gavster

I'm not complaining for the sake of it, just asking people to moderate their behaviour. It's the only way to we'll get through this bloody thing. What's wrong with that?

No need for snow leopard cameras! On Friday alone, during a 15-minute walk to my allotment, I saw: - a family of three (mum, dad, 7 or 8 year old) on bikes, dismounting at the railway bridge, struggling to get their bikes through the gate, then getting back on them and tootling off into the woods. - a guy on an electic scooter whizzing up Cox's Walk. - three teenages lads, struggling to get their racer bikes through the gate. - a guy speeding past me down Cox's Walk hill at a pretty hefty speed, not keeping his distance from any of the walkers. I walk in the woods most days and rarely encounter more than two or three dog-walkers, maybe the occasional commuter cyclist who's trying to avoid Sydenham Hill. This is an entirely lockdown-induced phenomenon. The woods are ancient woodlands, part of South London's Great North Wood. It wasn't so long ago that the public weren't allowed into the woods and much of the upkeep of the woods is down by volunteers.

Not surprised it's been blocked off. Yesterday (Friday), they were quite a few people cycling up and down Cox's Walk. The whole point of the gates (by the Harvester and up by the bridge) is to stop people taking bikes into the woods, although most I saw were struggling to get their bikes through the gate. Cycling is not allowed in the woods - it's not a fecking Velodrome. Shame the action of a few idiots has spoiled it for everybody else, the woods are a great place for kids to let off steam.

Totally agree about Sainsburys Local at the Plough, it's a nightmare! The security guy on the door is just wondering around, moving baskets around, not keeping his distance. At the checkout, they open tills next to each other, so there's no proper distance between customers. Also, people taking their kids into the shop - why, you idiots! It's not the kids' fault, but they don't keep their distance. They should have two in, two out, no more than that. Maybe then the queues would deter the teenagers (who are the worst for keeping proper distances).

One of the big problems is cars accelerating from the lights at the Plough towards Forest Hill - especially the boy racers who go into the (left-turn only) bus lane alongside the Plough. Instead of turning left into Barry Road, they accelerate from the lights to get past the queue of cars in the right hand lane. By the time they get to Friern Road, they're already in 3rd/4th gear, doing 40 on Lordship Lane. Not sure how you stop them, others than cameras at the lights and along Lordship.

Jeremy, I was being ironic... I'm not offended by begging or drunkeness, but point is: mental health patients get a bad enough press it is without being impersonated by p*ssheads.

Jeremy, thanks for the patronising message, I've lived round here all my life - apart from three years at university when I met lots of people like you.

Drew, not very clever, mate. I have a close relative who is in the care of the local community mental health team so I know from personal experience how overstretched their resources are. I also know how freaked out some people get by mental health patients. So the more people know about this bloke, the better.

I'm not normally one to tell tales but I've just been approached by a man and woman asking for cash. I wouldn't have been that bothered but the man (dark hair, mid-40s, bit the worse for wear) said he needed money to call his psychiatric nurse "Sheryl" (I mean to make a phone call, not name her "Sheryl"!) We were walking past the Lordship Lane surgery. I suggested he go in there and call her using the surgery's phone but he said it was alright, "how about some money to quench my thirst". Drunks asking for money doesn't normally bother me, but playing the mental health patient card might unsettle some people. Just thought I'd warn people. I've not come across this scam before.

Councillor Barber, I?m glad you?re so pleased with the primary admissions process in Southwark ? the secondary school admissions process is a shambles. We're are on the waiting to get into the Charter School next year. We have been told that around 20 people have been offered places but have not replied to accept/decline their offers. Southwark is doing nothing to chase these people up. At least one of those 20 has a place at a private school but has not bothered to reply to Charter to turn down their place. So it cannot be offered to anybody else. Other councils (eg Camden) are phoning up parents to ask why they have not replied to offers. Why does Southwark not do this? I?ve just had somebody from the council knock on my door to tell me how to recycle (paper goes in the blue bag marked paper - no sh*t sherlock). That person would be much better employed knocking on the doors of the people who have not replied to school offers. By not chasing people up, Southwark is wasting huge amounts of resources ? not to mention the stress caused to families across the borough. While we wait for a place at Charter (our nearest school), we?ve had to accept places at our second-choice school ? and in doing so, we?re denying somebody else places at that school. And so it goes on. But, hey, that's ?great leadership shown by Cllr Nick Stanton?