floradora

Recently received a penalty fine for driving down Amott Road and turning right into Adys road. I am a very vigilant driver but had not noticed the sign on the left saying it was a pedestrian and cycle zone between 3pm- 3.45pm. (My ticket was issued at 3.04 not that that's particularly relevant). Like other people on this thread have said, the signs need to be much bigger, markings on the road, flashing lights- whatever to draw attention to them - and most importantly signs on both sides of the road not just the left which is the passenger side and where a driver is less likely to focus especially when there are high vehicles such as vans parked. I would never have driven down this street willingly trying to break the rules , I simply did not notice the sign because as others have said, when you are driving down a narrow London street that you are unfamiliar with - parked cars on either side, cyclists to navigate, delivery vans unloading etc your attention is on the road and not on a relatively small sign on the left. I walked back down that road yesterday to actually see where the sign was as I was shocked I had missed it and angry about the fine. I am 100 per cent for keeping roads traffic free outside schools at drop off and pick up but the signage needs to be much better. Right now I imagine the penalty fines are pouring in which is probably just how Southwark Council likes it. Get better signage. How many people have been innocently caught out at this particular junction? Has anyone successfully disputed their penalty here because of poor signage?

hi EDmummy - my child's a girl. How about yours?

Hi. ..I've got a child who is dyslexic (although it's fairly mild - they're not on the SEN register ) and I'll be applying for secondary schools in October. I wanted to hear from parents with dyslexic children about local state secondary schools - which ones are more geared up for dyslexic children / how do I find out / positive experiences / any helpful feedback or advice when making applications. It's a bit of a minefield and I don't know where to begin. We live in SE22. Am sure there will have been threads about this in past so feel free to shove me in right direction. Thanks

Thanks for all the advice and helpful websites. Sadly I decided to pay the fine as it seemed I had little chance of winning. And the lesson is ....don't wait for someone to move out of a space. Keep moving at all times.

Hi there, I'm a freelance writer looking for women (ideally between the ages of 25 and 35) for a new weekly column in Closer magazine which gives money saving advice and tips. You will need to talk about your spending habits, give a breakdown of your average monthly expenses, your earnings and provide a headshot picture of yourself. A money saving expert from the Money Advice Service then gives feedback and tips on how you could be making savings and offers general advice which will appear in the magazine alongside the mini-interview with you. The interview will take 15 minutes on the phone. I need to find willing volunteers as soon as possible. If you're interested or know someone who might be please direct message me or you can call on 07958961396. Thank you!

http://parkingphotos.lambeth.gov.uk/viewDetails.asp?id=4 Video link

If you've got 2 mins & nothing better to do, watch this vid and tell me is this fair / have I got a hope in hell of winning an appeal (Have already had it rejected once, so it's round 2) I am at Herne Hill, in the silver car, double parked basically waiting for a guy a couple of cars down to pull out of his space (he has gestured to me to say he's just loading his boot and then he'll be off). I'm desperate for his space because there are no others and I've got a heavy cage to carry into the vets right beside that row of cars and a toddler in the back. I'm there, sat in the car, for no longer than 2 minutes while the guy (who you can see moving across the page wheeling something)loads up and pulls off. I then move into his space. Job done. A week later I get a ticket and a ?65 fine which goes up to ?130 tomorrow. I've appealed once. Rejected. Lambeth say I was causing an obstruction to vehicles and a possible obstruction to emergency vehicles (well no I'm not as you can clearly see cars passing me and it also happens to be a dead end so hardly going to have emergency vehicles trying to speed through) Seconds after the video stops I pull into the empty space but of course they don't show that bit. What's the verdict. Pay ?65 or appeal again? http://parkingphotos.lambeth.gov.uk/viewDetails.asp?id=4

thanks for the advice everyone and - I will give wordpress a try and see how I fare

I'm a freelance writer and want to create a website showcasing the kind of stuff I do - I'm pretty clueless with technology so am daunted about doing it myself - the kind of thing I had in mind was something like this http://www.beckyhowardmedia.com (this is a freelance journalist's website that I found online) is there a template I can use / is there someone local / web designer who can help with this kind of thing? Advice appreciated, thanks.

our black cat Sammy has been missing since last night - I'm really worried it might be him - We're on crystal palace road backing onto ulverscroft - was the cat completely black? he is micro-chipped but guess if the cat was that badly attacked that might be useless - my mobile is 07958961396

oh I didn't notice that - I did notice the nasty Linda had gone shopping in White Stuff though which I thought was a bit unlikely

If you're looking for something to do this week go and see Treacle Jr - I went to see it last night at Clapham Picture House and loved it - funny, very original, heart-breaking in bits - it's all about a man who walks out on his family one day and meets a child-like guy in A and E who's just brimming with optimism - the pair end up hanging out and things go from there - watch the trailer to get a taste -it was filmed almost entirely around SE22 / SE15 so had fun spotting all the locations - Peckham Rye, The Herne, Lordship Lane, Blue Brick Cafe, Goose Green - written and directed by local resident Jamie Thraves - think it's on for a week... http://www.treaclejr.com/