Oglandia

my Velocity is onto its 3rd change of wheels, 3rd or 4th chain, several bearing changes, new cassette etc etc (in 3 years) ... but its still going strong and i wouldnt chuck it. that said, the all aluminium frame is punishing on potholes - a bit of spring or suspension would be lovely, esp. as my back is dodgy

McSporran Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I also cycle from ED to Liverpool street - down > crystal palace road, bellenden road, surrey canal, > and cycle route 22 through the back streets of > bermondsey, london bridge, bank, old broad street. > Takes 25-30 mins, but coming home in the summer > was a dream, especially after a quick beer just to > miss the traffic :-) My GPS thingy measures the > route at roughly 9.13km. Quite a nice route, > especially the canal (even dodging the pit bulls > in the summer) - wouldn't mind if they extended it > a couple of miles in both directions! > > I ride a single speed (gave up fixed wheel for the > winter) Surly with really skinny GatorSkin tyres. > Got my first puncture of the year yesterday, > probably due to the heavy rain which washes all > the nasty sh*t to the side of road just where > cyclists cycle. Have ridden mountain bikes with > road tyres over the years, but the road bike with > skinny tyres make it a whole lot easier & quicker > for me :-) > > I wear 'proper' cycling gear and I'm still in > shorts, but it got a little cool last week! Soon > I'll look like I'm cycling to the ski slopes. > > My route is usually quite uneventful until I get > to London Bridge, and then it gets a little > fraught, mainly with kamikaze pedestrians and > converging traffic. So, I take it fairly easy > from the south side of the bridge. I commuted > from Surrey on a motorbike for years, which > hammered home a self-preservation mentality and an > acute red-mist awareness. > > Bendy buses - why?!?! Totally inappropriate for > London's thin roads, and an absolute minefield for > cyclists. That's why some genius thought of > double deckers. Boris gets my vote on that one. > > Beats public transport by a non-country mile, and > keeps you fit :-) This is more or less my route (Oglander -> London Bridge) altho I finish up at Guy's. Been going to the river for coming up to 4 years, Millbank then L Bridge. 100% agree with McSporran about bendies. I drive a car & van a bit as well which I think makes me more highway code orientated - i usually stop at reds and always at zebras, pelicans etc. That said I cracked my radial head last year answering the phone (Mrs Oglandia got 'SorryI'mlateI'm on my w-aaaghhhhhhh!' [crump]) I refuse to wear kit. Christ I'm 43, it wouldn't be dignified. It's scary enough out there without middle aged men in lycra. I also refuse to wave, swear, shout and curse. I saw some guy really bawling out a school run woman on Old Kent Rd last week. OK, she cut him up ... but she had kids in there & they were all really rattled. Drivers p*ss me off sometimes but 90% are ok. They don't want to have to peel you off their cars. I can't bear righteous crusading cyclists. Honestly, wind your necks in - you are still part of the most heinously resource squandering society ever. I feel guilty slowing buses down

Mark Dodds Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > scor46 I had a glass of wine with Bryan Ferry on > table 69 in The Sun and Doves. I used to cut his > grass and hedges in another life and Roxy Music > was the first live band I ever saw at Newcastle > City Hall in 1974. So we had a lot to chat > about... > > A glass of sparkling water will get my autograph > anytime. Ferry is dull as a plank though. And what about the a***hole son? Yeuchhh ... My first gig was Newcastle City Hall also- '78 - Bowie touring Heroes & Low. Very enjoyable altho even aged 13 i sensed the ziggy riff was wrong on electric violin

and again, to resurrect an old anti-Foxtons beef, 'Welcome to your area' contains the Time Out guide to ***South West*** London (OK, there's a nod to SE in the listings but the whole thing just adds to the sense of them being stormtroopers jackbooting into the area). pah!

Sighted: Barry, ex-mechanic, property magnate, Volvo Amazon lover and all-round geezer from Blenheim Rd, seemingly gutting the interior of Dr Sarma's. What can it mean?

I noticed lead pipes in our cellar and got Thames Water to do a water quality test (for free). Levels were fine, even allowing for a future change to new EU standards which will be more stringent than our current guidelines. The man from Thames Water was knowledgeable and helpful, with real concerns about lead generally, but was very reassuring. The reality of many older houses is that the internal water pipes are pretty coated with limescale and stuff . As already stated run the tap for a while before consuming!

ugh, like post nuclear cockroaches

It's quite funny though ... they are like the guys who turn up with their surfboards after the tide has gone out ... the market has nosedived, prices are topping out, he he he ...

it's 10 years since I worked at the Maudsley but I can tell you there's secret NHS tunnels everywhere 'round there

and what about Khan's Bargain Centre on Rye Lane? Haloumi, every spice under the sun, rat and rodent traps, luggage, chapatti pans, shampoo and iron descaler, TV aerials, electronics, more luggage, buckets of greek and turk yoghurt and tahini, 2,000 types of chilli sauce ... it's a cornucopia of shopping joy. Love the Wing Tai. A superb place. And the Clark's remainder shop. And the fellow by Morrisons who does cheap Gillette razor blades. I buy my meat on/around Lordship. Fish in Nunhead. Everything else on Rye Lane and Choumert Rd market.

Yep, Camberwell is heavier - check out the street crime league tables http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/topstories/display.var.889199.0.londons_most_dangerous_streets_revealed.php

we got - with the other people we attended the open session with - a clear message from Bellenden Primary that whities were not welcome! This was confirmed in the weeks that followed. I don't think we are thin skinned - i lived in Manningham / Bradford for 10 years before moving down here. That experience of Bellenden Primary was 3 or 4 years ago so maybe it's different now. Goose Green and St J&Cs are both great schools anyway.

Sorry to tell you Catalyst that Ali sold the Oglander months ago after a sterling 10 year residency. It's empty. He got planning for flats on the 2nd time of asking so it will sadly be decommissioned as a boozer. It was a great local and altho I hate seeing pubs turned into housing, you couldn't say that that man didn't put his heart & soul into the place. We've been here for 10+ years, starting on Maxted then working our way 'round the corner to Oglander. In those days you could buy a house on Maxted on E grade nurse's pay. What people are saying about friendliness is all true. We lived on Maxted when it was tarted up by the council and got to know lots of neighbours. It's villagey. There has been turnover in our group of friends as kids approach the 2ndary school stage. The primaries are great (our 2 have attended Goose Green and St J&C's) but - as detailed extensively on this forum - the secondary school options are limited. People are moving away or going private which i am sure will please the nimby crew fighting to keep Harris out of Dulwich as we will be replaced by richer better types

Beautifully put Cuthbert Dibble. this will see us and others (who can't afford / object to private schooling) off and out of an area we love and have invested much time and energy in ... Nimbys on this thread - please don't kid on you'll ever stop airing your whinges about this school and anything else in range threatening to trim your equity. This is a phase of the battle, not the war. may the future pupils poop on your garden gnomes and teem uncontrollably in an unruly hooded throng across your avenues (waving burning brands made of Foxton's signs)

Jingles, you can be hired, used and fired and you'll probably kiss *rse throughout. Like most of us, your life choice is to be either a whore or a benefit recipient. Come down off your high horse, stop sneering at others and stop perpetuating the myth that lawyers are ignorant smug tw*ts. Some of us are alright.

oh god ... huge sympathies, worse by far than losing just a car. we are keeping them crossed for you

Someone in my street, who had handed my car keys in when I left them in the car door, knocked and asked to borrow ?20.This was only the 2nd time I'd ever seen him.He said he was waiting for a social security cheque and would pay me back at the end of next week......I handed it over with mixed feelings and sure enough a couple of months passed and I never saw him again. 'Bloody typical' I thought, but of the blue he turned up with the cash. I was wrong and he was a bad time keeper but fundamentally it made me realize don't judge everyone to be the just the same. My other half has just pointed out that on another occasion he opened the door to a particularly chavvy bloke and was just about to turn him abruptly away with the 'we don't buy at the door etc line' when he said 'Oy mate is that your car with the keys in the door......'. Incidentally the knackered old vehicle did get stolen eventually. Charity work really.

I can't wait. the lovely Viet deli on Choumert Rd is one of the few local sources of fresh quail, 'Indian Prince' curry powder, pork and nuoc mam. the more food you can offer the happier I'll be

Can this be true? [scroll down this link http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/14/14922/Gowlett_Arms/Peckham to 'History Lesson']

Good question. I went in there to buy an amp one time and it was suggested I might like 10 grand's worth of top end Sony kit. Lovely bloke and everything but maybe he needs to cater a little for the domestic end of the market? To answer fractionater's question, maybe the store is really a Mr Benn portal to a world of scifi glittery audio fidelity adventures. I'll ask for the changing room next time

Heard a rumour that there was a prty on Dog Kennel Hill at the recently with a large spit roased porker....Mmmm

About half the places at St Johns and St Clemments are for non faith local children.A few years ago this wasn't the case and resulted in a very unseemly boost in church attendance. Fortunately for those who are not prepared to fake it on moral grounds, non religious parents can now potentially get their kids into this nice mixed school.

at least we now know where to score in SE15 ... so handy to have a cabinet minister to hand

i heard the new home secretary's dossing at her sister's there

Anyone know when it's supposed to open?