Jenny1

Penguin68 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I have not > tried the questionnaire myself yet to know if you > can submit if you don't complete the phone and > e-mail sections, which would be another way of > achieving this. > You can. See above.

Siduhe Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > kford Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > They know everyone in the ward from the electoral > roll anyway. > > Does that include people who have opted out of > having their electoral roll information shared? Yes. > > It's disappointing for me that the only way to > participate in this survey is to give away your > personal data for electoral use - something I > choose not to do with any political party. > This is not the case. See above.

nxjen Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Question 6 that requests personal details has an > asterisk besides it which I assume means > compulsory Well I filled in the survey and successfully submitted it without my email or phone details (but with address - which as Cardelia says - they already have on the electoral role). So not 'compulsory', no.

Yes. Old fashioned traps (available from Dulwich DIY) are good. Also get some peppermint oil (Healthmatters or the chemist near Goose Green roundabout), douse cotton wool balls with it and stick them under skirting boards or between floorboards. Won't stop mice nesting if they've already done so but will deter new arrivals from staying.

jimlad48 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > A > lot of people are over analysing what is an > astonishingly clear cut case. Indeed. I'm not sure when the fashion for paranoia about the blindingly obvious took hold, but it's everywhere these days. I guess it was incubated in the US and then spread here? My impression is that much of Western Europe remains fairly immune from it. And along with it has emerged a loss of critical thinking about more complex issues.

Hi TE44. I would certainly agree that we need a society that supports and protects the vulnerable more.

Hi TE44. I share your concern about the overall direction of this government - I think they're some of the least competent people we've seen in power in my lifetime. But I would trust Porton Down to know what they're talking about. Personally I see suggestions that this isn't the case as a bit of a 'red herring'. Don't worry too much about the possibility of war - I doubt anyone involved is interested in an all-out conflict.

If it's the same article I've read - headlined 'What made Sergei Skripal an assassination target?' - then it can be found by googling that headline. It simply explains the likely trajectory of his spying career with some added detail about his family. Could you expand a bit more on the point you're making TE44? I don't quite get it.

rendelharris Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > dbboy Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Corbyn mis-judged what he said > > If you think May hasn't got an eye open for the > opportunities this gives her to get a > statesmanlike boost for her premiership... you're much more trusting > than I. But both things are true, aren't they? In general terms the two leaders are 'Hapless v Hopeless', as John Crace so memorably put it. I wouldn't give you tuppence for either of them. But because they're both so appalling, sometimes one of them only has to put one foot in front of the other in order to look brilliant when compared with the other one (if the other one's having a bad day).

HI RH. Clearly Gavin Williamson is MORE mad. But I still think the tone of Corbyn's comments was ill-judged. There would have been a way of sounding statesmanlike about this. And he didn't manage it.

Hi John L. I don't know what's motivating Corbyn. But the trouble is that his comments sounded at best naive, and at worst a little mad. I can see that the Labour Party has managed to pull its message round on this now - but it's not good enough really, is it? May hasn't completely screwed this one up in my view. Which of course doesn't excuse the fact that she and the Brexit ultras are hurrying us down the road marked 'ever decreasing international influence', without any thought for the consequences.

Quite a number of commentators seem to be drawing parallels between Iraq/WMD and the current Russian poisoning. In my view there's no comparison. In the run up to the Iraq War it was clear that the burden of expert opinion was against the wisdom of the war. The most respected voices amongst chemical weapons experts were unconvinced and people who knew the region well predicted exactly what happened - that a war would lead to the rise of terrorism.

jimlad48 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Disabled bays are a very high threshold to get, > and don't guarantee you can park. We met many > people who have considerable disabilities who were > told by the Council they don't qualify for a bay > outside their house. Most roads had one or two > bays tops, meaning it was easy to not get parked. > > > I fully agree micro-CPZ creep has caused this > issue, Toastrack repeatedly voted no until a local > one came in, then the problem got worse, a second > one came in and it got worse again and then was > unbearable. My own view is either everywhere > should be CPZ free, or everywhere should have a > CPZ - half way houses don't work brilliantly, but > at present CPZ is a good deterrent for commuters > who form the bulk of the problem. > I've lived on Melbourne for 20 years. I don't have a car but I am visited by friends and family who need to park. My disability means I'm not allowed to drive any more. I rely on public transport. I'm very much against CPZs for the area. The reason the proposal was voted down last time was because parking restrictions would have impacted horribly on the local businesses on Lordship Lane and surrounds thus strangling the very thing that makes this such a great area to live.

Yes RH - that would be one way to finance it. Though I'd be in favour of partially funding it via income tax revenue to support a national scheme. The health benefits would mean it paid for itself in reduced costs to the NHS fairly quickly I would imagine.

rendelharris Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > He's a > posturing little prick who seems to think he's the > reincarnation of Churchill. Quite. And suddenly the world - and British and US politics in particular - is full of these people. Always ready with a dangerously witless response to any serious situation. Where did they all spring from? Where's the production line? That's what I want to know.

What we really need is a radical improvement to public transport. Perhaps something like the German proposal to trial free public transport in five major cities.

Well said Sue. Those are good things to be grateful for.

Don't forget to regularly defrost the water you put out for the birds. Greater risk to birds of death from lack of water than lack of food in this weather.

It's possible (though I guess unlikely) that I saw a firecrest in the garden this afternoon. Probably a gold crest - but can't be sure.

That's good to know. I shall keep my eye (and ears) open and see if I can spot them.

Very exciting to see a pair! I shall have to do more research on this bird. Don't know much about it.

Ps re the blackcap. I now discover they're called the 'nightingales of the north' due to their beautiful song. I hope the one I saw this morning hangs around and sings.

Just seen a male blackcap in the garden. I don't think I've ever seen one in the garden before ....maybe my lack of observational skills rather than rarity though. A brief google suggests there are more spending the winter months in the UK now.

I like your 1970s dream/nightmare riff Sue! You weren't a designer on that latest Smiley film, were you? Not a single bright colour to be seen in the whole movie. Really captured the era. And, I have to confess, I still love all that 70s stuff in the right context.

Perhaps one of those sepia-tinted, 1970s-themed nightmares.