Nigello

It is really flowing much faster. I know that the recent heavyish rain will be behind this mainly, but the banks have been cleared of lots of vegetation and generally cleared out. It actually looks like a stream (not a river, though).

I think that corporate advertising is going to be with us for a lot longer than the OP wants. I object more to private firms that use railings, etc. to house their own banners, usually tied on with plastic ties that break in the first windy weather, thereby leaving banner to slowly wilt and break down as more ties get blown off. Lost cat A4s on posts, etc. are fine, if a bit sad, but not those ads for men-with-ven or home sales (whose put-uppers never take them down).

I love boring! I live for it! So, to add to the mind-eating tedium I give you the next instalment. Get nice and comfy, Trolley! You know you are loveable and sweet and vulnerable under that sociopathic exterior! Fluffy bunny slippers on, Troll-ey? Good. Then I'll begin. Lindt replied, saying it is likely to do with storage at too high a temperature so I will be getting a fiver in vouchers. (Not usable, alas, at Tesco and CoOp.)

I doubt that any operating protocol would negate the basics, especially when the offender was off site and amongst non-staff members.

I just passed a film crew at Dulwich Picture Gallery. Unfortunately, Penguin68, at least one was not adhering to the basics, which supports my thoughts. It is human nature to want to break free, to not mask all the time, and to think that the rules don't apply to you if you are one of the few groups of people that are being allowed to work in groups and teams, much like they did before the restrictions were in place.

I agree with RoundTable and am glad they are earning and paying taxes but would add that the very fact that they are being allowed to work in this way, when many are not, may suggest they are somehow special and that could, unconsciously, lead to their not wearing masks, getting too close, being excited to be seeing colleagues, etc. I fear that complacency can easily set in in such circumstances though choose to give them the benefit of the doubt because I have no evidence that this is the case. (This applies to all of us - laxness is easy to slip into: just look at how many people are out and about this time compared to the first lockdown, when we had a less transmissable strain and good weather. We stayed in in our droves, unlike now...)

I think the CoOp on LL has got better. The staff are friendly and will go and check for items without making you think you'd asked for their firstborn, and the shop itself is rarely crowded. There are bargains to be had and the CoOp gives to local charities and gives back to you if you sign up for its loyalty card. I don't want and do not expect a red carpet when I go to buy my teabags. M and S is crowded nearly always because it is a small premises after all, and the management have crammed in many items in too many aisles. Staff are on the whole helpful, even if some don't wear their masks properly or at all (which I mentioned to a member of staff who was supervising).

Please could you, Cllr, turn some of your attention to unattractive/vandalised shop fronts, etc. such as those on Lordhship Lane (empty chemist at the corner of Shawbury, for example, whose estate agents I have called) and EDG (the nail shop on the corner which has been closed for a while) etc. Thanks

I welcome them all and also welcome more diversity - not within a type of vendor (food, drink) but in general. I do think saturation point is really near and too many posher (dearer) comestible shops detract from the high street, making it seem more and more the place for a certain type of shopper (eater?) to go. I know this is not a reality but it is fair to suggest that the look and feel of place can put off some shoppers and, by extension, some would-be business owners.

I just got some stuff at the LL branch and there was no problem.

The lane and its environs is obviously suffering, which is why tenants (and estate agents that represent them) must do more to keep the place looking attractive. There ought to be a zero tolerance to vandalism (eg. spraying, etc.) on the part of business owners who often do nothing to make their frontages look nice when the shutters are down. The upper, more commercial bit of Melbourne Grove and that corner of EDG are tatty and some LL shops likewise are messy. The council does clean up shutters free of charge generally - all a business needs to do is sign a waiver. Please ask Cllr McAsh and/or the businesses themselves if you agree. Thanks

The G is guilty of speculation. Surely it would be a better idea to ask the question "is this the book of the year" at the end of 2021? Sounds like a press release story, which is not to denigrate the effort needed to achieve this or the novel itself.

There is tagging and litter at that end of Melbourne Grove on shop shutters and commercial bins, as well as on the shops that are on that corner. If anyone wants to encourage more business and footfall I suggest tackling these problems and keeping on top of them. (And, yes, I have pointed this out to James McAsh, so please, those who say they are invested in the area, please do the same and do something to keep the area as attractive to business as you wish it to be.)

To be fair, it is unknown whether it will stop you passing it on or just reduce the severity of any illness should you catch the virus. I agree, though, that anyone who has had it ought not to abandon the regulations. https://www.wsj.com/articles/does-getting-the-covid-19-vaccine-stop-you-spreading-it-scientists-dont-know-yet-11610989882

I hope you reported it! That sounds almost unbelievable, but one never knows....

https://www.hsj.co.uk/coronavirus/hospital-offered-covid-jabs-on-demand-for-several-weeks/7029346.article

https://www.hsj.co.uk/coronavirus/hospital-offered-covid-jabs-on-demand-for-several-weeks/7029346.article

Hello, Does anyone make/sell postcards, either local scenes or arty, or know of such small businesses, locally? I don't want masses of them - a dozen or so, all in all, every few weeks until shops reopeon. Most of the greetings cards shops are shut, as are local museums, etc. and I am running out. RSVP here or via PM. Ta

I saw about four or so redwings in D Park last week. Maybe there were more but I only clocked a small number.

Ok - it was 70% Lindt that, though usually great, was this time dry, brittle, dusty, musty and wouldn't melt in the mouth. I will not tell you which shop it was but will say that the proprietor was high handed and unpleasant. S/he told me s/he never eats it, to which I suggested s/he ought to start so that s/he could realise what crap s/he was selling. I refused a replacement because I thought I could well get another naff one - the batch or subsequent storage could have been off, etc. which I thought was a rational approach. I've written to Lindt and got an acknowledgement that my complaint is being handled. NB - the expiry date was end of May this year. Watch this space!

One chunk (not eaten, but spat out, though I did not return that bit). Faulty - wrong choice of word but when I wrote it I couldn;t think of another.

Is a vendor (indy owned, not chain) at liberty to refuse a refund and only offer a like-for-like exchange on faulty confectionary, such as chocolate, if it is returned shortly after purchase and almost intact? If it is the law that they can do so, is it mostly likely that they would choose to allow refund of such a low-cost item for good will reasons? (Ie. is that the prevailing convention.)

It's overused and cliched, so I don't use it.

He sometimes tries to "collar" me with some phrase like "mate, nice hat, where is it from?" or "do I do your windows?". Best just to nod and reply with one word, if anything, and move one. He is ill and deserves to be treated as someone with an illness, even if it does coincide with feeling uncomfortable in his presence. I agree it is good to be vigilant but I don't think a digital tar-and-feathering is called for.

I think you should all stop mind reading because, well, it doesn't work! All I can see here is people using what the OP said as a wagon for their own virtues and prejudices. We have no idea why he said they were Polish - perhaps it was because he is a total xenophobe, or maybe it is because he thought that their experiences abroad somehow formed their style of child raising. (We are always told that we mustrecognise and celebrate the diverse nature of people so it follows there must be diverse ways of raising children.) PS Chris could also be a woman, so all those folk who are thinking I am demonstrating anti-female and/or anti-gay bias, don't.