Nigello

seems they are not that interested. Did they take a statement?

BBC report on the So I Can Breathe output online and it said masks don't work, at least the ones that are generally available here. The best we can do is to avoid idling cars, walk well away from the road and stand back whilst waiting for a bus or for the green man at a crossing, etc. It is a problem that has been getting increasing recognition, which is good. Whether or not anyone will use the power they have in their hands - reducing car journeys, turning off engines when not in use, making sure their fires are using the right kind of fuel, etc = remains to be seen.

Titch - I agree that Peckham is not a shit-hole but (small) parts of it are, and bits of Rye Lane are included in that sector. To claim that it adds "edginess" or "vibrancy" is patronising and condescending: one person's "coolness" is another person's banal (eg. shops selling yams or gallon-bottles of Vimto; West African hair salons and barber shops are just workaday venues for the people that use them often and out of necessity, not a colourful backdrop and warm glow-giver to Instagramming bien-pensants). Roll on the rail station's revamp, Iceland's bridge (yes, really), Khan's reinstallation of the art-deco atrium/roof and the continued opening of small shops, bars and cafes etc. Down with rotting fruit and veg, bird-trapping tumble weave and post-pissup vomit ponds!

Had the shops been, say, general stores or haberdashery shops or workaday cafes or locksmiths or pie and mash places and were not linked to a minority, C4 would not have been interested in the slightest. It suits their audience and their outlook. That is not to say that I have no sympathy for anyone forced to move, but I agree that if we accept that Peckham (or anywhere) has changed a lot then why should it not change some more? I look forward to a cleaner and greener Rye Lane and a scrubbed-up rail station. It's pretty grim in parts right now. Keep Khan's mall, Bussey etc, Asda, the butcher's shops and individual greengroceries et all, plus the chains and the cafes, but just make it look less like Quatermass (especially of a weekend morning).

Hydra - light rail to Piraeus then a 60' ferry (fast) or 3 hours (slow) thought there are other ways but may involve a car trip then a shorter ferry.

Where is Mons going to be?

Why not take a picture, and send it to Sainsbury's as well as a local newspaper on Twitter? May get some action. Or write to HQ and say you are sending a copy to the local MP and leader of Southwark council.

I use Vicks or even just Vaseline in my nostrils and it helps a bit. Walking well away from the road and standing back as far as possible when waiting at crossings or for the bus helps and dusting/vacuuming/boil-washing sheets and towels often is a help. Pollution is bad and I am glad that more people are aware of it. Mind, when I very politely asked a man to turn off his idling, diesel engine as he enjoyed a cigar (with all windows closed - must like smoke a lot) he told me to ask the same of all the people who were in their cars but not stationary, ie. driving. Lovely!

Supplicant

I have heard that William Hague is very good - wry, witty, bit gossipy but you'd need to make sure he was right for the audience. Ruby Wax could be fun, as would Mary Beard - but in a different way. Peter Tatchell would get people talking, at least, even if they disagreed with him. I could listen to Jeanette (sp?) Winterson and Barry Humphries and Boy George and, er, Floella Benjamin (I know it sounds odd but she'd connect well with the over-40s) but ultimately, you have to think mostly about who will be there and what you think they'll want.

Monday nights/days at Picture House are cheap: All day Monday Except Bank Holidays Adult ?7.00 Member ?5.00 Retired ?7.00 Retired Member ?5.00 Student ?7.00 Student Member ?5.00 Child ?5.00 Family ?19.00

Sally Eva - tell me more!

I am really uncomfortable with faith schools being in the mix here. If a religion/way of life is important to you, make sure your children get to know about it at home and in the wider community but not at a state-funded school. The nauseating altar-crawling that some parents put themselves through to pretend to be a believer to get a child into a certain faith school goes against the ideas of honesty and humility that religions profess. Ditch the GCSE/A-levels, go for a nationwide (including Scotland) form of examination that includes vocational and practical aspects/options and let students do BAs/BScs in two rather than three years.

--Wound the window up though. Ha! Nice line, nice timing.

You could fold it up and put it in the blue bins, and those of your friendly neighbours!

Are cars allowed to park on the (very wide) pavements there? I thought that if there is no dropped kerb, it's not allowed. I have seen them and wondered whether there are exemptions on that parade (near to Dunstan's Road).

And even with that approval, make sure the fuel you burn is the right stuff and that it is not damp. (Or buy lots of candlea and wear an extra cardigan!)

I really, really doubt that (even well produced and - equally important - well maintained) banners will "enhance the shopping experience" to any great extent. Far better to persuade/impel all businesses to keep their houses in order, extending opening hours, co-operating (perhaps in the form of tie-ins and mutual support). All of that could be done without any council input but it require s bit of gumption and vision.

The man at N Dulwich today was useless: had no idea when the next train was, how many an hour, how long they take. He just pointed at the far corner and said "there's a timetable there". I told him I was not impressed that he did not know the answer to three basic questions.

Thanks, Ingrid and to bilksy for spotting it.

(NB - This is not meant to draw any parallel between characters in the skech and any real person, living or dead, in any shoe shop.)

I think the powers that be want to promote the use of Oyster/contactless, at least in the short term, so that is why it is cheaper not to book ahead.

PSCOs and traffic wardens ought to be able to demand engine idlers to switch off or to fine them. Can't agree that Sadiq Khan is on the ball, but on this he is getting it right, though I'd prefer to see some iron fist within the velvet glove of green buses and cycle paths, etc: fine those companies, drivers, constructions firms, hygge-loving woodburners etc, that are not acting within the law. Otherwise, we should all walk more and drive/be driven less.

I walked from home to Brixton Tube yesterday and saw the banners that have been produced for Herne Hill (along the 37 route, past the lido), and I have to say I quite liked them. They were uniform in style, seemed to be pretty robust, and displayed local attractions/aspects of history, etc. The style was a bit hackneyed for me (Art Deco-update/pastel colours/lino cut) but there were enough of them to create an impact and they were interesting, not badly distracting. Whether or not they should be in place on the narrower street of Lordship Lane, which is already feeling a bit closed in and narrow in comparison, is a question worth asking often.

I have emailed her and James Barber.