Pugwash

Hubby was a cyclist for 40 plus years. He was hard up in his youth and could not afford fares to get to work etc. At one stage, before I met him, he was cycling from Tulse Hill to Cheshunt in Hertfordshire on a weekly basis. He was involved in a couple of accidents- one when the driver of a parked car opened his door without checking it was clear to do so. Hubby was knocked off bike and cut arms and legs. Driver just cursed him and did not check if he was ok. The other incident was he was cycling straight ahead when a car came from behind and swerved in front , knocking him down and damaging wheels, frame and gears of his bike. There were witnesses, and the driver gave his details as bike was looking as though it was a write off. Hubby claimed off our household insurance for new bike and they tried to follow up the car driver with no avail. We spoke to our local police officer who visited the address given and found it to be a fraudulent address. The point I am making is that cyclists do encounter incidents as above, but unless they have household insurance, cannot claim for repairs/replacements. Equally if a cyclist had caused an accident where a pedestrian or motorist is involved/injured, the 'injured' party is unlikely to be able to claim damages etc. All cyclists should have insurance and all cycle frames need to be engraved with ID numbers. Many people are against cyclists as they can be inconsiderate road users- not having lights,not wearing high viz clothing, cutting up pedestrians and motorists at traffic lights and behaving dangerously. I spent some time studying in Holland and noticed that every road had a cycle lane running beside it, usually separated by a grass verge. Motorists and cyclists were able to peacefully co exist . I was in Holland in January and it was amusing that when we had heavy snow the snow plough cleared the cycle lanes first . I was a cyclist myself many years ago, but infirmity has caught up with me and I can no longer get on a bike let alone ride one.I use public transport, can walk short distances, but need a car in order to visit my family in Kent and Sussex As I do (or did before lockdown) community work and generally ferrying older/frail people to and fro events/meetings, my car is essential and I will not give it up.

What legal address would you have if knocked down and injured by a scooter being used on the pavement, or for the sake of argument, a cycle being ridden on pavement. Neither rider is likely to have insurance. other than house insurance . I was reversing my car into my hard standing yesterday - clearly indicating and reverse lights working, and noticed out of the corner of my eye that a adult male cyclist who had been cycling on the pavement, getting very agitated by my actions as though he had right of way!

Took over 10 minutes yesterday around 11.30 am to get from Friern Road/LL to Grove traffic lights due to solid traffic. Most of the tailbacks were vehicles trying to turn onto S. Circular.

I am not very IT literate but my last 2 attempts to join in a zoom meeting were a failure. I click onto the link set up by the host but I cannot see how I can put in my meeting ID and password (which have already been sent to me. My name appears on t he screen and I can see the other participants but they cannot see or hear me. Today's screen asked me to check my microphone which I did, for it to automatically come on when the session began but no joy. Help please in very easy terms I have tried to check out on google but they are talking about setting up a session not joining in one.

I watched Red White and Blue and found it a true version of what SOME police officers were like. Racism was rife in London - at the time my partner was black, and not only did he attract racial comments, but I as a white woman was also subjected to this. Police frequently stopped us when in the car for no apparent reason - my partner had a very good job with high wages and his car was new. We were never searched or subjected to verbal abuse, I was frequently upset by these incidents but my partner took it as a matter of course explaining that the police thought every black person with a newish car was a thief. In those days, racism was more blatant, barman refusing to serve drinks to my partner, but willingly served me. I have worked in a voluntary capacity over the years with various members of the police service and have met many officers from BAME groups as well as white officers and they have acknowledged there are a small minority of officers who are racists. What would be interesting to see broadcast is to have an interview with Leroy Logan as he is today, and to see how he progressed through the ranks.

My daughter who is a teacher in an exclusion unit was permitted to Zoom a couple of her students during the 1st lockdown to clarify any queries they had about the on line lessons, but the link was set up by her academic body due to safeguarding.

Depending on age of son - did you do homeschooling during the first lockdown?. Many parents were able to cope with this but others struggled especially if they were working from home themselves. My youngest grandchildren were set work by their schools during the summer lockdown. Granddaughter 6 was ok as she enjoys reading, writing and general learning. Her brother, who is more 'physical' found it hard to settle as full of energy - whilst loved doing number work and making things refused to colour/write and was very upset as was not seeing his nursery class friends on a daily basis. From what I understand - most schools are sending work home to those who are having to isolate. Costs of private tutors seem to be ?45- ?60 per hour and that was before the March lock down.

Not sure where you are living at the moment but kingsdale and Charter are both very popular choices and last year had a 'catchment area. Not sure if the new Charter school has a different one. Not sure about the rules re exchanging contracts or yearly rental offering more chances. There was a big investigation last year/year before which exposed parents getting yearly rentals in the catchment areas of their choice to enable children to get into popular schools.

Our neighbors were planning a loft extension, they came in and had a chat about it and said that the council will be writing to us (they did) We then had correspondence re party wall and forms to complete. Neighbours stated that any time we were concerned, we were to talk with them. Lockdown happened and they did not go ahead with their plans and are now deciding to move out of London to get a bigger property.

We have had a number of enquirers, the chairs are in accordance to fire safety regulations. The toys, some up lighters have gone to a women's refuge.We have a school possibly interested in chairs for staff room. Some folders and transparencies have gone, but we are still wading through the filing cabinets. Had a PM from a homeless/housing organisation but they failed to reply to my posts .

Scooters, regardless whether e types or not seem to be a very popular choice for both adults and children. Adults scooting away on both pavements and roads - difficult to hear them and in the dark, to see them. (Had one come up on my nearside a few days ago, just as I was about to turn left. He/She totally ignored my indicator - I just saw them in time!) Years ago my old aunt was knocked down by a young teenager who was riding a bike on the pavement. She fractured her hip and had difficulty walking after that. (She was already disabled having one leg shorter than the other and had to wear built up surgical boots) The youngster sped off whilst witnesses were calling 999.

We left Smile some time ago as they were constantly pushing cosmetic products - unfortunately hubby fell for this and agreed to tooth whitening and was shocked when he was charged over ?200. He never used the product - also he was not informed of the cost of the treatment before he started it.

yes - grand daughter lived in the area since the age of 2 so was able to produce full confirmation,

Even though Bromley and Bexley are classed as Kent - they fall into the Greater London area of 32 boroughs. Havering one of the highest is classed as Essex but in in the greater London area

I do not think Southwark has grammar schools as such. There are independent schools like Alleyns, Dulwich College which are fee paying. St. Joseph's Beulah Hill (not sure if they are fee paying) 11 plus - I thought this went out years ago? Many schools have entrance exams. There are a couple of schools in Kent - Orpington/Sidcup/Bexley area - cannot remember their names. They are heavily oversubscribed and the children need to sit entrance exams. My granddaughter sat the exam for one school - she got a high pass mark in the mid 90s and was in the top 120 pupils. However the school only took 100 intake that year. Several hundreds of pupils took the exam . She went onto the local comprahensive, got 10 or 11 GCSEs, the majority being A and A star. A levels were also 2 As and a B. She is now in her 3rd year at Uni studying medical Sciences. A good secondary school can produce as good results as grammar schools - depends on whether child is academically minded or more creative,

I have tried Salvation Army and BHF but due to lockdown they are not collecting stuff. I will check if the chairs have fire safety labels on. The IKEA chairs should have these but not sure of the others.

The charity I am trustee of is going through voluntary insolvency as due to Covid, all our income has dried up and we are unable to make our premises Covid Safe. We are in a large house, based over 3 floors (Ground, 1st and 2nd) The Insolvency solicitor is doing all the paperwork and our landlord, having given us several months rent free, would like us to vacate the premises by 16th December. Our problem is that we need to dispose of all the furniture. We have around 15 armchairs, several coffee tables, lamps, pictures, bookcases and other small items. In addition we have the usual office equipment mainly filing cabinets, and chairs (not all in good condition). In addition, the organisation used to run children's activities and have lots of toys etc. Including a couple of bulky items. With the charity shops closed, it is difficult to find someone to collect these items. The non office furniture is spread over the 3 floors (no lift) and would require 2 people to lift and move down stairs. We are not in the position to pay for removals as our remaining money has to be spent on bills and redundancy payments. We have parking space for 5/6 cars so a van can be accommodated. The non office furniture and toys will needed to be taken away the same day. Chairs which are mixture of IKEA and other makes are ideal for those who wish to renovate/up cycle.etc. Please contact me by PM if you are an organisations.company that can collect these items for free. Thanks.

Link Age have a great many schemes which require volunteers, some are still ongoing i.e. telephone befriending. They also advertised for the odd person to do a couple of shopping trips. Kings College Hospital also use volunteers - in their shop/trolley services, etc but not sure if they are working at the moment. St. Christopher's Hospice is seeking volunteers at the hospice in Sydenham. They were also advertising for help in their newly opened Education Centre in the book shop.

I was sent to the TJ centre by my GP Surgery Nurse for a Diabetes Check Up plus blood pressure. I was directed by the security guy at reception desk to the lift to first floor. Went over to GP reception and explained my visit and was passed onto another receptionist who logged me in. Within 10 minutes was seen by nurse - he was very helpful and I explained that I also had to have a blood test and he advised me where to go. No problems - my husband had gone there a couple of weeks earlier and was full of praise.

My grandchildren had guinea pigs. kept in hutch or pation in garden, but were moved to shed (with a window) in very cold weather.

Unfortunately due to lock down rules many groups who could offer support are not permitted to meet. However, groups such as AA are still meeting. You do not give your age or situation but organisations such as Link Age Southwark do telephone befriending. Prior to this lock down. my residents' association were thinking of trying to set up a small support group but before we could advertise this on EDF, the rule of 6 was imposed and then full lock down. We believe it is more beneficial for folk to meet face to face (socially distanced)than on line or by phone. I have a friend who lives alone and is used to going out meeting people and having a meal, who finds himself very isolated despite twice a week (sometimes more) phone calls from us, and various family members. getting very depressed.

Some of the paid staff at St. Christopher's are taking the opportunity to sort out stock and tidy up the premises. Depending on mobility aids- many pharmacies stock these and can order stuff as does Boots. Surprised that the OT and Pysio were not able to give you some mobility aids - there is usually frames, crutches and sticks in stock.

We keep a couple of oyster cards to use with visiting family or odd times when we cannot use our Freedom Pass.

Friern Road comes under Dulwich Hill SNT.

Lock down- is a non essential service.