Earl Aelfheah

Can we get some segregated cycle routes? Would do a lot more to cut down on congestion than this nonsense. I cycle to King's Cross every day and by far the worst part of my route is Crystal Palace Road and Peckham. Mind you, that would upset car drivers and reduce parking, so never going to happen. Healthy streets my $*&?^

It's all a bit of a sideshow. We're going to end up with an election, Johnson as PM (in a minority government) and the withdrawal agreement passing (with some small cosmetic changes). Possibly, thought not necessarily, in that order.

The joys of kickball.

It?s Alleyns waking up the neighbourhood.

Ridiculous fecking fireworks. Is that Alleyn?s again?

Will there be parking?

The old French House is now Sylvesters. Threshers finally looks like it's being renovated after years of being empty (following a cannabis farm getting busted in the flat above it) The Building next to SMBS has a deliberate business model / offer as a space for rotating places I think. Lush Designs is indeed empty at present The Maudsley site isn't a retail unit. In addition there have been a flurry of new openings. Personally, I think LL is doing pretty well. Will be interesting to see what happen post brexit though.

So if Johnson successfully forces through a no deal brexit, against the wishes of parliament and the majority of voters, what then?

Sephiroth Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ... I don't think english exceptionalism is confined to the > well off I agree, although the 'glories of empire' are strongly propagated in some English public schools.

Yeah, i do agree with what you say Sephiroth. The difference here is probably two things: 1) a sense of English exceptionalism which is a hangover from colonialism and the teaching of history in relation to the world wars (this is particularly strong amongst the golf club bores and the public school boys who have helped engineer brexit 2) a decades long propaganda battle in the right wing press, which has pushed dodgy stories about bendy bananas, red tape and immigration scare stories. The financial crash and the subsequent austerity agenda (leading to the sense amongst many that led to a lack of "control over their lives, or a general sense of injustice and a system which wasn't working for the majority"), was the spark which made it possible for 1. & 2. to push EU membership up the agenda.

The sovereignty argument is not one I feel I can engage in tbh. I don't get it. If we're going to do trade deals with other countries (the US for example), post brexit - then we'll have to give up control over certain decisions (there will have to be common standards and independent arbitration mechanisms in cases of dispute). Any kind of co-operation, or multilateral relationship will involve pooling sovereignty. The truth is that before 2016, the EU was not on people's list of major concerns. An abstract argument about 'Sovereignty' is just all that Brexit believers have left when everything else slips away. Personally, I don't think Brexit was really about Europe at all. It was about people feeling that they had no control over their lives, or a general sense of injustice and a system which wasn't working for the majority.

M&S by the station is soooo cold. You can actually just stand outside the front and still feel the wafts of ice cold air.

One of the most dangerous things about Trump is that it's becoming harder and harder to feel 'shocked' by his behaviour. I think we have all become desensitised to his BS.

I would get a sparky, yes.

I just wanted a bit of advice to be honest Seabag. I wasn't sure whether or not it was likely to cause an issue, or whether I was right to feel a bit annoyed about it. I'm sorry if it upset you in some way.

If this was really about improving the environment / safer streets, they would pedestrianising, adding segregated bike lanes and fund the expansion of Boris bikes like every other zone 2 borough. They would also stop granting permission for people to concrete over their front gardens and put in drop kerbs. This whole thing is about drivers sense of entitlement and territoriality over public space, wrapped up as environmentalism.

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To be clear, they replaced the inner tube and the back tyre (following a puncture). The new tyre is thinner than the one it replaced and thinner than the tyre on the front wheel. I agree with you peckman - It would make more sense to have the fatter tyre on the back if they are to be different.

Sorry, I wasn?t clear. I meant a new tube, they didn?t patch the existing one. The tyres are continental. I don?t think it?s a big issue just looks a bit weird having a fatter tyre at the front. I am surprised they didn?t mention that it would be a different size. Thanks for your response.

So I know nothing about bike ?kit? / maintenance (I just commute on one) and I?m looking for a bit of advice... just paid to have a puncture fixed (back wheel). The shop advised me to replace the tyre. When I got home I realised that the new tyre looks quite a bit thinner than the front one (35 back, vs 42 front I think). I just assumed that they?d replace like for like, but now I have a fat tyre on front and a thin one at the back (it?s a hybrid). Is this an issue in terms of effecting how things work / the bike will handle or should I not worry about it? Thanks for your help.

In terms of the suitability of the drivers - they're still licenced and Black cab drivers aren't always paragons of virtue. I am sure many can tell their own stories / experiences of black cabbies.

... most electric / hybrid though

I would really like to see a thimble shop. You don't see enough thimble shops nowadays.

Apps such as Uber are in effect 'hailing' service. The idea of having thousands of diesel cars driving around the streets waiting to be waved down is again, an anachronism. A smart phone is a much more efficient way of hailing a cab, which will usually arrive in a few minutes. A business model based on cab drivers memorising every possible route and driving around waiting to be flagged down, is just crazy in this age of smart phones.

I think the use of cab hailing apps such as Uber are the better alternative - I thought I had been clear. As impressive as learning every street off by heart is, it's an obsolete skill. Some black cab drivers have done nothing to ingratiate themselves in the heart of the general public. Only this morning I saw a cabbie deliberately cut across the path of a cyclist.