Bellenden Belle

Working in Monsoon, they once foolishly called a dress Persephone. On more than one occasion I heard staff referring to a dress called Purse...y...phone

Sik sik wats, being plied with alcohol... BB blushes and believes she has stumbled into a den of iniquity. *** wonders if she needs to don her schoolgirl outfit for next EDF gathering****

****Crisis of burning mouth now over ***Nods silent thanks to MP for Bloody Mary and SM for milk*** *wonders if champagne is also called for in late toasting for MP and soon-to-be missus*** *wonders if Mockney Piers wishes to be the MP for East Dulwich Forum*

**Receives Bloody Mary with delight** Takes sip. **wonders if chilli sauce is really a substitute for Worcestershire sauce *Loud shriek.... WATER PLEASE!

*creeps in quietly *Waves to DM - she waves back,her hand clad in a marigold. *Wonders if yellow rubber is this season's new colour *Ducks as flying missiles miss ear *wonders if they are my missing asterisks.

Congratulations to you both - though again, I don't know you - but hope you have a very happy life together.

MMmmmm, that post reminds me of The Verve - although it would seem for once The Drugs Do Work. Personally I always think of Her Madge sucking a Werthers Original while watching Eastenders.

It could only be Streisand... I would love to see her belting out Don't Rain on my Parade or wailing the soundtrack of Yentil... Which Queen were you thinking of?

We need to talk about Kevin, Secret History, and The Kite Runner are all faves of mine. Has anyone read Augusten Burroughs? Dry was both hilarious and an absolute tear-jerker. And there is an absolutely terrific piece in Magical Thinking about his troubles with his cleaner! Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is also worth checking out.

Hee hee - you may have a point there - a girl can dream though! He's very entertaining live though. Do you think the forum might have a whip round for me so I can see Babs live in the summer. ?500 a ticket - ouch!

Ahhh, that's very sweet of you Mockney. I used to have real problems with Martha but I saw her on Wednesday at the Royal Opera House singing Kurt Weil's Seven Deadly Sins. Wow - she was absolutely amazing, her voice was so well matched with the piece. Rufus does have his opera moments but there's lots of light pop too. And he's lovely eye candy too! My first wedding dance was to Rufus - a choreographed jive no less!

Are there no Rufus Wainwright fans out there? I'm counting the days til the next album... I like a bit of Liza Minnelli and a few musicals too (start the day with The Producers and you are guaranteed a good 'un). But they did play All that Jazz from Chicago on the radio last week and I was so excited I danced on my glasses. Life's a little blurry now ...

And what exactly is being discussed now? Perhaps you could discuss how unfriendly and unwelcoming some members of this forum are towards newcomers? But alas, I have better things to do with my time, so have clearly got the message - I hope you enjoy the "community" you have created here.

I think we have to be careful that Godwin's Law does not become a way of a person being offensive and rude to another and effectively closing down any path for that person to defend themselves. Which is exactly how it was used here. You will note I actually did not respond further,obeying the so-called "Godwin's Law" but the debate appears to have continued and I now object to your wading in to describe my simple observation of my unpleasant xperience as being an example of over-reacting'. Perhaps a list of traders and services we are not allowed to criticise could be posted for future newcomers?

Hear hear Dulwichmum. I have tried to be reasonable with Bob ... but his attacks have become more and more personal. I even tried to inject some humour into the situation - but this has become thoroughly unpleasant.

I don't want an apology from G&B, thank you very much - saying "we're terribly sorry" wouldn't make a jot of difference. What's done is done. Bob, I am sure you are usually quite friendly - but as a newcomer I have found your "rumble" quite stifling - and your choice of words rather off-putting. A pity, since I think you could easily have put your point of view across in a more pleasant manner.

Bob, My observation was placed here because actually I think people do want to know what to expect when they go into a place for a relaxing drink. And actually I find it quite ironic to see appalling behaviour in a shop which clearly has an effective PR machine - my experience contasted sharply with the image portrayed in recent newspaper articles about the shop. And quite frankly what a dull forum this would be if we only logged on to say what a fabulous shop this is, what a wonderful experience we had at such a place - painting a smug picture of utopia that ignores all the ways that we can actually improve our manor. And you know what - if the said team do read this, and subsequently have a little more thought about their customers, then Green and Blue will be a better place for it. I don't see why you are acting as a censor Bob - this is an open forum after all.

And thank you Dulwich Mum for your friendly post... as a regular lurker on this forum, I feel greatly privleged to receive a positive response from a Dulwich Forum Figurehead such as yourself!

Bob, It is you that owns Green and Black, isn't it? So how many bottles of champagne have you sold today?

Thank you very much for your kind and balanced reply. Can I just say that I would hate you to shun the place - that was not the intention of the post at all - I happen to actually like Green and Blue - I think it is reasonably priced and the service splendid. I just wanted to let off steam since the behaviour really wasn't on - and actually I think independents need to have standards as high as anywhere else - and that includes an awareness of the environment they are creating and the message they send out to customers. So what next should I comment on? Well I had dinner at Le Chardon this week.... mmm, now there was an experience in lack of customer service! I am surprised I didn't post that day too! I am not usually this grumpy!

Quite frankly, I am not in the habit of making scenes in restaurants - and I didn't scurry here, but since this forum does seem to comment freely about experiences around East Dulwich, particularly in cafes and restaurants, then I saw no reason why this wasn't an acceptable post.

Exactly - I am not suggesting the meeting doesn't take place but there are alternatives. I used to work in retail when at university and we regularly had such meetings - but always before the shop opened. And certainly if information was conveyed while the shop was open, it was done quietly- this was one of those awful conversations that reverberated around the room - the man seemed quite enamoured with his sense of authority - so there was no way one could ignore the conversation.

I was enjoying a platter and glass of wine yesterday afternoon in Green and Blue when the owner/ manager/supervisor decided to hold an incredibly loud meeting at the table next to me with two other members of staff about sales tactics and how to motivate the shop staff to shift champagne - creating staff incentives for sales of six bottles or more. I am not so naive to think such shops don't operate to make a profit but it strikes me as thoroughly inappropriate to hold such crass conversations loudly while customers are trying to enjoy a meal. It left a very unpleasant taste in the mouth. Funny that a shop that seems so PR savvy should not have the good sense to demonstrate discretion and profesionalism in the the shop itself.