HeadNun

It's good to know it's fallen slightly. But it certainly feels like it's increased. I'm sure I see a lot more police cars on blues about and hear more about phone snatching and car theft etc. But maybe it's just because people report it a lot on here and so I'm paying more attention to it than I used to.

Oh yes you're right! 😬

I too am very sorry to hear this, taliax7. It must weigh heavily over you and your family.

Well the numbers in the nearby Goose Green ward have risen sharply recently, Insuflo. https://www.met.police.uk/area/your-area/met/southwark/goose-green/about-us/top-reported-crimes-in-this-area I wouldn't call it hysteria - plenty of people on this forum have witnessed or been victims of crime. Whether it's to do with LTNs, I have no idea and don't really care either way. But there's no doubt criminals are operating in quiet, dark streets, as the report Rockets posted suggests, esp VAGW.

I think it's great that police are being pro-active around here and knocking on doors.

Yes I do have a vague idea of what's going on in the world, thanks Sephiroth, for explaining it all out to me though. The point I was trying to make, rather badly, because I'm busy and shouldn't be on here, is that I'm sure Jazzer didn't used to be this extreme. Either he's moved into wind-up territory, which people do do on here to keep themselves entertained, or he's just moving further along a spectrum as he gets older, which many people also do.

I know what a troll is. I don't believe he can be for real, I've never met anyone who has views like this, it must be a wind-up

Jazzer, I'm beginning to think you're a troll. Do you not like the idea of some of our and the US's money going towards medicating HIV, lowering malaria rates, cracking down on child rape, improving education and keeping children from an untimely, unnecessary death?

Hi Rockets, I'm not challenging this and have no particular views on LTNs either way, but I'm genuinely interested to know how they are increasing crime.

I see some possibly overloaded grandparents, with mobility issues, trying to help their overloaded daughter. They put some feelers out in anticipation of having to look after their grandson who, it seems, it extraordinarily smart and requires extra stimulation. A big ask all round. That they weren't yet aware of exact dates hardly warrants your complaints of time-wasting.

How charming.

Not only can he turn olive oil into Vermouth, but also water into a wine. A true miracle worker. I wouldn't say a wine shop sells a wide variety of things - and there are two right next to each other. And once upon a time, upmarket pizza shops were very specific. So were burritos etc. These Argentinian cornish pasties are clearly becoming mainstream; we should consider ourselves lucky to be witnessing this exciting upward trend within our lifetimes and on OUR HIGH STREET. We can tell our grandkids that we remember when there was no internet and no empanadas. I'm sure that if the family empanada people have a good business head, they'll be able to ride this wave of competition, just like Bruno has.

Ha! After I posted this, I thought of lots more examples. Screwfix and the hardware store? Mrs Robinson and Jumping Bean? Chemists, plant shops, hairdressers... the list goes on... it's good to have healthy competition Ooooh! Two cheese shops

Lordship Lane has two dry cleaners, three pizza places and an Italian selling pizza, two burger places, three bakeries, two hardware (ish, I'm thinking AJ Farmer here), God knows how many coffee and charity shops, two Italians, three nail salons, five wine shops... Where was the abject outrage when Dynamic Vines opened up literally next door to Cave de Bruno? But I don't see his customers decamped next door - no, those stalwarts are still out in force every night. In Roman times all businesses were clustered by product. It's what kept prices down. Same in any market you go to abroad, they're all selling the same things next to each other. Why is everyone being so hard on this new place? It's called healthy competition - you can't curtail the expansion of your business on the basis you that might hurt someone else's.

I completely agree with you, Angelina. But it's worth noting that no one else has a problem with her, or finds her rude / has mentioned her aggressively banging gates / ringing doorbells etc.

Really great news. I hope insurance companies are a little more circumspect in the future. Solid policing - I’m sure anyone who’s been a victim of this scam finds this a comfort.

Nope, I'd just get on with my day and forget about it. And I wouldn't report them on the basis that they might spill my coffee in the future. However the OP seems to think that this young woman is deliberately pushing her bell, slamming her gate etc, having repeatedly been asked not to. I'd wager the woman is a bit pee'd off and there's a bit of a stand-off going on. Best course of action is to go out, take the parcel, smile sweetly, say hello, tell her you hope she's having a nice day / staying cool etc, in a way that comes across as genuine and not pass-agg, and to let it diffuse. Might find it calms down a bit. But I like the girl hate the idea of her being denigrated on here when she works so hard.

Exactly - a snap election will make things even worse. Jazzer - say you get a 'new' administration tomorrow, you're still left with the same treasury, the same civil servants, the same OBR, the same think-tanks and advisors (many labour advisors are cross-party, Gauke for eg). The options are the same, no matter who's in power. Labour hasn't even changed the Tories' fiscal rules - the parties are virtually economically aligned these days. But Reeves made a mistake in trying too hard, too early to make some seismic changes in her first budget as a big 'we're here and we're going to fix this mess, Labour to the rescue' kind of thing . They shone such a big light on the black hole that their only option was to try to fix it overnight. It was a comms clusterfuck. They'd perhaps have done better sticking to Sunak's quiet, cautious approach, but they knew the gullible public was expecting an 24-hour turnaround miracle. The NIC hikes are a disaster, I think they'll be reversed soon and enough and they'll keep trying till they find something that sticks.

I think you need to get a grip If it's who I am thinking of, she's a young black girl in her twenties, has braids with bright colours through them and - I suspect - works with her father. It's always the same man behind the wheel and he's older than her, always in the same van, so I'm assuming it's a father-daughter combo which, if it is, I think is rather sweet. They hustle hard in a job that is poorly paid, has little prospects, is relentless and thankless. The fact that they have stuck it out since the pandemic says a lot about them. I think she's a lovely girl, who's perhaps a little shy - but she'll smile or chat back if you make the effort with her. And I admire her for sticking with that job for so long. Perhaps she's just one of these people who's naturally a bit clumsy or bashes things, the same way some people are heavy on their feet when they walk. But I wouldn't dream of jeopardising her job because she closes the slams the gate and doesn't 'kiss' the ring doorbell with her fingers. Perhaps she's being passive aggressive because you are. And perhaps she also wishes she got to spend her time worrying about potential damage to her letterbox or her gate. As for your gate / letterbox - you're talking about hypotheticals. Has there been any damage? No. Then go and live your life and worry about it when it happens. (apols we have the wrong person, but some of my points still stand).

Apparently a tourist tax was Raynor's idea, but Reeves has put the kibosh on it because of the push-back she'll get from businesses

I'm now just following David Peckham around, posting laughing emojis on all his comments.

Wow I had no idea they give you 5% in perfume for your accommodation. You're right, I need to travel more.

Hey Sue, I was wrong - I don't think it would just be for foreign tourists. So yeah I assume that, if someone lives in Lewisham and wants to say the night in southwark, they'd pay a levy. The hotels wouldn't need to vet anyone's address or passports - the levy is automatically added on top of the bill by every hotel / BnB / hostel and passed on to Southwark. So basically, you're paying an extra two quid a night, or whatever, to stay in this borough. It's a great way to drive footfall... to the other London boroughs. https://www.ukpropertyaccountants.co.uk/uk-tourist-tax-exploring-the-rise-of-visitor-levies-and-foreign-property-charges/

I think we should pay them all to go to Scotland walk around in Wee Jimmy hats