properly scolded by a number of people now. But you are indeed way too cool for school.....

Hoorah! I was wondering only the other day if it was going to happen this year..... Bring it on!

Congratulations to you both ....may you always be happy.

georgia Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > 'I just think lots of us have moved on' > > Yes me too...the drinks aren't the be all and end > all for any of us. Well quite - but that comment is not meant as any reflection on anyone attending the drinks. I still think the forum drinks are an absolutely fantastic way of meeting new people and have played a huge part in making me feel settled and happy in East Dulwich. And as others have said - Georgia, you'vve done a terrific job for a long time now - thank you.

I think the format's a good one Georgia. I just think lots of us have moved on.... I wouldn't say I'm unlikely to attend another, but it's definitely not a priority.

Pugwash Wrote: > I had forgotten about Tapas - apart from Barcelona > in Lordship lane, where is the next best Tapas > bar?. > Number 22 in Herne Hill does fantastic tapas. Good luck though - I imagine it will be hard at first, but as the ever-wise giggirl says over time it'll become second nature.. I'm going out for lunch and am going to try and brave asking for a kid-size pasta dish - I'm hoping restaurants are getting more and more used to such requests.

But Hal....surely you realise that the numbers you quote bear no relation to content. So for instance a sentence stating "The number of stabbings in Peckham has significantly fallen in the last decade" would feature in your results. You can put any number of ludicrous suggestions into google and get results - hardly conclusive proof of anything.

Marmora Man Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If the new and aspiring artist is truly committed > and passionate he / she would find a way to create > his / her art regardless of public spending cuts. That's a rather idealistic view. The impoverished artist achieving against all odds. And perhaps when talking of individual compositions - be it art, music, writing, whatever - it is possible. But much of art is collaborative and built on partnerships - take away funding from the organisations that support new work and you lose the very foundations on which good art is created. You lose art that engages, that is thought provoking, that gives people the opportunity to see the world in new ways - instead you reduce art to the lowest common denominator - bums on seats. Mama Mia anyone? And it's worth remembering that arts council funding acts as a lever - it usually supports no more than a third of a company's costs - meaning that the rest of the company's funds are raised through earned income, donations and sponsorship. Statutory funding gives other funders and supporters the confidence to invest - remove that funding and other funding ebbs away. A small investment is how one can describe current funding levels - one that leads to jobs, can contribute to community cohesion, support education, and has earned us an international reputation. I don't think any of those things can be easily dismissed.

The actual number of venues and companies funded by the Arts Council and other statutory bodied is relatively small. And the outcomes expected in return are high. Yes innovation in the arts - arts for arts sake - is one small part of a much wider picture. Increasing access to the arts and ensuring participation is open to all is another key criteria, and one heavily monitored. This might include keeping galleries free, but equally it applies to ensuring there are affordable tickets available in theatres. Look at the ticket prices in the West End and compare them to subsidised theatre and there is a remarkable difference. People sometimes don't realise the additional educational and community work that subsidised arts organisations deliver - from working within disability to working with kids at risk of social exclusion through to working with older people or providing outreach in rural communities. And that work is subject to strict monitoring so that arts organisations can't play lip service to ideas of inclusion and participation - fail to deliver the promised service and your funds are cut. Quite right too Arts funding is such a small fraction of public funding that I would agree with those that argue for current levels to be ringfenced. To make even small cuts would bring many smaller independent companies to their knees. And those are the very companies that are bringing social benefits to the communities they work with.

I went to a Grammar School and agree with quids that for many such schools open up real opportunities. My school wasn't full of children who had been hothoused for the entrance exam or whose parents had deliberately moved to get them into a "good school". Instead we were a pretty mixed bunch - some well heeled, others like myself making an hour and a half journey from Tottenham to Barnet. Grammar schools play on individual children's academic strengths and hard work - I'm not convinced that's such a terrible thing. And certainly my experience is that they gave children from all social classes the chance to succeed. I suspect things are different twenty years on - and that the few grammar schools left are perhaps more likely to be filled with those who can afford to get a private tutor for their little darlings. But I think this scramble is more a reflection of the lack of choice available to parents at secondary school level, than a damning indictment of the grammar school system.

silverfox Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > To me a person's sex is a biological fact, you are > born male or female. > > It all depends what you mean by 'sexuality'. As a > lesbian you are still a female. A gay man is still > a man. Transgender people choose to alter their > physical appearance but they can't alter their > sex, whatever euphemisms we attach. Judith Butler,in her book "Gender Trouble" makes a convincing argument that the concept of gender is a social construct.The labels "man" and woman" are essentially put upon us at birth, according to what sex we appear to be. Separating the notion of what "sex" we are, as represented by our genitalia with what gender we choose to identify with lies at the heart of the transgender debate. I think it helps enormously to not tie everything up with sexuality - it's too simplistic - people don't change their gender to necessarily support their "chosen" sexuality. People's sexuality is defined early on and is a separate issue - which is why transgendered people cover the same spectrum of sexuality as people who haven't chosen to redefine their gender. As for the rest of the debate -I agree with Strawbs and Piers - they might be terrible parents, they might be terrific - either way it is not business to judge them.