Nigello

Re teh shutters - I asked Cllr McAsh to look into it and some shops have either cleaned up their fronts or had the council do it. Please email him. The phone repair shop on the corner looks much better, as doe others, but some simply CBA as they lock up and go home.

Pedestrianisation works well when it is nice, sunny, daytime, summery but when the market stalls pack up, it gets dark and cold (remember, we live in a country where the lights come on at 4pm in the winter) and the businesses pull down their shutters (to be tagged and never, ever cleaned because, hey, the business boss doesn't live there) and the street becomes lifeless, then it doesn't work. Councils in the seventies did a lot of pedestrianisation - it had a smack of the monorail about it - and anti-social behaviour, soullessness and lack of interest followed.

Thirded - good idea, but I doubt a big bureaucracy like the council will implement this. It could be classed as asking worker X to do worker Y's duty, etc. (Eg. an email to the council resulted in a damaged tree branch being cut down - great - except it was left there in the road for a week until I complained and then some other department picked it up, despite its having been passed daily by the litter picker and the bag picker-upper, and having been reported as a done job by the tree department.)

Great news. Next they can tackle the litter and vandalism and then, maybe, just maybe, it will be a fit place for everyone (not just the young and trendy who like a slice of edge with their I P A) to shop and enjoy.

He is so repulsive that he is creating decent products (at inflated prices, somewhat, I grant you), paying taxes and national insurance, improving high streets and creating jobs. What an absolute scoundrel! How dare he have private beliefs that are not totally in line with mine/yours/etc. Cancel him immediately!

I agree. There is usually a hard-core of the same people, which is fair enough, but they'd be there anyway. I don't believe all bookers turn up every day. (I have booked and missed once, and felt bad, and got an email asking me to always turn up - fair enough.) Booking ahead for 2 weeks is not fair on those who want to go on a whim and goes totally against the idea of encouraging folk to exercise.

Chuck, luv, mate, cock, pal, R kid, kidder - all are way better than guys and sir/madam!

Hand sanitiser is really not that useful, is it? Open doors and window, ideally front and back, is what I look for. Dilute the air inside with fresh air gusting in is a good way of reducing transmission risks. Bus windows all ought to be open, same on the train, so if you are inside a cafe, etc. and there is no air, ask them to make some by opening a door.

I don't udnerstand why Melbourne and two parallel streets all get to be stopped to motor traffic - how come it is not just one, or even two? Is it a case of - well, if we just put one in then all that traffic will go down the parallel street, so we must put one there, and then, oh dear, that would mean even more traffic down the one next to that, so let's block that one.

Guys is bloody awful. Chaps, lads, kids, you lot, pals - all are much preferable.

Yes and no: none of us wants to believe that the un-greenest thing one can do is to have more than one child, perhaps two, yet this barely gets any attention. People prefer to focus on the small things (recycling jam jars) and the big things (hypersonic space flight for rich folk) and make an ironic acknowledgement, because it's easier than thinking about all the crap that people buy and don't need/use, or the food that is wasted or the countless short journeys made by cars, etc.

I saw a damselfly that fluttered like a butterfly, seemingly far from the fast-flowing water it usually hangs around. The nearest would be the Peck on the Rye. It was on Darrell Road, near to Underhill https://british-dragonflies.org.uk/species/banded-demoiselle/ . I had never seen one before.

The O P said no space for extra bins - which is correct? I can't see provision for refuse storage being allowed to be exempted, so if that can be fixed, then I wouldn't be against it.

Ring up the coach firm/s in question and complain, or, better still, email them and CC the school head. It will take about five minutes and will have more effect than anything else.

? Wrong thread! @Seabag

Yes, I agree that the rubbish aspect has to be improved on but that is not a reason to deny new housing. Who knows about car ownership - perhaps those who move in won't have a vehicle anyway, or not be that bothered about parking on street? Some developments are egregious but I don't think this is, at least not with tweaks.

Four storey housing on a main road isn?t OTT. My transient fuzzy feeling about how lucky I am to live in SE22 as I swing my bag of Mons cheese and lick my Oddono?s gelato as I contemplate which mid-week art house film to see really doesn?t trump the right of others to live here.

I like mate - it?s better than an antiseptic, performance-formal ?sir?. It?s just not what we say, unless you?re in a few, particular situations. Fine for the US but not here.

It's an unwanted import! Sir / madam in a posh shop or nice restaurant but not on in the CoOp when you?re asking for Toilet Duck or on the 197!

I keep getting called ?sir?, even when I?m not being arrested. (Joke) I know people who say it mean well but I really don?t like it. It?s usually younger people (20s) who add it to the end of the sentence so perhaps it?s my white hair? It just sounds too formal, too American. 🤷‍♂️👴

Did you believe her? I understood there are several options to test in Southwark, at least according to the council email a few days ago. It says you can get tested whether Yiu have symptoms or not but I think you go to different places depending on circumstances.

👋 The app sent a message yesterday saying changes to the way E A operates are coming in. I hope it?ll mean an end to the booking system as it stands for swimming. I think some book and don?t turn up. This is selfish but predictable. Write to the branch manager and CC your local councillor if you want to complain (or praise).

Write to the managers of the branches and CC your councillor.

I saw two swifts on Landells near Sylvester around 7am Saturday.

I'm sure the parents dropping of several kids, trying to get to work or running several errands would love you to tell them how unnecessary their driving is Maybe they could organise their lives a little bit differently to allow for walking, cycling, car-sharing or bus-riding to school, even one day a week. Stop defending ingrained, selfish behaviour. Yes, it?ll be a bit of a drag but if you?re (you?re = any person, not the writer of the above) invested in your health and that of your offspring, whose future may be badly affected but climate change, you would at least consider rearranging your life at least one day out of five.