Mabaker

When leaflet for solar panels from the mayor's office came through the door I decided to register my interest. Mayor Khan explained that once Londoners had signed up (with no obligation to proceed), he would send it out to tender. The company called Green Energy Together was awarded the contract. I have a small 3 bed and the cost of panels plus battery came to about ?6.5k. The battery cost came to almost half of the cost but you don't have to included it in the package. Anyway I went ahead with it and the installation all went swimmingly. There was a bit of a delay on the admin side getting the paperwork together but it all came good in the end. It was installed just before Christmas and I didn't see much production in winter. However, to give you some idea I've just checked total production and consumption for the month of May. Consumption 4.12kwh, Production 3.10 kwh. Bear in mind that we are home a lot, so Tele, lights, kettle going most of the day and also all electric cooking. My biggest bugbear is not being able to connect it to the grid yet because we can't get our smart meter converted, despite waiting 2 years.....but that's another story.

It's all very well talking about various changes you can make along the route if you're fit and able bodied. Not so helpful if you are elderly and have trouble getting on and off the bus or if you have other mobility problems or need wheelchair access. Cuts to services just make these journeys even more difficult. Some people will then have to rely on going by car, thus defeating TFL's efforts to get cars off the roads.

Agreed. I'd like to see a comparison chart of the frequency of other bus routes outside zone 1 We would then know where Dulwich stands in the bus route pecking order. . And I bet we're no where near the top

Forgot about that earlier thread jazzer

Well, considering that it is a main route going into central London, and they used to be about 6 minutes apart, and compared to most other routes which are more frequent and haven't been cut then yes, unreasonable in my opinion.

What is the justification for reducing the service yet again to about 14 minutes between services. This part of S.E London already has an inferior public transport system. How is cutting services helping in the fight to reduce carbon emissions? And what about our councillors? Are they doing anything to fight our corner with TFL?

Yes. I posted that a few posts ago but well worth repeating

All you bird lovers out there, RSPB are urging us to leave out dishes of soil and water to help migrating birds swifts, house martins and swallows to build their nests, as the expected warmer weather is going to make the soil too hard for them to gather mud.

I'm in Dulwich Hill too. Not one leaflet, not one campaigner at the door. Being a traditional Labour voter, hate to say it, but very disappointed with Labour councillors on replying to concerns about local issues. I've voted Green this year hoping that at least one will get in. Wish we had more proportional representation.

TheTruthisOut Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > The main reason that sparrows are thriving in this > small area is that there are a number of tall, > thick hedges which provide essential shelter and > roosts as well as insects. If you'd like to > encourage them, it is so easy to plant a hedge. > > No hedges = no sparrows! I have now planted some native trees for hedges.I noticed today that the sparrows have found a nice bit of real estate down Friern Road. There is a house there with a decoration high up on the front wall. It's like a pattern formed of holes that the sparrows can go in and use for nesting. Sorry I'm not explaining very well. Haven't got the vocabulary to explain this decorative architectural feature but the birds are loving it.

I visited them yesterday and they gave me a free sunflower plant so that was nice. The man told me that they have a list of rules that they agreed with the Council, and a council official visits them randomly to check.

Can't believe so much fuss about a few tents in the park. Wish there was as much attention on this forum given to the problems that our campers are publicising.I think it's time to move on and find something else to moan about.

Encouraging news for a change Nigello. Let's hope they survive.

Ditching pets comment was strange, I didn't want anyone thinking I wrote that. My two toms would be most offended!

Just to be clear it wasn't me who wrote any of that post after "to do list". I absolutely agree that it's governments which must take the lead.

One good thing is that XR once again has us all debating climate change. What has XR ever done to offer solutions you may ask, but highlighting the problems, like all governments' failure to cut fossil fuels, and calling for quicker action on renewables is one example. I'm sure that XR has been successful in nudging the Government in the right direction, although it is still going far too slowly. The fuel poverty crisis we are going through now is made worse by the Government's end to its insulation program, which just shows how timely and relevant Insulate Britain's campaign has been. I do believe we can all do something to help. Little changes made by us do have an impact. We can reduce meat consumption, plant trees or hedges and pull up the concrete if we are lucky enough to have a garden. For those of us with more cash resources, fit solar panels, buy an electric car if you need one. For those of us without the resources, governments have a huge role to play. Invest in good public transport infrastructure so that we dont need to drive so much. Invest in a program of insulation for social housing. Lets all think about how we can help..

Well Rockets, guess you didn't agree with the suffragettes then. If it wasn't for groups like XR and all those pressure groups that went before,the problems of climate change would be well down Government's "to do" list.

Agree with everything Sue says. For some people XR will never be seen to do the right thing. If they have camped without permission, they fall foul of the "rules are rules" camp. If in deed they did get permission from the Council, some people are still complaining about that. And what's all this nonsense about tyre slashing? I'm sure people's nearby cars will be quite safe.

I find it quite depressing to read such hostility about a group of people who are standing up for you and your children and grandchildren against the horrors of climate change and habitat distruction.We have just a few short years to turn this around and yet some contributers seem to be more bothered about possible minor disruptions in the park. You shouldn't assume that they will leave a mess for the Council to clear up or have a negative impact on the park. Instead of condemning them out of hand why not go down there and actually talk to them and listen to their point of view. You might actually come away with a different opinion of them.

Bus services in our part of London are inferior to other parts of London, which I've never understood. If anything, it should be better due to no tube service. Is it because the decision makers live north of the river?

Sparrows seem to me to be quite picky about where they hang out. I've noticed a gathering of sparrows at the bottom end of Friern Rd.

Good job Alice. Have you got email address? I can contact them too

The Council lists the reserve as being under management if Dawson's Hill Trust but that website appears to be dormant. Actually there are a couple of signs there. I'll check that for information.

Not emptied along Donkey Alley either, although that's nothing new!

Every time I walk through the top path along Dawson's Heights I've noticed that there are fewer bramble bushes. Some have been cut down but some hedges have been taken out completely. As the blackberry hedges provide food and shelter for wild life, I'm finding this hedge cull worrying. Does anyone know what's going on there?