Spartacus

Peckman,the pandemic is of course part of the cause and no one is blaming the hard working post people, but as tomskip points out this has been going on since the closure of the East Dulwich sorting office. It was closed to save money and our mail was diverted to an already over capacity sorting office in Peckham so no surprise that they can't handle an increase in volume. The problem is that people will start to question if the post office is a viable delivery option going forward. People need to flood Ms Harman's email / social media accounts to raise our concerns and see what she can do to assist !

Maybe Wales and Germany have it right with a 2 day Christmas allowance only! Interesting that the Welsh are talking about a hard lock down after, wonder if we will follow suit (or go to tier 3 double plus )

Post has been severely disrupted not just here but across the whole network as more people are currently ordering online. The issue of the merging of sorting offices has compounded the problem in this area. Over the years, the post office has reduced capacity to match demand to the point where they are now not able to withstand a surge that a visually impaired person could see coming. What drives me mad is that despite this catastrophic failure, the cost of stamps are going up in the New Year. Maybe this is the death throes of the post office (I hope not) but something needs to happen to stop the post office becoming the Grinch this year

Here's a thought that's been rattling around my empty head over the weekend Southwark want to reduce car ownership to a very low proportion of what it is today, and the LTNs are their second salvo in making it a 15 minute city. There is some consideration for electric vehicles but the council aim to keep that down to car clubs and less emphasis on private ownership. If people are discouraged from buying electric vehicles in this manner, and it's replicated by other councils, then isn't there a risk that manufactures won't be encouraged to invest in developing electric engines thus costs won't come down and the overall benefits they could provide will be negated by people trying to keep their old fossil fuel engined vehicles for longer ? This will potentially have knock on effects to other forms of transport and the development of more efficient, cleaner power units. Only by providing a business model where the manufacturing companies make sales and can afford to invest thus bringing the price down will we see leaps in technology but if no one is buying cars then it's not going to have the gains we all want. Looking at the councils policy, one is tempted to ask are they the new Luddites ?

absolutelizard Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Im not sure i want your enterprise to succeed, ?5 > for some takeaway bread and ?10 for some lentils. > Pull the other one. I guess if you don't like the prices, you can always choose not to buy from them and make your own No one has twisted your arm to buy from them

And following on from Dulwich Girl What about the elderly, disabled and less able to walk or cycle, should they also suffer because a few people benefit from quieter streets ?

I agree Nigello , we shouldn't need a big Government figure to say it, however as big Government figures have told us it's okay to relax the rules two things will happen. A) the majority of people are sheep and will mix over Christmas as they won't think through the consequences. B) when we are in the third wave at the end of January, the Government will be blamed for not stopping Christmas gatherings So whilst we shouldn't need them to say it, if they don't then the backlash will happen when granny or grandad don't make it till next Christmas.

Are we really sure that we should be allowing the rules to be relaxed for 5 days over Christmas, with numbers going up in Kent, Essex and London (as well as elsewhere) ? I know we all want to celebrate and be with family, but shouldn't the Chief Medical Officer and government be advising people not to travel or see family and have a quiet Christmas in their own household group? The vaccine(s) are being rolled out and we've made it through restrictions, cancelled religious festivals and lockdowns so why throw it away now for the sake of a commercial celebration ? Sounds a bit bah humbug but a smaller quiet Christmas may be the perfect gift to your loved ones this year and not giving the gift of Covid. We can still celebrate but in smaller household groups and next year when it's all over have that big blow out Christmas gathering again. What are other people's thoughts ?

malumbu Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Difficulty is that most of you fail to see the > real problem. It is the Xmas tree stall on the > South Circ near to the Harvester, traffic slows > down to turn in or stops to allow people to pull > out and it causes tail backs all the way to Court > Lane. You need to start a campaign to get it > closed down. I bet that Souhthwark is behind this > all. Yes I am being facetious but it goes to > prove a point that traffic flows depend on > numerous factors. I would have said that Everyday > is like a Sunday but I know longer quote Morrissey > for obvious reasons. Although meat is still > murder. Wrong kind of snow Christmas trees ?

Maybe, based on David Mitchell's comment above, he's a fan of "fun with flags" 😃

redpost Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Reasons to reduce car usage: > > 1) health of driver, not walking/cycling Not everyone can walk or cycle, the elderly, the disabled, those with other issues .. the population isn't all 20 to 45 Year olds ! > 2) health of people breathing pollution ULEZ and non fossil fuel cars will kill that argument > 3) people killed on roads More people due from cancer, the flu and medical issues. > 4) Co2 emissions Same as your answer 2 no points for repeating > 5) particulate pollution (brake pad dust, tyre > dust) of the land from runoff Fair point but it's minor compared to answer 2 (thank the stars you weren't around in the 60s when London was covered in smog) > 6) land usage dedicated to roadspace And what should it be used for ? Cycling ? That just replaces one use with another As I said there needs to be a proactive joined up policy involving ALL stakeholders to come up with a solution fit for all LTNs aren't the solution for all, just the few As a side thought maybe we need to stop building more homes and encourage people to move away from London so that the infrastructure can cope , not push more and more people onto it this creating conflict

Here's an obvious question to the pro group Why do we need to reduce car usage ? If it's to reduce pollution then isn't that the role of the extended ULEZ coming in next year plus the stopping sales of fossil fuel cars in 2030 ? LTNs have been shown (as in the case of Wandsworth) to drive up pollution not down Whilst there are no viable improvements to public transport (and saying if the roads are clear buses can go quickly, have you never been in a bus that "is being held to regulate the service") then people aren't going to ditch their cars on cold wet miserable days even for short journeys. Closing roads causes more pollution, delays for emergency services and essential workers all so the council and pro lobby groups can tick a box and get funding. Let's be honest here, the real way forward is for the council to work with the whole community , local businesses, emergency services and transport providers to come up with realistic solutions that work for all.

exdulwicher Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Ex, in the good old days, before LTNs were a glint > in the councils eye, on days when traffic volume > increased be it due to a specific shopping day, > accident or other, it could dissipate down other > roads and clear fairly quickly thus clearing the > congestion and not creating pollution from cars > stuck in traffic. > > No, it just clogs up residential roads that were > never designed for that volume of traffic, > knackers the junctions at each end of them and > gets absolutely stuck solid every time there's a > bin lorry or delivery van along them and nothing > else can pass. Ex so are you denying that the LTNs are causing increased delays and pollution when they are installed ?

Thanks Rockets Very interesting Ex, in the good old days, before LTNs were a glint in the councils eye, on days when traffic volume increased be it due to a specific shopping day, accident or other, it could dissipate down other roads and clear fairly quickly thus clearing the congestion and not creating pollution from cars stuck in traffic. With the introduction of LTNs, that ability to dissipate has been removed and the extra traffic has been bottlenecked into fewer streets causing even longer delays and more pollution. Sadly this is doing more damage than good and whilst people don't like their particular side road being used when traffic volumes are high, it does act like a pressure valve for the road network. Unfortunately the expected evaporation of cars owned isn't going to happen and whilst LTNs are in place we will see a continuation of heavy traffic and pollution thus negating the desired goals of introducing them !

Did anyone just hear something ?

The telegraph are running a story about how pollution was higher when LTNs were in place but plummeted when Wandsworth removed theirs. As it's a paid for content I've attached a screen shot for those who haven't subscribed. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/12/05/exclusive-pollution-rises-low-traffic-neighbourhoods/

KidKruger Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Ha ha, no. You can?t pin pictures to an imaginary > tree ! Does that mean... Oh my I can hardly believe I'm going to ask ... But is Bob also imaginary 😱 ?

Kid, when you said you wanted a picture of the tree with a card saying Bob on it, I had a vision of it being this one : BBC News - Alabama sheriff's 'thugshot' Christmas tree draws complaints https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-55202000

DulwichCentral Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > geh Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > traffic on lordship lane this afternoon - > terrible > > Traffic all over London this afternoon - terrible Have you been all over London today or are you speculating ?

He had said to him "Before the rooster crows today, you will deny the traffic is caused by LTNs three times" and the whole of East Dulwich went out and wept bitterly at the gridlock !

Answer to your first question It will be on a Monday The second question is who knows _/\@/\_ (shrugs shoulders )

Talk to one of the bookshops in the area as they may be able to advise about where to get it published Failing that an e book is always an option through online platforms

Are people who buy them in November going to suffer from needle drop syndrome by Christmas ?

Alternative is to list them on discogs as someone may well be searching for the records you have