Penguin68

Calling them 'Penthouses' is a bit of an over statement.. A small steel framed box on the roof of a super market / offices does not IMHO constitute a Penthouse. DulwichFox Actually, in architectural terms, the definition of a penthouse is 'In architecture, the term penthouse is used to refer to a structure on the roof of a building that is set back from the outer walls. These structures do not occupy the entire roof deck. High-rise buildings often have penthouse structures called mechanical penthouses that enclose mechanisms such as elevator equipment.' On that basis, and on architectural plans, the definition is acceptable, even if, in estate agent marketing terms, they would be a pudding well over-egged.

Ah, journeys - but if you walked to a bus stop, would you class this in a survey as a bus journey or a walk? If you go jogging, is this a journey. This is the whole problem with survey based information, you only get answers to the specific questions you ask. This doesn't tell me about pedestrian miles walked for any reason. It just tells me about primary intentional movement from a to b.

Most importantly, the number of pedestrian miles walked has decreased enormously over the decades - far fewer children walk to school, far fewer people walk to the shops etc - so in simple terms fewer pedestrians are being killed as there are fewer out there to kill. Unless you have figures for this, I am not sure you are right - (1) the population itself has risen (2) many more journeys are now made on public transport - and thus many more people have to walk to/ from bus stops or train stations (outwith those driving to a station and parking) - (3) leisure walking (and particularly jogging) is on the increase. Although you are clearly right about school journeys, I suspect that the loss of these is outweighed by these other factors - indeed I see little evidence that people do not walk whilst shopping - other than those driving to DKH etc, locally. And even those may well walk to some shops. The 'close shaves' I have seen recently have been those in LL jaywalking across the roads without looking for oncoming traffic - however slowly it now proceeds. So I think that the fall in pedestrian fatalities is a function of life being safer, not of fewer opportunities for disaster.

While it may be true that some independents who will be in competition with M&S may have to look at their pricing Pricing is just one tool for competitive marketing - service/ quality and innovation are the other two key levers to gain competitive edge. M&S competitors may offer a wider range (i.e. branded goods) or different service levels - the problems of parking have been pointed out, so allying with a delivery service locally could offer an edge. Certainly price gouging will no longer be a real option - but you don't just have to compete on price.

The 'rules' about competition suggest that when a serious competitor enters a market others in the market will tend to have to 'improve' - in terms of price, quality or innovation (for local stores the latter may well be product range) in order to compete. So the entrance of M&S will raise the bar to others, both those already failing (the Coop) - who may go to the wall, but also those currently perceived to be successful - such as Moxon's. As punters we may thus expect to see better, or cheaper, or a wider range of goods on offer to us (in the market space being addressed by M&S of course) - although there may even be wider uplift on non-competitive stores as well, as customer expectations (particularly in terms of service quality) are raised. Even for those who choose not to shop in M&S the benefits the store may bring to the 'offer' in LL and environs could be marked, as it impacts other businesses around it.

has anyone any idea who it will be Conways

Is 'Eastern European' a code for Romany? This is the only Eastern European group who might be identifiable. Looking into bins (if they are not on private premises) is little different from the middle class activity of 'skip-ping' - many of us have 'rescued' period architectural features in the past (and even furniture) when houses were being done-up. Up-cycling is nowadays actually a positive thing, as re-cycling has always been. As described I very much doubt whether these ladies were identity thieves.

The most useful service sub Post Offices offer today is the pricing and posting of packages and parcels, including registered and guaranteed delivery etc. Most other services can either be offered on-line, via other service providers (such as banks) or through other retailers (stamps). Sub Post Offices are also used as delivery points for PO Parcels, which can be convenient - but other outlets could be as well (as they are for Hermes etc.). The Post Office already does outsource some parcel handling to non-Sub Post Offices. Occasional services, such as handling passport applications, are also useful, but are hardly day-to-day requirements for most customers. For an area as well served as ED is - having a main post office as well as several sub post offices - the economic demand for these is at the margin. It is always sad to lose something you have liked and is convenient for you - but social need has to be a great deal more in evidence to allocate tax funds to maintaining uneconomic sub-post offices in an area like ours. In rural locations where the next office may be miles distant, without very regular bus services, the argument is different.

If you want truly authentic Indian food, you would mostly be eating dhal, rice and nan. In India whether you eat the majority of your starch/ carbohydrate as bread (or breads) or rice tends to be a regional choice - so it's likely, amongst the poor, to be either rice or nan, and for slightly wealthier people perhaps a small amount of one with a majority of the other. And you shouldn't confuse what a majority of people in the sub continent would eat (based on their disposable wealth) as the choice of the middle classes in the subcontinent, which we on the forum would mainly qualify as (yes, even those screaming out their 'working class' credentials). Clearly there are those who for religious reasons will be vegetarian or vegan (Jains, for instance) and there their diet will be much more restricted - but for those middle class without religious sensibilities the range and variety of their food (even if 'only' vegetarian) will be far more varied and tasty than simply dhal and rice/ nan. So an 'authentic' 'Indian' meal in ED terms would not be restricted to what the majority of those living in the subcontinent might be able to afford. It would be a meal as eaten by those in similar circumstances to us would be eating. Which would be damn nice.

I have always enjoyed the CP Lorenzo's (they did a great lunch-time deal as I recall) - I haven't had a bad experience at Si Mangia - they were always to my mind a very old style Italian (like we had in the 70s) - none the worse for that as they delivered what they promised - but I probably prefer the more modern (regional) take on Italian food. But the staff were excellent and welcoming. Let's hope the new ED Lorenzo's can match its CP parent.

Very important to shred anything with any personal info If you have a compost heap, and compost lawn mowings, then shredded paper is very useful to add bulk and air to the compost, and is certainly very secure. Cross-cut (not just strip) shredding is the safer method - cross-cut shredders are readily available and not much more expensive than the other type.

Sub post offices take up a lot of floor space (in a small shop) and require specially (costly) trained staff (without whom they cannot open). In order to be economic they need to generate quite substantial revenues (considering the lost retail space they require to operate at all). The general use of post office services is reducing so that revenue opportunities are almost certainly diminished and further diminishing. Unless they are operating with no competition (this one isn't) their chances of substantial revenues are limited from Post Office business. In addition Post Office Counters have notoriously poor (and well documentedly so) accounting software, which has led to many sub Postmasters being wrongly accused (and convicted) of theft. I am not at all surprised that shop keepers withdraw from being sub Postmasters. Additionally PO Counters itself is continuously reviewing sub Post Offices. It may have decided to withdraw the licence based on the proximity of the Main Post Office in LL - possibly it wishes to boost its revenue figures there to make it more economically viable. That could be of much greater interest to it than customer convenience.

If you buy a ticket and plan around it, then the train company should liable for your losses as a result of any cancellations. Not just the pro-rata cost of a season ticket. If you need to get a cab, in order to make an appointment, then they should pick up the cost. This is what is called 'consequential loss' and many (most?) enterprises aim to protect themselves from such claims by limiting their liability to direct loss only.

The Threepenny Novel is the novelization of Bertold Brecht's Threepenny Opera. The plot is the same with Peachum (inter alia) running gangs of beggars who have to pay him for their pitch. Both are based on the English eighteenth century Beggars Opera (libretto John Gay).

There are very good reasons why many people discourage supporting street begging through donations - not only can these 'beggars' at times be anything but legitimate - but very frequently monies given are then used for purposes which do not benefit the long term health and well being of the beggar - there are numbers of recognised (and very good) charities which address the needs of the homeless and those unable to look after themselves properly - giving money through them both ensures that genuinely needy people get the benefit, but also ensures that the money is 'well' spent in terms of what it buys, including focused help and training to move people off the streets. [big Issue sellers (those with proper ID) I place as part of a proper charitable activity]. I would also except from these strictures buskers - these are people who are offering entertainment in exchange for payment - at least the 'transaction' is more clear, they are looking for a reward for skill, not for just being there. This very unpleasant begging scam (The link to the Threepenny Opera is very relevant) could be readily stopped if people stopped street giving to beggars. There are far more effective (and tax efficient) ways to be charitable to those in need.

This is a terrible story. In the old days, pre hands-free mobiles, seeing anyone apparently talking (or shouting) to themselves was an immediate warning sign - suggesting a disturbed individual. Now half the people (walking on their own) I pass in the street (at certain times of day) are talking or shouting - but into hands-free apparatus. So the old cues and triggers no longer work. You did exactly the right thing in making an escape - and it is an area where disturbed (though by no means dangerous to anyone but themselves in most instances) people can be found. There is a tragic shortage of treatment availability, even around here - much better provided than many parts of the country - for those with mental problems. Most may be frightening but are actually harmless (to third parties, self-harming is very common) but there is no way of judging that at the moment of threat.

You may well be right Penguin68 but why is it being enforced now when it hasn't been for at least 14 years? Good (or at least understandable) point - if you could prove you have been using it regularly without enforcement it is possible that you could argue for custom and practice (particularly as there were no road markings, which were common 14 years ago). On the other hand, failure to enforce a law in the past, doesn't obviate it. I would guess it's being enforced now as part of a general crack-down on non-legal parking - I refer you to the recent thread on the parking of unexpected coaches on junctions. Once you start to enforce parking laws, you cannot make exceptions without that in itself becoming suspect.

But parking across a driveway when a car is in it is different to parking across a gateway that you know is never used. I don't think this is so - if it was possible to prove that it was completely unusable (a wall had been built behind it), perhaps - but otherwise the authorities cannot assume that certain knowledge - even if it had not been used up to that point, you would not be able to assert it would thus never be used. Only if you had authority to park across a gateway from the owner or occupant of the property whose gateway it was could you have some defense in law. You have said that there was junk inside the gates, but on that very day that you parked, a vehicle could have been scheduled to arrive to move that junk (OK, extremely unlikely, but you are not to know, for certain, that might not have been planned). Either parking over a dropped kerb is illegal, or it isn't. Authority (from the property owner) to do so is a point to be argued in mitigation.

I have done so, but in another town. Some private home care companies will offer per diem arrangements. Often to cover a regular carer's abscence.

Food waste Textiles Plastic bags Black bags Interestingly, today, the 'blue bin' men put (into my bin for collection) rubbish from other bins, which included items in plastic bags (including black plastic) bags. I was slightly worried my bin then wouldn't be collected - but no problems on that front!

Ours is on Tuesday as well - arrived and did the business as normal. I have found that the times of arrival aren't always exactly the same, but generally for us in Underhill below Langton Rise mid to late morning for both blue (and alternately green) and brown bins. The brown bins crews (each week) are the same, as are the blue/green bin crews - so if your green bin has been collected last week that should be the same crew as collects your blue bins on alternate weeks. They may not collect the bin if it contains something clearly not dry recyclable - but if that's not the case they may just be missing it. Do you pull it to the front of the property?

Pride of our alley...

I have now had a (satisfactory) response from TFL to this:- Dear xxxxx Thanks for your email on 31 July about a route P13 bus driver you observed forcing an ambulance on an emergency call to reverse back. I appreciate the time you?ve taken to write to us about this and I?m sorry for any concern this caused you. We expect a very high standard of service from every bus driver in London whilst on the roads. If requested to by emergency services bus drivers should reverse the bus in order to allow them to pass through. Poor driving standards or driving without due care or attention is unacceptable. We continue to monitor driving performance, to ensure that high standards are followed and maintained. Every month we carry out over 600 Driver Quality Monitoring surveys. This provides us with technical assessments of their driving skills. Drivers are assessed on acceleration and braking, as well as the use of mirrors and road positioning. I can assure you I?ve been in contact with Abellio who operates the bus route P13 on our behalf and made them aware of your comments. With the information you?ve helpfully provided they?ll identify the driver who'll be spoken to about this and appropriate action will be taken. Thanks again for getting in touch. If I can be of any more assistance please contact me directly..... Kind regards (name) Customer Service Adviser Transport for London Customer Services Amended to say - actually - I wrote to them on the 29th July - but the damn e-mail got caught in my outbox for 2 days!

Presumably a reduction in costs doesn't necessarily lead to reductions to ticket prices You are right, of course it doesn't, reduced costs are an opportunity either to increase profits or (in a competitive environment, which this isn't) reduce prices. My point was that an action which would reduce costs cannot be prayed in aid as a contributor to above inflation price rises - with unions working to counter the cost-reduction seen as champions of working against price rises through their actions. I do not expect that the cost reductions achieved by Driver Only operation will in any way lead to reduced prices to customers - although a regulator with even a single tooth might at least more firmly resist calls to allow increased prices, in the light of cost reduction. The RMT arguments about safety play rather better here - the trains in question do not have automatic cut-outs which stop operation when the doors are jammed open (e.g. by a punter) (unlike tube trains) - they rely on someone (now the guard and driver, in future just the driver) to notice a trapped passenger and act accordingly. There has been at least one incident of dragging recently.

Mr Barber wrote:- Repeated above inflation ticket price rises aren't acceptable. Hence the RMT fighting so hard against Southern introducing Driver Only Operated trains on the few remaining routes. I'm afraid this is a non sequitur - reducing staffing costs would help avoid further price rises - the RMT fighting against this will have the tendency to increase costs above the level of Driver Only Operated Trains (by the wages of the Guard). There are arguments in favour of the RMT action - but not those of economy.