Sue

I have a dunnock who comes to my garden. The sparrows do feed from my feeders, though! Dunnocks have a different bill (beak?) to sparrows - longer and thinner. Also they don't go around in groups. "Mine" hides at the side of the garden, then darts out to feed, then hides somewhere else, sometimes on the ground in the "undergrowth" :) I can't remember if it feeds from the feeders, though I think so. ETA: On a different note, I stopped buying bird food from Tesco as although it was convenient (came with my groceries) it was producing a wheat (?) field below the feeder. So I bought at vast (ish) expense some premium non-sprouting bird food from elsewhere, and so far the bloody birds (apart from pigeons) have not been near it so far as I can see, though the sparrows still come to the garden. At my sister's suggestion I mixed the two lots together to wean the birds onto the new kind, so I will see if that works, GRRRRR :))

offspinner Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Took the attached picture in Belair Park today. > It's either a redwing or a fieldfare! Pretty sure that's a redwing. https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2018/09/redwings-and-fieldfares/

So are they redwings or fieldfares or both?! Easy to confuse, and I'd be happy to see either :) Would make a change from sparrows :)

singalto Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Nic Basher, I saw two postal worker at the corner > of my road at 2.30 this afternoon. Probably > parcels although none of mine! No letter post > thought! Nic Basher? Who he? :))

Lynne Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Just had a reply from Stephen Buckley, the > Chairman and CEO of Royal Mail > > "Some areas may get covered for delivery rounds > only every second or third days" Ha! We should be > so lucky. Every second or third week, more like. > > [email protected] > > if anyone feel like expressing their views. Thank you! I shall be expressing my views (but not till after Christmas .....) I doubt it's him answering his own emails anyway :)) They'll have a standard response and some minion will be churning them out in his name.

Lynne Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > We got a strange papery thing through the > letter-box this morning. Rectangular, with our > address written on it. Reminds me of something I > saw a long time ago. :)) :)) :))

The whole of our street didn't get any post at all for a week. So if some people are getting post "most days" there seems to be a somewhat unfair division of the available labour.

Someone in our road spoke to a postie in a van and they said they weren't allowed to talk to anyone or answer questions. 😮😮😮 Apparently the postie also looked very stressed. Not surprised!

Spartacus Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Sue Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > All very well for those who are able to go to > the > > delivery office, but in the present > circumstances > > many people can't. > > > And as post is a paid for delivery service, why > should we have to go and collect it? > > I do hope the sorting office manager is held > accountable for their lack of actions over this > dismal failure to provide a service that so many > rely on. It's very hard to know where the fault lies. The post is bad all over the country at the moment, and although the move to Peckham has made ours much worse, it's hard to know how much autonomy the delivery manager has. For example, was it his decision not to take on more temporary staff, or is there some edict from above? It seems to me that privatisation is at the root of all this, as with trains etc. As soon as there are shareholders, profit comes before service. In almost all cases. Like many things, the country got what it voted for 😭😭😭

All very well for those who are able to go to the delivery office, but in the present circumstances many people can't.

JohnL Wrote: ---------------------------------------------- > > > I think Admin can see IP addresses of posters - > so the games up if they have the same IP all the > time (of course users then claim they are flat > mates and share an internet connection). Yes Admin can, but some people who have used multiple forum names in the past know all about the IP thing. It's quite easy to change your IP address whilst still using the same PC or whatever. But in any case, people masquerading as someone else are not necessarily using more than one forum name simultaneously.

PSJ Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > And yet despite this terrible service, the share > price is well up on 6 months ago, a month ago...I > bet some very nice bonuses for the executives > too. > > I wonder how much money of the Royal Mail, sold > off cheap, has gone from providing service to > providing "profit"? Disgraceful.

Bic Basher Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It was Helen Hayes who wanted the Royal Mail to > consider moving to premises in SE22 rather than > moving to Peckham. Yes, I was at a meeting where various suggestions were put forward, including moving to a unit on a local industrial estate (can't remember which one).

Trinnydad Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Is Blah Blah masquerading as Sephiroth? The style > is very similar and BB has been accused of > multiple IDs before. No, not Sephiroth. But. It's very easy to change your forum name, bite your tongue on occasion and invent a whole new back story. It's very much harder to change the way you write. Just saying. ETA: Oh, and quickly delete those posts where you forget yourself and give yourself away in the middle of the night. Or on occasion have those posts deleted by admin.

Oh ok thanks

Abe_froeman Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Was Helen Hayes still a local councillor when > planning permission to demolish the Sylvester Road > sorting office and turn it into luxury housing was > granted? Helen Hayes is our MP, not a councillor! She did absolutely all she could to prevent the move of the delivery office to Peckham, as outlined earlier in the thread. But I doubt she could have had any influence on local planning permission. The Sylvester Road delivery office was in fact no longer fit for purpose. I can't remember exactly why. However Royal Mail would not consider alternatives which would still have been based in East Dulwich.

DulwichFox Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Madness.. There will be so much waste after > Christmas.. > > Every year in the UK, approximately 7 million > tonnes of food is wasted. > > Just during the Christmas, 2 million turkeys, 5 > million Christmas puddings, and 74 million mince > pie get disposed > while still edible, causing almost 270,000 tons > of food waste in total during this widely > celebrated holiday. > > 9 Dec 2019 > > It's a disgrace.. > Is this because people buy them and don't eat them, or because the shops get too much food in? If the latter, why isn't the surplus given to food banks or the homeless (well, probably not raw turkey to the homeless)?

Langdale Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I'm currently on hold to customer complaints at > Royal Mail. Did you get through? What did they say?

Postwoman just delivered a packet. One packet. Postmarked 15 December, ie around a week later than the item I am waiting for. To add insult to injury it was for my partner/bubble, who doesn't even live here most of the time :)) We had a conversation. She said she had just had a similar conversation with someone down the road who was expecting something urgent. She said the sorting office was "under pressure". After she had gone, I noticed that she had just dumped a large packet for my immediate neighbours (who I know are out) on their doorstep, in full view and within easy reach of passers by. FFS. ETA: I took in my neighbours' packet and have let them know, obvs.

Ive just called them on the number Lynne gave. No reply. No voicemail. Call just ended. About to email. I haven't had any post for days and the non-arrival of the thing I'm waiting for is causing me massive inconvenience GRRRRR.

Turfite Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > They were clearly visible yesterday in Belair > Park, just after dusk. Thanks! Does the park not close then?

Thanks both. Oops I forgot all about it tonight 🙄

My time critical thing hasn't arrived . It was posted first class on 8 December. Has anyone tried phoning the delivery office? If so, any success?

Sadly I think it's going to be cloudy, but assuming it miraculously clears, does anybody know where would be a good place to see the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction today? Visible 4.30 - 6pm at 15 degrees above the south west horizon. I'm kicking myself because apparently it was visible yesterday too and it was a clear sky 😭 https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/dec/18/jupiter-and-saturn-meet-in-closest-great-conjunction-since-1623?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Blah Blah Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It does, but for calls longer than 40 mins, you > have to pay for a subscription. Whatsapp calling > is entirely free. For calls longer than 40 minutes on zoom you just stop the meeting briefly and then start it again, if you don't want to pay the monthly subscription (which is about a tenner).