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"Jibes" is far too strong a noun to describe my mild but subtle observations. They were intended ( with a wry smile) to prompt a reader to investigate further. Both Pilger and Batmanghelidhjh undoubtedly were well intentioned and fully committed to their aims. I was impressed in many ways with Batmanghelidhjh's caring and benevolence however she was never a capable administrator or manager. Her legacy would have garnered more acclaim if The Kids Company had a competent manager in charge. I am less accommodating for Pilger. You were correct in mentioning that he got it wrong in later life. He was flawed character. Check out PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions But I could be wrong on both counts, but then I don't read the Gruniad.

The water companies lobbied hard to make the installation of meters compulsory. It's the lobbying that is the scandal. They lobbied for meter for reasons as follows:- 1. It will reduce consumption and this will allow the water companies to reduce reservoir capacity. So they save money in terms of upkeep of the dams , facilities and equipment associated with the reservoirs 2. With fewer reservoirs, they can sell off the land preciously used by the reservoirs to developers 3. And now for one that not many people have considered is that they can introduce variable pricing . Hence in a drought year they could increase the price.

The scandal relates to the methods by which the owners of the water companies and other utilities have bled these companies dry by by various financial strategies. Without exception, the utilities were debt free when privatise. They also had significant assets in the form of land and property. The foreign buyers operating in different tax jurisdictions adopted the following strategies:- 1. Sell off assets - such as land in the water catchment areas. 2 Sell off other assets such as buildings and other property. 3. Pay massive dividends to the parent company overseas. 4. Take on debt to fund the dividends. 5. Take on ore debt - which can be offset against tax. The worst offenders are such "investors" a McQuarrie Bank ( Australia) and the Ontario Teachers Pensioni fund to mention just two. There are many others. Our Tory Government treats such buy-outs as "Inward Investment" and they brag about how much more inward investment the UK gets compared to other European countries. The reality, sadly, is that these foreign takeovers remove these utilities from the UK tax base so the Exchequer has less tax income. Less tax, means less funding for education, NHS, infrastructure etc etc. Other countries such as France and Germany have legislation which is targeted towards preventing foreign take overs. They protect their tax base. I could give you the names of 50 utilities and large businesses that are foreign owned and which pay no UK tax. Just look up Cadburys and the promises that Mondolez made about manufacturing, employment, tax etc etc

Only celebrate? Don't you mean commemorate? Death should only be "celebrated" if it's the demise of someone demonic such as Hitler or Stalin. Surely the thread is a platform for discussing the deceased's character, merits, achievements and failings plus many other things etc, etc. We all know they died before anyone has even posted it on EDF RIP, so why limit the thread to posting the record of their passing. We don't all share the same views. Let us express our feelings freely.

Water metering is a scandal that merits another ITV drama-documentary along the lines of Mr Bates vs The Post Office. The lobbyists who "persuaded" MPs to pass the legislation should be investigated. I'd dearly like to know how many ex-MP's now work for the utility companies or the foreign private equity companies who bought out the water companies.

You could consider buying yourself a little cordless tyre inflator (looks like a cordless drill) for about £70 loke Einhell brand.Then you can always use it when necessary. But then you might ask why you ever need to inflate the tyres. I havn't done mine in about 10 years. So you may have a tyre or valve problem.

Well, he was never one to let the facts get in the way of his campaigning. Well, she certainly have a unique way of dispensing with the funding she received.

I can only imagine that your circumstances and usage are not average. Water consumption depends on multiple variables e.g.:- Number of people in household. Days of actual occupancy throughout the year. Garden area if appropriate. Frequency of flushing toilet(s) Usage of washing own m/c or other arrangements. Car washing etc, etc. Have yet to find anyone who is better off with a meter so it begs the question .... why are water companies so keen to get us on to one. Is it because they could get by with smaller storage reservoirs and so flog off the spare land for development?

@DMF Well said. I've seen foxes and a whole range of birds there plus bats catching insects around the lights at night. It would be a travesty to cut these tress down and replace it with the hard standing that is shown in the plans.

Have objected.

The council says that they propose to "reduce congestion for northbound traffic at the Dulwich Village – Red Post Hill junction." Pray tell, how can that be done when the congestion is due entirely to the LTN measures they introduced during the last 2 years? They also say" We are also proposing pedestrian improvements at the Dulwich Village – Red Post Hill junction." Pray tell, how can this be achieved without impairing traffic movement more than it is at present. The back up of traffic at the DV-RPH-EDG junction is horrendous with all these stationary vehicles pumping out pollutants- not to mention the deterioration of the buses on routes 37, 42 and P4.

Denny Laine of the Moody Blues

Proof is in the form of a response to my FOI request to Southwark in 2021. Their reply was as follows:- Thank you for your request for information that was received on 13 September 2021 in which you requested: The following performances have taken place at "Dulwich Square" that have been funded by the Council. These were Saturday, 14 Aug, 12 noon -Sarah Moule and band Saturday, 21 August, 12 noon - Peter Black: Virtuoso Guitarist Saturday, 21 August, 1pm ish - Calton String Quintet Saturday, 28 August, 12 noon - Mazaika Gypsy Duo Saturday, 28 August, 1pm ish - Trombone Jerome and the Homies Saturday, 4 September, 12 noon - GDS Unlimited My request is for the funding that Southwark provided for each of those events and which should be inclusive all costs including the following a) Fees paid to the performers b) Fees for installation and provision of sound amplification equipment c) Fees for installation and provision of the canvas pergola We can confirm that this group was awarded £3000 from the Neighbourhoods Fund in the South multi ward area. The only expenditure breakdown that is available, relates to budgeted costs that the group provide when they applied (table below). Item of expenditure Breakdown of Costs Insurance & Marketing £ 350 Staging & Sound £ 900 Acts/Performers £1,750 Total £3,000 If you have any queries or concerns then please contact us using the above details. Further information is available through the Information Commissioner at www.ico.org.uk. Yours sincerely Jamie Corner Information Systems Officer

It begs the question................... what unnecessary expenditures and/or useless projects is Southwark spending money on that necessitates such a massive hike ? One such that springs to mind and that is the so-called "Dulwich Square" where it paid performers to "entertain" the well-heeled local residents of DV. Any others that get your goat?

That depends on the browser, no?

Good photo. Can you identify what was stolen.? If so you can can get the police to open a case

I used to go daily (for fresh bread) but not been there since Covid so I'm guessing the basic layout is the same ie the veggiesnear the entrance and the bread + booze is at the miles away at the other end. That way they had you passing all the other aisles which had high margin items on the end displays. I would be surprised that they had changed that basic layout. so is it only the aisles with the less frequently purchase items that have been jumbled up? Whatever, it must be heaps better than Ikea where you are locked into following an endless path with a series of right angle turns all the way to the end, without any means of escape - unless you take one of the fire escape doors!

Admin, II do not want targeted advertising as it makes me feel that I am being monitored, tracked and targeted. I use Edge and had the relevant option turned off in Personalisation & advertising . Kindly advise further on how this issue can be addressed.

Have noticed recently that, in the classified section of the forum, adverts are appearing that appear to be related my recent search words in Google. I find this very unsettling Any one else noticed this behaviour?

The two houses look like 60's or '70's build and are totally out of character with the other houses on EDG. I would not object to JAGS demolishing them and then building a pre-prep facility in the style of the neighbouring houses.

The odds are that he goes there at the same time every day so you should be able to pick him out. If he damaged your car then you have a case to take forward.

I do sympathise, as this is the worst time of the year to be calling a heating engineer. Everyone is turning CH on for the first time in months.

Whatever the short term hassle, any change like this will have been properly costed and risk assessed. The supermarkets sector is massively competitive and runs on margins of around 3%. They make such changes to make their space more efficient. It will, without doubt, have been based on AI taking into account customer movement. and tested in several locations. If it makes them more competitive then we all save with lower prices in what is an inflationary environment. We will all get used to it in the end and the best way to review it is to pay a visit to Tesco or Asda and see how their layouts compare. Supermarket psychology is an interesting subject

Thank you to all those who responded with PM's . Please be advised that the assembly project is a few months away. We are at the advanced prototype stage and thus has to be followed by extended testing followed by component procurement. I will get in contact with you all in due course . Thank you

The dumb Amazon courier could have left the parcels behind the brick wall rather than in full view on your doorstep. Duh!