Nigello

Six or seven young women in PR Park, hugger-mugger, very unlikely from the same households, squeezing together (inches apart) to get past others. I know the virus is less transmissabe in the open air but if they are flouting the rules about meeting up then what else are they choosing to ignore? Some people just can't help themselves...

I like the idea of communal bins but there are more people living here, I would say, and not all are as genteel as the good burghers of the Scottish capital. We produce too much waste. Use this time of missing bin collections to think on...

The weather was very bad last week and it was slippery underfoot, even with the (patchy, it has to be said) gritting by the council. I agree that it is preferable to have bins, especially ones with food wasted, emptied as scheduled but also get that the council could have caused injury to its employees and damage to property had it gone out in the bad weather. It is a great opportunity to realise how much stuff we throw away, even the "nice" rubbish, like old cabbage and plastic packaging....

It is a real problem, especially for blind and disabled people, and/or those taking care of children, to be hit in the face with branches or forced to go into the road to avoid them. I think the council should pare them back, willy-nilly, if householders don't do it themselves. If we want to persuade more people to walk then lots of things, some of which may look trite, are important to consider: pavement conditions, bins blocking footpaths, vandalism of properties/street lighting, etc., absence of greenery all matter.

I agree that the mini music festival on that particular site is a bit Marie Antoinette. I would prefer the money used to help make the stretches of road that are now closed appear less "redundant". Bigger planters could be put in, trees planted, etc.

James, please could you let me know (via PM if you like) what your thoughts are re improving the appearance of retail areas, namely by offering Southwark's services to business owners to clean up their shutters, walls, etc. Is the council still offering it? If so, could you let the businesses know as part of your councillor duties? Thanks

You cannot guarantee anything without proof. I hope you never find yourself on a jury! The verbal attack was wrong and deserves punishment because it was seriously damaging to the victims' wellbeing and against society's basic principles. That does not mean that conjecture and projections instantly become true! Anyone who is interested in knowing what comes of it can ask the OP via PM, otherwise it is just fantasy. I hope they both recover and that the perpetrator is punished, which I suspect will happen.

I disagree that calling someone a name is worthy of taking someone's job away from them. I think that everyone deserves a chance to express regret and to make amends, and be punished accordingly, like being put on warning, or losing a portion of one's wages, writing to express regret, making a donation to a charity, etc. (I can "tick a fair few boxes" and would not like it at all if a person who called me a derogatory name in the street had his or her job taken away for a one-off offence.) I would want him or her to apologise in writing to me and for the employer to assure me that punishment was given. The witch hunt aspect of the current discourse (going from 0 - 80) is evident when people demand the ultimate penalty available for a first offence.

"Wokery" has become a hobby and a lifestyle for many. It won't last. Something else will come along and the fast-clicking "first-to-like" types will leave it behind. There's a kind of corporateness to it, a sort of mass-scale aspect - there are unofficial but strictly adhered-to checklists of good and bad and every effort has to be made to show you are with A and against B and any absence of such demonstration is an indication you are siding with the baddies. Social media has permitted the fast and furious spread of the fight for social justice but it seems flimsy and shallow to me, which is a pity as real change in certain areas is needed. Just be nice and don't apologise to yourself or anyone for being short, black, gay, academically gifted, double-jointed, blind, - it is just the way you are and you, despite your feelings of "empowerment" and "agency" and other such buzzwords, cannot change your genes and nor should you. Attitudes can alter, of course, but most people are fundamentally OK so don't beat yourself up if you are not able to turn yourself into a shining example of the W-word, let alone maintain it.

I don't agree that companies don't take action. I would bet that there will be an investigation and the culprit will be reprimanded, especially it is now in the public arena. I don't think it is a sackable offence but he should be chastised, asked to apologise and perhaps be told that any further problems could result in his sacking. I agree that despite our liberalness, gay people of all ages don't like the idea of being demonstrative in public places, which is a shame. Onwards!

I agree it is good to do good stuff locally, but this case of a tree or two may be the clicktivism you refer to. It is a fact that sometimes, rarely, trees have to be lopped or chopped because of danger to humans. I think Southwark will be able to offset the damage to an extent, such as planting several new trees. If you really want to make an impact locally, somethign that is quantifiable and easy to most people, plant a tree or two in your garden, pick up litter, report fly tipping and vandalism, etc. to the council, walk more, turn off the lights, turn down the heating, buy less, etc. I think this is much more valuable than spending lots of time and effort on two trees that have had a long life but which are endangering human life, situated in a wood of thousands of trees of similar size and age. Context is everything.

Report it to Veolia (sp) and say you have informed the police and your MP (which you can do here, remembering to include your full name, address and phone number). https://www.writetothem.com/ Onwards!

Thanks A I am not an arborist. I am not an engineer. I like trees and nature and do a bit each day to help it (clearing litter, feeding the birds, gardening without chemicals, walking, not driving). I also like people not getting maimed or even killed, so I err towards safety of humans over everything else. I won't be signing, despite my green credentials generally.

Please can someone who is not invested in either side explain the pros and cons of cutting down these trees. Then I may make a decision to sign a petition.

No blackbirds, jays, sparrows, tits, etc. just pigeons, and mainly bog standard, not even wood! I have seen very few birds apart from pigeons in my garden, though I did have a crow twice last week, which I have never had before.

I have a tree - now about seven foot high and sturdy but still spindly - that is a hazel, I think. It's surprising that a hazelnut could have got to this small area of soil. I don't put them out for birds to feed on so either a jay or a squirrel is the way it got there. I'm pleasantly surprised that it took root and is flourishing all on its own (though, of course, I understand that that is how nature works)!

Re the camera issues - I had the same response when I asked for more controls on stopping massive lorries routinely using their GPS, etc. to squeeze down an already narrowed section of Goodrich Road, right next to the school. An LTN was planned for Dunstan's and Goodrich - right next to a 900+ pupil school - but some people's objections to LTNs in places with no such safety concern made the council rethink this location. I asked for cameras to be installed to stop the lorries on pain of fine, or a proper narrowing chicane but was told the cameras were expensive and it was not mentioned further. I am still pursuing it and hope to see a reversal of the LTN plan (ie. for it to be put in, as orignally suggeted) or some other method to stop 8-axel vehicles bombing down this stretch of road that was already narrowed because of safety concerns. So, yes, the cameras = too dear thing is not just a one off excuse.

Much of Dunstan's (Dawson's Hill side and a bit near the school) is gritted, as is Mt Adon park and some of LL near that road, as well as part of Gallery Road. It's spotty, so are people helping themselves or are the gritters doing it? Are we permitted to use the grit that is there in the boxes? I suppose we are because the roads are gritted by vehicles. Any answers?

I think the old fashioned idea of chucking salt down in and around one's property is valid, or is this now deemed legally and physically (as in physics) wrong?

The road that links Underhill and Wood Vale, cemetery side. The graveyard itself could have done with some also but IDNK whether the staff there are on shift.

Clap emoji I saw some pavements well gritted this morning. Are we "allowed" to use the grit ourselves?

It's a long road, where are you?

How does the council manage to compost such a wide variety of foodstuffs, I have wondered. We can put fish, meant, bones, skin, etc. in with teabags, fruit peelings, etc. Does it go into a massive hot composter?

Is there a small, registered and honest charity that would like a small contribution made up of lots of pennies and two pences? It's not likely to amount to more than a tenner and they'd need to change it and send a receipt. PM me if you are that person. PS - no charity that is exclusionary and/or is religion-based is welcome.

I think flags are useful but can be abused. I also don't like the idea that it is ok for people to be lauded for waving, say the saltire, but not the union flag. (Eg. people who like the idea of an indy Scotland and the associated manifestation of that through flag waving there but decry self-determination for Britain outside the EU and any linked showing of the union flag).