tomdhu

JBARBER Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hi steveo, > Southwark Life doesn't cost ?50,000 to > distribute. > I was curious how much the Conservative and Green > Party who tend to pay for political leaflet > distribution in our area - insufficient volunteers > or bags of money. > The quote for East Dulwich ward, which is one of > 21 political wards in Southwark, was ?300->?350. > times that by 21 allow for 20% at least as a > volume discount and it would cost less than ?5,000 > per month. > > As for the print costs and editorial content > preperation. As I said I've asked for this info > from officers and when I receive it I'll share > with you. James, Perhaps I can help you. Recenly there was a 90-minute debate at Westminster lead by Liberal Democrat Chief Whip and Sutton and Cheam MP Paul Burstow. Mr Burstow estimated that the cost of producing such publications by all the London Boroughs was in the region of ?10 million per annum. Given that there are 33 boroughs in London then the average cost is ?303,030 per borough. I sure could find better ways of spending that sort of money in Southwark. Tom

sophiesofa Wrote: If so my vote is definitely to leave > the lovely wall exactly as it is. Thank you I am with you Sophie, let's leave the wall as it is. Whatever gets stuck on it will get deliberately defaced within days and this will lead to rampant grafitti later. But I suspect Mr Barber doesn't want to give up as the original proposal came from him in the first place. Hands off our wall Barber and stop squandering tax payers money!

Absolute waste of money. A hair-brained idea if ever there was one -especialy in these difficult economic times. There are many more pressing needs to be met - such as repairing the huge number of new pot holes in the roads in E.D. caused by the recent frost damage. Come up with more of these silly ideas and you certainly won't get many votes next time there is an election.

Must be an election coming up. Maybe her stash isn't big enough yet so she wants another ride on the MP's gravy train.

Very satisfying !

snorky Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If you want to spend your cash on skool, then get > on with it Now you've got it, Snorky. Freedom of choice. People currently have that choice with pensions and education - amongst other diverse things like housing, taxis, holidays etc, etc. But with schools, the parents of kids at Alleyns are paying twice for the education when they opt out of the state system. They pay first to Alleyns and a second time to the state. They don't pay twice however with pensions as the state refunds the NI contributions for those opting out. That aside, by giving people choice, parents will strive to provide their kids with the best education they can afford. Like pensions, there are risks and some people might make the wrong choice, but, having had the option of choosing, they can't complain if it goes wrong. For those who prefer to dispense with the freedom to choose ie let the state do everything for them, they might feel more comfortable in a country like N. Korea where the state will make every decision on your behalf. Let them be off to Pyongyang, no one is stopping them.

snorky Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Now be off with you This seems to be your default expression when you can't logically refute an opposing argument ;-). If you can't accept the logic of refunding state school costs per head then I'll give you an example where the state actually pays out in a similar manner. It's in the area of pensions - in particular SERPS and S2P. Have a look at http://www.worksmart.org.uk/money/what_does_opting_out_or_contracting_out To summarise, if you opt out of S2P, your private pension fund will then receive, from the government, part of your National Insurance contributions. Doesn't that really stick in your craw? So the precedent has been established. Let these parents have their refunds, now! In fact, why not go one step further and separate the state from direct involvement in education all together? They've made a mess of it anyway in the last few years. Then give out an individual education allowance for each child and let the parents decide where they buy their child's education? If they wanted, they could top it up by as much as they want. That way the schools would rise and fall by the quality of the education they provided. Parents would avoid the crap schools. Crap schools would have to improve or close. Good ones would expand and flourish. It would let people achieve their aspirations. It would get rid of the "lowest common denominator" culture that has become increasingly prevalent.

snorky Wrote: > Its good to know that in a roundabout way, we help > fund and support this bastion of privelige. Snorky, it's so roundabout, it's really screwed and twisted. The reality is that if Alleyns and the like didn't exist, then the children there now would have to be schooled at the state's expense. In effect therefore, the parents who pay fees to Alleyns are actually saving the state money ie they are currently paying an additional subsidy to the state system. There is therefore a case to be made for these parents to receive tax refund that is equivalent to the cost per head of education incurred by the state. If we follow your logic then should we get all the taxis off the road and go by state operated/funded transport instead?

matthew123 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I find that more ppl watch Man U wanting them to > lose than win You are right more ppl watch Man U - whether they want them to win or lose. It's a quality of the football thing. I'm an Inverness Caledonian Thistle man myself but when I want to see attacking football played with skill and panache then I'll choose MU first ever time. Also, I remember Feb 1958 and I think that gave them a huge fan base to build on. I quite like a bit of the Gooners and Liverpool too but they are not always quite so consistent. I certainly know who i'll be watching tonite.

Asset Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > There is a pirate that sometimes broadcasts very > close to the R4 frequency, I've had it muscle in > occasionally. Not for a while though. The R4 > frequency is quite wide so try tuning it slightly. > Other than that not a lot you can do. There is. You can report it to OFCOM via this link:- http://www.ofcom.org.uk/complain/inter/radio/293512/ Good luck!

kuntama Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I give up getting any kind of sense from ALL of > you. Lot's of people responded to you after you asked for their take on the situation. All but one saw it different to you. Surely that ought to tell you something? If it doesn't then you are a rather sad person.

Can any one remember who's brewery was it that was located on Chadwick Road? Someone said it was a Trueman's. Is this right?

BlueOne, From experience, I can give you a few tips about getting a successful outcome with a complaint about a bus driver. As you have found, the service operator will do anything to avoid registering a complaint because it becomes a statistic monitorerd by TFL. Also, they don't want to discipline ( eg sack) the driver as they are in short supply and they cost lots to recruit and train. 1. Top priority is to get the 'Running Number' from the side of the bus. The number is on a removable metal plate that is located on the ouside of the bus adjacent to the entrance door. This is the sequence number of the bus as it leaves the depot on that day. Each bus is logged out using a unique Running Number as the reference. The first out is number 1. The log records the Driver's name and the time the bus set out. They then cannot say that they are unable to identify he driver. 2. Record the route number, date , time, driver features (eg age, hair colour, build , ethnicity etc etc) and where the incident took place plus the direction the bus was going in. If you feel up to it, ask for the driver's name. 3. Complain as SOON AS POSSIBLE directly to the Head Office of the bus operator. Best by e-mail. 4. Copy your e-mail to TFL and Travel Watch. 5. Telephone the bus operator that same day and advise that you have sent an e-mail earlier and that you want a complaint reference number. Don't get fobbed off and let them know that you will nt be fobbed off. 6. Get the name of the person you speak to so that you can follow it up. Good luck.

Mic Mac, No, it is not a claim for anticipated damage in the future - rather a claim for perceived loss of value of the property as it stands now because, in some people's eyes, the property is property is blighted. The act provides for this:- QUOTE If the value of any interest in any relevant land is depreciated by virtue of the exercise.... UNQUOTE Based on the legal advice so far received there is a legitimate case here. Also, if you did get actual damage later, then have have the opportunity then also to make a claim for compensation for the cot of the repairs. If you know a local estate agent, you might want to ask him/her and you may find ,as I did, that it would have a negative effect on the perceived vaalue. If you compared two identical properties in the immediate area, one above the tunnel and the other not, then you can imagine what effect that would have on the respective sales values. Is your property in the line of the tunnel? And if so which road are you on? Tom

-- moved topic --

Thanks for the support, meanwhile for the benefit of those who have had the correspondence from TW, they should know that the law provides for compensation. Schedule 12, Paragraph 2 of Water Industry Act 1991 provides for compensation to owners of land and property which have been devalued by construction of underground pipe-laying such as this. The Act says:- QUOTE If the value of any interest in any relevant land is depreciated by virtue of the exercise, by any relevant undertaker, of any power to carry out pipe-laying works on private land, the person entitled to that interest shall be entitled to compensation from the undertaker of an amount equal to the amount of the depreciation. UNQUOTE We intend making a claim and would appreciate hearing from others who might consider this action also. There would be substantial benefits to be gained ( not only cost savings) by acting together and getting a competent lawyer/QC to act on our behalf. I understand that Thames have had to pay out previously, so the precedent has been established. Tom

It was Royal Mail for sure. The note the chap left was a standard issue Royal Mail advice note.

Yes, that's exactly what happened. Maybe the poor chap was too tired to leave it with either of my neighbours who were at home or take it back to Sylvester Road sorting office - as he should have done.

I put the brown recycling bin out early Tuesday as has been the case each fortnight for the last few years. Got home Tuesday night and saw that it hadn't been emptied out. Thought the collection might be running late, so left it out again on Wednesday. Got home later that day and noticed it hadn't moved an inch. Went inside the house, picked up the mail and noticed one of those 'Sorry, you were out' notices from the postman with a litle message written on Quote 'Pkt is in your brown bin' UNquote. The packet turned out to be a box containing the kids Christmas prezzies from their auntie. Would you call that luck or something else?

Zephyr, Here is an excerpt from an Environment Agency report that refers:- QUOTE- Two major faults are present in the south side of the London Basin. The Wimbledon Fault extends from Chessington through Malden, Wimbledon to Deptford. The downthrown block is the north west side of the fault, and has caused movements of beds as high as the London Clay, which is in contact with the Lambeth Group at East Dulwich. -UNQUOTE Incidentally, I am not a geologist. I studied Mechanical Engineering and now work in the IT sector - so disseminating technical information and drawing conclusions are things that I'm at ease with.

Huguenot, Sorry to hear that. So I guess your house had to be underpinned as a result. This raises questions. 1. Did you tell your insurer about this? 2. Did you have problems getting insurance after that? 3. If so, how much has it increased by? 4. If your house is now underpinned, how much has this affected the value? Tom

OK Huguenot, Its like this:- 1. The city needs the pipe and it's good that they are planning ahead and spending ₤90M doing it. It will be built. I want it to be built. My water bills have helped pay for it. 2. I have to accept that (because a straight line is the shortest length between 2 points) it will pass under part of my house. It's the luck of the draw. 3. There is no acceptable radically different solution ( eg overground) but the way in which the work is executed could minimise/eliminate the damage ie using EPB (Earth Pressure Balanced) TBM ( Tunnel Boring Machine) with FULLY pressurised compensation grouting. It should also be down a further 10M down to eliminate the risk of encountering inconsistent geology where by they unexpectedly cut into a dip in the Thanet sand layer. This caused problems previously. See http://environment.uwe.ac.uk/geocal/SoilMech/water/WATERCAS.htm#THAMES . Also, there has also been 2 fatalities where they dug into a special type of clay called glauconite which oxidises on contact with air. This resulted in the air being de-oxygenated. 4. No I don't want to be bought off. 5. What I do want fair involvement in producing an accurate condition report prior to the work plus full compensation when (not if) the settlement affects my house with no time limit- as the problems could take 20 years to emerge. 6. As you say minority shareholders cannot hold a company to ransom but they can achieve results that might not have happened otherwise because they exposed issues that otherwise would not have gained traction. 7. You say compaign sensibly and democratically. Can you tell me what is there in my posts that contravene these sentiments. Please do not make hasty and erroneous assumptions.

SteveT, This is definately for drinking water. Dere is the some relevant text from TW's web site. Quote.. The southern route will allow up to 200 million litres of water per day to be transferred from the Thames Water Ring Main at Brixton to the Honor Oak reservoirs. Unquote Tom

Capt Birdseye, This is just the type of evidence we need. I'm interested to find out what street and district you are located. Not your full address.

Huguenot, This isn't just a 'water pipe', this is a 15 foot diameter tunnel that cuts through the different sub-strata underground. This has proven implications for the stability of the entire geological structure in its immediate vicinity. TW admit that settlement will occur - mostly in a band 5M wide along the entire length of the route. As to your suspicions of xenophobia, I omitted to explain that, as a foreigned owned company with only institutional shareholders, you and I are not able to purchase a single share which would entitle you to attend the annual shareholderrs meeting. If you attend an AGM you could ask questions and express concern about how property owners are being adversly affected by having their homes devalued and damaged by this project. As I said in a previous post, knowledge is a powerful enabler and gives one leverage. So just take comfort in the fact that your little pipe will not cause your house to subside.