If you can keep your head... (update 1)

[Administrator]

...when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you. (If - by Rudyard Kipling)

See the link at the very top of the page or drop-down for the East Dulwich COVID-19 Area on the forum

Update: 22nd March

The section's working well, I think.

I need a concise list of help given or where assistance required that I can direct people to, or replicate on the forum.

I make decisions about some posts which doesn't make me popular.

Yes, some topics are important and are to raise awareness about x, y and z but the forum is more tactical right now so I'm removing some noise. It may be your comment or your thought that x, y or z is important so please don't be offended if it's moved/removed.

I can and do change my mind, and I do make mistakes. Please help let me know what's best for the community and the Health Staff that look after them.

Please don't come into contact with other people, just see how fast it is spreading. My parents are in the vulnerable group and I don't want them to die early because you got it from a friend, then gave it to your mum, who left it in the Post Office etc.

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Blimey, it's all going a bit crazy isn't it. We're struggling to keep the forum slick so...

We will be stricter on moving messages to different sections, especially business ones to the business section. There seem to be a lot of repeat posts, so sorry but some posts will be moved or removed. We can't have a new post for each shop/restaurant/cinema that closes.

Trolls will be banned without warning. Unnecessary opinions on facts may be removed e.g. "Hey everyone, shop x now has toilet roll" -> "Typical capitalist shops.. rant rant rant". This helps keep the forum fun and useful.

If you have a good idea of how the forum can help reduce the impact of armageddon let us know. We can't reply to all messages but will read them all. We're happy to have one thread that has factual, useful info with links to other resources e.g. WhatsApp groups, helpline etc. let me know your thoughts.

How do I know if I have coronavirus? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/health-51934576/how-do-i-know-if-i-have-coronavirus

A great article on social distancing and why you should do it: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/

We don't know how this will pan out so please bear with us.

Please wash your hands, more than you usually do.

[jonnywalker]

well said. Lets help each other. More love less hate

[sjsl]

Much appreciation for the sterling work you do. Interesting article too... keep healthy!

[prit]

Perhaps you could temporarily have a section for coronavirus related threads? Might keep those offers of help easier to find than mixed into the news/gossip section with the dog poo and burst water main threads?

[Palooza]

There is a significant increase of scams and other attempts by people to take advantage of people's vulnerabilities during this time. The regulators are already getting tonnes of complaints about sellers raising prices and other unfair practices. More love, but also more care.

[Blah Blah]

I agree with Prit and think a separate COVID section would be a very good idea, with threads for all the support networks setting up, so not just ED ones, but the surrounding areas, like Nunhead, Camberwell etc. A one stop place for the wide range of forum users (including those located in areas on the fringes of ED) would be invaluable. And thank you, not only for this forum but for thinking of how it could be of best use in this pandemic. We all get to use it for free and absolutely appreciate the work that goes into providing it.

[Administrator]

Done, let's see how we get on.

[Blah Blah]

Thank you Admin. We are all in it together on this one.

[malumbu]

Great idea. Can we keep the broader discussions to this part of the site? I see that a couple of threads have already gone that way on the new section - surely this should be for support and advice not discussion.

[Administrator]

It's impossible to keep it perfect and threads on topic but yes, general discussions e.g. political rants will be moved to the Lounge.

[Jakido]

Much love for what you?re doing.

[malumbu]

Cheers admin. Most of the threads on the Covid section are in deed offering help and advice. A great reflection on society. Only a small number going off into rants etc. I'm keeping my rants on the lounge!

[Penguin68]

I posted this on Suzanne's James capitalised post on this thread, - reposting here in case you missed it

Admin - as this directly supports those 'suffering' from Covid-19 issues - and this set-up will presumably have a short-ish shelf life - not 'business' we hope with any legs past July (fingers crossed symbol) I think it fits here, where people are looking for help, support advice etc. through this emergency. Clearly it is business, but not I hope as we know it, long term.

[Administrator]

Thanks Penguin68, I have moved it to the business section but left a link to it in the Covid-19 section. And removed those annoying capitals in the title!

[jenny pink]

Please don't forget to clean you mobiles too

[colville09]

Thank you admin for all the amazing work you are doing. Might it be possible as the situation evolves to have a subsection that lists the aid group contact details and roughly what areas they cover. It would be a real help to know who to contact if we have friends in trouble who live who are in the area but not immediately near us and so not covered by the great people who have dropped a leaflet through our door. Many many thanks, your work is very appreciated

[Lollipop]

Hi Admin

Thanks so much for setting this up. If I could make one suggestion it would be to ban any comments about small local shop profiteering from this crisis. East Dulwich's strength is in its local retailers and none of them I am sure would be prepared to put their business at risk by doing anything along those lines. They are simply trying to offer a service and often they may not get their supplies from the cheapest supplier.

The Nunhead forum ( which is actually a Facebook group) today banned these sorts of comments after one or two retailers had been criticised heavily without being able to defend themselves. They have also been badly abused by 'customers' going in and ranting at them. One in particular is thinking of closing down his business after 40 years.

That is the last thing that any of us who love East Dulwich (and Nunhead for that matter) want to happen.

Just a suggestion....

[Lollipop]

Southwark Community ( which I think is part of Southwark Council) has contacted lots of the local groups and asked for details with a view to publishing a list and using the generosity of volunteers where they can. They are working with Link Aid and the Southwark Food Bank among others. It might be worth offering them the chance to post here?

The email from them only went out yesterday so not sure how long it will be until it bears fruit.

[malumbu]

Returning to Lollipop's comments, in the early days of the Web when I was working in fair trading we were careful with regards to online criticisms in that this could be seen as defamation. Factual stuff and consumer ratings, fine. So it always gets me that some can use forums to express strong but not always well founded views.

[Artclub]

Thanks for all your work. I have seen various messages, emails from alleged hospital etc, it would be great if someone was able to verify them? Obs not you, you have enough on I should imagine.

I saw one supposedly from st George's hospital and although mostly probably fine advice the list of symptoms is mis leading. Thanks and well done x

[redjam]

Artclub Wrote:

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

> Thanks for all your work. I have seen various

> messages, emails from alleged hospital etc, it

> would be great if someone was able to verify them?

> Obs not you, you have enough on I should imagine.

> I saw one supposedly from st George's hospital and

> although mostly probably fine advice the list of

> symptoms is mis leading. Thanks and well done x

Artclub - that St George's Hospital one has been verified by the hospital as a scam - saw an article about it in the Guardian last week. Only get your news from trusted sources, people, not email rumours! More important now than ever.

Thanks admin for the great work you're doing. Great to see the community coming together (not literally).

[Penguin68]

Admin - since you have decided (quite reasonably) to place business posts in their own section and not in the Covid-19 special section, would it be possible to create yet another (I know, I'm sorry) Covid-19 Business section so that business posts specifically and only relevant to Covid 19 - i.e. about openings, stock, delivery, special services etc. could be included there. I've spent some time trawling through the business section looking for something specific and related to the current lock-down emergency. Again, hopefully this section could be locked down and closed before the end of the year (and would act, with the non business Covid-19 section, curiously, as a useful research resource for those who will be writing up, (for government or academia) responses to this crisis eventually (I write as a former trained historian!)).

[Penguin68]

Thanks for posting and locking up the resources link.

[ssn]

Thanks so much for trying to put out useful information in a rapidly changing environment.

Regarding the general food shopping problems people are having, it was welcome that you are collating a list of businesses who might deliver. But another approach, to help support the smaller food shops in the area, would be to see if there is a way to get them to work together to organise deliveries.

Many of us would like to continue to support the small retailers (and in any case the supermarkets are so difficult to get into). But it isn't healthy for people to be queing separately outside William Rose, Moxon's, Franklins, SMBS, Luca's etc etc just to pick up each type of item. And if people become unwell or need to be isolated, they won't have the energy to ring up 5 different shops to get one basket of food.

A year or two ago there briefly was an internet / App based delivery service which tried to organise collecting items from multiple small shops, but it folded. Maybe its time has come now?

Anyone with a brilliant high or low tech idea on this should speak to the shops and then let the community know!

[bohobridge]

i agree you would think in these troubled times people would be kind but i am 63 with a bad heart and was burgled last night