East Dulwich station is a rather charming if very run down station. It is amazingly busy and the nearly all ramped access has proved a god send when my young children travelled by prams everywhere. Over two years ago I met the rail operating company to ask about the five remaining steps being ramped over but such a ramp would have a slope greater than 1 in 20 - which I was told generally isn’t allowed due to the Disability Discrimination Act. I also wanted fences changed to make the prolific littering easier to manage.

A fortnight ago I met Network Rail and the TOC to see if they could consider a new ramp or lift and stairs to make the station fully accessible. They explained that various retaining walls have been moving signigicantly. That the very nice large tree has had to be lopped as it was causing the retaining wall problems.

The outcome. Network Rail are going to consider some options of what may or may not be possible. Lifts are expensive to maintain. A ramp would need to be very very long indeed. 

At long last Caffe Nero, having spouted considerable vitriol about Southwark Council, East Dulwich residents, council officers, and after the latest 30 day deadline, Caffe Nero have finally removed two noisy illegal and ugly air conditioning units they’d installed within a few feet of residents bedroom windows.

I never thought I’d quote the “unacceptable face of capitalism” and think it resonated with the appalling actions of a business located in East Dulwich.

Imagine what it must have been like having these units feet away from your bed, working 24/7, and being particualrly noisy in summer when you need to have your bedroom window open to keep cool.

At last some good news for these residents who can finally get a good nights sleep.

I feel sad and angered with the anouncement today that all eights proposed Post Offices closures in Southwark will go ahead. One of the East Dulwich Post Offices will close. The one on Melbourne Grove.

The service given at this Post Office is so good that many users bypass other Post Offices. Some people just can’t queue for quarter of an hour. This decision is particualrly bad as the Camberwell Post Office will close for an extended period while it is kncoked down and rebuilt. So at the very least delaying until after that project happens would make sense.

But this isn’t about making sense. It is about closing profitable popular urban Post Offices with the presumption customers and their business can travel to other Post Offices and boost profits from urban Post Offices. These decisions are not about giving excellent, better or even the same level of service.

The whole landscape needs to be changed to maximise customer service. Ministers and Post Offices decision makers are not customers of Post Offices. They have other people to run such errands. Hence this daft decision - timed to be announced just after the 1 May elections.

The governments elimination of the starting 10% tax level has made over five million people in the UK poorer. Many of them pensioners who spent a lifetime toiling in public services towards occupational pension schemes that accrued at the rate of 1/80 per annum.

Contrast this with the super rich and non doms paying little or no tax. The OECD has stated that the UK is now a tax haven for such people.

The gap between the richest and poorest has never been bigger in our history. With increasing competition for global resources prices are accelerating. The poorest comparative poverty will worsen with growing fuel poverty, etc.

How has a Labour government created such an obscene pickle?

What relief that the London elections have passed. The amount of time and effort to help with a good campaign is exhausting - especially for families patience as well.

What did amaze me is how many homes don’t have house numbers. How tricky for postal workers.  

This election has seen terrible weather. Within the space of a week I was snowed on, rained on, pondered whether to be worried by lightning and then peeling from sunburn.

Has Caroline gained the numbers to win the Lambeth & Southwark GLA constituency seat….