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Oh my god, poor Kate and Jude, no wonder he looked a little stressed last we met. Poor dears. What can we do, a petition to celestial or something.

My thoughts are definitely with you guys.


I'm afraid I can't join in the Celestial boycott as I guess strictly speaking you need to have set foot in there at least once previously for it to be a boycott.

You'd have thought celestial could easily close for a few days without suffering a dent in their profits, given how few customers ever actually set foot in there. In fact, they might even find it more profitable to close as they wouldn't have to pay staff...


Anyway, never mind the power of prayer. Let's harness the power of the forum. Christmas without celestial i could cope with, but Christmas without booze? Unthinkable.

boycotting Celestial seems a bit strong without knowing both sides of the argument, I assume they don't want to close (even partially) in the run up to Christmas as it will be their busiest time. Passive direct action is what's needed, we should just tell the people in Celestial that it would be appreciated if they could let their neighbours unblock their drains. If that fails then plan B.

That's not enough information for me to be jumping to conclusions about boycotting someones business! I know from a lot of personal experience that hearing one person's side of a dispute can often not be reflective of the true position (of course, it might be in this case - I have no idea - which is my point really).


If G&B have insurance, hopefully they will be covered for at least some of the works required. As for access, after all these months and communicating through lawyers, I assume that the legal position has been considered and advice given as part of that process. Although I don't think anyone should rush into unnecessary litigation, if the legal merits are on the side of G&B they could have applied for an injunction or some other order facilitating access, yet they don't appear to have done so. Perhaps the rights and wrongs of the dispute are not so clear.


I hope they can sort out their situation though - neighbour disputes can be draining and costly and clearly G&B's business depends upon it. I have only eaten there twice, but I enjoyed it a lot and certainly plan to go back. I wish them well, but won't be boycotting anybody just yet on the basis of what I have read. Nor, I'm afraid, will I be attempting to invoke any assistance from a higher power. The best higher power to deal with this would, eventually, be a Judge - but hopefully it can be sorted without such delay and expense.

ok, so in true passive direct action style I went into Celestial and asked what's going on. I was told by the nice lady behind the till that there's someone going round next Tuesday to sick a camera in the drain to see what and where the problem is. They have allowed them access but as they don't know where the problem is they don't want them ripping up the shop floor just yet. Seems fair enough.


Admin, please can you amend the first post please as you see fit?

I should make it clear that we have absolutely no vested interested in this other than really enjoying Green & Blue and learning a lot from their wine school. And of course there are two sides to every issue. I do understand that this issue has gone on for some time and I think there have been several cameras down the pipe over the past few months to identify the problem. So if anyone is in the neighbourhood and wants to pop in and and ask Kate or Jude if they are there what the status is, you'll have all the balanced facts (well, the perspectives of both).


We were really hoping to go to G&B for new year's eve so let's hope communication and decency saves the day...

I thought you'd spot it sewerner or later


You right though, dulwichbloke. I don't think anyone should be rushing out to make placards to wave outside Celestial. As anyone who's had any dealings with builders and the like will know, you can ask opinions of three people and get three different answers. G&B's man says the problem is under Celestial, Celestial's man says otherwise.


With G&B forced to close and the tills still ringing in Celestial, it's all too easy to cast the villain of the piece.. but who actually knows for sure..?

I don't care much for shops like Celestial, there are already too many of their kind around the Lane and North Cross Road selling what I regard as useless tat but I guess there must be a market for them otherwise they wouldn't survive, so good luck to them.

I'd like to be impartial and not take sides here and I'd really like to here Celestial's side of the story but being the inveterate wino that I am I feel a natural inclination to offer my support for the fine and worthy premises that is Green & Blue even though I am only a more recent convert to their highly salubrious drinking establishment.

Bob - I thought you might pipe up again.


I agree with your observations. I have seen probably 20-30 full-on neighbour disputes over the years and often my view on them changes as I learn all (or more) of the relevant facts. Expert surveyors often disagree on matters such as the cause of pipe defects/blockages, even during court proceedings - pre-action, the respective party's builders/plumbers are even more likely to disagree. Sometimes they even have vested interests themselves.


Perhaps a formal mediation may assist G&B and Celestial to reach agreement and to get the matter sorted out quickly?

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