Nigello

It is frustrating and somehow "wrong", though I know that the state cannot afford to pay for everyone, especially as we all live longer (though, perhaps, iller) lives. I think a penny or two on NI contributions is needed but can you see any party offering that on a manifesto? Get saving!

Today I sat outside a cafe in Dulwich Village and saw two cyclists on the pavement. Yesterday I saw three. It happens and it's annoying and selfish and very, very rarely necessary. I also saw pedestrians crossing unsafely and cars speeding. It's not just one group that's acting badly.

I notice that cars, when parked in bays made for several vehicles or on streets, often don't do so fairly. They tend to leave bigger gaps than necessary or refuse to park right up to the end of the bay, leaving just enough room for a motorbike. Do they fear getting wedged in or are they simply not that bothered about their fellow motorist?

I feel very sorry for the barber, whose shop I have been to lots of times and where I always had a good cut and pleasant chat. And yes, "trendy" barbers are on the up - for now.

I'll say it again -- try miscanthus. https://www.terravesta.com (I have no connection to this firm about from having bought its products and liked them.)

I agree with Rendel. You see law-abiding cyclists (the majority of them) made up of teens, older people, parents with children, couriers and non law-abiding cyclists made up of a variety of people. If they burn a red light or ride on the pavement or without lights, it doesn't matter who they are - they're still acting irresponsibly and/or illegally. (I saw four young teens on their bikes go through a red light, all without bike lights, the other evening. Surely their parents must know that their bikes haven't got lights. It would be horrible to think of their having an accident because they couldn't be seen by a motorist/motorcyclist.)

It's good that it is getting a refit but with the same chef. It was looking tired and unappealing - that green moss on the canopy over the door was uninviting to say the least. I wish it well in its new incarnation.

I've walked down the lane from the station to Nigel Road to get a bus a few times since the "bus ban" and have noticed far more "normal" vehicles - the type usually banned - than ever before. Private hire, Uber, vans, cars etc. are driving and parking. If they can, why can't the buses?

More elastic bands are being dropped, I've noticed. I pick them up and put them in the nearest postbox.

It needs a national law to prevent fuel being sold that isn't kiln dried or seasoned. Crap wood = crap air. Try miscanthus if you're keen to reduce the impact on the environment. https://www.terravesta.com/shop/#products

I think it is reasonable to ask people to donate unwanted but usable musical instruments to a school. I also think it is reasonable to consider passing on donated items to other schools should there be too many of them. Otherwise there would be a repeat of the original problem, namely instruments being left unused when others could benefit from having them.

Maybe neighbours could offer to let those with lots of cardboard to use their blue bins? I offer to my neighbours and they sometimes use it, if there is room. I agree that Dunstans Road looks messy because of the lack of space (soemetimes) in front yards/gardens for bins so any extra refuse would make it look worse.

If you were a "regular reader" you may understand better that it is likely to be self-mockery, I think....!

The word "tree" has been sprayed on the pavement on the Upland/Goodrich junction. I hope one gets put there soon. If anyone knows anything more, let us know. Ta

I think the bench at the old CoOp chemist's on LL has gone. Perhaps I mis-saw but it seemed that way.

If it raises money and encourages library use, that's good, but if the inevitable spills and littering are not seen to then it won't be worthwhile.

The bridge over the Peck near to Colyton Road has been cordoned off for ages. Likewise, the area near the Japanese garden has been similarly, ahem, "worked on" for at least six weeks. It's never been a fast-flowing stretch of water. I think they are trying to do something with it; there's a poster in one of the notice boards.

I wss referring to the litter looking aged which suggests that it had been hidden by leaves or not picked up for a long time.

Goodrich, or at least the bits over Barry Road and away from LL, have been cleared of dead leaves. Dunstans tends to be more litter-strewn and some of it looks very aged!

Rails

It would be great if the contractors could remove the warning signs rather than dump them over the railings and in Goose Green itself. (Perhaps they will once the whole works have finished)

Rubbish bins often disappear, more likely than not to reappear, like the one at the corner of Goodrich and CPR which is especially useful as it is on the route to three schools! I pick up cans and bottles, usually about eight or ten a day, just walking around. Give it a go (but wash your hands afterwards, just in case!)

Steaks and fizz (maybe even champagne) into a big Sainsbo's bag at M and S on LL. I saw it, decided to not intervene but tell the nearest member of staff, by which time the alarm had gone off. An M and S staff member told me that someone sitting outside has been known to ring the perpetrator to tell them when the coast is clearest.

It starts and finishes at Nigel Road because, I think, the roadworks at the library end of Barry Rd prevent them from turning around. FYI, Upland Road bus stop going to FH is closed (although one bus driver stopped yesterday and said it wasn't closed).