malumbu

Parking is part of the normal cost for many who drive to work. Why should we feel sorry?

Nah, I'm the mild one

A Harley - something you will have never seen me on. Even before Trump's tariffs. The company was selling over weight over priced bikes that hardly anyone wanted, so Reagan put a massive tariff on the large, cheaper, and better Japanese bikes which saved the Harley brand. Sounds familiar! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_motorcycle_tariff And 30 years before that cool American bikers did not ride Harleys Triumph 6T Thunderbird

Me driving during peak hours. I don't think so. You may be surprised that there are other ways to commute. Much faster. Cheaper. More healthy. Better for the environment And smugger

Court Lane was my commute for many years. Horridly congested at peak hours. Don't know why anyone would have driven on this route. So much nicer now.

I started my boycott of McDonalds early, a few decades ago.

My issue is all the stop the ULEZ, stop the CPZs, stop the LTNs, stop taxing motorists etc are single issue campaigning against restrictions on motoring. Meanwhile the UK is still failing to meet air quality standards, is behind on legal commitments to reduce carbon emissions from road transport, so in the short term more people are ill and die, and longer term (and not so long term as it is happening in front of our eyes) radical changes to our climate. These campaigns have no answer to this.

The posts on the closure of the road and the LTN are repetitive, and there is a whole separate thread on this. I like the square and seeing it used suggests others do too.

It's been four years since the junction was closed, perhaps time to move on? Maybe even enjoy the lovely square. Or keep your issues to the LTN thread rather than bringing a downer on this one.

Fortunately this side of the pond the powers that be look at all the evidence, rather than isolated incidents. Intuitively floating bus stops sound a bad concept. In reality there are relatively few incidents. That is not saying their are no incidents, and things can always be improved. Reminds me of when motorbikes were permitted in bus lanes. On paper seemed risky but in reality it is fine. Of course I'm talking legal motorcycles, generally ridden responsibly not illegal e bike's which il is often the opposite

That's a national issue and should be for government to take a lead. Not really relevant/specific to the gyratory

Dress code is the Blythe. Flower boxes were being put up when I checked yesterday. Terry, a long standing member of bar staff, has gone and Con left very quietly so no party. Some final pics of Con's reign from FB https://www.facebook.com/blythehilltavern

@Listen upAs a cyclist how would you improve things? It's always dreadful at peak commute. I did that for over 15 years.

I hear they are nice in your wellies, free frogspawn to anyone who know the literary reference

Got loads of frogspawn. Don't have that much success as can't keep it in the pond as the newts eat it. I took the first clump out yesterday and put it in a bucket with netting on top. The loads more appeared.,... Last year I kept it like this and then transferred to some large plant saucers when they were near to walking onto land. Had to top up the water, provide shade as they will have cooked in the sunshine, and fed with boiled cabbage, kale or other green stuff. I got a few froglets. two or three years ago I picked up some spawn from someone in SE22 who had a whole nursery, numerous ponds, in their back garden. Never seen any baby newts or spawn, maybe have ten or more, but I know they go roaming.

Newts, ducks, from my understanding cats and dogs don't eat frogspawn, they may eat tadpoles. Continuing this conversation on the nature thread.

You lose the moral high ground as soon as you call people clowns. I don't know why so many of you have to bring the conversation down, I've made the same point on other threads. Have a look at what you posted - do you think insults made your view any more valid? Sadly too many discussions descend in this way. As said this applies to many others who post here. I can, and do, complain, about a variety of goods and services. In the last 20 years or so try to keep it civil. And look back on some of my past behaviours with some embarrassment.

The most polluting of London taxis are long since gone, with the earlier Low Emission Zones that ensured that they were not chucking out soot, ie black particles, The stuff that caked old buildings. The age limit means most of the older ones are the far less polluting Euro 6 engines. The modern hybrids are usually three cylinder petrol engines, similarly they will all be Euro 6, These (particularly since changes following the VW cheating scandal) throw out far less nitrogen oxides and as long as the filters are maintained and not illegally removed will catch particles of pollution. If you see them pumping fumes out there is something wrong with the car. I worked on much of the above. Biggest issue I expect is cabs waiting in line leaving engines on; I recall a lot has been done to stop or dissuade this. The black cab market is not an ideal one as it is based on expensive licenses rather than need. Hence it all kicks off when mini cabs and Uber undercut it, that discussion is for another thread. Cant find a picture of a black cab chucking out visible smoke so have one from South India instead

ho ho, I should have gone to spec savers 😵‍💫, the path along the Horniman nature reserve/disused railway line.

Wren is most abundant bird in the UK but not a garden visitor. I've seen one on the garden, but if you are quiet on the horniman pathetic you may see several flying out of the hedgerow.

The London bus fleet has long since been cleaned up, moving to the latest Euro standard many years ago, modifying the remaining older vehicles and the general shift to hybrid and electric buses. This all predates the ULEZ by five years or more. Similarly older diesel taxis have long since been phased out. The failure to meet air quality standards and the supreme court ordering government to sort this out was predominantly due to cars; commercial vehicles generally sorted out. Johnson jumped the gun and went further on this; principally to take on his old Eton chum Cameron. But whatever the reasons for the adoption of the ULEZ it's improved air quality and should be welcomed, rather than looking for problems, most of which will be due to fake news, political differences and/or intransigence from a few die hard drivers.

https://www.london.gov.uk/media-centre/mayors-press-releases/new-evidence-reveals-all-londoners-are-now-breathing-cleaner-air-following-first-year-expanded-ultra Long report from GLA on the impact (success) of the ULEZ. My criticism is exactly that, it is too long making it difficult to assess unless you want to give up a couple of hours. There has been a knee jerk/party line response from a few politicians, but I've not seen anything considered, so perhaps many opponents are begrudgingly accepting that it is here to stay, and is improving things even if this is being exaggerated. Or just put off by the length! As for the accusations of a 'cash grab', if that was the case (which it isn't) it's self defeating as revenues fall year by year. A shorter report with links and Annexes would have been more helpful. Interestingly a quick scan through HYS on the Beeb website, comments were predominately in support of the ULEZ, suggesting, as I have said, that many think it's a battle not worth fighting.

Rather scathing attack on estate agents. Not called for.

From my understanding you should be able to get NHS dentistry in London. There is no such thing as a NHS dentist as they are self employed and can choose to do NHS, private or a mixture of both. Historically many dentists have settled down near their dentistry school, therefore the big cities tend to be fine, unlike some areas of the countryside, smaller towns and the like. A BBC study in 2022 showed that a quarter of dental practices in London are taking on new NHS patients - best in the country https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-62253893 The shortage is a hangover from the good old days (for dentists) where they were creaming it, which encouraged more intervention (drill and fill); clamping down on this sadly led to a much greater provision of private dentistry as excessive payments under the NHS were curbed therefore many started to provide more private work.