Nigello

My Niger feeds go uneaten. Incidentally, why the Y in Nygel?

Some of the (to some, welcome) measures at schools are already falling into disrepair. Bollards often come loose and the ones at the back of (ie. on Friern Road) the RC primary on Barry Road have mostly gone and the blocks that make up the perforated kerb at Heber on Heber Road are missing/split. I can see them just withering away because the council CBA to keep them in working order.

A sign says it?s closed, thanking staff and customers.

Rules are helpful. Imagine being knocked down and injured because somebody decided their desire to zip around with no lights, bell or insurance was more important than your life and livelihood, or that of your child or grandparent, etc. Perhaps it?s ?cool? to grouse about the law but I?m glad we have them, on the whole.

Yeah, I?ve seen parent/guardian and young child on motorised scooters on pavement and road. It?s unlikely either is insured so what happens when they cause injury or death to themselves or others? Tragedies are just around the corner and like lawless scooter drivers they don?t warn you they?re coming.

I saw two posties on Dunstan's and Goodrich on Sunday, which is good to see. At least the Royal Mail is aware of the problem of backlog and doing something to help clear it with non-standard delivery days. Well done!

About twenty odd saplings in plastic, protective tubes have been planted on the lower slopes of Dawson's Hill. They don't have any tags on them so I can't ID them. They're welcome but I wondered whether it was a council initiative or one from a private body? Good to have more trees, even better when the planters continue to monitor them over the years so they don't die. Thanks to whichever people organised this.

You cna report it on -2- 7525 2000 and do not have to leave any details about yourself. Generally, Southwark deals quickly with flytipping, dead trees, etc. but it all costs money and has to come from a finite budget. Some people, eh?

Hello - if you know of any charities that accept TV sets, please let me know below. I only would like to know about bona fide charities that are registered with the charity commission. Thanks

There is an interesting report from HK by epidemiologists there which says taht after school lockdowns and still with distancing, reduced hours, ventilation, hand washing, masks, etc. the common cold really took off. Schools had to shut because they were not sure whether it was Covid or not as some symptoms are similar. This also spooked staff and parents, as well as the children, whose education was again disturbed. They say it could happen elsewhere and should be monitored as they expected the rhinoviruses that cause some colds to have been thwarted by the anti C-19 measures. https://www.statnews.com/2021/02/23/schools-may-see-a-burst-of-the-common-cold-when-they-reopen-research-suggests/ Crowded bars, pubs, restaurants and shops, etc. I generally avoid anyway and I yank open windows on the bus but I will be being even more cautious in the future, at the risk of dried hands and a feeling a bit cooler on the top deck.

They're standing at least 3 feet apart in an outdoor space, some with masks on. They are likely mostly to be mainly young, reasonably affluent and professionals (ie. not in any subgroup that is especially badly affected by the pandemic). I think this is OK. I get that people will feel awkward because of the incessant pleas for us to keep apart but if you are outdoors and spaced apart, so be it. (I would not join a queue but go back another time or do without, but for those poor souls who must have their ?3 coffee and ?6 loaf, well, it's up to them!) Even in a time of great plenty and no disease would I join a queue to buy a hot (usually warm) ?3+ beverage that will be drunk in less time than it took to line up but that's our modern economy and people have free will, so each to their own. I would be more concerned about the flow of air in the shop - the front door should be open but is the back door also open to allow a good current of air to pass through? It's easy to look at the big queue and forget other concerns.

I loved A Discovery of Witches. It was, maybe still is, on Sky 1 and also on the catch up Sky channel. It's like a more adult-oriented Buffy, I'd say, with undertones of social justice (but not unsubtle, thankfully) and good twists. On BBC4 via iPlayer try The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. Also, Valhalla Murders on iPlayer was good.

The parks manager and one of the DV councillors responded to pictures I sent them of overflowing bins after one slightly balmy Sunday in lockdown. They agreed that they would need to put more bins in and/or increase bin collections during the day as we get closer to the double whammy of no lockdown and - hopefully - sunny, warm weather. I was impressed they both responded so quickly and with good news, so thanks. (Subtext - sometimes the powers that be do respond to direct communication so pleases give it a try, alongside/instead of EDF outpourings.)

There is a new, large (about 6' x 3') bin for small electrical items in DV, near to the P4 bus stop at the small graveyard. It's the first one I have seen of its kind around here. Perhaps there are others?

I am trying to get my way, yes, in the same way anyone else is trying to do the same. To pretend I am more selfish than anyone else is specious. This section of road is meant to be safer by dint of its having been narrowed. The huge lorries slam over poorly maintained road and houses shake. Again, these are facts. It is also a fact that the school head and teachers do not live near here yet seem to think that they have the right to say what ought and ought not to happen to a part of the neighbourhood that is home to people permanently. To suggest I do not care about safety is incorrect. I have seen what heavy lorries can do (look up Sowerby Bridge accident) and do not think that the council is doing its utmost to satisfy the problems that continuing to allow very heavy traffic along a stretch of road that is patently not designed for them. Lorries of that size do not belong in this road, or others nearby, yet delivery lorries for CoOp and Sainsbury's and other massive vehicles are sent down these roads (plural, not just this one). So, I shall continue to campaign for a solution that addresses my concerns about my property as well as those pertaining to safety. That way, two birds are killed with one stone. Why you think that I have it in for 900 kiddiwinks is beyond me - and probably lots of others who don't have such a florid imagination as you do! Safety is for all, but so is the correct use of a road so that dangers to humans and property are as few as possible, and I think that any right minded individual should be trying to solve as many problems with as few side effects as possible. In an ideal world, heavy vehicles would be made to use Barry and Forest Hill and not this stretch of road, including the normal bit outside Summerhill (ie. the standard width). I believe I am searching for a solution that will tick as many boxes as possible whereas you feel it best to claim a high ground because you've been comparing notes and sniggering with your important council contacts and like to pretend that I am somehow imperilling hundreds of cherubic children because I want to stop heavy lorries from coming past the very building they angelically inhabit (temporarily, of course). Forza!

The school says it does not want a road to be blocked off under council Covid rules to make it more green, less busy, cleaner air, etc. - even though it recognises the problem of too many parents (and staff, if it wanted to be fair) driving to the school by promoting walking, etc. via school newsletters and PTA. Goodrich is narrowed to about 6'6" at a junction with Dunstan's Road, ahead of a (never respected) mini roundabout. Eight-axel vehicles and small children are, IMHO, not a good mix, **but others disagree**, even though the road section in question was adapted to *make it safer for the children*, thereby acknowledging a potential dangerspot, one that with the type and volume of vehicle is worse than it ever could have been 20-odd years ago when it was altered and narrowed. (Eight-axel vehicles sent via sat-navs down unsuitable streets down streets with badly maintained speed humps are not a good mix, school nearby or not. Barry Road, LL and FH Road are there for those kind of vehicles; small roads never designed with huge lorries in mind should be kept for standard-sized vehicles that are not just saving the driver of huge company's lorry a few precious minutes.) Change will come!

The MP did not agree with waht she was told from the council - that is a fact, so please do not say otherwise. She simply quoted a council very high-up, that's all. She acknowledged that the situation was not satisfactory, as did this council bod, who said that further inquiries will be made into all aspects of road safety. Please tell me, then, about your self-interest, for surely that is at least somewhat driving your antipathy towards the original closing off to vehicles. Making out that I am acting selfishly whilst you are not doing the same won't wash, as won't having a temporarily-used building making out that it is the be-all and end-all of how traffic (which runs 24/7/365) should be managed. This stretch of road is not suitable for heavy vehicles. The humps are badly maintained and the road is too narrow so I will continue my "campaign" to keep eight-axel lorries and their like away from what is supposed to be a street that acknowledges the need for safety through its (now rather old and past its usefulness date) narrowing ahead of a (hardly ever respected) mini roundabout. Traffic has increased in both number and physical weight, as has the attitudes of drivers, neither of which could be anticipated but can now, at least in part, be addressed. Onwards!

I have no idea about the other residents, nor do I know (and think you don't know either) what "plenty" means here. The valid and important thing is that the MP quotes a council leader, no less, when she says that the school objected to it. No mention was made of other residents, only the school, which led me to point out the oddness of a school, which ought to have safety of its pupils as a top priority and which has several safety features in place, including a now-obsolete narrowing of road through which large lorries using modern routing technology not anticipated when it was installed, being the body that seemingly has the council's ear. The Dunstan's Goodrich closure was to have been a semi-permanent barrier, much like those in Court Lane and Melbourne Grove, but it was taken away after the hoo-ha over similar restrictions in places that are double lane roads (ie. not narrowed in the name of safety) not as near to the schools as this one is - ie. right outside it. More work is needed but I am confident some kind of restriction will be put in place. You cannot plead safety and spend money installing and maintaining a narrowing of road to then allow eight-wheeled lorris and other massive vehicles sent down it to a mini-roundabout. It makes no sense and I feel confident a right-minded arbiter will agree.

I had a reply from the MP saying that Goodrich School (well, its head and a few others, I reckon as it cannot mean all parents and teachers) objected to closures at Goodrich/Dunstan's on account of the amount of traffic it already has to deal with! Hmm. So, a body that is only there for about 1/3 of any day and then only during term time gets to dictate what happens to a local community citing road traffic figures even though it has no power to reduce that (whcih is what the council and its policies can do). Talk about tail wagging the dog. I shall be pursuing and pointing out the topsy-turviness of this.

I had a slightly (on a scale of 0-10, a 1.5) tender arm where the needle went in and a bit of dizziness for a couple of hours and tiredness after Pfizer, but I think being at home and not able to do normal things means we have more time to pay attention to such mild side effects.

I disagree people are doing their best. I think taht most of us are aware of lapses and just say "oh well, I am doing my best mostly" and let themselves off. It's that kind of self-deception that this virus loves, as do others. I see groups of friends meeting in teh park and hugging, white van men sitting three-abreast with no masks and windows shut, doctors and nurses walking around health centres with ill-fitting masks. It's practically everywhere and then we wonder why the lockdowns don't work....

I agree, BBC, which is why I am concerned about the lack of interest from some shopowners/landlords at keeping their shops as attractive as possible. I have asked Cllr McAsh to get involved and have suggested to the shops that they can get in touch with the council to get scrawl removed free of charge, as long as they sign a waiver. It is the most I can do (and I live at least a mile away but walk there often and use some of the shops). Retail needs all the help it can get (which is why I lament the Ponderosa state of Rye Lane and its pitifual appearance once all the shutters are down and no buses are going along it.)

The chemist?s at the top of Melbourne is moving into the Tessa J Centre in early March. It takes up two shopfronts so it?s absence will be felt. (I?ve commented on the tattiness of that bit of the road with vandalised shopfronts and worry that it?ll look even more unloved once the property is empty. Retail needs all the help it can get.

Hmm, lovely Luca that refuses - as printed on the menu - to give a hot water top-up to your teapot and adds a "gratuity" to the order for table service, unlike other similar establishments on both counts. Not convinced that constitutes "lovely", though I do think it is a good addition to NXR and wish it well (and hope it rethinks its miserly tea top-up attitude!) And yes, I did speak up when I was there (a few months ago so maybe it has changed) so I am not moaning into the ether.

A disunited SNP, more like? We in teh south don't really get what is going on up there from anything other than a London broadsheet or tabloid, or even the BBC and ITN - it is broadbrush when it comes to the regions/nations (probably because time is short on a bulletin and being general appeals to most people, so not knocking them). The nationalists/separatists/SNP/Scottish National Party (different people call them different things) are very popular but there is a large proportion of people who are fed up of them, especially the leadership. I hold no side but just ask that people educate themselves more on the positives and negatives of any nationalist party, even if it goes against what you believe. Next week should bring more attention to the workings of the SNP, if not its policies.