Penguin68

It does take several seasons with glyphosate to completely eradicate the weed, but it does work - assiduously spraying as soon as it leafs up in the spring and regularly repeating the dose will do it. The commercial eradicators will also often dig up the weeds roots as much as they can. This is a big job. The weed is very vigorous and should only be burnt if it is being disposed of. Because the stem is hollow but segmented (like a bamboo) cutting it and directly apply glyphosate into the stem will not work - you must drench the leaves. The commercial removal route is preferable if you are aiming to sell the property quickly - as mortgage companies hate it. In fact the weed is not as damaging to the built environment as was first thought/ feared (it will not undermine and bring down walls etc.) - but mortgage companies, like insurers, take the precautionary principle to ridiculous lengths. If you see it growing 'in the wild' (it was quite common in e.g. Camberwell Old Cemetery) it's actually quite pretty, especially in flower.

When I posted on this previously there appeared to be little support in favour of reclaiming our pavements Do remember that, e.g. in LL, much of the pavement is not 'ours' but belongs to the curtilage of the shops - some of whom do actually segregate their areas clearly from the pubic pavement but others don't - so that when they are not open (normally), the whole width, including 'their' areas, are available to pedestrians. That explains why the upkeep of these areas may not be consistent (Southwark doesn't work on non-public areas). So some at least of the 'spread' is actually within private areas. The broad pavements - at least on the 'east' side of the Lane - contain both public and private land.

If you want to contact Ms Hamvas (who with other current and former councilors does use this forum, but not obsessively) try contacting her directly - a general post such as this may well not be picked up by her for some time if at all (particularly if it drops down the 'pecking order'). As a councilor her contact details are readily available.

20 or so years ago in Langton Rise (by Camberwell Old Cemetery) I was surrounded by police in full riot gear and carrying automatic weapons who rushed towards me - I only saw the cameras filming an episode of The Bill after I'd had a mild heart attack!

In the 80s Southwark was declared a nuclear free zone. As indeed was Greenwich - both declarations seemed entirely 'safe' (nice bit of virtue signalling, nothing needing to be done) - but of course Greenwich had, (a State Secret at the time) a working nuclear generator - in The Royal Naval College - as it was then - to train submariner engineers - it was sited in the Queen Mary Building. Not that powerful, of course, but still Greenwich was anything but a nuclear free zone. And Southwark did of course benefit from electricity generated by nuclear power throughout its 'nuclear free' status.

Deportation of EU nationals and others for criminal offences is rising. At a time of prison overcrowding this may be the optimal way of serving justice and removing criminal elements from our society.

They might equally have been relaxed if they had been caught bang-to-rights. Career criminals accept arrest (and sentence) as 'part of the job'. They may also assume (if they are foreign nationals) that they will get away with light sentences.

Again - the roads bordering Lordship Lane that were originally included have been taken out of the finalised zone Actually, I think, 'which were originally part of a wide ranging proposal which was opened up for public consultation and which were widely opposed by local people' would be slightly more accurate - they never formed part of the final proposal drawn up after the consultation and put to the council for decision. And that proposal suggested much more limited (2 hour ban) time of operation for all roads save those adjacent to ED station and close to the hospital site. Again, happy to be corrected, but I think that was has now been agreed is more draconian in some aspects than had been anticipated.

Councellor James Barber - you?re a sensible bloke... It's James Cash who is now the Goose Green Ward councilor ... James Barber, who still usefully contributes to the forum - lost his seat - and was a supporter of CPZs when in power, although only (I think) where a true majority desired them. I'm interested that as far as I can see the idea of a limited time CPZ (which did gain some support in some places) seems to have been dropped in favour of an all-day one across the board (unless I've missed something) - much more lucrative of course, and much less sensitive to the needs of traders in LL and environs. But then, who cares about commerce or the people's will when you can soak car owners? And I can't see, in a cursory reading, any options for traders and businesses in the zone to apply for parking rights. [i would be very happy to be corrected on both these above points].

James - it is not just that Thames Water has blocked off the roads, they also appear to be doing very little actual work while blocking off the roads. Not only Barry but (granted outside ED but with knock-on effects to (some of) those living there) just outside Honor Oak Park Station, where one lane is blocked, requiring lights to control traffic but where, apart from a slight hole dug a few days ago, no work (not even any workmen) can be seen (I went past at 9.00 yesterday, again at 2.00 and again at 6.00 and there was no sign at all of workmen or work). At Barry there are crowds of orange suited gents, but they don't appear (at least until a couple of days ago - I haven't checked since then to actually be doing any/ much work. A little desultory digging is all, just enough to screw things up. And parking up loads of vehicles to block usage for residents, of course. I know that remedial work is necessary, but shouldn't the councils be requiring that there are clear plans for that work to take place, with fines if roads are being blocked when work isn't taking place? The Barry Road debacle must have been a long time being prepared for (!) - surely it's reasonable, when blocking a numbered road and a bus route, for the council to require utilities to demonstrate that they are planning for minimum disruption - so getting the right people and kit on site at the right time. And working all day, everyday. If they (the utilities) can't do that, they should be being charged a daily fee for road disruption. Indeed I suspect that if they were charged such a fee their planning (and work rate) would be of a far higher quality!

It looks like its the CATs themselves, and not just the platinum in them, that are now the target, as they are also taking sensors. I've now been told that the sensors being taken may simply be because that's easier than leaving them behind for some CATs - it may still be just the platinum in the converter that's the target. The cars being targeted are the ones with the most readily accessible CATs for this type of road-side theft. And yes, as others have also said, all we can do is look out for our neighbours and call the police if we see something suspicious. But at least we know that something untoward is happening out there and can be alert for it.

Fireworks fulfil a need for excitement and spectacle, which many (not of course all) of us have. And they can be a way to mark occasions, to make them memorable. Or as a way of displaying wealth through conspicuous consumption (literally having money to burn). They are a route to an end.

Cats, dogs and all animals were around before fireworks ! And people were around before domesticated animals - so what please them comes first? As far as actual living-now animals (individuals, not species) are concerned, fireworks certainly pre-date them. Oh, and as we are actually animals as well, how come our needs are being ignored?

In general the police take a different view of cars blocking an entrance when there is no car on the drive, and when one is being blocked from exiting (which makes sense). Your condition should encourage them further. In fact I believe that you would be justified (I'm not suggesting this) if you used your car to push the other out of the way. I think there is some case law on that.

I have just heard (from my garage) that there is a spate of CAT thefts both locally and wider in London - leading to 3 month waiting lists for some spares! Police rumour has it that an Eastern European gang is behind many of these - the converters are removed on the street - cut-out quite brutally, with sensors taken as well (which is where the shortage is). If you see people working under cars (obviously particularly at night) - call the cops! Although replacement costs to car owners (or their insurers, if they are prepared to pay) will be close to ?1000 when the costs of parts (?600 for a CAT, plus the sensors and electronics) and labour are taken into account, the thieves are probably only getting ?40-?60 for what they steal! [NB as the repair costs are so high, insurers will often try to write-off the vehicles based on their assessment of on-street value - and they pay-out only the cost over the excess anyway]. It looks like its the CATs themselves, and not just the platinum in them, that are now the target, as they are also taking sensors.

Just to add that 'movement' may not equate to subsidence (although subsidence is always a result of movement!). Most houses of any age do flex, and this will cause small cracks - which can be exacerbated by e.g. heavy trucks bouncing over speed bumps. Additionally additions to houses can pull-away - but this can be sorted without it being a function of subsidence (often they are not tied-in in the way that original features are). It is when the cracks are wide and opening quickly that you need to be concerned. Photographing any external cracks with a ruler will allow you to judge movement and its speed (and give you a record if there are stable cracks for any future sale issues!). Subsidence is a problem when the conditions are worsening - past evidence of movement (even quite substantial movement) may not necessarily be evidence of continuing problems. Removal of trees can cause movement which then stabilises, for instance. If the house is still standing there is no reason why it won't continue to stand. [And some evidence of movement locally dates back to bomb damage - if the house is still here after that, it ain't going anywhere - a friend discovered a wall more than a foot out of true through that cause - 60 years and more after the bomb had fallen!].

Sorry Penguin 68, in practice you do have to call the police. Look at the post again - double negative - I was definitely saying 'call the police'. Certainly no one who witnesses such a terrible assault should not call the police - That is 'anyone who does see ... should call the police'

Violence associated with adult autism is comparatively rare (that is violence by the autistic person - self-harm and violence to an autistic person is more common). Despite the claim made by the 'companion' I would treat the possibility that this person is autistic with great caution. Certainly no one who witnesses such a terrible assault should not call the police - medium secure psychiatric units are designed to provide treatment to people who are diagnosed with psychiatric problems and cannot contain their violent outbursts. And prisons for those without such an excuse. https://www.mdedge.com/psychiatry/article/77690/neurology/violent-behavior-autism-spectrum-disorder-it-fact-or-fiction https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27185105 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5980973/ https://www.autism.org.uk/about/behaviour/challenging-behaviour.aspx

Some nurseries offer packs of 'naturalising' bulbs - which would be good for areas which are not frequently disturbed. This is the planting which keeps on giving. Otherwise pollinator friendly wild flowers would be a good choice (expenditure on Goose Green roundabout tends to be of the 'rebuild because another over-large lorry has rammed it' nature. Perhaps there's nothing much left for horticulture there?). We are lucky in the south of the borough to have so much parkland available. And to have quite (and quiet) leafy streets (the planting of ornamental cherries really paid back this year). Planting in tree pits has the drawback that these are often quite arid and can be vandalised. When it does work it's lovely.

'Lawn sand' is commonly applied to grassy areas to encourage drainage (you would normally spike the lawn as well, using a spiked roller). Is it possible that the grassy areas have been so treated?

Les, as you were a witness to this, maybe you should call https://www.rspca.org.uk/utilities/contactus/reportcruelty The chances of someone knowing this woman and also being a ED Forum-er are probably quite slight.

BT chooses which platform your e-mail address(es) is/ are parented on. Mine is/ are on Yahoo (which was their default platform way-back when BT and Yahoo partnered - now e-mail is all that is left of that partnership). They were planning to migrate all their services away from Yahoo (and indeed have partly done so - my Yahoo (as opposed to BT Yahoo Mail) log-on now takes me back to BT screens - I can no longer log-on to the Yahoo news server). However although the service is now run by BT the platform it runs on is Yahoo's - and it is this platform which has failed. Office 365 (Outlook) is a mail handler (ap) but it takes its mail from the server platforms it is parented on. Edited to note that I have accessed one email sent this afternoon over my version of Outlook. So some things are coming through via the Microsoft ap, (and also via the native Mail ap on Windows 10). But I suspect only some.

My Virgin Media is fine. As (I think) it's not on the Yahoo email platform that's not surprising. BT's underlying network infrastructure is fine - it's a (much used) 3rd party email platform which is at fault.

It appears that the problem is with BT's underlying mail service provider, Yahoo - and that other (non BT) services which also rely on Yahoo are impacted. BT talks about moving its service from the Yahoo platform, but never seems to get round to it, or not for a significant number of its customers.

Just a heads-up that BT Mail has a major outage - although other BT Internet/ broadband provided services are working OK. It seems to be impacting across the country. https://downdetector.co.uk/status/bt-british-telecom/map/