Nigello

I saw one of these on C P Road earlier this arvo, nearer to the Goose Green end. https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/brimstone This is the first butterfly I have seen this year.

Homosexuality is to do with sexual and emotional connection. Transgenderism is to do with one's identity. The two are not linked, really, but in the olden days there was a kind of kindred spirit (helped by the gender blurring that went/goes on in gay circles, perhaps in blatant revolt against the prurience and prejudice gay people faced). So I am not convinced that the two go together. Sexuality is sex based - a homosexual wants to have sex with the same sex, and has nothing to do with how a person believes he or she ought to present his or her body (ie. it is his or her own reality, going on in his or her head, not that of the wider society) BAME has been ditched as being too much of an umbrella term. Perhaps the same will come of the ever-extending (and self-appointing) alphabet soup of LG+++++++++.

Stonewall got what it wanted, on the whole, with gay rights and got equal marriage, so at least some say: It more or less lost its raison d'etre. It had to, to be able to survive and ideally prosper, pin its flag to another mast. Hence the "shakedowns" or "instructive education" - take your pick - it has instituted with partners, some of whom have now distanced themselves considerably from Stonewall. Some say that the debate - most of it on social media and imported from USA via "progressives" - is actually the work of Russian subversive agents who are keen to foment divisions so that the west become distracted and divided, all the better to show the value or the anti-western way of life, such as in Russia or even China. Some say that is rubbish and the rights of a tiny minority to self-label and to insist their view of themselves be repeated back to them by all ought to be fought for, lest an absence thereof bring down everyone's freedoms.

I also have noticed this and spoke (nicely) to a driver at least six months ago who said that was the way it had to be to keep the refrigeration going, so I took him at face value. Could be a different driver this time but the management at the pub ought to be informed. (Please contact them as you are the one to have witnessed most recently; you may be able to bring about a change for the good.)

Well, it can hardly be said to be an inviting retail or banking space, can it? Perhaps if the place kept as well as Walworth Road more people would go there. (Yes, HSBC is the one who decided to close it, not the council, but perhaps a bit of TLC and a tidy up would create a more welcoming and less-Threads experience.)

I am in favour of all people - drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, wheelers - obeying the law and acting responsibly and properly when in/on their vehicle/wheels/feet.

I think it is a societal thing, whereby people in "power" have been told that they ought to practically fall over themselves to be just like their client/customer/patient so as not to highlight any class or cultural gulf. It's claptrap, of course, and very patronising to the people "not in power", who seemingly can't cope with a man or woman in a whitecoat saying "Hello Mrs X, I am Dr Y and I will be treating your Z today. Please take a seat." etc.

Agreed - hold tight and put on another jumper/pair of socks/etc. Seriously, though - do an audit of your daily energy needs and see where you can cut down. It can only help, even if just a little.

I had thought the huge puddles after rain tehre were to do with drains but was told it was to do with this pipe problem. I am still sceptical as the rain did definitely mean there were bigger puddles than during dry periods. Anyway, it took an eamil to councillors and the env. department to get something to happen. Do they rely on the public, etc. to tell them or can they tell when there is a leak of any importance? If so, do they triage it and just leave some to Carry on Leaking?

Those strips can tell the difference, I was told by those installing one set, between heavy and light vehicles, two-wheels and four+ wheels, cyclist and pedestrian, etc. (They said a certain amount of air is sent down to a reader once the wires are compressed and the reading depends on weight, wheels, etc.)

Lameduck - I am with you on the lack of safety from at least some (a sizeable minority) of cyclists. So many - even the "nice" ones with baskets and dangling children, with pink vests - go through reds and many others (especially the delivery cyclists) scoff at front and back lights. The more of us who are cycling, the more of us will be at risk of these bad apples, so it is reasonable to ask for best practice to be adopted alongside the measures being put in place to expand the number of non motor-using road users.

I think it is to do with the idea that the NHS, love it or adore it or loathe it or merely just accept it, is a public and national service. In the US, where you pay dearly, you expect and even demand the personal touch. (I suggested the obvious because so many people just go along with the status quo and are reticent to stand up for themselves, even in the relatively benign example of asking a doctor or dentist to ID him or herself. It should not be a concern but it is, unfortuately, and that is because of attitudes and misconceptions on both sides.)

If in doubt, ask. They won't be offended if you inquire politely.

Back on topic - good diction and effective communication does not have to have anything to do with accent. Some native speakers I know are not a patch on those with English as a second language, who have taken more care in understanding and being understood.

Yes, Go for LG or Samsung - great quality and you can get "smaller" screens with decent sound and 4K. (More and more shows, inlcuding on BBC, are being made in this format, AKA UHD.) I got mine from John Lewis for around ?250 about 18 months ago but I bet some are now cheaper.

Thursday - you can save energy and at least some money by filling in the gaps of your floorboards with https://stopgaps.com/ , and also by lining curtains, blocking draughts around doors and windows with tape, etc.

Bumble bee, honey bees and various hoverflies are about.

There will come a time that cycling will be so normalised that subsidies will no longer be acceptable to most people. I would hope that those who can afford a bike (and who are not spending money therefore on petrol, car maintenance, public transport) woudl be willing to pay a ?5/month fee for their locker. Seems reasonable to me but I am sure others woudl have different ideas.

Sturgeon is good with a script but perilously bad when challenged and she doesn?t like the dir3ctiom of travel.

Sleepy-looking toad clambering over paved ground in a front/side L-shaped garden near Friern/Goodrich. Looked rather skinny.

I?ve seen some taking crumbs from under caf? tables in the the Village - very bold and likeable.

ANd if not paid by DD? Anyone know? Ta

Could someone please "boil" this? (ie. reduce it to the facts in chrono order?)

J Vine will be featuring this between midday and 2pm (perhaps 1pm) today, Wednesday, on BBC Radio2.

i never dreamt taht cycle-path hoggers would let tyres of SUVs down - it never entered my head. "Family types" suggests that as you have a kid or two and are in a wealthy area of London you are therefore allowed to transgress more than non-married, or - shudder - divorced or barren folk with less cash to splash!