rgutsell

Hiya all My mother recently came back to the UK for a visit after 22 years in the French country side. She says that she can't believe the amount of people eating whilst out shopping and doing other things. So much eating!! So there you are....I just thought that you'd like to hear that. Yours, R N Gutsell

Hallo all I live on East Dulwich Grove, and would like to raise the issue of speeding traffic early in the morning and later in the evenings on the stretch of road between the hospital and the junction with Lordship Lane. Its not a problem in the daytime rush hour periods because the traffic is too heavy, but it is a problem after. There is a downhill section leading onto a flat approach to Lordship Lane, and some people put their foot down. Public service vehicles (Police and Ambulance) also speed. There are two Zebra crossings on that stretch,and I would like to propose that they are both "lifted" onto raised ramps. Anyone else recognise this problem? RN Gutsell

Hiya By "Dodgy" do you mean a person with a Mental health disorder or personality "disorder" ? Sounds like she wasn't being threatening, just being rather different. Yours Rgutsell

er........nothing, hopefully. yours anti royalist.

Hiya all As a reactionary left wing Spart, I just want to say that Alleyns, Jaggers etc etc were all originaly set up to provide education for those that could not afford eduaction, and were granted charitable status later on to assist them. This status gives them considerable tax clout, they own large amounts of land in our very over priced locality, bus in kids from large areas of london which have perfectly reasonable schools, recieve (and have recieved) substantial monies from wills etc. Why should these rich, and over resourced, private institutions be subsidised by any funds, in any form, the tax payer? There, I just had to get that of my chest! Rgutsell; a perfectly happy and well educated product of a comprehensive school!

Hiya all Just letting anyone who needs it know, that I am around (and have been for a while) to provide support, or input, or ideas for anyone struggling with alcohol and drug use issues. rgutsell2@yahoo.com for more info about my approach, background, experience etc. or 07749197348. I am currently "Between jobs" (LOL) and making myself useful. Yours RGutsell

Hiya all. Just to share that I saw an albino fox cub, (or a very, very, light brown) in North Cross Road last thursday, late evening. Lovely, ghost like, nervous young thing. Yours Rgutsell

Hiya all I would like help in finding out more about the artist whose signature I have attached here. There are two works, watercolours, much cropped I'm afraid, both landscapes. The signatures are dated 1942 and 1947, and they appear to be C de Albartins, or L de Albartins, or Albartius. See what you can make of them. The works are on PM Fabriano watermarked paper. Whixch sadly is available world wide, but maybe these are Italian scenes by an Italian artist. I picked them up here, in Dulwich, SE London, UK. They are both competent works by someone who knew what they were doing, and are very attractive...to me!! Any help is greatly appreciated, Yours R N Gutsell

Hi all Nice to get the response..it does actually help! EDF as therapeutic venue!! My own view...and I am glad I kept to it under pressure....is that you have to respond, in an unambigous way that shows clearly how you feel. Thats how they know its a boundary, and that I am an adult. Im glad that I wasn't abusive or physical. (But god knows I'd LOVE to have been able to!!) Just to make it clear, the guy purposely stepped out in the road, and stood there; he was not just slowly jay walking across; the others then joined, and eventualy made their way across.

Hi Narnia well it did upset me and made me quite fearful, after I had calmed down. I could have been a lot more aggressive and uncontrolled than I was. Anyway, in retrospect, its not a huge incident, but I do worry that if groups of youths congregate they can become (not always) threatening. Rgutsell

Hi all I wanted to make all aware of an incident that I became involved in this evening with a group of youths. I was driving on my usual route home at around 1750pm this evening along East Dulwich Road, when a young man stepped out in front of me and appeared to be commanding me to stop. (Which I was forced to do, with all the rush hour traffic behind as well) Then a group of around 8-10( I guess), all of school age, stepped out on the road, and it was clear that they were dominating the road and crossing wherever they wanted, however they wanted. I wound the window down and said they should use the public crossing, just ahead of them, (for which we all have paid!1) and for that got volleys of abuse. My nearside mirror and rear door were hit. I opened the drivers door to stop them, and made my feelings clear about their behaviour, and so that meant they kicked my drivers door too. I have informed the Police and it will be passed on to the Safer Neighbourhood Team. I am not expecting any one to be caught etc, but I do hope that if anyone else sees anything like that in the same area again, they will pass it on to the Police. (and SNT). Rgutsell

HI all I heard of a way of deterring petrol thieves...but not tried it myself and it takes some mechanical efort and know how, and some cost. If you have a vehicle you are prepared to not use for a while, and you don't mind it being "Bait", disconnect the fuel line from the tank, and then drain and collect the fuel. Pour liquid honey into the fuel, stir well, and feed it back into the disconnected tank. Stand back and wait for it to be stolen. The honey will gunge up the pipes, carburetor, and filters of the person using the stolen stuff, and cost a lot of effort and dosh to put it right. Of course, you will have to clean your own tank using spirit...but if you are angry enough!!!!.......

HI all Here is an Xmas tree story..just for the sake of it!! Followed by an environmental question! Back in the 1970's I was working in the Forestry Commission in North Wales,as a chain saw operator. Trees are planted very close together at first, so that the branches will quickly close the gap between them, and the trees will rush upwards in competition for the light, so growing wood very quickly. An enterprising thief....(probably a worker too!) parked up a large trailer and took out one in every five trees, in a distant part of the Clocaenog Forest. The newly opened gaps were quickly closed by the trees, and since the plantation was far from habitation etc, no one knew for several years. Good story...but it raises the question; How do you know how "cocher" your tree was? Did you ever ask the vendor where they got the tree from? And did it come from a sustainable source? The latter is a very relevant question since the Forestry Commission is much less a paper pulp supplier these days, more of a conserver and land holder. There is much less plantation of evergreens in the UK, and most of the planting that is carried out in the UK, is by Private owners or companies with tax breaks still in mind. So, what is the carbon footprint of trees that are probably imported, and very quickly disposed off?

HI all Howabout a local history centre/activity centre/museum?

Hi JBarber Thanks for that. I'd be interested in the response.

Hi all Good post burbage! I am not alone in my experience then!

Hi all I did Sainsbury about 9pm last evening...not too bad. I grew up in a family used to getting by on very little, and I find shopping like that at Sainsbury's is worrying. All that consumption! I expect there to be a "day of reckoning", and I cannot be relaxed about it. I'm happier when the shops are shut and the holiday is on.

Hi all The "activity" was a 'pop up' gallery, organised by an artist, michael. V Nice painted images with Indian inspiratiion amongst others.

HI all Salting the roads and paths is not very effective over the medium term (i.e a day or two) it does not work in really cold weather, and it's environmentally bad; all that concentrated salt runs straight into the drains and sewers, on the first rainy day. A better, and more communal, idea is for everyone to grab a shovel and clear their paths, streets, front doors, gardens etc together. More fun ......if you make it so!

Hi all The bus route was not running past us when we moved in. The route was changed a year or so ago; the buses ceased turning into Melbourne Grove (from Brixton) and instead carried directly onto Lordship Lane, where they then struggle to make the left turn into Lordship Lane. Additionaly, the kerbside was built out to enable the buses to stop without turning in ( and so they now stop all following traffic). The road (East Dulwich Grove) is actually quite narrow, and buses are about 30' from all of the rooms on the street side of the houses. Quite close. I am pro buses by the way. But I am also a PCV and HCV holder, and I know that they don't have to be so noisy. I've driven fully loaded artic's with monster engines...and they were quieter. (Unless my memory has faded as it was some years ago!!) ...and by the way we have secondary glazing too! R N Gutsell

Hi all I was reading the edf, and was inspired by the number of whinges to add my own! We live in East Dulwich Grove, along which the 37 bus runs, 24hrs a day, 7 days a week as far as I can work out. The thing is, our bedroom is on the street side of the house; and you know what, those buses at 3am in the morning are REALLY NOISY!!. They sound like jets pulling away from the stop. They have no clutches (fluid transmission) AND THE ENGINES RACE (like $%%^^$?) to get going. Whose idea was it anyway to send them all the way down the Grove, and who uses them at that time of day?? Whinge over. R N Gutsell

HI all I couldn't resist joining this thread, because it comes close to whether or not you like dogs. I don't!! Im a long time runner, I have spent years running around local commons and I am sick of dealing with yappy uncontrolled dogs ("He's really very friendly" say the owners.) There are MANY more pet dogs around now, than decades ago. Interestingly, Morden Hall Park (where I used to live and run) made an asessment of the effects of dog "visits" to their ecology. They estimated a half a million dog "visits" in a year, and total "droppings" of many tons. Since the habit of most dogs (owners) is to poo on the margins soon after arriving, it meant that marginal bio environments were adversely affected through being over enriched. This altered the ecology and insect life etc. On a less "anoracky" theme, if children were to run around parks baring their teeth and threatening people and then poo'ing everywhere, they and the parents would soon be in doo dah (geddit!). So why do we allow dogs to do it?? and don't even get me started on Goose Green (an extended dog toilet).... and trophy dogs,....and fighting breeds.....

HI all Here is what I know about bumble bees being out and about this late in the year. They are "social" insects like honey bees, but their nests only consist of very small numbers. In the nest, only one or two will be actively foraging etc at any one time. Bees that emerge late in the year, will eventually attempt to "hibernate" (they go into "diapause") by finding a place to settle down, sometimes in the nest, but often alone. Quite often this is in the undergrowth of a grassy area. If they survive the winter (a big if...) they will emerge in the early spring, but they won't last long. What a life...first yer born...then yer work ard...then you die. Bumble bees actually do work themselves to death; their wings etc are ragged with use at the end. Maybe a bee expert could give us more info. rn gutsell

Hi all Ok Enough of this nonsense. Now for some serious, important stuff. I have it on the highest authority that even as we speak a race of highly intelligent, pan galactic, and intra dimensional alien beings is gathering on the edges of the solar system, getting ready to invade. The signal that they were waiting for was the installation of a certain alien shrub in the centre of a roundabout of a certain neighbourhood. The reason that it has taken some time for the signal to get through, is that some thought that it was quite a normal thing to do, and therefore it went unnoticed to begin with. The best thing to do in the event of the invasion is to go to the EDT (Extra Dimensional Terrestrial) and quickly down two pints, whilst quoting Douglas Adams. Bring a towel (for the spilt beer). Good luck.

Hi I can understand being afraid.....but I have had more worrying conversations with "sane" people. There are actually quite a few people with Mental Health issues around ED, and some specialist housing. I am pleased that ED carries its weight on this issue.