malumbu

Wasn't having a go at an idividual rather making points that (a) citizens have an important role (b) poor driving standards, in particular London. Must see whether this evidence is in the public domain. Anyway you are having a separate ding dong about this so I'll butt out. And on reflection governments should have done more to manage demand/congestion through introducing road user charging. Unholy alliences of greens and economists agreed a long time ago this made sense in that you get charged for your road usage rather than fixed excise duty. None of the last three governments would take this on as too scared. It will come. And another pop at government, this time London, for not having a progressive Low Emission Zone, rather than fixing the standards five years plus ago (and being frightened of those heavy polluting things called black cabs, well at least the owners.

If some of you insist that you have the right to abuse speed limits to save time I have the same right to run unecessary red lights when cycling.

The harm from fine particles of pollution has been known for donkeys years eg the expert report from 2009 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/comeap-long-term-exposure-to-air-pollution-effect-on-mortality. The masses just chose to ignore it and continue driving, inefficiently, unnecessary, with oversized and over-powered vehicles, with occupancy levels going down, leaving engines running unnecessarily and worse turning off some of the anti-pollution measures, ordering from Amazon to their work place worsening congestion, and driving their kids to school. This will not apply to all on this site but many in the capital and even worse in other parts of the country. So take a good look at yourselves before blaming others. 20mph reduces fatal accidents. Research shows that London is the worst for obeying this, just drive gently rather than accelerate and brake. Save fuel, reduce maintenance, stress on the driver and occupants, reduced congestion and safer roads. What on earth is not to like? I've ended my love affair with the car and was a petrol head in a future life. You can too. This campaign was from almost seven years ago from TfL - did any of you take any notice? https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2012/september/londoners-encouraged-to-make-a-small-switch-to-curb-engine-emissions Yes I do know shed loads about this subject. And my views are relatively moderate compared to many of the campaigners. I just think that we as consumers have a big role to play. Question. What is wrong with government. Typical answer. They tell us what to do. Question. What should we do about xy or z problem. Typical answer. Oh Government should regulate or ban it. Ironically air quality has improved greatly since the war, cleaner and less industry, no sulphur in fuel, no lead in fuel, Clean Air Acts, and cars are cleaner (apart from the increase in nitrogen oxides from diesel vehicles). PS please show me the proof that govenment actively promoted diesel vehicles? I'd love to see the Cabinet papers. There was a small tax incentive, which was aimed at reducing carbon not promoting diesel. We bought them as they were reliable, incredibly efficient, great low end torque, better resale value etc. If you want to have a pop at government then there should have been better info to buyers of the pros and cons - long motorway journeys diesel, around town petrol (and alternative fuels) Fiat produce probably the best city car - the 500, but even with this USP they had to diversify the range to bring in diesel variants and larger models. Dave's goverment didn't like telling us what was good for us. TM will just do the popular thing to win votes and not disenfranchise the motorists. I'll put money on that. Oh and they should limit the road building programme - but again this is a vote winner

Ordinary working families, ordinary working families. Aghhh what we need is stable leadership. What we need is stable leadership. Aghhhh. Why wasn't she showing such leadership when we needed one to remain in the EU. Aghhhh. Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Rendel - I was being smug not you - another failed attempt at being self deprecating I am afraid! (and doing a sense check on my posting). Nothing wrong with reminding the world how good cycling is. At the end of the day car sadly is still king but that discussion should be for a separate thread. PS funnily enough I noted that the embankment cycle lane is also being used by lunch time joggers.

No S... Sherlock! Cardiovascular benefits also outweigh health impacts of air pollution for a number of hours. Not so clever if you are cycling all day cycle couriers.... It's great being smug.

Bit lost here. Not sure why rocks are being thrown at Farron. I'm perfectly comfortable with same sex relationships but it's taken a long time to totally get to this point (always tolerent I hasten to add since my late teens). I've moved with (and generally ahead) of society. But society is not there yet. Yet we are in a world where no major footballer is comfortable coming out. I expect that there is greater homophobia in the Tory office (hardly traditional values) and similarly their backers in the black and red top media. Faith flag and country and all that stuff. Have some dirt on one senior, who reminds me of Alan B'stard. The world is bad enough without having to look for dirt on people who are generally pushing the right way.

But what really worries me is where the streets have no name, the streets have no name It makes me want to hide, or take shelter

Depends how you define safe. They are quite often damaged and can be slippy when wet or frozen. Doggy doo is also unpleasant and can cause slips and disease. Occasionally things fall out of aircraft or you can be atacked by wild animals. Garden Walls have been known to collapse. Also sink holes. Generally I feel safe.

Because we have domesticated them and most of the attributes that we like are associated with puppies. Therefore unlike Wolves, who quietly creep up on their prey, dogs bark with puppy like excitement. There's some truth behind that.

Wow. Good stuff. There was me thinking that the Clash penned this. I've pompously been happily correcting people for years on many a cover version so now the other way round. By complete fluke I just found out that you can get the embed code by right clicking on the Youtube vid Here's one that always cheers me up

Well the title may be going South but it's official, the best places to watch football are the Midlands and North. Don't take my word for it https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/ranked-matchday-experience-all-92-english-league-stadiums?page=0%2C9 (disclaimer, this is a mild bit of banter, not an insult, although I'll still probably get a kicking)

He's a silly sausage. That's not an attempt to make light on a serious issue. But what has really peed me off is the opportunism from the PM. Well how about an apology for the Tories who thought Hitler a good thing in the 1930s? I'm not sure of the authenticity of this article https://gwydionwilliams.com/44-fascism-and-world-war-2/how-the-tory-party-aided-hitlers-rise/

Lived in an Irish area during the 'troubles' and where there were provo pubs where there were collections for 'the cause' and when I moved here there was still an attitude as expressed in the first Stiff Little Fingers album "Paddy spud thick, thinks with his dick" - or words to that effect. Never want to return to these days. We've moved on. Some good posts.

Dunno what the fuss is about. The fine sounded pretty lenient. It was your/my choice to have kids. The cost of hols outside term time was part of the equation. There are always cheap options - the Sun offers them (and this is not a disparaging comment) The bigger picture is phasing/spreading out hols to reduce demand but there again those without kids would miss out on cheaper hols. Alternatively pay for your education and have your hols in early July before the state schools break up

Not sure why I lumped Uber in with this thread, probably because I was thinking of Airbnb, and they share the same business model in not owning the vehicles/properties they trade. Not sure why there is a resistance to share - I've always bummed things of others and expect others to do similar. If we give a little financial incentive then why not? Had some hippy friends who did the 'Lets' system for trading time eg I cook for you and you do my financial records. 'Big Society' had some great proposals including building on 'time banks'. One example is whilst you are young and fit you bank community activities and get that time returned when you are older, a sort of pension. BS was mocked and quietly dropped. I should have referred to the lift sharing schemes - we car pooled when I first worked and before I ditched the car for a bike. It was perfectly natural yet now there is much disdain for sharing space. And finally I thought economics meant the efficient use of resources. Sharing must b e part of this

I've used Uber. I understand that there are some issues about employment and the gig economy but at the same time I've been at a bus stop on the Strand which is half full of black cabs looking for a client, whilst being some of the most polluting vehicles on the road so no sympathy there. I was dead excited by Airbnb but in a matter of months I've seen this change from people letting out some spare space in their accomodation to being dominated by buy to lets. I've just found an ad on the EDF for someone 'sharing' out their car on Easycar.com and asked them for their views on their experience. Like most our car sits outside not being used for 95% of the time taking up space. what do we reckon to the sharing economy boys and girls?

Small Heath is great Lozells Boordsley green Sparkbook Deritend Winson Green Areas to avoid - Solihull, Edbaston, Harbourne, Moseley. You may feel too at home. It's Britain's biggest city. Not any easy question. Just go onto Tripadvisor

----------------------------------- > ----- > > We could also support a united Ireland. > > this has now become a mainstream possibility: see > the reviews in the FT today. Dublin has (after a > taboo of 15 years or so) begun to talk about it > explicitly. It may be this or a wall (hard brexit > would demand one). > > should we not now try to support a united London? > The M25 is not a bad sketch for a wall. London outer boroughs would be outside of this but we could have an extenstion to Brighton, in the way that East Berlin was connected to West Germany. The outer Boroughs would be happy - Bromley would be in Kent again, Dagenham in Essex, and Middlesex be more that a postal address.

keano77 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The posturing is shaping up for an ugly fight with > the EU handing Spain a veto on Gibraltar. > > I suggest we use some of the ?58.7 Billion we pay > the EU each second to fund the separatist > Catalans, Basques and Breton nationalists to sow > discord. That'll learn 'em We could also support a united Ireland. Brittany is one of the poorest regions in a major economies in Europe and does very well out of the EU. Why would they want to leave? You wouldn't expect Cornwall and Wales to do similar would you now? Anyway there are already communites just counting down the days before they leave in at least two of those regions - the British expats. At least Gibraltar new which side their bread was buttered.

This is becoming a two-man thread Mr H. Describe your cycling gear and bike so I can give you a cheery wave. I make most of what I say up, but as I am so good at observing and sucking in info I am generally right. Very kind of you not to berate me. So...... from my take traffic now backs up much further from the E&C up to Bricklayers Arms. I found the original design with one set of lights on the roundabout fine, and you could then go straight through down towards the war museum. I expect that the new design equals out flow with the traffic coming from Camberwell direction. Yet the stats on the old design show it was exceptionally dangerous. So what do I know? TfL in answering an FOI request considered Cycle Super Highways to be neutral in terms of emissions and air quality, ie some reduction in traffic was offset by some increased congestion. But patronage has slipped slightly, possible due to increased congestion (there is a watershed in terms of extra journey time by bus where some may say sod it I'll use my car. And as for the right turn into Vaux Bridge, I'd just move to the right, into the ASL and turn as usual. The bike trainers pointed out the weaknesses in the design including less confident cyclists and also that the Danish system means less overall dwell time for vehicles. The most tempting red light to jump in the morning is the bottom of Rye Lane, as you sit there for a minute with hardly a pedestrian or other road user in sight. That is not good planning.

keano77 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Pubs are for boozing not eating. However, like > Brexit, it's too late to stop it. If you > light-weights must have food then bring back > scampi-in-the-basket and the cockle man turning up > at last orders. You've stolen my words. M&B made iffy beer for proper men in the 70s although the mild was world class. GK are doing a Watneys 30 years on, buying breweries, shutting them down and making poo beer. They are the antichrist Dunno anything about Laines as being near any of their pubs makes me come over all queer. Youngs made great beer. Then they stopped. They've fcked up so many pubs that I loved. The only good thing about the Forest Hill Tavern is that it is not the Woodlouse. Not sure about Fullers. They still brew in London but like GK have closed breweries. Antic seem to be getting a good balance. I was invited to the launch of the Sylvan Post about 10 years ago - I thought it was a bit weird but after seeing the architectural vandalism and some odd industrial chic of the Forest Hill Tavern it now seems rather sedate. You'll have to go out of Borough. The Blythe Hill Tavern is so good that it doesn't have to sell food, although Con will let you bring in takeaway. The Dartmouth Arms and the Dolphin are owned by the same person and are decent (not cheap). Then there is our own pub (the Ivy). And if you want to go into Borough, actually go to Borough as the Royal Oak ticks most of the boxes. Amd.. wait for it... they make their own food, ie it is home made not home coooked

I'm resorting to the Archers as my main source of views and information. They were two to one anxious/excited in last nights episode and this is from a rural farming community. Probably the only part of the BBC that has been honest!

rendelharris Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Not to argue malumbu, but because you obviously > know your onions, what's your objection to a NKR > cycle lane? I personally am more than happy with > the excellent well surfaced bus lane there at > present, but I can see why nervous/slow riders > might benefit from an improvement to the pavement > track currently in place. Sorry I've slipped up in not getting back earlier. I've also noted that I gave my longest ever posting on this thread without people insinuating that I was a tosser. Genuine thanks! So - this is all very relevant and I attending an interestng conference on Friday with some of the transport movers and shakers in London, and yesterday observed bikeability training. I've never had any cycle training, but yesterday reflected on the value from some hard core motorbike training in the early 80s (this should have been built on - big mistakes made then with regards to changing the motorbike test rather than prompting some excellent voluntary schemes). Back to the subject (a) much better if you move cyclists to quiet routes rather than sharing trunk roads (b) where we do share busy roads, schemes that increase congestion don't benefit anyone and can increase conflict © if we are to use main roads, then we have do have interventions that make it so damn inconvenient for private motorists that many will shift modes, or perhaps start sharing their journeys (d) Our whole urban traffic management is poo and we need to look to other nations, in particular Denmark, who design things better. The latter was observing the right turn from the embankment, onto Vauxhall Bridge, yesterday, and how awful this is for cyclists. The Danish system is far more efficient for all road users. The above is not suggesting I have a monopoly on wisdom, rather these are my views on debating with others, reading on sites such as this, and personal reflections.

It was a lovely afternoon. The turn up was good. It was sort of an antithesis to some of my earlier protests - Gulf War, Poll tax, anti-apartite in the lack of venom. This was like minded people, frustrated, but without anything we could really do about the situation. Don't knock it. Shame on the BBC for not giving it greater coverage.