Loz

Fair enough Mr Barber, but what is the ratio of bikes:vehicles on the roads. I could make an equal case that redheads are far less dangerous than brunettes. Not taking sides, just don't like sloppy stats!

I thought you were moving to St Francis Road?? Have you abandoned us? :))

Star13uk, The issue is that the police forced the man to leave the festival. Either he was doing something wrong or he wasn't and, as you've pointed out (and something people constantly forget) is that photographing people, including children, in a public place is legal. Once the police had seen the photos they should have established if the photos were suspicious or not. If not (and since no official further action was taken, I think that is safe to assume) he should have been allowed to go on his way. But no, he was, embarrassingly, told to leave the area, because the police would rather trample on one man's rights than explain to one possibly hysterical parent that there is nothing to worry about and that he has been allowed to continue with his perfectly legal activity. Lets take this another way. Imagine you have agreed to meet your teenage child outside a tube station. They are running late and have forgotten their mobile phone. Station staff have seen you loitering outside the station and are worried because you are wearing a small backpack, so they call the police. The police arrive, perform a stop and search and ask your identity. You happily cooperate with the police and they confirm your identity and that there is nothing explosive in your backpack. Once all this is completed they then order you to leave the area as your presence is worrying the station staff. Would you think this is right/fair? Do you not think you have a right to stand in a public place if you can show you have no nefarious purpose? Tough. Not any more. Not while there is a terrorist around every corner and a paedo behind every tree. I'm not blaming Becky123 here - she did what she thought was right - it's the police that were in the wrong. They handled this situation poorly. Unfortunately, that seems to be a common theme of late.

Woof - that sounds like BMI tests. Is your son ... erm... not tall by any chance? BMI is, I agree, limited - it tends to overrate the shorter and underrate the taller and, of course, has trouble differentiating fat from muscle. Crude and ineffective, but ticks the boxes. Not too dissimilar to the new ISA regime, then... But, on the other hand, it is fairly noticeable that kids in general are getting fatter and are playing less sport. Expect this trend to continue as sport opportunities for kids decreases. I am waiting for the huge outcry to hit when the obvious extrapolation to all this comes around - that, since the greatest danger (in abuse terms) to children are their parents and close relatives, you will be required to have an ISA check to have children...

Child Protection and Terrorism are the two scourges of modern society. Not because they are particularly dangerous, but that they are used for people to hang their neuroses upon and for governments to enact more and more legislation that kills freedom. Iaineasy takes the dreadful (and discredited) 'if it saves one child' argument. Unfortunately this is doing more harm than good to children. It's this argument that has bought us the scourge of the Independent Safeguarding Authority (aka the Gossip Database). It's this that is killing junior sport, scouts, and other good healthy things that children can do. Instead we have a plague of child obesity - figures out yesterday show that 36 per cent of 10 and 11 year old children in London are overweight or obese. 36 PERCENT!! A good proportion of these children are going to have severe health issues and die early. This will only get worse because the paranoia will continue and there will be less and less people willing to open themselves up to the danger of working with children. Yes, Iaineasy, the hysteria of you and people like you may save one child. But at the cost of the future of many overweight, unhappy children. Well done you.

Hi James, Can you possibly help with this one?? I cite one specific example, but I suspect it is standard practice. There is a bin on Abbotswood Road, near the top of St Francis Road. About once a week someone - I guess a council person - comes along and changes the liner of the bin. The old full one is tied up and placed near the bin for another team to collect. This second team does not turn up until a day or so later and by then the local fox population has ripped the liner apart and strewn the contents over a wide area. Is there anything you can do the fix this flawed process?? Loz PS Can I just add my voice to the 'don't hand out speed guns to a bunch of nosey, supposed do-gooding, busybodies'. Policing should be done by police. Alternatively, the person doing the 'reporting' MUST be named so that the person complained about can take any necessary action against them (legal, if necessary) should they be prejudicial, erroneous or incompetent. They must be directly and legally accountable.

Would a Millwall fan actually know something was mis-spelt? :)

Hi Kay, Not a St Francis Road person, but Abbotswood Road - so I'm very close! I find that noise from the football ground is not a problem. There is a bit on some Saturdays, but only really when a goal is scored. I only hear it when I am in the garden. Can't help you on the park security as I don't back onto the park. It's a lovely area up this end of ED and handy for everything. Nice and quiet, but near to a big Sainsburys, two rail stations and five bus routes - plus, of course, the park. I've been here ten years! So, hopefully, welcome!!

That seems a bit of a waste of time then, Sean. :))

Blimey. Bet you're fun at parties...

That's the best thing about a good lawyer: attention to detail...

Re: bin men. The ones that do the St Francis Estate are great. They come and retrieve them from the little gated areas that all the houses have. Top service. On the other hand, the recycling people leave a trail of paper in their wake.

Children under 16 can't get a FPN?? Good grief. Change the law - make the parents legally responsible and give it to them...

That's pretty much a rule London-wide, unless marked otherwise. Have a look at Gallery Road - the cynic in me says that they designed the signage and lines to be purposefully - and profitably - confusing. There is no rhyme nor reason as to where you can and can't park with wheels on the pavement. Every time there is a fair at Belair they make a killing.

Wine making, in theory, isn't difficult - crush grapes, add yeast, ferment, age, bottle, drink. You shouldn't really need too much kit. As a good indicator, the pros get a bottle of wine for every kilo of grapes. YMMV, but if you're only expecting a crop of a few kilos the effort may be more 'of interest' than productive. London is really too far north for reds. Whites may be possible. England tends to produce wines made of varieties that aren't your usual suspects - a nice glass of M?ller-Th?rgau anyone? Anyway, you might want to talk to this bloke

How many 'carpet burn' jokes did you get, JoJo?

Good grief I hate people who think that bringing an entire city to a halt just to publicise their own pet peeve is a good idea. Selfish, selfish barsteward.

Candles don't count, Sally81... :))

Quite frankly, you could put up the Tub of Lard that appeared on Have I Got News For You up against the Harridan and you'd still have a fair chance of attracting my vote...

Brendan, If your phone does WAP I well recommend the mobile area of the BBC site: www.bbc.co.uk/sport/mobile

Every now and again you get that 'should I brake or should I go' orange light moment. If the answer is 'go' I'm always amazed to look back in my mirror to see two or three vehicles have followed me through the lights. Madness. Of course if you do stop, a quick glance back to see the driver behind with a 'grrr. we could have made that' look on his/her face always brightens the day...

If we're having awards this year, I nominate this thread in the 'Least Informative Headline" category.

Well, as long as it's not a stick of celery. That would be silly. :)

You misunderstand me; but I suspect you did it on purpose. I'm not suggesting you use the specially provided cycleways to make car drivers lives easier, I'm suggesting you use them because it lowers your chances of dying. But I more than happy for you to cycle round the E&C roundabout. Please do. Make it hobby. It changes my life not one iota - I mostly go around it on a bus. Sometimes I wonder I cyclists if keep their balance by having a chip on both shoulders...

I disagree Mrs F - the E&C roundabout is an appalling design. As I said, even in a car it's a pretty scary experience. You couldn't pay me enough money to go around it on a motorbike, much less a bicycle. Personally I think that, yes, there are some pretty awful drivers out there with some pretty awful attitudes towards cyclists. Conversely, there are some pretty awful cyclists that think that they have the right to jump red lights, cycle over pavements, pass dangerously and illegally, go the wrong way down one-way streets and zip through stationary traffic (to the danger of pedestrians) - indeed a general lack of road safety awareness themselves. The Highway Code applies to everyone. On the other hand there are good cyclist and good drivers. Probably in the majority in both cases. I'm going to be controversial and say cyclists should be fearful of their lives. Why? Because one mistake by either them or someone else and they are probably dead. Saying that you "respect those who choose to go through [the E&C roundabout], if it highlights to one car driver that cyclists are proper road users then it is benefit to many many more" is dangerous. We've already had one fatality there recently. Is there a family out there mourning a loved one? Yes. Have things improved? No? In your own words "once you have got the route sorted then it is super easy.... So much nicer than going round the roundabout." Why on earth would you not try to encourage every cyclist to take the safe "super easy" route that has been provided especially for cyclists?? For some cheap "cyclists rights" political point? How many deaths does it need before that becomes a bad idea? My father taught me to 'drive defensively' - that is, assume everyone else is an idiot who is about to do something you don't expect. All road users should do this.