malumbu

Tad over-reaction P3Girl. It's great that you know so much about the USSR, Russia and military conflict, but I am surprised that you do not accept that there are other opinions rather than play the anti woke card. So what happened to those heady days of the late 80s and early 90s, glassnost, perestroika, climaxing with the break up of the Soviet Union? How did it end up this way? Did the West contribute one iota, surely it can't all be Germany's fault? If half the population is progressive and looking to the West then how come the state machinery can continue to exert so much control? And in this 'new Russia' that you are looking forward to how would Russia be accommodated in the Western world?? Link to the Guardian letters here: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/25/ukraine-the-wests-role-in-this-unfurling-catastrophe

Wrap yourself in silver paper put a sandbag on your head Crawl inside your fall-out shelter underneath your garden shed Boil an egg, have a cuddle, cut your toe-nails, make the bed By the time this record's finished, everybody will be dead For those that do not wish to die, raise up your voices to the sky And sing away the missiles Wash your smalls, feed the cactus, telephone your uncle Fred By the time this record's finished everybody will be dead With respect to the great Ian Dury

Quoting from a letter to the Guardian: we should acknowledge the serious error of western powers, in particular America and Britain, who responded to the collapse of communism in eastern Europe in 1989-90 with a spirit of triumphalism. The ensuing humiliation and isolation felt by the Russian people was exactly the sort of climate would-be nationalist demagogues are able to exploit to dangerous effect, and Vladimir Putin?s egregious attack on Ukraine is now an outcome for which we in the west are, at least partly, responsible. /forum/read.php?20,2261423,2264229,page=4#msg-2264229 Echoes of Germany after 1918 following the humiliation and the terms put in places by the allies leading to the rise of national socialism

As Jazzer says everything changes. My local market at work was Stutton Ground in Westminster. Now mainly food stalls, but even in recent times prices went up as it became trendier so it was worth the walk to Tatchbrook Street in Pimlico where prices were more sensible. Peckham and Lewisham buck the trend. Deptford can be OK but a lot of tat. You could also include car boot sales, such as the massive one at Hayes. The town I grew up in had a great big covered market where we would buy Levi seconds and the like. Family in Cricklewood used to get the greenline bus to Watford which similarly had a large market. Not sure whether Albert Square has moved with the times.

Interesting view about Germany and defence spending. We are where we are but why on earth wasn't the early 90s a chance to look at disbanding NATO rather than expand it. Russia had already started provocation with the Baltic states a few years ago who then appeared very much in the firing line. Another question is could Russia have ever been accepted in a European alliance for example as an associate member of the EU? Or too much bad blood with the former communist states?

An off-shoot of the Wedding Present, rather poignant under current circumstances Please do give it a listen

Interesting, I thought it was due to particles in the upper atmosphere. When Krakatoa exploded that caused a bit of a nuclear winter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanic_winter I had a teacher once who had a theory on how CO2 was being mopped in the atmosphere. We even had to learn an equation as he postulated that there was an undiscovered free radical doing this. It wasn't a conspiracy theory it was bollox

Not sure how calling Republicans dumb helps anything. It is like saying all Brexteers are stupid. Yes there are some dumb Trump supporters, and some stupid people who voted for Brexit. But there are also clever, educated people too. Confusing of course but true. And at the moment I expect Trump is favourite to get back in again. Now that with Putin is worrying..... [confusing but true was a facetious remark)

Interesting Tobias Elwood's comments about the west deserting Ukraine. He urged for NATO to put troops into the country six months ago. Not sure if that was feasible or a good idea. Not sure what Russia's end game is. Worrying.

Thinking about the talk about conspiracy theories on the East Dulwich issues got me thinking, are there any that actually proved to be true? A fun thread, but here is my starter. Winter '63 was one of the coldest in memory. At the time some said it was due to nuclear testing. Ha ha said the experts. Later it was found that particles sent up in to the upper atmosphere did have an effect on the weather. As I said a fun thread.

I don't generally agree with the Cat's views but I do like his/her style. Nothing wrong with being provocative

Jack Smethurst. Not going to post a link to a tabloid. I feel that he was rather denigrated due to his part in Love Thy Neighbour, it was clumsy comedy, helped propagate some inappropriate language and stereotypes, but always had Smethurst's Character coming off worse. He also played a lovely caring part in an earlier sitcom, For the Love of Ada. I've attached a link to an interview of Rudolph Walker, now more famous for East Enders, who played the black neighbour, that helps to put things in context. Smethurst was a nice guy, his politics certainly more palatable than Meatloaf's and my one criticism is that Love Thy Neighbour painted trade unionism in a poor light. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/oct/22/tvandradio.television1

I wouldn't fly, can't go by train, not cycling today, but would be prepared to go on a short car journey. I drove during the 1987 storms blissfully unaware that they were the worst in a century, everyone seemed to have a chain saw in deepest darkest Kent. I'd avoid a longer car journey due to the likelihood of disruption. Worst thing in 1987 was getting fuel as most forecourts were closed due to power cuts. The good chainsaw gangs were great in Kent for clearing roads of fallen trees - much worse than today I expect as it had been so long since we'd had a good storm, and worse as the leaves were still on the trees meaning more wind damage. Would I have driven in 87 knowing how bad the storms were? It wasn't the eye of the storm, which was overnight, and of course being much younger I was much less risk averse. In the same decade living in Oxfordshire, I gave up cycling one day to motorcycle into work. Cyclists were leaning into the wind, coming to a wind break, and falling over under their own force. I have the opposite some mornings when I cycle onto a bridge over the Thames. Rumour has it that Southwark Council are responsible for today's bad weather

Still waiting friends from the other side......

Apart from TfL's financial problems started under the last Mayor. Khan didn't pay a lot of heed to this. And of course the last Mayor fell out with a Commissioner and got rid of him.

A couple of threads have been moved to the Lounge. Local issues quite often spill over to national ones, particularly sustainable transport, air quality and the like. Yet as soon as the threads are moved here, where we should be able to enjoy a good discussion, those with some of the biggest issues stop posting. Prime examples are the thread on scooters and that on pavement cycling. We've of course chatted in the past on these. So I wonder why when the threads are moved from SE22 issues to here, they die a death.

Hardly surprising. Mayor has not increased fares and Tories are criticising him for that. Still great value although worry is that with the leveling up agenda and antipathy towards Khan from Number 10 TfL's finances will continue to suffer. Wonderful that we are now getting electric double deckers (63) - see the parochial part of the forum.

On this occasion, with more and more bad stories coming out on the Met Police, this seems misplaced. PS who is this Boris everyone talks about, Boris Becker, Boris Karloff?? Is this Boris mates with Dave, Gordon and Tony??

wordsworth Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > It's not a insult, it's a fact. Patel shouldn't be in her job either. Take a chill pill bro. Class! Sick post, you can interpret that how you want pal. In the real world good that others are more constructive, who do you think should be the next commissioner, and would make a better Home Sec. Well the second one is probably many of the Tory MPs

Again welcome to the Lounge, and the place of proper debate. But where are you all? Why do you stop posting when threads get shifted??

Looks like we are all lapping up what the Western powers are telling us. Now that may well be right but history will tell. An alternative view by Simon Jenkins in the Guardian, a border dispute and nothing to do with us. You may well disagree but worth a read in any case. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/20/britain-russia-ukraine-border-dispute

And what is your claim to fame Wordsworth. It is fine for you for throwing insults about, even if you consider them facetious. Have you done anything to change the world? Have you never failed in a job?? She was a well intentioned career police officer, rising through the ranks and doing a lot for diversity. Ultimately she came up short as the top copper in the country, as many others in her place have too. By all means discuss whether she made some key mistakes. Anyway, more importantly, blowing my own trumpet, which as ever is well informed, worryingly the Home Sec appears to agree with my earlier post about the insular police culture. Worryingly I say, as this is Pritti Patel. Who reminds me of a rubbish football manager......

Its the demographic that tends to join the police. For example those that get drawn to the voluntary sector and health tend to be caring, lefty types. Those into the city more competitive, driven and right of centre. Black cab drivers, hang them and flog them brigade. The police traditional, conservatives with a small c. They've of course done lots to recruit from more diverse backgrounds. In working with the police I found them great in command and control, following instructions, forensic minds, but no so good on the abstract thinking. Gross oversimplification of course, and smacks as if I am speaking about the cops coming from another planet. But very telling that we have no cops posting here (as they tend to live in the outer boroughs), not I expect some other professional I have denigrated. I got on well with a few, but socially they would stick in a close knit circle of coppers, tending not to let others in.

A good ten years ago I spent a weekend with Cress and her colleagues at a training college. She wont remember me I hasten to add. Come the evening many of the cops drank like fishes. I think it was just men. The conversation became boorish and I went to bed. It appeared to be a close knit community. It doesn't surprise me that some still have unsavoury views about some in our society. On another occasion I was told the "Stephen Lawrence was no saint". A similar line used in the recent ITV series that included police failings. Not a comment on the ex-Commissioner but on what I saw as an underlying culture. No doubt things continue to improve and much has been addressed, as our police become more diverse and inclusive. The male police officer proposing to his boyfriend at Pride a few years ago being a great example