malumbu

Glad to read that you are on first name terms with so many PMs, I'm not. This friendliness was half the problem with Johnson - ohh it's Boris, he is a self serving liar that has helped fac the country but he is so funny, I just have to vote for him. @Rockets, you ar comparing apples with pears

Because I phoned up reception (Alleyns) twice, and they came out and told the driver to turn their engine off I did it with my best Nigel Havers accent and they were very impressed!

There's some good debate here, but sadly this forum can become quite polarised and the title of the thread doesn't work. It's useful to look back on how we got in this mess. Blair had the benefit of a massive feel good factor, and his personality, but he did some dodgy things even before the war crime of Iraq, such as the Formula One fiasco. He will be looked at, no doubt, as both a moderniser, war criminal and the person responsible for much of the pain resulting from on line gambling. The BBC documentaries on both Thatcher and Blair were excellent, and reinforced many of my opinions. I wonder what a similar documentary will say about Cameron. Which brings me on my thought for the day. Somewhere in the mid tens the world became more fractious. And many became less interested understanding politics getting their information from less reliable and more biased sources. A far more divided country and world. Not sure how much of the coalition government contributed to this, it was benign in some respects, with LD blunting perhaps some of the more extreme policies of their Tory partners, but of course we know what happened to the LDs at the next election. The early stage of blaming civil servants was not very helpful (and followed by successive governments including Starmer, in part. Austerity definitely contributed to decimation of the public services and perhaps an even more alienated group of 'have nots'. Then Labour missed the open goal of the 2015 election, the Tories played it very savvy in their campaign and of course the LDs were routed. I fully expect that Brexit will be seen by historians as the turning point/watershed. I'm still scarred 8 years later, and have lost 'friends' and still have some awkwardness with family members. How much Brexit begat Farage begat Trump I don't know. I expect the tide was turning across the west, but the UK helped accelerate this. Many were already turning away from conventional sources of information - I remember before Brexit seeing a 25 year olds news feed and it was all one lines echoing the Daily Mail, we are all 'going to hell in a handcart'. The failure to invest by more recent Tory governments when lending was cheap, the continued mess of Brexit (and the negative impact on our economy), then the relative unavailability of Covid and Ukraine, and here we are now. The elephant in the room is managed migration, I'm being served by Indian students in bars in London, rather than French or Eastern Europeans. No issue for me. Students have always worked in bars. But there is an enormous gig/minimum wage job sector out there that relies on foreign workers which I can't get my head around. Looking forward to you sorting out this mess PM. I think there have been some poor handling and timing issues, and some decisions not made that would have peed many off (anything to do with cars!) which were a missed opportunity with such a large majority. Diluting commitments on nationalisation of the rail network/operators being another prime example. I don't run with the more extreme and somewhat viral view of its a catastrophe. Yet. Just a very much first school term report as should have done much better.

And then the thief will fly tip it. Not very helpful.

Average vehicle occupancy has gently fallen over recent decades and is now about 1.55 for cars and vans. There are studies of the utility of cars which is generally low, ie they do not have five people in them and are not driven for most of the time. The opposite tends to be different for buses, in particular urban areas and hopefully the other large conurbations following the London model will improve this further, I lived a little over a mile from my primary school at a time when many bussed in, and the rest walked. A handful would have been dropped off. A time when many mothers were stay at home, most would not have driven and few houses had second cars. That's just a statement of fact rather than any sort of opinion of 'good old days'. We'd walk home from maybe 6 or 7 in a mob, and spend the bus money on sweets, so not good for my teeth, And Ribena for lunch compounded that. I was 2.5 miles from secondary school, where 95% of those I went to primary school were coached, and a few cycled (I tried for a few weeks). I never heard of anyone being driven to school. Different days.

Laziness/habit. There have been a few campaigns, for example on taxis in Liverpool waiting on the rank. Essentially put a coat on in the cold rather than run your engine. I'd add ignorance too, certainly with the cops who had no excuse, several of them sitting in the car doors open in the summer eating their takeaways with the engine running. That is ignorance being unaware rather than rude.

The school has taken action and coaches do not usually leave their engines on. One busy body (me) has called the school a couple of times to report coach drivers doing this. Sitting idling is nuts, particularly close to children, Yet so so many drivers do it, proof that many don't care about air quality, or even mind wasting fuel and the cost of that. Very few if any authorities enforce this, in the first case the officer has to tell the turn the engine off and only then can issue the notice. I've seen the police sitting there eating their takeaway with the engine running, and when you ask them to turn it off they don't reply very politely. It was a waste of time reporting this. I've given up. If Nigel Havers can't get people to do this with his calm engaging voice what chance to I have. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1336700049773954

In deed, and why are you so excited by this/continually look for dirt on Starmer?

Yes recommend freecycle too. I hate Gumtree as that is where a lot of stolen bikes are fenced. Including one of mine.

Very unlikely, particularly as school coaches take many cars off the road so smarter and more environmentally friendly You could argue of course that if families lived close to school very few children would need to be coached or driven by car to school.

I've got one to get rid of, its digital but not smart so hoped that someone would like it for a PlayStation. I assume you tried to give it away through this site. Otherwise it will have to be disposed of properly, perhaps a neighbour is going to a tip, where there will be a facility there. I think most boroughs you don't have to pay if you bring it over. If you have a street WhatsApp that may help

CPZs discourage driving, particularly journeys that may not be necessary or can be completed by more environmentally friendly means. Bring them on!

Floating bus stops instinctively feel wrong but data suggests otherwise. An article looking at both arguments is attached https://www.route-one.net/features/floating-bus-stops-debate-on-controversial-measure-goes-on/#:~:text=A 2024 Transport for London,over a three-year period. This reminds me of my objections to motorcycles sharing bike lanes on main roads. It felt so wrong but data proved otherwise.

Most owners do. Beyond getting it off you chest, or shoe, you won't change a thing by posting here

To pass your test you need to show that you can control a car, keep to an appropriate speed, within the speed limit or lower if the road is hazardous eg parked cars, poor lines of vision, and/or if there are vulnerable road users ie non-motorised vehicles, pedestrians including by schools, choose appropriate gear, smooth driving avoiding harsh braking and acceleration, see and communicate with other road users, position the vehicle appropriately, anticipate the traffic ahead, and follow the rules of the road such as giving way when you don't have priority. The vast majority of collisions are because drivers are not following one or more of these. Because once they pass the test, they will not do all of the above, form some dreadful habits but at the same time feel that they are an excellent driver. Most of government's efforts are on inexperienced drivers as that is where the best return on investment. But we've all see the humorous bumper stickers complaining about having to have a black box. I'm tempted to write my congratulations for being a responsible driver.

As I have stated on numerous occasions driving standards are not great as once drivers pass their test there is no regular training. Again, you are ignoring this. So you would rather have cars than bikes. A pity.

How many pedestrians have been killed or seriously injured due to pedal cyclists using the pavements, running red lights etc on the square or SE22 as a whole? I'm very interested in the data. Is it a real problem or perceived?

I'm being factual, I can't understand why any enlightened liberal person would want to live in Langley Park. And I grew up in dullsville so I am well qualified. I've said in the past for those of you who are angry with Southwark's transport policies and lefty local authorities you may be happier in LB Bromley

It's about scale. London was a low rise city and the massive developments in the Elephant, Vauxhall Cross, the City and no doubt elsewhere have come from Livingstone's time as Mayor where he recognised that we need far more office space in London to compete on the world financial circuit, That said interesting that there is still massive investment in retail such as Battersea Power Station and Kings Cross at a time where more and more purchases are on line. As with everything there is probably an acceptable compromise and perhaps the project will be scaled down a little.

It's a separate thread but why on earth would you move to Langley Park? Oh it;s the schools my dear. Oddly enough there are frighteningly good schools around here. But far more diversity, irrespective of how the area has changed in the last 25 years.

Wow, I use Langley Park as a milestone for one of those places I'd least like to live. Insular, parochial, monocultural. I am happy to take the P out of Dulwich and the area, but ultimately far happier living around here than Beckenham. And cycling policy is awful, only poor people cycle around there, the ones who can't afford a car.

You can get a really good and cheap holiday at caravan sites early or late in the season using vouchers from The Sun. Well worth paying the fine for. I think it is where Martin Lewis holidays The Sun is popular in East Dulwich too as it was featured: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/21722594/we-dont-want-a-poundland-in-our-posh-neighbourhood/

Nope that is boring, I want something creative. Maybe turn them into Xmas cards. I understand from those daytime television programmes that don't involve buying houses, DIY, antiques, bargain hunting and the second World War that this is called 'upcycling'. AI suggests: Upcycling old cheque books can involve repurposing the paper from old checks into creative items like notebooks, journals, art pieces, gift tags, bookmarks, decorative paper, or even small boxes, by cutting, decorating, and assembling the paper to create new functional or decorative objects, while ensuring any personal banking information is properly obscured or removed. And there is vid too

Any ideas, the more novel the better, I've found loads, all still valid but I'll keep one just in case. I could use them as wallpaper, like they do with maps in cool houses. Send them to America where they still use them. Confuse a young person by asking them what they are for, or keeping them to placate a mugger, here you are mate have all of them. I've got a good idea that is not wasteful, but give me your real and/or odd suggestions. No, not toilet paper.

Duncan Norvelle, who had brief fame in national variety programmes before returning to the piers and winter gardens. I sort of worked with him once upon a time. Is that a mars bar in your trousers. A different time. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c77jn31nxmdo