Willow Armed Robbery

[nutty]

Spotted the yellow placard last weekend. Why would someone want to rob a small gift shop... b*stards. Hope everyone involved was okay (obviously excluding the scum who did it)

[Mark]

Which shop's Willow?

[Huguenot]

On North Cross Road just along from ED and Grace and Favour. Nick nacks and kids stuff.

The robbers must have been not local, or screwed up on crack if they thought that Willow was going to be flush with cash on a Wednesday at 5pm.

Sympathies also to anyone who got dragged in to that mess.

[clare]

from the front line..........my 12 year old daughter was in the shop buying a birtday card when man in balaclava with gun ran in demanding money from till.....very frightening but he obviously an idiot as had parked his car on Fellbrigg and so number plate taken by several witnesses......I agree strange shop to choose....my daughter and friend had just left Grace and Favour where some other crook was shoplifting shoes, apparently incidents unrelated.I read in the South London Press that Community Council giving money to local Lordship Lane businesses so they can be hooked up together with panic alarms......

all very horrible and having read South London Press (not for the nervous disposition) it feels like we are in the middle of the Bronx......

ps daughter much calmer about whole thing than me and her dad but then she is from south london and we are northern softies......

[batdog]

Hi Clare,

Sorry to hear about your daughter "incident" and glad that nothing serious happened to her.

I pass in front of Willow almost every day (when I am in London) and noticed that it is the only shop that has been targeted several times in that street.

It had smashed windows a couple of times since it opened. I am sure that some "forum users" must have also noticed that.

Maybe someone is on a "revenge" mission against the owners.

I hope this is not the case and I wish Willow's shopkeepers all my sympathies. (tu)

Despite the Willow incident East Dulwich remains a relatively safe area ( and family friendly ) of SE London... PLEASE do not compare it to the Bronx.

[Nero]

My NYC neighbour tells me that London right now has a feel of NYC in the 70s. She says she used to go into Manhattan and see people talking to snakes and others taking rats for a walk on a lead. She says that the 'edge' that London has is similar to that in NYC then. She said it only half jokingly. I fear for parts of London at times. I don't think we are in danger in SE22,SE21 or SE24 but when you venture into Camberwell and Elephant, there is a certain lawlessness that I really don't like.(PS I am from Manchester, and not a very salubrious part of that city too, so I do have a sense of 'danger'.) What do you lot think of our fair city's vibe right now?

[batdog]

Hey Nero,

Have you forgotten the most lively corner of this part of town ? SE15 ????

[Guest]

My grandfather was a police officer in Peckham during the 50's and 60's, I really do not know what he would think if he came back now! I am sure he would be absolutely horrified if he could see the lawlessness and absolute contempt for authority. I fear for some parts of London too, it isnt looking good for the future..

[Nero]

I agree about the lawlessness. I have seen pot being smoke openly, men peeing up walls, kids running amok, cars and vans parking willy nilly. Hopefully the Street Wardens will be able to do something. Hey-ho.

[Guest]

Nero Wrote:

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> I agree about the lawlessness. I have seen pot

> being smoke openly, men peeing up walls, kids

> running amok, cars and vans parking willy nilly.

> Hopefully the Street Wardens will be able to do

> something. Hey-ho.

"pot".. ha ha

You don't hear that term too much these days. I find it quite sweet. POT. Ahhhh..A nice bit of POT.

[spadetownboy]

Nero Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I agree about the lawlessness. I have seen pot

> being smoke openly, men peeing up walls, kids

> running amok, cars and vans parking willy nilly.

> Hopefully the Street Wardens will be able to do

> something. Hey-ho.

lord almighty are these things happening on our streets think i,ll take to the shelter and wait for armageddon.

[georgia]

There's another yellow board outside the HSBC - another robbery.

[CrystalClear]

must be all these 'pot' smokers.

HSBC seems like a much better option, if I were a burgular, than Willow, which lets face it, wont have much return for the risks involved. I think its punk kids with little common sense and too much time. Sad really, and quite distressing for EDers, especially if its becoming a regular things. Maybe its the twats that tried to break into my house trying to get 'bigger'.

CrystalClear. Haf man/half veg. And currently hangover.

[Keef]

Well if they had to rob somewhere, I hope it was the bloody HSBC, they probably stole the bank charges that HSBC have taken from me over the years!!!

I also hope they took that very rude fella (you know who you are) hostage..... Not hoping he was hurt, I'm not that nasty, but scared til he wet himself would be nice! (6)

At the same time, most of them are really nice, so hope everyone is okay!!!

[georgia]

Oh dear Keef are you hungover as well or just having a bad day...

[Keef]

Just very tired!

Sorry, but I did say I hope no one came to any harm, I'm not a nutter, honest! :-S

I do however have real issues with HSBC, and one of their staff was very very rude to me once!

Actually, I can remember HSBC being robbed / attempted robbery several times over the years, wonder why they choose that one as opposed to Barclays or Woolwich....(?)

[CrystalClear]

sorry, but what's the point of (?) why can't you just use a ? I get the faces but (?) is just silly, as is (now I've noticed it) this (!)

*goes back to sleep*

[shambles]

its the fatal shootings of youngsters that worries me most...seems guns are so easy to get hold of these days and little regard/respect for young lives. so sad :-(

[CrystalClear]

It is sad sahmbles (I had a lot more to say, but my heads finding it hard to express itself). I doubt there's an easy solution either, and it seems to be a proble right around the corner from ED.

[Keef]

What can we expect though, when kids are listening to Gangsta Rap which covers topics such as popping caps in heads, and "smacking your bitch up"!?!? I'm not suggesting everyone who listens to this will go out and kill someone, but it doesn't exactly promote peace and respect for your fellow man!

That "kid" who got 30 years yesterday for the 2 murders in Peckham and Walworth, dragged that poor lady out of her car in Walworth, and stabbed her in the heart, because she "disrespected him". That is a very very common reason given for stabbings and shootings.

I really don't know how it can be sorted. I was only in school 11 years ago, and there were gangs, and occasional stabbings (not in my school, but you know what I mean), but nothing at all like this!

[Keef]

I'm not entirely sure that THIS is the answer to anything... Fight fire with fire... Hmmmm that'll work :-S

[Mark]

Yesterday as I was riding home from work on my scooter, I was coming up behind a car stopped at traffic lights and the front passenger threw his bottle of Lucozade (orange flava) out the window. Now I always stop, pick up the litter and politely give it back to the person in the car, or if they ignore me I throw it in the backseat. Sometimes they're really apologetic, sometimes they act like I've spat in their face, but yesterday, as there were three black guys in a Mercedes I decided not to. I don't like having to make that decision because I felt my well-being (and ability to attend a Valentines meal at Le Moulin which was great by the way) would have been under threat. I might be wrong and the passenger may have said "sorry, thank you for pointing out my error I must remember not to do it again" but my instinct said let it go that time.

My point? Why does the guy in the car not know that throwing a bottle out of a car is wrong? I know it's petty but it's wrong. "Gives people jobs dunnit" Has he never seen the advert where the bloke puts the bottle down on the wall and says "I put it out the way" and in the next scene a little girls crying as she's knocked it off the wall and cuts herself. Why can't young people be taught the basics of right and wrong and respect? Anything to do with this report by the UN that puts the UK at the bottom of the league table for child well-being across 21 industrialised countries? Do happy children have more respect for their surroundings and others or do they just stab with a smile? I've no idea but if anyone says it's because they don't have god in their life will have to explain it thoroughly on another thread.

I saw the yellow board outside the bank last night too. Bank robbers don't usually do jobs in their own area which means he (or she) is probably not an East Dulwich resident. And as the bank's a few hundred yards from our Police Station can I presume that the police were there within minutes?

[Guest]

Mark Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Yesterday as I was riding home from work on my

> scooter, I was coming up behind a car stopped at

> traffic lights and the front passenger threw his

> bottle of Lucozade (orange flava) out the window.

> Now I always stop, pick up the litter and politely

> give it back to the person in the car, or if they

> ignore me I throw it in the backseat. Sometimes

> they're really apologetic, sometimes they act like

> I've spat in their face, but yesterday, as there

> were three black guys in a Mercedes I decided not

> to. I don't like having to make that decision

> because I felt my well-being (and ability to

> attend a Valentines meal at Le Moulin which was

> great by the way) would have been under threat. I

> might be wrong and the passenger may have said

> "sorry, thank you for pointing out my error I must

> remember not to do it again" but my instinct said

> let it go that time.

>

> My point? Why does the guy in the car not know

> that throwing a bottle out of a car is wrong? I

> know it's petty but it's wrong. "Gives people jobs

> dunnit" Has he never seen the advert where the

> bloke puts the bottle down on the wall and says "I

> put it out the way" and in the next scene a little

> girls crying as she's knocked it off the wall and

> cuts herself. Why can't young people be taught the

> basics of right and wrong and respect? Anything to

> do with this report by the UN that puts the UK at

> the bottom of the league table for child

> well-being across 21 industrialised countries? Do

> happy children have more respect for their

> surroundings and others or do they just stab with

> a smile? I've no idea but if anyone says it's

> because they don't have god in their life will

> have to explain it thoroughly on another thread.

>

> I saw the yellow board outside the bank last night

> too. Bank robbers don't usually do jobs in their

> own area which means he (or she) is probably not

> an East Dulwich resident. And as the bank's a few

> hundred yards from our Police Station can I

> presume that the police were there within minutes?

I know its irritating when people do that, but I'd advise you just to stay out of it. Sad as it is, you would probably end up being assaulted, which seems to happen more and more often these days in London

[Keef]

Michael is right, that would have been "disrespecting" them, and you know what happens then....... It is a sad state of affairs.

My other half is a primary school teacher, and she recently did some work in a school in Peckham. It was a year 2 or 3 class, so these are young kids, and she said she couldn't believe how rude, agressive, and (ironically) disrespectful a lot of the kids were!

The colour of a persons skin has no effect on how they behave, but culture does, and a lot of these people that are doing the stabbings and shootings are coming from places / cultures where this is the norm, and they think it's fine and manly to behave like that. It's bloody scary!

[CrystalClear]

Not sure I agree with you there keef, where are these places that this is the norm? I mean, yeah, there's plenty of places with problems - Kingston springs to mind, but I'm not sure you can argue that people have come to the UK and this is their way of life. A lot of these kids were born and bread in Peckham, so I'd say the probles is home grown and more likely to be a lack of opportunity for these kids, bad parenting, lack of community, group culture/peer pressue, argh, I dunno, but that kind of stuff.