Nigello

Two had not been collected near me, so when I saw a van with some trees in the back parked up nearby I let the driver know the address. When I came back home about 45' later they'd been taken (but other trees remain in and around SE22).

I think that some of the pavement belongs to each individual business, hence the non-uniform nature. I just think a little bit of joined-up thinking or cooperation between the proprietors could work wonders, but it would need a person to drive it forward from the council. I call upon Renata Hamvas to explore (but if she is not the right councillor, I will stand corrected).

People who say two-thousand-and-xxx. A former R4 announcer would always say twenty-hundred or twenty-o-six as she said it was logical and easier on the ear.

One - the old bookies' - looks almost ready to open. A worker told me (kind of - he didn't really understand me) that it was going to be a restaurant. One of the buildings getting revamped may be a residential property. I am glad FHR is getting better but lament the crappy, poorly-maintained (but large and full of potential) pavements.

It is a nice spot to view them and not at all busy - perhaps a few dozen/score or so, at least that was the case in the past few years.

Forest Hill (and maybe Honor Oak Park, if I remember correctly) -- E Croydon -- Gatwick is easy and cheap, and you can use your Oyster/bank or credit card for about ?8 each way. Alternatively you can go D Hill -- Clapham Junction -- Gatwick Airport for a similar price and avoiding Victoria.

Gesture politics with no thought for its consequences. Agreed: a good idea that's not been thought through/joined up. Welcome to the early 21st C: one's social media profile matters equally as much as what you are really doing or thinking.

i suggest approaching the head librarian or head of department at the council. It's highly unlikely talking about it here will have an effect, unlike your commends actions in the past.

More fool you, Lynne. If you see a problem you can have a go at solving with minimum fuss you really ought to go ahead and do it. That kind of attitude of yours speaks volumes about what is wrong with society. Ask the loud people to be quiet then tell the staff you've just had to do so as they weren't doing anything. You ease your frustration, possibly getting a result and you express your dissatisfaction with the service. If you CBA to do either you'll then carry on feeling aggrieved!

There was also a set of temporary lights earlier this week, so that may have made it worse. I agree that the deliveries seem to flout the yellow lines and I get the impression that they are given leeway by the council. Good luck with getting a response from a councillor.....

US supermarkets used to have baggers but not many of them do now, at least in big cities. I can see that it would help things move along more quickly (resulting in happier staff and customers and perhaps higher turnover) so the idea of having your goods bagged would be welcome to me, especially in the age of "remove item from baggage area".

Why not just have a word with the staff and the public who are doing the annoying things? Just do it politely and reasonably and you will probably get a good result, even if its's accompanied with a bit of huffing and/or flouncing. (Someone was playing a song loudly on their phone this morning, very early, on the bus. I asked them to stop or to use headphones, was asked "why?" to which I replied "because it's loud, it's early and it's not your living room" and I got a good result and an apology.)

I agree that it is nice to have the odd nice driver, but people really ought to be responsible and cross at the best places to cross - zebra/pelican/puffin crossings. We don't live in Canada or the Netherlands and it is appropriate to use common sense and understand that walking in the road is more likely to result in injury or death than walking on the footpath. When throw a child into the mix, let alone a baby in a buggy, that advice should really apply all the more strongly, whether or not one would prefer us to live in a world where striding out into the busy thoroughfare would always and automatically mean the cars would stop for us - happily and with good grace, naturally.

Caffe Nero vendet bibendum caldus et carus.

I wish some people weren't trying to make political capital. You mean like those who are actually doing it - in the name of (political/fundamentalist/anti-democractic) Islam?

Thanks Is it easy to hire a pressure washer, or even hire someone who will do it? (I'd prefer to here real-life examples on the EDF than go and search it on Google, etc.)

I travel to work very early and therefore often in the dark and am startled and upset to see so many pedestrians dressed in dark clothing and with no reflective strip or anything else to make it easier for drivers to see them. When you add in speeding motorists and jaywalking it's an accident waiting to happen. On LL I have seen men with yound children on their shoulders dashing across the road, even though a crossing is close by. I suppose people think "it won't happen to me".

Thanks - I did think about bleach but am worried about causing discolouration. Other thoughts?

http://tikkostonecare.co.uk/img/img2.png Would hot, soapy water and a bit of elbow grease with a stiff brush be a good way of getting rid of mould/lichen on paving stones, or is there a better way? (Mine is not as bad as the image.)

I agree that the transport issue in and around SE22 is bad and will not get better soon. I wrote to our MP telling her about our woes (reduced number of trains into London Bridge etc; packed buses; spotty policing of cars parked in bus lanes etc) and she passed it onto the GLA, which replied to say that there will be no Tube, no Camberwell Green rail link and no special provisions for buses (such as more services or express versions of existing services). With that in mind I walk more and more, sometimes up to 2 miles from Herne Hill or Denmark Hill just to avoid the overcrowded and slow buses at peak times and to get more exercise and stay calm!

I'm all for clamping (!) down on bad driving and illegal parking but this looks like a form of bullying with the desire to pave the way for a CPZ. I'm sure that some junctions would need a certain length of DYL extension it not all. Much better to employ PSOs or traffic wardens consistently at problem junctions and ask local schools/churches to do more to ask parents/congregation etc to act more responsibly.

I e had good results with Sensodyne - the one that somehow repairs the damage and reduces the severity of the pain. It was on a tooth right at the back where it's hard to get to with the toothbrush.

I would prefer it if prices were raised by 7-10% and tips were then given voluntarily. Very hard to know definitively where tips go. I'm usually concerned whether the chefs, plongeurs etc are getting a cut. Adding a tip automatically is bad practice because it's a form of social bullying as proprietors know most people won't want to embarrass themselves and their guests by asking for it to be removed (even if a cash tip is then left).

I saw a gaggle (five) PCs and PCSOs all chatting away near to a van near to the Ritzy which had a huge TV screen on it, asking "have you seen these men" and showing some images. I have no idea why any more than one officer needed to be there and it erodes my confidence in the service when I see lots of examples of over-deployment.

I asked the fitters about three months ago and a man (very limited English) said it was going to be a restaurant. Whatever it is, I hope it does well.