lousmith

Thanks again. (just getting the hang of actually replying on the new (to me) layout. The parts are very valuable these days. I had spent years gathering spare parts when they turned up at every auto-jumble at realistic prices in order to return any "improvements" to their original spec, including rebuilding an engine myself which was just nicely run in. Only the Engine and Gearbox have identifiable numbers, the VIN being just stamped onto a plate screwed to the bulkhead. I saw a bare engine block for £2k just recently. A full engine for rebuild will set you back £4 or 5k. I purposely kept the exterior 'rough and ready' in order to not draw attention to it. A £2k spray job would have pushed it into the £20-£25k value bracket at current crazy prices. They can probably forge or obtain V5's to give it a new identity and sell it here or in the US. I've contacted a few dealers to keep an eye open for suspicious offers of vehicles. It does seem like a concerted effort though, so I guess they have their reasons. I don't own another vehicle, so the implications on my general standard of life are not yet even apparent because of the holidays. Back in the nineties, they were plentiful and fun to own, before Richard Hammond announced them his favourite car! Scene from Camberwell Grove from maybe '92/3 with my stolen Landy partly covered on the left.

It's a two litre petrol engine. The carburetter is non standard Solex, and as far as I know, very rare on one of these. ( It lacks the machanical fuel pump and associated linkage on the side) The voltage regulator housing contains a solid state circuit rather than the usual coils/ electromechanical set up. The rad was recently re-cored so looks newer than the rest of it. The heater is a hybrid, original Smiths fan and front cover mated with clayton coiled copper core matrix. Tyres are Insa Turbo 7.50x16. Exhaust is Stainless, though doesn't look shiny bright. Plug caps are original bakelite type. Distributer probably looks newer as well due to it being recently refurbed. Interior. Green matching seats in front with a rip in the centre seat cushion. Rear bench style seats with green cushions. There is a forged hexagonal brass grab handle on the passenger side dash bolted on. Extra three hole instrument panel below Dashboard instruments with Oil/Temp gauge mounted in left hand hole. Others empty. Paint work is wearing thin. Especially left wing which shows signs of bird splat damage to paint through to buffish looking etch primer underneath. Rear right upper body panel has distinctive scratch maybe looks like a J and L combined ...

Thank you. Yes, they really don't prioritise it at all. They did launch a half hearted blues and twos race around, but the theft was only five minutes prior to calling them and the handbrake lock would have been slowing them down, so the chances of catching up with them would have been as good as they could be. They pulled over a random car and phoned me. Is it a Land rover? er no. Well then it's not mine ... last I heard. I guess it survived Barry road for 23 years and Camberwell Grove for another eight. Blooming shame, and blooming shame for your rare bike.

Hi. Thanks for the comment. The sandy Landy is somebody else's that was stolen on Thursday. Mine was the Series one, stolen the week before. It's kind of distinctive with the unpainted door tops, the oversize wheels, D rings on the front bumper, not to mention the bunny! etc. They seemed to defeat the handbrake lock by simply revving the engine to near destruction and dropping the clutch. As long as the clutch has more traction than the no doubt oily handbrake shoes it seems that it can be driven, though not without drawing attention. I had never tested it in this way. They would have wanted to pull off the main road asap to sort that. I missed the theft by five minutes so the trail would have been very hot, but with waiting for the police to show and them painstakingly going through my details which I had obviously already given to their controller, valuable time was lost. It seems also that all the traffic based CCTV cameras in the whole of London fall under TFL jurisdiction and their operators are instructed to only record revenue generating infringements. It surprised me to learn that Southwark themselves have not a single CCTV camera in SE22.

I am just posting to alert owners of vintage Land Rover series models in the ED and surrounding postcodes that at least three have been stolen (mine included) in just over a week, the latest from Jerningham Road, mine from Barry Road. The perpetrators of the Barry Rd theft were both white males late twenties-mid thirties, one short, dark hair and the other lighter coloured hair, both quite tall, ( around 6ft) from my very grainy CCTV footage of the actual theft, but not clear enough to glean a real clear ID. Please be extra vigilant if you own one of these, or know somebody who does, in the hope that these guys may be deterred or caught and lead us back to wherever they have been taking them before their identities are forever lost. Please get in touch if you have seen these vehicles or any suspicious attention being paid to any parked Landies. Reward offered for mine. Thank you.

There is masses of frogspawn in my pond this year, even more than usual, with the prospect that most of it will not survive due to predation and overpopulation. I have removed a portion to raise in purpose-built nursery tanks from where they can be released back into the main pond when they are able to have a chance of evading the newts which will eat every last one otherwise. If anyone has a viable outdoor pond that is fish-free and would like a clump please get in touch. Near to St Anthony's Will need to be within a week or so of this post as it will hatch after then.

malumbu Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > No, I'm also not usually a pleasant plucker, but > the a pleasant plucker's mate. > > Introduced species (as many are) and primarily > managed for sport so not sure if they count as > nature watch. Although Alison Stedman did a Radio > 4 series on introduced birds, defending them! (the > alien Birds have landed) > https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01m0lgg > > Don't think urban foxes eat anything that is alive > - more likely to be killed by a cat. The foxes > round here just seem to ignore the other wildlife. I'm sure a pheasant would be well within the bounds of a fox's lunch, but as they are fast flyers, the foxes would have to be stealthy. In the countryside, the young-uns are usually penned in to keep out foxes and stoats etc, but the adults are free to roam.

Huggers Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I love your shed. Was it a kit or custom made? Thank you. It was a Kit. I did a fair bit of research and found Dunster Homes to offer the highest spec for your money. I'm sure they have seen a rise in demand since covid hit as the base version of this was about ?1000 cheaper when I bought it 2 years ago. Set onto a gravel grid base which avoids the need for a concrete plinth or anything like that it goes up in a long day with another day to felt the roof, paint etc. https://dunsterhouse.co.uk/premiumplus-lantera-w4-5m-x-d3-5m

Thanks Counterlass22. I have since had a constructive meeting with my ward councillors, who after hearing the whole story have agreed to advocate on my behalf to have the decision reviewed. Obviously I can't say too much here, but it is a very positive first step and is in no small part due the the great response to my petition, so thanks again to everyone who has supported it..

Thanks Spark67 Does that mean you got to keep it?

Thanks Hpsaucey. Of course it's fine. The more the merrier. I'll go take a look. Thanks.

Siduhe Thanks for this. I have to submit by end of play tomorrow, so I will do some research into this. Do you mind my asking are you a lawyer yourself, or have had to resort to this principle in the past? It feels right and proper that there should be an expectation of fairness.

Thanks dazeykat

Cyclemonkey Thank you for clarifying that. It does come down to a discretionary decision as my RSO said he didn't mind me having a shed, nor where I had positioned it, but only that it was deemed too big. I thought that would be at least a negotiating point.

thanks Melihoople. That doesn't surprise me.Sounds like it could be pretty open to abuse that. It's a bit late for that now.

Thanks Sue, RicB , Honoroak Ron , kiera , geebee for your kind support. I am grateful it, and I hope the council will listen to the amassed voices. With respect Cyclemonkey to the lease, it is actually very vague on whether or not a shed can be erected in the garden. If it is forbidden, then the shed erected by the other L/H would be subject to the same law and yet is allowed to remain unchallenged. What I take a dim view of, and I think many others too, is the uneven application of laws to benefit the wealthy or those in positions of power over those less so. I think the Dominic Cummings case most eloquently showed this revulsion to that process, whereas two socially distancing women were arrested for going for a walk in the countryside. That decision was brought to light by public outcry, deemed to be unreasonable and dropped. That is why I am enlisting support and why my petition has reached nearly the number of signatures needed for it to be debated in the highest tier of local government. I believe for the Council to act in this way on a discretionary point is unreasonable. I recently had occasion to challenge the Council on their handling of a previous complaint I made which went ignored despite there being illegal activity which massively impacted on our right to quiet enjoyment. After a 2 1/2 year battle the council was deemed to have acted below its standards of care and I was awarded compensation. That is it.

Thanks Hibbs.

Actually there is nothing specific in my lease to preclude the building of a shed, it is a discretionary decision on the part of the council, whereas the other leaseholder has broken multiple clauses of his lease in addition to actual laws. That is the unfairness to which i refer. I'm sure you would feel the same in my position. I am unable to go into full details here, but to be in possession of all the facts is to understand my position.

Thanks Monkey.

EDguy89 It would make sense to agree to a temporary structure to be erected in the garden of a property with a 100+ year lease as it could always be removed. The garden is owned by the freeholder though and that is the issue here. The fact that the other leaseholder has done and continues to do far more in the way of actual structural alterations and actual law of the land breaking without suffering any such blowback is what's eating me up here. If it was an isolated incident of I broke the rules, I got caught, then I would go quietly. Unfairness on this level though, I just can't stomach.

Thanks NewWave. Appreciate it. Sometimes life just keeps on taking. It's making me more resilient. Of that I'm sure.

Thanks Abe. Appreciate it. Petty and unnecessary is right. Nobody wins if they win. The neighbour doesn't even live there. It's pure spite.

Thanks Ilona.