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No need to wait until next year. They always run a post event feedback meeting. And yes, they were using some new contractors this year because the previous ones were not good enough by their own admission.

This is where I sit too. A two day event is bearable. Three tests my tolerance. Finding the right balance on size, noise and impact is where I contribute to the consultation process. BUT, as I wrote elsewhere, every year the GALA organisers ask/ push for more, and deals have already been done with the council before it gets to public consultation stage. It is also worth pointing out that when a licence was first granted, the orgnaisation was different (We Are the Fair), one of the company directors lived literally next to the park (she left when it became GALA) and the current form bears no resemblance to original ethos/ vision sold to the council and licensing committee. This needs to be pointed out and I am fairly confident local councillors would also support a pushback on any further expansion. We have local elections next year, so councillors ears will be open.

There is no question that the events team makes exceptions to the promoted ethos of Southwark Council on green and ecological standards. This is part of the frustration when challenging the decision to allow an event of this kind in that part of the park. It's hypocrisy, and it's entirely commercially led. Other events have always been held on the common, be that the circus, fun fairs, even the two day Irish festival (back in the day). None of those events have ever caused anything like the level of disurbance or damage to the park and common. Local councillors will tell you that every year, the GALA organisers demand more and more and every year they have to be opposed by those same local councillors. It's exhausting. The consultaions are nothing to do with questioning of the event itself, but are designed to make tweaks and allay fears, because the deal is already done with the council events team by the time things get to that. It's so disrespectful to the idea of consultation and what that should mean.

There is emerging research that nesting birds are impacted by festival noise, especially starlings. Some species rely on acoustic signals that are disrupted by the kind of noise a four day festival produces Why is this research emerging? Because the number of these types of events in urban settings is increasing, and it takes time to do the research and observations required. Evolution is a slow porcess taking thousands of years in most cases. Nesting birds don't evolve to these sudden events, they leave. If there are chicks already hatched, that's a problem. If they don't come back to nest, that alters the local ecology. It matters. This is something I have been looking into and will finally have some case studies to make both the council and event organisaers aware of moving forward. As you say, birds don't know that a huge wall of sound is about to hit them for four days. It disrupts the acoustic fequencies they rely on.

They never disclose that, citing 'commercial confidentiality'. On nesting birds. This has been brought up several times at consultations, asking if the event can change to another time of the year that avoids the nesting season. As you can see, no-one is listening.

None of it is spent in the area local to Peckham Rye Park. This is something the council need to be pressed on. The 'Community Day' has started their sound checks and it's clear that is also going to be a day of loud music. So concerns about event creep are valid I think. As today is a seperate event, using the infrastructure, we will wait and see if the same noise abatement processes are in place. For those who say it's only a few days etc. Try living next door to blasting noise for 12 hours a day for three (now four) days and see how good your mental state is at the end of that. Yes there are balances to be struck but the distress of many local residents and those concerend about the damage to the park (and wildlife in it) are valid and real.

It's permitted because the council grants an events licence. But if you were to blast music from your back garden for 10 hours a day accross four days, they'd shut you down on day one. There will be a noise plan in place, but it is probably the same as the one for the GALA festival, which dismisses any breach of the agreed noise levels as long as they are brought back within limits witihn 15 minutes. In other words, a breach is never really a breach according to the council. This is why local residents feel exasperated.

You are not the only one no. Local residents are fighting Lambeth through the courts over the increased use of Brockwell Pak for these types of events. And there is the GALA festival on the Rye this weekend, also unbearable at times, although it seems to be a bit quieter today. Brockwell Park is probably more complicated in terms of noise management, because the entire park is on the side of a hill. The Rye at least is sunken in a bit where they locate the festival.

The other thing I do at an ATM, is cover the card slot with my right hand while the card is in there. I then use my left hand for the rest. If a card does not come out, then you can look for a skimming device and remove it, ATMs are badly designed imo. They could be recessed to make side sccess impossible for a would be theif. The pin number aspect is a weakness also.

Amazing how fast he was. He literally had something like a minute between stealing the card and using another cashpoint before it was blocked. The bank will return the money but willing to bet he will hit that same ATM with the same ruse again at some point.

Cardtronics do Londis too, so that could be where he went. Worth asking the Police to source CCTV from there and the ATM itself.

The co-op uses ATMs operated by Cardtronics, and they also operate a digital ATM service (meaning he could have made those transactions electronically). That cashpoint is operated by Natwest. It sounds like he brought up their 'Get Cash' scheme screen as the distraction (a way that allows Natwest customers to withdraw cash without needing to use their card). So he was using a skimming device to steal your card in that moment, but brought up the Get Cash screen to distract you while he did that. Your confusion was just long enough for him to get away. Card thieves are incredibly slick. Here is some info on Natwest Get Cash for reference - 'To use a Get Cash code at a NatWest ATM, you first initiate the withdrawal through the NatWest mobile app, which generates a secure code. You then visit a compatible ATM (NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, or Tesco ATMs). At the ATM, press the "Enter" key and follow the on-screen prompts, entering the code twice. The code is valid for 3 hours, and if expired, funds will be recredited to your account.' I use that cashpoint all the time, so it's good to know if a local thief is targetting Natwest ATMs.

So this noise misery has to be endured on a Thursday this year, as well as a Friday? Not to mention the change of location. Southwark really are taking the P.

Royal Mail is still pretty much the only postal service for letters/ cards etc. So lack of competition is why they don't care. A different matter though when it comes to tracked parcels and items for which there is a lot of other courier competition, although they manage to lose a fair few of those too. We used UPS for all our parcels before Xmas and everything arrived the next day. Haven't seen a single Xmas card through Royal Mail yet. Last year we got those during the second week of January. Clearly they dump non tracked items in a corner over xmas and sort them when they get round to it. But what can any of us do about that? Nothing.

There were three people with a loudspeaker in Peckham Rye a few days handing out leaflets, which contained a mix of poor understanding of science (well no understanding to be honest), distortion of data, and an underlying motive of conspiracy 'New World Order' theories. Not really sure what they hope to achieve to be honest.