KirstyH

***** Adding to this chorus of recommendation for Aaron rather than starting a new thread - Aaron completed a much-needed repair to the ceiling and substantial plastering repairs to a main wall and around windows - excellent job. He explained things in an easy to understand way, went above & beyond when the job needed extra work, affordable and didn't mind looking at a few extra things. No hesitation to recommend!

Great to see this doing so well Jim - final stretch for anyone interested in local solar/LED and retrofit schools projects!

Another recommendation! Gary and team have just finished a pretty extensive refurb and repair on outside of house involving full scaffolding, sorting some pretty big cracks in parapet wall, surrounding brickwork and around window area to tackle leaks and damp. He also advised and repaired other external issues that only became visible once the scaffold was up, including repointing whole other part of the wall and a damaged area above the main door. Really thorough knowledge, great communication keeping us updated at all times. He made helpful suggestions and outlined costs at each step - providing photos and videos showing the detail (via WApp). Really good job.

Goldcrest in Peckham Rye Japanese Gardens yesterday - really close-up view, lovely.

Good thread. I liked rahrahrah's response to the first Q about why so personal - being about one's sense of identity and place in the world. Two other Qs strike me i) on reversibility/Art.50 - what does the politial window for reversibility look like wrt how this is seen in Europe? Is there a legal point-of-no-return after which you can't trigger the 'reverse' during the negotiating process and would the default simply be back to BAU (as now)? Even if legally possible, what about the politics - would the dumped 27 want a full marriage again? How much political capital would have been lost through a heavy-handed negotiation strategy? What are the consequences for Britain's role in the EU? National elections in other EU countries next year surely make the landscape even more uncertain. Attitudes can harden quickly. ii) Don't forget the other front - TM has to manage the relationship w other 3 nations of UK - including with the passage of any 'EU Repeal Act'. Another heavy handed bad start - fobbing them off with a hotline to D-Davis. In addition to the absent debate over which Brexit option, I don't have any confidence at all that they know how to run a complex negotiation beyond chest-beating to the media.

Coming in to this conversation late re LHR (not read the other 17 pages) I'd note this on noise sensitivity - those that self-describe as noise sensitive know what they mean and can have conversations about it. Those that don't might have no idea what is being talked about (and may be prone to saying it doesn't exist). I think if noise was coloured or smelled like cigarette smoke you'd be able to have better conversations about it. I think there must be a spectrum of how much stress noise causes. At one end one supermarket has an hour a week for autistic people - no music, range of other noise stimulants turned off/down. I'd personally much rather be in that environment, no pounding music, relentless aural adverts etc. There was also a news story about blood pressure and car noise last week. Obviously you work around it, but the prospect of greater aircraft density is a real concern. Moving down here from Nth London a decade ago, I was gob-smacked at the aircraft noise. I can't work out when the week that you're supposed to have some respite is, I wish they'd publish it, like tide-tables.

For the facts (referenced), this is useful: http://www.airportwatch.org.uk/uk-airports/heathrow-airport/briefing-the-key-facts-figures-about-a-heathrow-3rd-runway/ Interested in above point on 'airspace redesign' stephent - I do want to know the noise implications and flight path consequences. There is little respite from plane noise at the moment, I've been told there are supposed to be weeks when a different LHR runway is used which alter the fly-overs of this area, but honestly I've not noticed it regularly. PS study on link between blood-pressure and road traffic noise reported on yesterday.

JoneM Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I feel we need to vote with our feet, the last > time I was in the plex we were surrounded by empty > seats... It's hard to justify an argument to save a > facility which is being under used. You should have been there 6pm on a Saturday night for the Lego movie. Rammed (and deafening).

Louisa Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > You need to realise that your 'IN' argument falls > in line with the political and urban > intelligentsia line, and therefore the last thing > you should be doing in support of staying in is to > wag your finger at the opposing camp, who are just > lay people who see the EU as bureaucractic. You'll > only encourage the anti establishment movement, > just as happened in Scotland. > > Louisa. I just don't get the point on Scotland here? Wasn't one of your posts above about living the dream and throwing off the shackles of Brussels (I paraphrase) was somewhat similar to the pro-Independence arguments - except that there was a positive vision for Scotland, with underlying values of what that stood for (whether you agreed with it or not). Well, let's see how the Scottish elections go. Thing with the anti-EU debate is that it seems to be more about some contra idea of a Brussels bureaucracy (and hand-picked issues that people don't like about it - I'd have a contra list) rather than the underlying values of a positively envisaged UK. Frankly I don't think I'd want to live in your version of the UK - the summary version sounds a bit too Sarah Palin for me. The Tory 7 that are leading No and presumably fancy themselves running the country - absolutely awful.

The Tories announced an intent to end coal use in UK electricity generation by 2025, last November. This goal has nothing to do with the EU. FYI - Boris also having a heartfelt moment (not a very long moment) on Scotland, in his own words: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scotland/11080893/Scottish-independence-Decapitate-Britain-and-we-kill-off-the-greatest-political-union-ever.html

Boris, FFS. Don't forget Brexit begets Scexit, or makes it far more likely. The SNP manifesto at the 2015 election sought a double threshold to leave - UK wide plus all the individual nations separately. The whole thing about the Scottish Ref that many here appeared to miss is that - at the point of voting - it becomes the risk you are prepared to take that something [for some people, anything] is better than what you have at present. With the IndyRef the entire enterprise had a foundation of a positive vision of what Scotland could be *whether you agreed or not*. There is none around Brexit, only negativity, and idea that some version of 'Brussels' is all crap and some, frankly archaic, view about 'taking control', of what exactly - the waves? What is it people think they would most like to get rid of from Brussels? Can we admit what we don't know, or is it going to be sloganeering? And FYI the coal mines shut under Thatcher, not because of Brussels policy on climate change; an accelerated shut down of UK coal-fired power stations will happen anyway, I estimate with or without air pollution rules, but of course some would rather pollute their kids. That's the point, who's version of Britain do you get with a Brexit?

I absolutely want enforcement of 20mph - this is about quality for people and safety for kids - are we ever going to get kids on bikes (for me that like fish in the Thames being a sign of water quality). It's not just average speed its the aggressive acceleration if they do slow. I've definitely noticed my res. street being used as a rat run, esp vans at 7.30/8am. Over about the last year one of the most dangerous bits of my commute (bike) has become front door to Queens Road.

I have just re-watched the brilliantly funny oz documentary 'cane toads' (youtube, 1988)- there's a great clip with a van careering from one side of the road to the other at high speed to kill the cane toads. I always think of that on roads with those completely pointless speed bumps with the gaps in them. What are they for anyway - ambulances?

Farage can't stay away; others want to get away: #takeuswithyouscotland (an antidote to all the disgusting divisiveness spouted around indyref and this election.

Here's post-election ashcroft poll results (2-sides) about why people voted for the parties they did across UK (yes, a poll - but qualitative and post-fact): http://lordashcroftpolls.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/LORD-ASHCROFT-POLLS-Post-vote-poll-summary1.pdf Holyrood.com highlight the very high score of the SNP vote on values/principles in their choice. Another interesting one to me was Guardian's article about share price impacts of the election - banks, estate agents, bookies etc all going up. http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/may/08/general-election-2015-conservatives-win-city-reaction If only we had a numeric barometer for public 'shares' - NHS, human rights, etc that we could compare it to.

As well as implications of SNP vote, one issue to note is SNP's position on an EU in-out referendum. Their manifesto position is that all of the 4 nations of the UK have to individually vote to come out of the EU before the UK as a whole can be withdrawn - in other words no country can be taken out of the EU unwillingly. Likely to remain a critical issue for SNP. Frankly this may end up being one of the few factors that can put a break on things - given the abysmal tabloid level of debate on Europe in the national media (and among former Tory backbench).

Results for Cam&Peck and Dulwich&WN: swings to Labour and Greens - latter was third in Cam&Peck. Camb&Peck Labour 63.3% share of the total vote +4.1% change in share of the votes Conservative 13.2% share of the total vote +0.1% change in share of the votes Green Party 10.1% share of the total vote +7.1% change in share of the votes Liberal Democrat 5.0% share of the total vote -17.4% change in share of the votes UKIP 4.7% share of the total vote +4.7% change in share of the votes Dulwich & WNorwood Labour 54.1% share of the total vote +7.5% change in share of the votes Conservative 22.7% share of the total vote +0.5% change in share of the votes Liberal Democrat 9.8% share of the total vote -17.3% change in share of the votes Green Party 9.4% share of the total vote +6.8% change in share of the votes UKIP 3.1% share of the total vote +1.7% change in share of the votes

I'm sure it was stable before women got the vote as well - and look what they had to do to dislodge the status quo. Exit polls out - bloody hell.

Any election night events on? List on Huffpost says Cam&Peck is due at c. 3am and Dulwich and W.Norwood at c. 3.30am - full list by time & alphabetic order: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/05/06/election-2015-declaration-times_n_7220684.html?utm_hp_ref=general-election-2015 Anyone looking for analysis & detail on what's happening up in Scotland - I've been recommended Holyrood mag (https://www.holyrood.com/articles/news/general-election-holyrood)

For those interested in SNP and what's going on in Scotland, with some history, this may be an interesting piece: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/26/snp-nicola-sturgeon-westminster-independence-future-of-scotland One of the challenges down in London is that there was very little coverage of what kind of democractic debate / changes were occurring in Scotland following the referendum. The 'national' press were too focused on showing they were right to editorialise in favour of the No vote, and in GE2015 the independence/break up the union rhetoric is an easy way to make divisions and score points, as we are seeing. Frankly I think Sturgeon is impressive, she speaks plainly (rather that the over media-trained, over focus-grouped main leaders) and she has principles, whether you agree with them or not. She is also much less polarising than Salmond in Scotland. I'm personally a 'nae bothered' on Scottish independence, but I am bothered about how the current style and content of politics is leaching out the foundations of engagement/accountability (beyond regulatory affairs industry). Anyway, still to find out if any of the main Westminster parties will really stand up for anything.

The first lovely lovely evening of spring, and the question in my mind is whether it is reasonable or unreasonable to have zero respite from plane noise, whatever time of day it occurs? I thought 20 planes an hour were the max allowed but they have been going over constantly this evening. Did anyone else notice this? Airport decisions are highly commercial, and political, as far as I can see. It's not bleating it is about reasonable decisions. I was driven inside. PS I searched EDF on 'plane' and this was the first thread that came up, happy to get redirected to a link and I might learn how flight paths & frequency can occur like this evening.

Thanks - blue bikes (or red bikes) in SE London would be great. On the blue cycle lane through Peckham - definitely feels safer to me (and not noticed it being slippery). However it is only 7am to 7pm Monday to Friday. I stopped to ask a taxi driver not to park in the cycle lane and he pointed to the sign... So when you might need it - in evening/night when it's dark, or at the weekend when a few more people might be tempted onto bikes, its carte blanche to drive or potentially park in them. LCC said it was probably timed with the bus lanes - but what is the point? Are all the superhighways similarly timed?

Thanks Applespider - I'll see what the Council have to say on this area. It doesn't seem right to have to get planning permission to change buildings but then to be able to cut trees down. To be honest I doubt these are 'special' trees that have preservation orders on them, they were just full of action all the time. The cherry had loads of tits, once or twice long-tailed tits, goldfinches, an ever present wood pigeon or two just staying on and a phenomenal display of blossom like a heavy snow fall (which I monitored the dates over over the years to try and understand seasonal change). Anyway, it'll grow back and I'll get over it.

Query about tree surgery cutting back - the absolutely beautiful cherry over the road has been almost clearfelled. When tree surgeons did someone else's tree along the road they left quite a few narrow branches that left height and some foliage(and privacy I imagine) as well as the 'look' of the tree. But this has been taken back to a trunk and some blunt branch stubs (about 1.5-2 floors of height has been lost). Is there any 'planning permission' / consultation stuff about this - privacy, light and - nature. I fully appreciate the root stuff/home foundations, but in this case it seems extreme and it impacts daily life re privacy (and mental health!) Part of the reason to ask is that there's a substantial ash out the back (not in the garden of this flat) and I'm worried is going to come under the cosh at some point. I pretty much bought the flat because of that tree. Surely if you have to consult for building permission, then cutting a tree to its scalp should also be covered?

Ah all quiet at the border now, blood pressure down. But this might be interesting - posted today on OpenDemocracy - English Reflections on the Scottish Referendum, by an English woman giving her own view of why many English probably didn't clock what was going on. https://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/beth-kahn/looking-through-distorted-window-english-reflections-on-scottish-referendum