kiera

CoalLine - A very attractive idea, but before I support it, I'd like to know the effect on the scaffolding firm, which has been there for at least 30 years. Could you please say whether you would expect them to move out and whether you have obtained their views. Thanks.

Re.Lordship Lane road junctions 1/ Northcross Rd. Is this a consultation? It's listed as one on the council's website, but, as pointed out on the other thread, there is no facility for anyone to contribute an opinion. 2/ It is now a year since I raised the issue of poor visibility at the Whateley Rd junction. At the time, you said you were already dealing with this. Later on, when I asked what, if anything was happening, you said it was "a work in progress". In fact, nothing is any different. Removal of the railings and all the items lined up against them would improve the visibility at this junction. The council seem unconcerned about road safety at this junction. Could this be because they intend to close this end of Whateley Rd to traffic once the school is built, as they did with Friern Rd, once the Harris Boys' Academy had been built?

Our first encounter with ticks was shortly after my family moved into their house in East Dulwich in the 1960s. As we had never seen ticks before, we didn't know what they were - one of our cats had what looked like lots of lumps on her skin and it was the vet who told us these were ticks. Nowadays it only happens very infrequently, but twice in the last few weeks I have had to remove a tick from the head of one or other of my cats (and they don't go in Dulwich Woods, so I don't know where they pick them up). I'm very glad that I have never had a tick attach itself to me.

A bird which cannot fly is very vulnerable to being killed by a cat or a fox if it is left on the ground. It's best if it can be picked up and put in a box or cat carrier in a safe place overnight. The best place to take a pigeon, where it will be cared for until its injury has healed is Pigeon Recovery in Sutton. 0208 644 7349. For other injured birds/wildlife, call Willow Wildlife in Chislehurst.

The winged ants only survive in that form for a day or two. They want to fly away to set up home elsewhere - it's an interesting life cycle. I would suggest you allow them to fly out of the house. They always come out and fly off on a nice sunny day at this time of year.You could catch them, using a beaker and a piece of card, and release them outside or out of a window. You don't want ants to be living in your kitchen, but they are part of the natural, harmless and interesting wildlife in a garden.

Maybe they are wood-boring weevils - a type of woodworm. They like damp wood.

The Bumblebee Conservation Trust's website contains information re. bumblebee nests. http://bumblebeeconservation.org/ about-bees/habitats/bumblebee-nests or you could phone them for advice. Your bees are probably tree bumblebees, as they are the only species to nest so high up - there is information about them on the website. I hope you decide to leave the nest to die out naturally. Best wishes.

Sue, That sounds like a good idea - much more satisfying to take the time to create a wildlife pond to be pleased with. There are no hard-and-fast rules - soil, gravel, sand ( as long as it's pure) are all o.k..Or you might prefer to just put in some plants in pots, using gravel on top of the soil to stop it muddying the water. If your sink is big enough, you may find this guidance helpful - http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basics/techniques/ponds_minipond1.shtml You'll need to ensure the froglets will be able to get out and to get back in again, remembering that they are very vulnerable to predators, usually birds, at that stage, so need some cover round the edges. Have fun!

Sue, the chlorine evaporates quite quickly. I wouldn't advise that you add anything to the water. There's no hurry anyway - you can take your time setting up a nice home, with stepping stones and oxygenating plants for aeration and protection from predators for the new arrivals - toads?

Sue, I'm sure it's okay to use tap water to start a pond, as long as you don't put live creatures in it straightaway. The chlorine evaporates.

BBC travel news states 8 buses on diversion due to accident in Peckham Rye, at junction with Kinsale Rd.

So, James, the council have done as you requested and relocated the recycling bins - but only from one end of the railings to the other. I do appreciate now being able to see the road instead of the bins (where they were before) but they are now very conspicuous as the first thing you see, rather than the road, when you look to the right at this junction. Do you think the council consider this resolves the problem of the obstructed view at this junction. Perhaps you could take a look and see what you think?

The putting green is the grass area on the park side of Strakers Rd before the main park gates, coming from the Barry Rd direction. Until relatively recently, it still had railings around it. We think it had a little hut on it, where you could borrow the equipment for little or no cost.

According to the byelaws (as outlined above by ianr), the central landscaped area is a 'dogs on lead' area, therefore the signage at the gate is correct, so why is it being removed? Dogs are only allowed to be off-lead in the fields outside the central landscaped area of the park. What IS confusing is the new sign to the Sexby Garden, which should not read 'Dogs on lead'. The Sexby Garden is an ornamental garden, so should read 'dogs prohibited'. Are the council too afraid of the dog lobby to apply the byelaws bonniebird?

I hope the 'Seamaster people' don't extend their new diner to take up the whole forecourt, as they have done with their fish and chip shop, leaving no accommodation for their bins. There's hardly room for two people to pass each other on the pavement outside Seamaster, with the bins on the already narrow pavement.

Queen bumblebees go into houses, sheds etc to hibernate and they are coming out of hibernation now, so are a bit dozy. They will feed on early nectar, if they can find any,then look for somewhere to nest.I found one this week which had been hibernating in my living room. Another one was buzzing outside my bedroom windows, looking for a gap where it could go in with a view to setting up home. Although most bumblebees nest in holes in the ground, as EDmummy has said, tree bumblebees nested in next door's roof last year. The Bumblebee Conservation Trust's website is a useful resource for information about bumblebee life-cycles and aids to identification.

Probably not, unless he sometimes switches from being a butcher's to becoming a hotel/guest house.

Frog spawn has started to appear in my garden.

James. It was back in November that I raised the issue of the railings at the kerbside restricting the view of drivers exiting Whateley Rd. You arranged for the council to review the situation, to establish whether these railings are necessary or whether they are actually a hazard to road users. You said you were treating this as a road safety issue, that you were using cleaner greener safer funds and that you hoped the assessment would be conducted soon. What happened? Why don't the council treat it as urgent when it is an issue of road safety? My concern is primarily for cyclists in Lordship Lane, who may not be visible to cars pulling out of Whateley Rd. As it is, the driver's view is obstructed, not only by the railings, but by the various bins lined up against them, including Southwark Council recycling bins. You said that accidents are a known problem in this spot, so why are the council so apparently uncaring?

The risk of losing these shops forever is very real. It would be increasingly difficult for the existing businesses to survive in the upper stretch of Forest Hill Rd, if the council were to allow vacant shops to be converted into residential properties. The latest shop to apply for permission was number 92 - the former TV repair shop. Thankfully, the planning dept have refused permission to convert it into a residential flat.

It doesn't make any sense to me. How would a bank know that a fraudulent transaction was being attempted from the pub, unless someone was trying to buy something in there - hardly likely when the place is shut (and without physically having the card). Or had the person somehow obtained the card number from the pub's card machine and was trying to buy something by phone or on the internet, without knowing the address of the cardholder or the last 3 numbers on the back of the card. I don't get it. My guess is the phone call from "the bank",if genuine, was referring to bigtony2's actual use of the card in the pub, or, if not, a scam to obtain his card details from him.

If the disturbance is still happening, and the address in Wood Vale is in Southwark, you can phone Southwark Council's noise team.on.0207525 5777 & they should investigate. They are available on Saturdays. If the address is in Lewisham, I don't know whether they offer a similar service, but you could check their website. I believe the council.has legal.power to take action in cases such as you describe.

I'll be interested to know if you are able to sort it out this way, without having to go into.the branch again. Good.luck and do let us know how you get on.

It sounds like the usual hassle you have to go through when.you don't have the exact foms of photo ID the banks (any banks) require.. It's very frustrating when you know you are the right person and can prove it, but they're not happy about accepting your documemts. I'm resigned to it and just produce all the ID I have When eventually it's accepted, I'm happy to set up a security number and password to enable me to deal with them.by phone.in future - like you, I won't be using it for internet banking.

James, I'm surprised that the council.require payment to investigate a road safety issue, but thank you for the information and for your good work in dealing with this.