Spartacus

If you've ever been asked to identify yourself online then services like the post office verify service check you are who you say you are by looking at your existing digital documents and information so I suspect services like this will be used rather than the sort of vetting done by police and other key organisations.

Look on the large directional road signs where the black and white circle "ULEZ" has been added. It seems to be an add on to the existing large signs rather than a new sign cluttering the drivers vision.

I noticed over the weekend that road signs have been amended to show ULEZ entry points. Not convinced it's clear to outside London drivers as its a white circle with a black border and ULEZ in black. Didn't really jump out as to what it is in my opinion.

If you have a passport or driving licence (both of which are linked) then there is already a form of digital id out there for you. Add to that credit / bank cards and loyalty cards plus other schemes and your digital footprint is complete. I can't see the problem with having an ID card (be it digital) as unless you have something to hide then you have nothing to fear Plus it may well sort out social media as trolls will have no where to hide 😱

I'd your car isn't compliant, You pay a daily charge for going out and if your return is on a different day you then incur a daily charge again on return

Try calling our SNT officers and asking them to verify it's genuine. If the information is actually required it can be presented at a police station rather then through the post to remove any doubt for you.

I'm curious Were any councillors or council officers there to see the level of protest going on ?

I've long held the belief that the big supermarkets aren't as good as the concept we were sold back when they started expanding (late 70s onwards) They promised us a one stop shop for cheap goods, yet to achieve that they built a monopoly of buying from farmers, requesting perfect shaped and long life fruit and veg or pushing farmers into battery produced meats / poultry to keep costs low enough to satisfy the supermarkets buyers to give their shareholders a profit. Farmers, in an attempt to satisfy buyers, often have a large wastage of fruit or veg that doesn't fit supermarket packaging and it was only when this was highlighted did the supermarkets come up with their masterstroke of selling "wonky" products. Only when the public cotton on do things change - a good example is battery hens to free-range or barn hens but with an increasingly higher cost to the public. Another good example is that years ago tomatoes had flavour when you bought them from your local greengrocer, they weren't perfectly shaped and there wasn't wastage at the farms as there was no requirements to sell conformist products. In markets in Spain, Portugal and so on, the demand for perfect looking products that are easy to package isn't the driver for the farmer or consumer, the drive is for taste and good quality not beauty. With the rise of supermarkets, there was also a rise in ready meals which are bulked out with cheaper products or made to fool the brain using empty calories and giving us hedonic hunger to make us desire and eat more (normally caused by fat and sugar combinations) this in turn has a partial negative effect by adding to the obesity crisis. The ready meals in moderation aren't necessarily a problem but the cost factor (they often work our cheaper then buying the ingredients to make it yourself) means sales of them have shot up over the years. Don't get me wrong, there is a place for supermarkets, but they have over the years removed choices including less independent greengrocers, fishmongers, butchers who all sold fabulous in season products thus making them more sustainable and better overall value. They have had a renaissance of late but in order to compete they have become more specialist (organic veg, sustainably reared meats ...) because the farmers who would have supplied them are either gone or now in exclusive supermarket contracts. Overall, they best way to get to a more sustainable food market is to use local resources more, and less reliance on supermarkets. As demand for local businesses grows, more will open and farmers will start to supply them with the sorts of goods that our continental neighbours get from their local markets.

The media's use of the word "Crisis" at the end of everything which seems to be their form of a punctuation mark to sensationalises what they are saying. Are we in danger of approaching a Crisis Crisis? 😱

legalalien Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > See > https://metro.co.uk/2021/09/29/dulwich-fireworks-n > ight-goes-green-with-virtual-bonfire-and-sparkler- > ban-15333961/ > > Big screen bonfire instead of the traditional wood > burning thing. > > Apparently Dulwich is known for its trendy, > cosmopolitan and right on residents. > > https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/16273408/firework-di > splay-bonfire-replaced-big-screen-tv/ It's going to be a disappointment to those hoping to do baked potatoes or roasted marshmallows on the night 😱 To be honest, better to have nothing then a fake bonfire in my opinion

alice Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The parallel bike route is always virtually empty > when I?m on it. Actually think it?s faster. Any > ideas why people don?t use it? A perfectly legitimate question Alice and possibly key to allowing bus users and cyclists to both have their cakes and eating them

Interesting last few posts. My thoughts on delivery are along the lines of: The harder it is for local residents to get to certain shops (be it bike, public transport, car or foot) so that they can do a multi store shop, the more likely it is that they will get the same item(s) they were shopping for delivered. This potentially removes one car journey to say Croydon or Bromley town centres for multiple items to then be ordered online from big faceless corporations to be delivered to one single address by multiple delivery companies. Even worse if the consumer is out resulting in multiple redeliveries being also required. Are LTNs addressing this elephant in the road or making it harder to do the one centre shop thus driving up the number of delivery vehicles ? I suspect it's a bit of a 50:50 scenario and whilst we all want to shop more locally, there are times when going further afield to bigger shopping areas is a must. Bet that effect hadn't been considered in all of the LTN arguments 🤔

Nigello Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If I have a fixed price tariff with a big > supplier, does the price cap rise mean my bill > will increase before it ends? I think the price cap only related to variable rate tariffs and your rate will increase , possibly dramatically, when your fixed period comes to an end. It's worth watching the market near the end of your fixed term and grabbing a bargain if one pops up when if you pay an exit fee on your current tariff The difficulty is if your fixed period finishes soon, do you refix at a high rate or swallow the pain of a standard tariff and wait for global wholesale prices to drop (if they do )

Watching the news about the price cap that came into effect today and with gas wholesale prices still going up there's a risk a lot more energy companies will fold before the end of the winter. It begs the question that if the supplier pool collapses to a certain point, will the government be forced to step in and create a new national not for profit energy supplier?

I'm loving the viral videos going around of Americans when they had a "gas" crisis The one with the lady filling plastic bags then putting them in her boot is only surpassed by the guy filling a tarpaulin in the back of his pickup for stupidity. Thank the stars that we are more sensible and only create a crisis by panicking over a minor initial disruption at a few petrol stations 🤔 If everyone stopped panicking and filled up only when they needed to (like normal) this thread wouldn't even exist 😃

Don't Panic Don't Panic there's plenty of petrol to go around if no one panics

tedfudge Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > @Spartacus > > Re: Petrol stations > > Posted by?tedfudge?Yesterday, 01:15PM > > > My wife just filled up her car as I need it for > work .. she qued up at asda in old Kent road for 1 > and a half hours and people trying to push in she > said there are people marshalling but drivers > arguing and fights breaking out.. she said she > drove down towards asylum road and petrol station > was open with only 6 cars there and no ques .. if > anyone needs fuel that may be a place to try... on > a different note I'm in Barry road and sure I can > smell fire from some where its very strong.. wife > said she saw 6 fire engines and racing somewhere > but not sure where to . And edited by you today to change "my car" to "her car" It may be a genuine mistake by yourself but you clearly said in the post yesterday that she filled up your car as you needed it for work 😱

tedfudge Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It's ok sorry I do know where you mean EDR.. > passed there this morning and it was closed.. will > pop round and have a look. Thank you Didn't your wife fill up your car yesterday for you Ted ? That's what your post at 1.15pm yesterday said If so are you at risk of fuelling the shortage by keeping your tank super topped up ?

Keep clinging to your fantasy about LTNs RahRahRah. My fantasy is that I'm married to Kylie Minogue but that doesn't make it any truer than yours 😭

heartblock Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Wow - only 800 people wanted to keep them...it's > not a vote of confidence is it! I can't verify it, but didn't the council extend the deadline for the consultation then go out lobbying for a supportive result and (this is the bit I can't verify) from groups representing interests outside the area ? If so then they really did misjudge the mood of the masses 🤔

For those who can't get past the firewall Two-thirds of residents oppose low-traffic neighborhoods Transport Secretary urged to abolish controversial green schemes after council survey reveals strength of community backlash By Steve Bird 25 September 2021 ? 3:20pm Grant Shapps is being urged to intervene to scrap a series of low-traffic neighbourhoods after a council survey found two out of three people wanted them abolished. Between 64 and 69 per cent of people living in three areas of South London where roads have been closed to try to promote walking and cycling told a Southwark Council consultation they were against the schemes. And, in a damning indictment of how low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) can hit local businesses, 58 per cent said they use nearby shops less because of transport problems. Despite the research, town hall bosses want to keep the LTNs in Dulwich Village, East Dulwich and Champion Hill because they claim they have decreased traffic by 10 per cent while increasing ?overall? cycling by 66 per cent. 'Undemocratic and unfair' Now residents and businesses fighting the schemes have written to the Transport Secretary urging him to withdraw ?770,000 LTN funding because the authority was being ?undemocratic and unfair?. The council?s consultations between May and July saw more than 7,000 people respond, 5,538 of whom were residents living within the LTNs. A council report says ?the majority of respondents, both within and outside the consultation zone, did not feel the schemes were achieving their aims? despite ?some evidence of a shift from car use to walking or cycling". It adds how ?the majority of respondents? wanted the streets to ?return to their original state?. Key issues raised include ?displacement of traffic and pollution onto other roads?, increased congestion and journey times, ?difficulties for older people and people with disabilities? and ?concern at loss of access for emergency services?. Of those living within seven separate sections of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich and Champion Hill LTNs, more than 3,000 people (between 64 and 69 per cent) wanted the road closures scrapped, compared to about 800 (17 to 23 per cent) who wanted to keep them, around 400 were calling for a different scheme and 500 wanted the LTN modified. Meanwhile, 4,087 people (58 per cent) disagree with the suggestion that road closures encouraged them to use local shops more, with only 2,080 (29 per cent) agreeing with the statement. 'Catastrophic downturn in sales' The report says ?a significant proportion of business owners and [their] staff would favour a reduction in restrictions?, after 4,157 people (64 per cent) said one LTNs had created a bad ?trading environment? in the area, with just 1,403 (22 per cent) believing it had improved. Hazel Broadfoot, chairwoman of the Dulwich Village Association which represents 30 local businesses, said 95 per cent tradespeople were against its LTN because they had caused a ?catastrophic downturn in sales?. She says the area is like a ?ghost town? for five hours from 10am when tighter motoring restrictions are in place. Councillor Catherine Rose, Southwark?s cabinet member for transport, said: ?This was never a ballot, and there are strong views on both sides of the argument.? She added that while restricting traffic and parking is ?not popular? it was ?necessary?. A Department for Transport spokesman said: ?Decisions on individual schemes are a matter for local authorities.?

Unfortunately you can't fix people panic buying which is the real cause of queues and petrol price hikes, the shortage initially only effected a small number of 2 retailers petrol stations yet due to the media (both traditional and social) people are panicking unnecessarily which is causing the scenes we see for the last few days. Considering we've gone 10 months without petrol shortages due to drivers then it's highly likely that the tanker sector was resilient to outside interference (be it brexit, Covid or driver shortages ) so this is in all reality a blip causes by people panicking that in 3 weeks they will run out of petrol and those that need it now (emergency crews, night workers who have to drive and similar to name a few) are being impacted by the same mentality that created toilet roll shortages, panic food buying and by now, I suspect, Turkey Rustling. If all forms of media were more balanced in how they report things, we wouldn't be jumping from one crisis to another like trained sheep at the mercy of the news outlets sheep dogs.

The curious question is : in normal times when one or two petrol stations run dry for what ever reason , drivers are mildly frustrated but don't panic buy as a result This may happen at various places across the country in any given day. However at the moment this exact scenario occurred and the media picked up on it then poured fuel in the fire. The question is, if the media hadn't mentioned it,would there still be panic or would there be just a few places in each area shut and drivers being mildly inconvenienced ?

Maybe, the very people who bought all the toilet rolls are now finding creative uses for them as wicks in Molotov cocktails... it's the only excuse I can see for panic buying .. Roll in the revolution brothers and sisters 😱