Elphinstone's Army

David Cassidy, running horses, unicorns and iced buns, sorted.

Has anyone successfully papered a wall with old newspapers, without them turning brown, peeling, whatever? We want to try this, being inspired by Dove Cottage, the construct of newspaper and lime washed walls obviously different to todays. All helpful comments welcome, thank you !

yes exactly Sue, far more time efficient and non moody! Banks will soon be defunct, and for Lloyds LL, they have hastened their own departure, as my old Lloyds bank in west Dulwich, everything too much trouble, the customer as nuisance - now I am totally online, a modern woman !!

Yesterday, Lloyds Bank opposite Library - atm inoperative as was the machine inside unless I wanted to pay in a cheque. Queue as usual. Staff shouting out to machine users this information as it was clearly too much to affix a small notice near the paying in machine. I wanted an up to date current account balance - the one I received was out of date by 10 days. Paying in machines in France are simple efficient and quick. Have we copied the concept without the technology? If it's stress free banking you require avoid Lloyds especially if you need to visit the ED branch or use the 'customer services' by telephone facility. If you need to use the bank on a Friday take a flask and a tome.

I don't believe H&M accept shoes or old rucksacks, but the CS will - for the rag man. They strip everything down, buckles, straps, leather, all reused, If you didn't know what H&M was then you will not benefit from a ?5 voucher? against a ?25 purchase. Unless of course you are going to be a new recruit in which case I am on commission.

for anyone who may/might or knows anyone who does shop here, H&M have a scheme whereby a bag of clean rags, (worn out under/clothes, dead t towels /dishcloths, odd socks, tired jumpers etc) deposited at the check out in the designated bin, elicits a voucher for ?5, enabled when one spends ?25, with a limit of two per purchase. If you spend ?50 plus they manipulate the prices so that it's possible to use two. The sales are well worthwhile. Brixton store has a homewares upstairs, excellent value sales items, linen bathrobes, bedding, children's clothes. This then leaves you more ready cash to spend in the charity shop of your choice, removing any guilt pangs at indulging your inner worthiness.

lilolil Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Don't you DARE tell me to zip it! > Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. > Comments like yours are unhelpful and have been > reported. With respect lil, - show workings out : your remarks are tantalising but meaningless unless substantiated - how can you not understand?

Years ago, in the country - we had a little female cat, half Persian, a real mouser. We heard her growling one night and pulled open the (garden) door to see her on the mat, ignoring us, her hackles risen and her tail like a bog brush, facing down two young foxes, (smallish) and did not move until they had slunk away. Next night on the same mat we found a couple of pipistrelles she had caught but not eaten. She would come through the catflap with mouses and chomp on their heads and leave bloody remains, sometimes whole mice if she had her fill, not a mark on them. She was small but fearless, kept next doors chickens out of our veg patch and once, unbelievably, we witnessed her chasing ! a lost dog, of the labrador size, through the orchard, away from her home patch. In Heber Road we have had rabbits plural and guinea pigs, loose in the back garden/yard taken by foxes, even though we were always careful not to let them out too early and close them up (they were usually in their beds voluntarily) at sundown, so bold foxes, and kept the cats in at night, yowl though they would. In the country we would lock everything up at night, cats kittens chickens horses geese,and dogs in the barn, from marauding foxes and in France, marauding wild dogs which no one ever acknowledged, in rural France the sky is black and lightless, who knows what is out there, (dead mangled lambs in the morning, entrails gone, foxes.) There are fox habits I could describe but would not want to batter urbanite sensibilities, a strong stomach is necessary in the country (particularly France) Here in East Dulwich we have street lights, sensors, cctv, car alarms, barking (yapping) dogs, indoor cats with cosy baskets, small animals outside in fastened cages. Who knows how these poor animals meet their horrible end. There is an article in Kent newspaper saying the town is over run with rats, as the fox population was culled, foxes apparently keeping down the rats, now the rats are two foot long ? and attacking cats !? Rats would not be able to drag a cat would they? I can find the article if anyone wants to check. I don't believe that, if the assailant is human, that it is only one person. Wasn't there a case in Tranmere near Birkenhad and speculation that a long distance lorry driver was the psycho cat killer? Is there anyone who can access the Dark Web and explore this theory, of a cabal of cat killers? When animals kill, to eat, they kill by the neck and gorge on the entrails and leave the rest. Cats kill birds and mice and voles and small helpless animals because they can, they are natural born killers, Ours eats spiders, the bigger the better and can be seen with spider legs hanging from her mouth, she likes to hear me scream. She is nervous and I cannot imagine anyone approaching and grabbing her, she would fight scratch, maim. She has drawn blood and gouged a hole in my wrist when I picked her up warm from sleep, cats are wary - how would a stranger manage to coax a cat from beneath a car or enter a garden to grab a watchful cat, it is too chanceful. Here's hoping all cats and kittens are safe tonight, rabbits guinea pigs and any other small creature which should die of old age and not screaming, terrified, when we cannot protect them.

Featured in October Livingetc. magazine - which is now on sale. Open House London weekend 22/23rd September.

It was nice of you to register especially to laud your plumbers so enthusiastically.

Afr4n Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hello, I am a local parent and professional > researcher in need of some help with a project I?m > working on for a local school. > > I?m a looking for people to answer a very quick > survey (max 10 mins) about independent schools in > your area. > this post is utterly disingenuous, what local school, state your case, 'people?' how old are you?? independent or fee paying schools, by merit or by ???, declare your interest, otherwise do not be taking us for mugs 5?? my integrity cannot be bought for such a paltry sum and I doubt very much that anyone else's would either away with your nonsense and who is 'we?' > As a gesture of thanks we can offer you a ?5 > paypal payment for your time once you complete the > whole survey, it?s completely confidential and > we?d really appreciate your feedback!' > > https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4521341/Education-Q > uestionnaire?source=groups > > Thanks everyone :)

DB&B, yes, nightshades - giving up potatoes, was difficult, but necessary, now sweet potatoes rule in our house, yes D3 and Magnesium, forgot this : from HealthMatters, I think it is Natures Plus, also available at Wholefoods in Kensington. Thank you for the link also Siduhe, yes oranges, offered as a treat when I was young, Jaffa Oranges ! my mother said I recoiled, so you see, our bodies know what is right for us. Yes I stoutly believe that hard water, albeit good for our dental health, exacerbates any eczema condition, from personal experience. Another thing I realised is that, during the winter when my boiler failed - and I was boiling kettles of water which had been through my water filter, and 'strip washing' my skin was calm, soft, clean, non itchy. ok this is personal information but relevant I believe. Our skin is the largest organ we have. Years ago when I visited a dermatologist at St Mary's in Paddington, he advised me to drink more water and take a multivitamin. As though this was all that was necessary. This was NHS Water quality, pollution, stress, hormones, Persil, whatever. If I could have three wishes, and through my life I knew this, the first would be clear skin, even after fish and chips, chocolate, Guinness, fried bread, cake, biscuits, buns, cream, ice cream, alcohol, bread, sugar.

KidKruger Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > sugarkanadee was this near honour oak / catford > borders ? or Norwood Hill, SE25 ? beware !

This heading would benefit from rewording n'est-ce pas ?

ha Maxxi, as in Everdene? or the nefariously won wife of David? - no but a good guess - although this would mean I would be addressed as Bat, as in mad old bat, and not for the first time - but hopefully the last as it isn't true or funny !

hello Minitoots, has anyone suggested oil of evening primrose to you? directly applied? this cured my son's eczema when he was about 7 and no flare ups since. At the same time I had flaky skin and psoriasis. Our gp suggested cutting out milk and cheese, as we also had a daughter who needed an inhaler for asthma. We lived in the Thames Valley near Windsor, relevant because of the quality of the water, I know not fromwhence it came ; and that we were low lying, so limited airflow ; similar to here of course. We duly cut out dairy, milk cheese yoghurt, cream and butter, substituting the latter for olive oil, the pale sort, and also with great difficulty cut out bread (so no use for butter/cheese etc) after a while we simply adjusted our diet, ate brown rice and rice cakes, lost weight and drank copious amounts of water, fresh veg and raw food as much as possible. No sign of any outbreak, scaly skin, spots, rashes, apart from the time my son fell/pushed in the nettles, sigh, We had a Vick candle in the bedrooms during the winter, (can we still buy these) wonderful curative smell, keeping airways clear, and somehow prevented the irritation/scratching associated with eczema or sensitive skin. We are all soap sensitive and use Ecover or the stuff from Boots cannot remember the name, Persil or similar and powerful cleaning fluids upset my daughter's airways even now, and skin of course. We have all learned to live with this and take precautions. it can be an expensive condition as we change pillowcases/towels daily and wash hair/shower twice a day. We all use Aveeno or Childs Farm now. When we are in West Yorkshire or mid France, both places with soft soft water we notice the difference immediately, no need for any moisturiser and happy skin. Have you considered a water softener? We are moving next month and will probably have a whole house unit fitted, the bliss of soft water will be well worth the expense. Sometimes if I have a shower early morning (5/6 am) my skin will itch. Early morning additives perhaps ?Thames Water? post shower we all use E.45,the pump action flask, often on offer in Lloyds, gentle and absorbs. The one food which will inflame irritate and we all instinctively reject, is tomatoes !!! even when my children were babies they refused it, the only thing. house dust free : yes ! we have been 'having a sort out' for weeks now, packing to move, raising dust and moving furniture/taking down curtains etc. I have been spotty as a teenager and itchy. Obviously there is a correlation. My sister who suffers also said, coat your face in Vaseline before you start to clean/vac, and then of course wash/shower it all off at the end of the day. Then moisturise. Who remembers their Mum/Grandma wrappign her hair up in a scarf before setting to and vacuuming/mopping/dusting/ as they knew dust would fly, settling in hair/scalp and irritating faces. We are moving closer to PRP so hopefully not allergic to pollen, grass or dog poo - rolls eyes. good luck Minitoots, keep us posted, blameless babies have eczema, water, hormones, environment, who knows.

oooo I'm on a roll now - one thing which has always made me gnash my teeth, impotently on many occasion, is usually, complete strangers, ie those I am meeting for the first time, take liberties with my name. Anyone else? I have an unusual, historical, biblical name, which can be foreshortened in many ways or combinations. I have now adopted an anglicised form of my name and happy with it. I despaired for a long time of being introduced to people, or introducing myself, being a modern woman, and immediately hearing it repeated in a much shortened form, usually the first three letters. I didn't invite you to call me thus, no one else does, why should you be so familiar/over familiar??? It is a grown up version, of people asking what your new baby is called, you tell them (struggling to think of an example!) and they then quote a name back to you as in a celebrity or royal or whatever. One friend's husband twisted my name then added a match, as in FrendyWendy, I am a grown woman, why are you doing this? It's peurile and annoying. They have moved now so I am spared this wit, despite constant objections. Not a 'little thing' I realise now, nor irrational, but thank you for reading, always happy to vent!

teeth sucking artisans/workman, required to supply a quote, supplying only hubris "I'm not being funny love, but ..."

or ANYVAN - dbboy you may have a better response putting this in the ED business where Man and Van advertise, good luck

Keefe Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > This will be of no practical help whatsoever but > the Grateful Dead made a lovely album in 1977 > called "Terrapin Station". > > So possibly Malumbu's new friend had tried to get > on the train but found the state of rail services > in ED so pitiful that it decided it was simply > quicker to walk to its destination. I remember this LP, nearly wore it out - Estimated Prophet !!

Any sentence which begins with "Having ... then recounting an experience. " The trouble with you is ...often leading to the deluded "I know you better than you know yourself " - usually delivered triumphantly by a soon to be erstwhile male companion.

We usually dry outside especially towels and bedding. but as we have two large bedroom windows facing south east and absorb the heat at its zenith - despite keeping windows and curtains closed, changing linen curtains for heavy dark winter ones, still unbearable so I bought another tall clothes airer, at night drape wet towels/bedding which we are changing daily, over said airers in front of windows which we leave open. This seems to absorb some of the heat. We have heavy linen French sheets which are just the right weight to sleep under, a fan on my side of the bed and run the dw and washer overnight, as the heat generated is significant. My neighbour has taken to sleeping IN the bath, an old cast iron one, didn?t ask for details.

Would like to point out something which should not be necessary - that Paris does not represent France any more than ?that London? represents England,

Robert Poste's Child Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Oh, come on everyone - Moondancer is usually a > considered and thoughtful poster and I don't think > s/he deserves all the vitriol. witty sarcasm is always funny, but put downs, the traducing of anothers character, speculation and downright nastiness can be quite shocking. Invalidating a resident/customer?s experience thoughts and feelings is unkind, unconsidered and rude, ill mannered, and completely negates the point and value of the post. I am on my phone and its so hot in here my sweaty fingers are sliding off the screen I love your moniker, btw : I just reread the book with the image of Fresdie Jones gleefully brandishing his little twig brush

Zebedee Tring Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > but the design doesn't work > > > This might have something to do with the fact that > Boris got his chum Thomas Heatherwick to design > the bus when Heatherwick's company had no > experience of bus design. This is not entirely > unrelated to one of the other Boris vanity > projects, the Thames Garden Bridge - in April 2017 > a Mayor of London report criticised the > appointments of Heatherwick Studio and engineer > Arup in 2013 which "were not open, fair or > competitive ? and revealed systematic failures and > ineffective control systems". I didn?t know this thanks I will eschew the rigours of the 12 for any other bus going my way, mainly because I prefer to travel on an elevated seat. Those on the 12 which face each other are too small and there is no room for 4 pairs of feet.