Nigello

Here is the response, which although not what I wanted (doesn't she and others at the GLA have the wherewithal to have asked this question already?) was at least fast. I don?t have an answer to that off the top of my head ? I know that some borough officers do enforce. We will table a question to the Mayor to try to find out more Caroline I will give it a fortnight and pursue.

Sue, Done - even before your peppish, good-natured encouragement. I'll report back.

Still would like a Tube station, though. I'd have loved one at Peckham Rye (the Rye itself) or at Camberwell, at the very least, but it was not to be. Our transport is not great - at best it is a 6.5/10.

His Lordship the Mayor could easily cut pollution by requiring traffic wardens/police to instruct car engine idlers to switch off or be fined. (Why they don't do this anyway I will never know.) The fact that simple, easily understood and fair methods like this are not used is baffling and depressing - it could be made to happen very quickly, with no fanfare or fuss, so perhaps that is why it isn't!

I really DNK why bottle water is so popular. Granted, it is nice to have a bit of fizzy stuff every now and again, but British tap water is amongst the best. All that pollution from transporting bottles of water when you can get it out of a tap seems ludicrous. Another sign of the mad(wo)men holding too much sway.

There are plants that look similar to JKW. Is this definitely it? You have to look for alternating leaves on the stem and I cannot quite see whether this is the case. http://www.phlorum.com/services/japanese-knotweed/plants-that-look-like-japanese-knotweed/

Interesting to note that some say the charge will be punitive especially on people with less money because they are more likely to have older cars.

If you get a fast train, you can be in York in under two hours, and the station is right in the city centre. ED to KX is easy on the through train from PRye, or there is the 63.

It can only get worse - unless you try to make it stop. If you see the chance to pull someone up over walking 8 abreast/playing their phone conversation on loudspeaker/dropping litter, etc., then do it. You're (you = anyone who is reading this) old, wise and (psychologically) strong enough to take any nasty comeback if you have judged the situation correctly.

It is pretty friendly - even to the extent that kingfisher have been seen in Rye Park, various raptors in people's gardens, stag beetles and hummingbird butterflies, enough bees for several people in the area to make honey. Small gardens help on their own but they also provide a kind of corridor, so when people cement over in a row, or even every few houses, it can make a dent. I'd say SE21/22/15/23 are well served tree/park-wise but more could help.

Could have something to do with people driving too much and concreting over their front gardens to install their cars, thereby reducing the amount of greenery available to host insects (and do other beneficial stuff). Like many things, each of us can help change it for the better but there's also an excuse, eh?

What did they say when you pointed your overall disappointment out (not just the feta)? Sometimes places like to hear criticism, especially at the beginning.

Just been reading in the PP that two lots of new housing, one in Peckham (smaller development, built on a car park) and one further afield (at least three towers of ascending height, one 40 storeys) have been criticised by locals, one of whom (in the case of the former) waxed very lyrical about not wanting to miss seeing vapour trails and puddles. I like whimsy, but much prefer people to be housed in places that aren't miles away from the centre of London in already established areas. Fact is, if you accept that London is an attractive place to live then you have to accept that more needs to be done to house all the people who come here - from the rest of the UK and beyond. Puddle gazing comes a very solid second to housing.

?40 fine - why not get the traffic vultures to apply the law?

Engine idling is very common - in both senses! Once again, it's the individual that is making a negative impact, the same individual who could make a positive contribution by switching his/her engine off. What can be done? A call to the bus firm to report it, a letter to Khan etc., or a friendly request to the idler to switch it off.

Would it not be cheaper and at least as effective to plant trees/bushes/plants in the normal way, rather than this screen? (I speak as someone with no car who walks and takes public transport everywhere so not as an anti-green crank: I just don't see how the expense can be justified in this case.)

vibrant, diverse choice London offers <<< Hackneyed claptrap that serves to disguise (some) unpleasant and antisocial behaviour. Throwing gunpowdered rockets around isn't a good idea.

Good on you. It's not weird to pick up litter that you didn't drop (I do it as well) but it's sad some think it is. The council has a responsibility to keep the area clean and tidy, free from rubbish and overgrown foliage, so do let the local councillor know what the problems are.

I got a message from the tree team, answering my question about why some tree pits had yellow marks around them. It is because they will be being enlarged, so there are no fears about trees being removed.

While it is important to be charitable it is also important to not be fooled or cheated - if only to prevent others from being so. Assuming everyone is mentally ill is dangerous and patronising and stands in the way of getting at the truth and ultimately helping that person. (I have seen the man and he seems, on the whole, lucid and reasonably fit and the kind of person who could avail himself of usual routes to help - the embassy, charities, etc. I tried to talk to him but he carried on shouting about his plight so I couldn't talk to him further.)

I agree with intexas - even if a limited amount of traffic were allowed to return it would make it better for the other, smaller, less protected roads. Agreed - fewer motor vehicle movements would be better for all, but only individuals can make that choice. Over to you, drivers and motorcyclist and vespa riders....!

[email protected] - You could try emailing people here and CCing Cllr Barber.

Pared

Rears

I see parents with children (being carried, in a pram/buggy, or dragged) crossing roads all over the shop. The worst is when they get off a bus and then peer around the back of it to try to assess whether it is safe to cross, when the crossing is just a few yards away. What gives?