TheTruthisOut

Mabaker Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Sparrows seem to me to be quite picky about where > they hang out. I've noticed a gathering of > sparrows at the bottom end of Friern Rd. The main reason that sparrows are thriving in this small area is that there are a number of tall, thick hedges which provide essential shelter and roosts as well as insects. If you'd like to encourage them, it is so easy to plant a hedge. No hedges = no sparrows!

Aston replied to my intitial query extremely promptly and made an appointment only a short time later. I was very happy with his work and his friendly attitude. I would certainly use him again.

PM sent

The regulations, as they stand, refer only to the closure of crematoria. It is stated that clarification is being sought on whether the closure also applies to burial grounds. I wonder if you know, Renata, if this clarification has been obtained?

malumbu Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Brown bird, using a nearby branch to perch on to > lean across to feed from a feeder. What is it? > Can't be a robin, and surprised if a dunnock or > sparrow as they also feed on the ground. Too > small for a starling. Not green enough for a > green finch. To difficult to make out in the > hedge. Help! RSPB bird finder didn't help. Birds are very adaptable and most so-called ground-feeders will happily use feeders (blackbirds being the exception). I suspect that the bird you saw was a sparrow. I have a hedge from which sparrows flit to the feeder all day long.

It would not be surprising if it is related to the light pollution referred to in another thread. In Friern Road where there is a street lamp throwing out a large amount of light, the birds are singing away. I can't sleep when my bedroom is lit up and other creatures would surely be similarly affected. May there should be a mass email campaign to our councillors to have the lights dimmed?

It's still possible to comment on this application by logging in to the new online planning register.

kiera Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > At least Marks and Spencer's olive oil is not > produced by the night time vacuum harvesting > method which kills millions of birds. A number of > newspapers reported on this last month:- > > "Every year, millions of songbirds are brutally > killed by suction olive harvesters as they rest at > night in olive trees. In many regions, this > industrialised slaughter takes place because > harvesters have switched to night time harvesting > simply to improve the flavour of the olives" > https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/songbird > s-death-toll-millions-mediterranean-olive-harvesti > ng-winter-a8916471.html > > Apparently the colder night time temperatures > better preserve the flavour. In the daytime the > birds can fly away, but at night they are > trapped. > > "Ethical Consumer are currently looking into the > best brands to buy if you want to be assured that > your olive oil has not contributed to the > slaughter of wild birds. Whilst the full report is > still in progress, they have released the > following statement to help concerned buyers in > the meantime: > > "In response to queries, Ethical Consumer magazine > has been contacting brands about what their policy > is relating to birds and olive oil. The following > brands have replied to say that they do not use > the olive harvesting method that leads to vast > bird deaths: BionaOrganic, Mr Organic, Marks and > Spencer. A more detailed report from one of their > researchers is soon to come." > > From the Olive Oil Times > https://www.oliveoiltimes.com/olive-oil-basics/mil > lions-of-birds-killed-by-nighttime-harvesting-in-m > editerranean/68111 > > Martin Harper, the RSPB?s director of conservation > said, ?Numbers of farmland birds in Europe have > plummeted by 55 per cent over the last three > decades and this is another shocking example of > how modern agricultural practices are impacting > our bird populations, including some UK species > passing through the region.? > > Andalusian officials have recommended the practice > stops but unless legislation is passed in the next > few months the ?massacre? will start again in > October, researchers warn. > > Petition http://chng.it/zDmy4rzC64 Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Keira. The Ethical Consumer has now produced a report naming those shops/brands which can or cannot guarantee their olive oils to be bird-friendly. Of the supermarkets, Aldi, Asda, the Co-op, and Tesco could not guarantee this. Nor could Morrisons but they said that their initial inquiries indicated their oil is bird-friendly. The brand Napolina/Olivia (Princes Group)could not guarantee it (this is the only brand that was not able to). The report says that in relation to those that could not make the guarantee, "these companies stated that any super-intensive nocturnal harvesting methods would be stopped before next harvesting season." Marks and Spencer, Sainsburys and Waitrose all guaranteed their oils to be bird-friendly. The report strongly recommends buying organic since it is unlikely that heavy machinery has been used as well as being more sustainable by excluding toxic pesticides and herbicides.

Still no response... Objections to the festival can be made up to and including 24th December by emailing the licensing committee at [email protected]. You must include your name, full address and email. The reference number is: 865977. Objections are supposed to be confined to the 4 categories set out in EDWill's post of 14th December but it is important that the committee is aware of the strength of opposition (or, indeed, support) so put in your own words how you feel about the festival in terms of the noise, increased traffic etc. Following the Southwark Park shambles, the council is reviewing which parks are suitable for which events. Residents can have their say by emailing [email protected]. Southwark's ability to grant the in-principle decision without consulting residents first derives from its document "Commercial Event Hire - Revised processes and responsibilities flowchart" (drawn up by the Events Team), a copy of which I have attached. You will see that only after the application is signed off is there a briefing of ward councillors and Friends' groups. Finally, when it is too late, residents are given an opportunity to put forward their views Whether you support or oppose these events, it is extraordinary that we, the residents, are excluded from any input until after the substantive decision is made. If you wish to comment on this state of affairs, please feel free to email Rebecca Lury.

EDWill Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Looking at the info pack for the licensing > sub-committee?s meeting re the 2018 Licence > application, any objections because of potential > damage that could be caused to the park (which > proved to be well founded) would not be considered > as We Are The Fair Ltd had already sought, and > been granted, permission to use the park. > Objections under the Licensing Act would only be > considered (detailed below). > > Renata, would you be able to confirm if permission > has already been granted for using the Park in > 2019 and, if so, there was any public consultation > given the ongoing impact to park users after this > year?s event in May? > > **** > For applications under the Licensing Act 2003, > your representation must be based on one of the > four licensing objectives, under the Act: > > prevention of crime and disorder > prevention of public nuisance > public safety > protection of children from harm > > https://www.southwark.gov.uk/business/licences/how > -to-lodge-a-representation > **** > > Licensing sub-committee Info pack - > http://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/documents/g6010/ > Public%20reports%20pack%20Monday%2029-Jan-2018%201 > 0.00%20Licensing%20Sub-Committee.pdf?T=10 Unfortunately, Southwark prefers to make a decision and then "consult" with residents. The decision to allow this event - not just for 2019 but for the next 3 years and covering a much larger area of the park - was made by Southwark events team without any public consultation. Some of us anticipated that Southwark wanted to make the decision without first hearing residents' concerns and we asked for a meeting with Councillor Rebecca Lury, the cabinet member for Culture, Leisure, Equalities and Communities, well before the permission to hold the event was granted. Only after the decision was made did we receive a reply, nearly 3 weeks later, stating that there is "currently a community consultation event being organised on this to understand the concerns of residents..." A meeting was held on 10th December 2018 and attendees were told that there was to be no discussion of the suitability of the park for the event. As you state, EDWill, the only input that residents now have is limited to the 4 grounds set out in the Licensing Act. Residents have thus been deprived of making any meaningful representations; in other words, the consultation is a complete sham since it is restricted to considering only how, not if, the event should be held. Similar complaints about lack of consultation were made in relation to the 6-week event in Southwark Park. Southwark was forced to apologise for its mistakes there but this apology looks rather hollow when it has continued to contrive to avoid hearing residents' views in this case.

sunbob Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > You can put loaf of bread bags in with the plastic > bag recycling too! Sainsbury's also accept the plastic wrappers round the weekend newspaper supplements. Quite a few magazine wrappers can also be recycled (it will say on the wrapper if it can be).

flocker spotter Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > TheTruthisOut Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > . Dog walkers have > > told me that if a dog ate one, it could well be > > fatal and, at the very least, require a ?4,000 > > operation to remove the tie. > > > > > > Did they give you a price estimate for any other > ingestion issues as well or was this quote purely > for the rather unlikely cable tie nomming > scenario? No, just in relation to the cable ties. Forgive me for not interrogating the dog walkers but I had not realised that the cost of the operation would be of greater interest than the issue of the plastic litter discarded by the organisers of the festival. Perhaps a dog owner could enlighten us on the matter?

Thank you.

They also seem to have "forgotten" to pick up hundreds of plastic ties that were used to hold the barriers together. These were just discarded on the ground and, it seems, the workmen had no instructions to pick them up. Dog walkers have told me that if a dog ate one, it could well be fatal and, at the very least, require a ?4,000 operation to remove the tie. It's great news about the woodpeckers but I hope that Southwark will insist on a bat survey to see how the four pipistrelles have fared. Renata, will you chase this up?

Street parties can present a challenge to those seeking to avoid plastic and reduce landfill. Last year, the Friern Road street party managed to achieve zero waste by using only compostable materials. Other than glass bottles going into the recycling bin, everything went into the brown bins. We used two companies, Vegware and Little Cherry, which supplied fully-compostable plates (made from wheat fibre pulp), cutlery, "glasses," napkins and balloons. We spent about ?150 catering for 120 people. We retrieved most of the cutlery which with washing and storing in a dark place, has lasted another year. This has reduced the cost for this year's party to just over ?80. At the end of the party, just sweep everything into the brown bin. This includes all left-over food. The only caveat here is to prevent people who have brought their own (non-compostable) items putting them into the brown bin. We labelled the bins so that the binmen would know that the contents were all compostable.

Like you, SebsC, most of the small birds in my garden disappeared after the parakeets arrived in force. I was feeding only the parakeets (and the ever-present pigeons who station themselves under the feeders to hoover up the scraps). I then moved the feeders to the buddleia which has made a great difference since there is no clear flight down to the feeders. One or 2 parakeets do come down from time to time but they clearly don't like not being able to fly away in a hurry. The parakeets are also not ground-feeders and I started scattering food in the borders as well. As a consequence, half a dozen chaffinches, a good 8 or 9 goldfinches, blue and great tits as well as starlings, a robin and blackbirds (who were nowhere to be seen when the parakeets were so vocal) have returned. I don't know if it will be a permanent solution but it's certainly working for now.

I spotted this lovely moth feeding on red valerian in Faversham in July. I also had to google it! I have never seen one in London.