Nigello

How sad that so many people should die in RTAs or similar. I see many young people on bikes with NO lights at the front or back, some with no reflective gear and shudder inwardly. Accidents happen in the blink of an eye and can be fatal and or life-changing for all involved. So, people racing up the bike lane on a souped-up e-scooter with no helmet on, etc. are definitely anti-social and potentially homicidal and should be treated as such.

I think the streets are pretty well maintained, as are the parks, vis-a-vis litter and the like. Council will collect flytipped rubbish if you ring or fill in a form. As for dog poo - that is on the dirty, anti-social effers who own them (which also goes for litterers). I think bulky waste is ok for a one off if it is efficient and they come on time, etc. (People can also use Gumtree, Freecycle, etc. for some items.) Trees are well maintained also, so in those respects I think the council is doing well.

Gifting /gifted is nasty and likely dreamt up by ad-men to get us to buy more stuff we and others don't need or want.

You lost me (and plenty of others, no doubt) at "mansplaining". Goodnight and good luck. (Also, it was addressed at "any of you" not you personally, and how the hell am I expected to know or care which sex any of the posters are. Rather solipsistic and bizarre!)

https://www.pensforkids.co.uk/

Elections are in May. Some councillors are already out and about, pressing the flesh. (I saw some on Saturday.)

There is a national charity that collects pens and pencils, cleans them (I am guessing?!) and sends them off to parts of the developing world where they are appreciated. Is there a local body that does the same? If so, please post details or PM. Thanks

It is from 2011 so not sure whether any of that still is valid. If any of you are unimpressed please email your MP with your full name, address and telephone number. Ranting on her, I am afraid, will have zero impact on your care at DMC.

Good value food doesn?t have to mean shoddy, unwelcoming environments. Rye Lane is good and bad in parts and nobody - private owner or councillor - wants to take responsibility for the bad bits.

It is hardly ableism to talk about and highlight the importance of knowing and accommodating (as much as is possible and fair) many different kinds of disability, and therefore not seeing "the disabled" as one big "community". So, if a public transport provider has a limited amount of money with which to provide the most amount of access across the widest area with the lowest cost, etc., certain types of disability may well be more relevant to such constraints. Is it more valid to think about (but not discount or ignore) physical disabilities than, say, a psychological one in the context of such provision? I think so, which does not mean that provision for people with other needs isn't warranted at all.

I have had good results from DMC - and less good ones. Using their online booking form you'll get a phone appointment within a day or two. As for being rung at the wrong time - well, it happens but since when are folk without their phones these days? If your employer doesn't like your being rung by your GP at work that says a lot about him or her especially in pandemic days. A couple of days ago I was promised a repeat referral form via text, which never came. I rang, explained it was the first step of any treatment plan, recommended by a doctor there, and so was therefore important and it came a few minutes later. 7/10 but 10/10 doesn't exist because it is perfection, so not too bad especially when you cut a bit of slack here and there.

THe whole place needs a bit of TLC. It is great the buses are back and that there are still biggish chains - Boots, Poundland, Primark, Superdrug, McD's, Argos but the bit going south from the station is not as lively and rather shabby (litter, vandalised shutters, etc.) Landlords don't seem to want to clean their properties' frontages and so go home and leave it all ugly for those who live, work and shop there.

I saw about a dozen parakeets buzzing/strafing a heron on one side, with a crow doing likewise on the other, about 150 feet up near to Village Square (!) I had seen a crow doing the same to a heron seated high up in a tree in Peckham Rye, near the lake. Don't they get on or could it have been staking out nests, etc?

You spent an awful lot of time and energy writing this, which woudl have been much better spent composing a (less personal) email to you local councillor and the library department (or whatever it is called - you can ring Southwark council on 020 7525 5000 for the correct address). Do it now and you will have done much better for yourself and others than you did with this OTT post.

I think welcoming a stranger with an invitation, a cake or something is valid, but knocking on an unknown person's door to say another stranger has died is contrived and odd. Sure, nod in the street eventually and say "wasn't it sad about Mrs XYZ?" but nothing more, thank you!

I agree. If you want to acknowledge that disabled people are very diverse in all manner of ways, including the types of their conditions, etc. then you have to break down the behemoth that is "disability" if you want to accommodate as many needs as possible. Phsycial disabilities, such as spina bifida blindness, have to be more of a concern to those providing public transport than, say, panic disorder.

As for cleaning trolleys and the like - it is a good thing they do it but to be on the safe side, use alcohol gel after using them and/or wipe down yourself before use. Picking up Covid from a fomite deposited on a hard surface and then transferred to one's eye or nostril, etc. is unlikely, as it is mainly transferred from one person to another through breathing the infected person's exhaled breath at closer quarters (hence the need for space between people and good ventilation to dilute the concentration of virus particles).

Each pillar box has its own code written on the panel. You can ring a number to get through Royal Mail (number on box) and quote it, explaining your problem or concern.

What a calamity. How very unlucky to have had such a lot of problems in two trips. It is not often like that, but I agree there are downsides to using public transport at times. It is a big city and people are not always up to one's personal standards. Stay seated and seethe/sulk or move down the bus, and if it really bothers you and you wish to affect positive change you can use the time you save by driving to write to the bus company to register your dissatisfaction, CCing your MP. Just a thought...

I don't think buses are expensive, especially when you take into account that some fares are subsidised for certain categories. You can bus hop now so can cover a fair distance for ?1.55, for example. I could do with more routes, but don't hold my breath. Thing is, once you have a car you feel the need to use it to get your money's worth (very hard to do in reality because they sit static on a road or drive for most of their lives).

I think those in big houses (I mean, richer people) would have the same number of vehicles even if we had a Tube or even a couple more bus routes that would connect parts of our area that are not on the main LL drag. Disposable income goes on shiny things, often. Maybe they'd have smaller vehicles but I still think they'd be likely to have a similar number of cars. People like them, unfortunately, and are not prepared to go without them. Can't blame them to some extent as our post-war development has been predicated on private transport.

Collections are made but those who collect the mail simply CBA to change the metal plate. Same as those who choose to litter the streets with elastic bands. (Solution - pick them up and put them in a pillar box unless dirty, of course.)

I agree. I don't get too het up. If you are hugger-mugger in a train, bus etc. and no windows are open (easily remedied - just open them) then I would see it as a discourtesy but in a place with, like the TJC, high ceilings and open planned layout, then a cleaner working 6 foot away from me wouldn't make me concerned. Best plan is to curtail any kind of close contact unless absolutely NECESSARY (not desired, like going to a party, etc.), get jabbed thrice, stay as healthy as you can and sleep as well as you can. Others with specific needs will know more about their situation than I do, but this would still go for anyone. Relying on public signals like mask wearing risks not knowing the full picture as to what is needed for prevention/mitigation. If you are concerned, ask to speak to the practice manager and send your comments to them and CC your local MP and/or councillor but please don't scare yourself into thinking things are more perilous than they are. As for wiping down surfaces - Covid is very mainly airborne and the chances of picking up the virus after you've touched an infected surface and then your eye, mouth etc. are very small (at least to my knowledge gained from reading reliable sources, like NY Times, BBC, Time, etc.)

I think we need more of those small electrical item recycling boxes. Yes, it gets full but at least it is there and it urges people to use it next time they pass. And Renata;s post can at least serve as a spur to recycle more/compost more and, ultimately, use less or at least reuse stuff. It is not the council's fault that certain items are not recyclable. It is the individual's fault if s/he CBA to put items in the right bin, which must happen at least some of the time.

Try [email protected] . Mr Erasmus is the boss there, I think. He coudl give an answer.