Penguin68

There are a number of semi-professional beggars working out of London Bridge and other stations - there's always a clutch on the Overground. Some are almost certainly genuinely hard cases - but others - who I see frequently - are obviously doing this as a regular thing. They are very good - not aggressive - weepy - grateful, but you should not fall for their blandishments. Give to registered charities, buy The Big Issue, but don't encourage street (or train) begging. The Charities apply your money well, in general, and direct it to the genuinely needy, many of whom are in fact aggressive, ungrateful, scary. Many of these 'charity targets' on and around public transport are too good to be true. And aren't. If you think the person you saw is genuine - look for a charity which seems to be addressing her needs and give to that. That's the most effective way to get aid to those, maybe like her, or appearing like her, who actually need it. Or, if you think someone is in genuine and immediate danger, call the transport police.

A salaried GP is probably on (depending on age/ experience) ?60-?70k. In some practices much less - even down to ?40k-?45k for someone newly qualified. A partner is more likely on ?100-?150k - with a large practice with few partners ?250k isn't impossible. The hourly rate for locums providing cover (particularly out-of-hours) can appear to be high, but of course they are not continuously employed.

We had leaf sweepers in Underhill this morning, and a couple or so weeks ago (mainly only one).

Many GPs are women with families who can work part-time as a GP and prefer to do so. The system is not broken because it supports part-time working. It is broken because the range and scope of effective medical interventions is now exponentially different from the position in 1948, when doctors' best efforts were in keeping patients alive long enough for them to heal, with few effective real interventions. Nowadays with both new drugs and new surgical procedures doctors can make real differences to life expectancy. For example, when I was young, childhood leukemia was inevitably fatal. Now it has a very good prognosis. As do many other cancers. But with added medical abilities come both added costs and added pressures. And much higher expectations from patients.

I think also there is a difference between staff who are long-term sick (or even off for a few days or weeks only) and staff who seem to pull uncertificated 'sickies' on regular Fridays or Mondays. HR departments are wary of these people and may wish to crack down on abuse of uncertificated sick absence. But this cracking down on abusers clearly also impacts those who don't abuse the system, but still feel they are losing a privilege or having their T&Cs arbitrarily altered. The Civil Service used to allow fixed number of unquestioned sick days - these were treated by some staff as if they were a holiday entitlement. (Whitley Days for those who remember).

why our posties have been redeployed rather than continuing their original walks but what do I know The original walks were all optimised to start and finish at Sylvester Road (obviously) - the new walks are in pairs (so two posties can travel together in one van with their mail from Peckham) - and no longer need to be optimised to start and return to the sorting office on foot. Hence they have changed. I am hoping that the delivery staff will stabilise eventually, but it seems that there are still too many vacancies for permanent routes to be stuck to, days are missed out on walks so that everyone can get a few deliveries in the week. I've yet to receive a credit card bill which should have been sent on the 9th. Luckily I have an ap so I have discovered what the bill is and can pay it in time, otherwise I would have hit interest city. Still a mess.

In summer 2017 I provided the police with (good) photographs of one of the scrotes breaking into my next door neighbour's house (and a poor picture of his accomplice) and another neighbour noted and supplied the car registration of their get-away car - however this was never taken further as the driver of the car was not one of the people I photographed. You do wonder just how much evidence needs to be provided by passers-by before action is taken. If they can't manage red-handed they really don't bother, it sometimes seems. We did get the anti-terrorist squad turning up (late) for this break-in - they'd got bored on a stake-out in Brixton based on mistaken information and answered the shout to do something with their afternoon.

In some parts of the country they give a toss for their electors, but not the Southwark satraps.

Email the guy who says he is responsible for all this [email protected] copied additionally to our MP Helen Hayes [email protected]

Oyster poisoning can be complex - it can come either from an oyster which has turned (which is why you should only eat a freshly opened oyster which should be alive when you swallow it), an oyster which has not been properly left to clean itself in fresh water of a biological contaminant (through e.g. sewage) or through an allergic reaction to the oyster itself, and this can be triggered by a past exposure to either of the first two. Sensitivity to shellfish (oysters, clams etc.) can lead to 'food poisoning' symptoms when the shellfish itself is absolutely fine.

Generally the elderly 'block beds' because there is nowhere safe for them to be discharged to - in this instance this lady should also have been a bed-blocker, clearly. This should be reported - I would guess hold-ups in discharge (transport issues?) and failure to join-up care has meant that what was planned (probably that morning) as a safe discharge turned out not to be, but it should certainly be reported if only to make sure the proper processes are in place and followed to avoid a recurrence. At this time of year there are often bed shortages and the critically ill must be cared for, but some balance has to be made.

In topography 'lower and upper' where not specified generally refer to positions on a map orientated with North at the top - although in context (e.g. talking about a mountain) 'lower slopes' clearly is about height above sea level, or comparative height. Sometimes 'lower' also has, when discussing urban environments, a class implication, normally because 'upper' classes would be more likely to live on a hill, generally a more healthy position as sewage etc. would flow down hill. I don't think this latter is relevant when considering Upland Road.

Actually, the section of Underhill Road just south of Barry Road is cordoned off, but as of 2:45 this afternoon absolutely no work whatsoever is happening on it, or has happened on it. A few big Conway lorries are parked up (in Underhill, but not in that section) but otherwise nothing. Funnily enough it's part of Underhill which, is anything, is in better condition than many other sections. EDITED to say - oops - the reason why there was no work going on is that that section has been completed - the road is now open though I expect it will be closed again tomorrow when a new section is closed off for repair.

There are many reasons why tradespeople don't get back to you immediately - plumbers can be in positions where there is no signal, or doing things which cannot be readily stopped - or indeed away from home, on holiday or visiting a relative in hospital. Or, if you have an emergency which needs immediate response they may know that they cannot give you this because they are already committed. A failure to respond doesn't, I think, give you carte blanche to attack the man, because there are so many valid reasons for it - whereas a poor job, or failure to attend when promised (being let down) might.

I had thought that most bursts were caused by (a) deterioration of iron pipework causing it to fail (and joints ditto) and (b) movement in the ground fracturing pipes - particularly of course in roads, where heavy (and 'bouncing' over humps) vehicles cause ground stresses. Additionally adverse weather (freezing) can damage pipework more, particularly where there are already minor leaks. I suppose normal delivery pressures could cause bursts where the pipework is already compromised - but not where pipework is intact. It is designed for high pressure to allow water to move to the top of buildings and on hills. One problem appears to be the back-fill on road works is frequently not so effective as to provide proper support and cushioning for water pipes - hence possibly problems re-occuring at the same point - like London Road as it heads into Forest Hill, and the almost constant leak at the junction of Overhill with Lordship lane.

I've turned the boiler off altogether as it's struggling (due to lack of water pressure) to even supply the hot taps. If you have an old style system with a cold water tank supplied from the mains, then normally the heating part of the central heating system is sealed - so that the boiler heats hot water for the radiators and for a coil through your hot water cylinder which then heats the water for washing etc. which will be supplied via your cold water tank (modern systems may be different) - the sealed system uses a pump to move the water round your pipes. So heating radiators should be fine, although supply to your cold water tank (and thence your cylinder) will rely on mains pressure.

Better than not having it at all, or having to go to Peckham to pick it up.

however that tends to be vans of assorted shapes and sizes and there are very few builder's lorries that actually call at premises in these roads. I meant builders' merchants' lorries. Sorry. There were 2 big lorries (with integral cranes) delivering in my neck of Underhill this morning, most days there are 2 to 3. Plus all the actual vans etc. of the working builders.

One clear problem is that there is a lot of building work going on around here - builder's materials lorries are now very big, as of course are skip lorries. These add real pressure to roads, but they are, in the main, about genuine access, not cut-throughs. However, sat nav does choose 'straightest' routes often, which can start to include small roads (road width isn't part of the normal programming) so we do get some 'strangers' on small side roads because they are following directions, not because they are 'evil' rat-runners. Waze again (which is brilliant) is very good at finding the smallest roads to avoid jams.

A lot on the road, but only one set called on us - possibly because we now know no one with young children (other than immediate neighbours - who weren't out last night) - I think houses being called on weren't just randomly chosen, in the main, which is sensible. And pre-teens were all accompanied by adults, it seemed, not just older children.

Yesterday we had 12 items of mail, all delivered initially to the wrong address - many thanks to the very kind lady who took the trouble to walk up and re-deliver to us. Unfortunately I could not make the meeting, somehow I feel it will have been a master class in weasel words and obfuscation, but I would love to be proved wrong. Amended to say - the road numbering is classic ODDS on one side, EVENS on the other. In my part of the road there are no confusing apartment blocks with their own numbering scheme. My number has no 'a' or 'b's - i.e. not a split residence. So, basically, no excuses other than laziness or ineptness.

that speed along both of these roads while taking a short cut to the S. Circular No - Melford is the only way to join Lordship Lane as it joins London Road (the South Circular) if you want to either turn right towards Goose Green or to enter Dulwich Common (the South Circular going towards Clapham). Other roads locally (Wood Vale, Underhill) are left turn only (towards Forest Hill), or no entry (Belvoir towards Lordship Lane). Vehicles may speed (bad!) but they have no alternative route. Belvoir is the logical turn if you want to travel towards Underhill off Lordship Lane, travelling either way. The effect of making many of our local roads one-way (or restricted turn) is to funnel traffic down certain routes. These are not 'short-cuts' but the only legal routes. Certainly work towards reducing speeds, but be aware that vehicles, of whatever size, have to travel down local roads to get to destinations locally. And routes are limited once turning and entry restrictions are in place. As they are.

He explained that 'management' had recalulated all the routes using computer software and they are handed out to whoever is on shift. Since the posties are no longer starting and ending at Sylvester Road a route recalculation would have been necessary to optimise their time, although route allocation on the fly is not the Royal Mail norm (where routes are covered by specific posties on a regular basis). I can imagine that many routes would have had to be redesigned, and I understand that because they were being serviced two to a van (taking them from Peckham) they might be different from the old routes. However the very ad hoc approach that appears to be being made (and the fact that some walks are so long that they aren't covered on a 6 days a week basis, as reported and if true) would seem to negate what is the normal service level agreement for the domestic postal service. Something else to raise at the community meeting perhaps?

without the other persons version of events included like the previous one Since when did the prosecution (or defense) have to present the other side's case?