malumbu

I've planted a meadow out front, it needs a lot of work. It's lovely until August and then grotty until the next spring as once the flowers have died back it doesn't have a lot going for it. Clover is the last one to flower. It will get admiring looks when in bloom. I laugh quite loud when I pass one neighbour with plastic grass, not only is it dead to nature it is not even laid well, I should be crying.

Hope you are all leaving nesting material out.

I've not engaged in this debate so far but you can't be more wrong. In the UK our own language is English, there is a small minority who can rightly claim their language is Welsh or Gaelic, and a couple Cornish. British Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Christians, atheists etc will usually speak British, even if not their first language. The vast majority will be able to understand English. A small percentage, less than two percent, of people living in the UK have little or no English (census data). It is right that in certain situations eg schools there is signage and information in other languages, providing public information. It is wrong that a political party do this, particularly one who came across as opportunist on this occasion. There is an interesting conversation about British expats living, for example, on the continent, where I expect huge swathes who can hardly say a word of French, Spanish etc.

Sad that drivers, and I expect particularly parents, behave so irresponsibly. If not putting you at personal risk get a photo of the vehicle and the driver and report it to the school. I know that Goodrich are very keen to encourage parents to not to do this sort of thing.

On a sad but happier note. RIP

Police, Safer Neighbourhood Team, they deal a lot with disputes. They will do it nicely.

Rude. In my understanding in central government, market and social research, as with all research, has to show good value for the public purse through the procurement and project management process. From my understanding this goes through the Research Marketplace Dynamic Purchasing System. From AI: Research Marketplace Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS, RM6126) offers high value for money by providing access to a broad, constantly updated pool of pre-qualified social and market research suppliers. It drives competition through mandatory mini-competitions, reducing procurement time and costs while facilitating access to innovative, specialized, and SME suppliers. And similarly from AI: Under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force in February 2025, authorities are required to consider broader social, economic, and environmental benefits, often termed social value. With your better knowledge than me, is this correct? It's twenty five years since I was involved in social research, and from an even earlier time I was involved in some niche stuff that involved consumers that certainly went out to a competitive tender, being awarded to BRMB working with academics. Maybe we can discuss over a beer sometime - my niche area is something that I expect has never been of interest to EDF. (Although interestingly relevant the other well known EDF). So let's talk about the research that Sunak funded in the "end the war on motorists", where he commissioned Ipsos to come out with the answer that LTNs don't work and should be scrapped. How on earth did he choose a market research organisation that managed to get this wrong? Could he have gone to the Russian's as Rockets suggested from earlier 'dodgy' research to get the right answer? Anyway, irrespective of the data on congestion, air quality and crime, which ho doubt some of you will say was biased, the survey work that Ipsos carried out showed that it was far from black and white, and a significant number of residents actually welcomed these schemes. Sunak delayed publication but it had to come out sooner of later. It didn't save him and the interim guidance to local authorities was ditched under Starmer. Sadly, whether on purpose or by accident, your posts gave some a stick to beat me with. I'll address that separately with respect to the unsubtle jibe made on another thread. Meanwhile worth a good read, I've yet to fully digest it. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65f400adfa18510011011787/low-traffic-neighbourhoods-research-report.pdf Exacting from that: Ipsos designed a survey to gather the insights of residents already living within existing LTN schemes. This involved sampling 12,723 addresses within four LTN scheme areas: • Birmingham: Lozells Places for People • London: Arlington Road Camden • Wigan: Worsley Mesnes • York: Navigation Road A total of 1,852 residents aged 16+ completed a survey during October-December 2023 using a ‘push- to-web’ methodology. An invitation to take part in an online survey was mailed to addresses, followed by a reminder mailing which included a postal survey as well as repeating the invitation to take part online. This generated an unadjusted response rate of 15%15 although response varied considerably by area, shown in Table 4.1 @Penguin68 is this methodology suitably objective? Or was it designed to give a pro LTN outcome as some seem to suggest? The penultimate page of the report gives the Ipsos assurance process I've put in a deliberate mistake in my post above as a test.

Police are responsible for speed cameras, often these only go up after a serious incident or two. If speeding was decriminalised and went to local authorities to enforce then our roads would be safer as there would be far less speeding. https://www.london.gov.uk/who-we-are/what-london-assembly-does/questions-mayor/find-an-answer/enforcement-20mph-zones-local-roads

If you want to change a radiator and it is the same size, pretty straight forward. isolate by turning the two valves, one is straight forward hand twist, the other side you need to take the cap off and get an adjustable spanner and turn till closed. Both clockwise. Use the same spanner to undo the large nuts that fix the radiator to the pipework, open the bleed valve, get a flatish container to catch the water which is likely to be a grotty black, sheets/plastic underneath to protect floor/floor covering. Then jiggle off, tipping as quick as you an into your water container. Fingers crossed it will be the same back plate fitting. If not you will have to take the old one off and fix the new one. Replacement is a reverse, allowing the rad to refill and let the air out. No naked flames involved. If it is a different size I can advise on that too. Lots on line too: https://www.toolstation.com/help-and-advice/how-to-guides/how-to-remove-radiator?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19747119835&gclid=CjwKCAiAkvDMBhBMEiwAnUA9BR26YwBA6kOfcR4-JVxfJEjWdhRk6j0imCNcsIfu064wHN54-cs10xoCZ4cQAvD_BwE Although this is for a pressurised (combi) system where you need to get it back to pressure. Pretty simple. I don't bother with jointing compound.

You are the first to say that politicians quote selectively. Yet you do exactly the same. Read my recent posts and reply to them rather than repeating yourself. And reply to my earlier points. That is the nature of debate. You refer to Yes Minister. Perhaps Monty Python may be more relevant

So have you never been in a house where the gas hob was turned on but not ignited? You get a smell of gas, You do not get an explosion when you light the flame. You have to have a very high concentration of methane (over 4.4%) for this to happen, the smell of the gas would be obvious half way down the street. They add mercaptans to natural gas to give it that smell at very low concentrations. Gas explosions happen once in a blue moon, in places like residential homes in the basements where, if unchecked, a leak can get up to explosive concentrations. Back to my original comment about Bunsen burners. You'd got 30 kids in a classroom but no explosions. The establishment of Corgi (now Gas Safe) and the compulsory annual testing of boilers and cookers was mainly due to the relatively high number of deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning from faulty appliances and blocked flues in rented properties. I don't expect the OP to test it themselves, I would, but that is my decision. But you may get Natural Grid to do this free of charge if you ask nicely. I thought the video was hilarious. The guy shouts don't do this yourself, call in help.

@Penguin68What you are suggesting by inference is that the organisation funding the research wants a certain result so goes to a friendly party in order to get that result. Research doesn't work that way. Organisations submit proposals which will then go through an appraisal process, The contract will be monitored internally and externally. You know all of this. Sunak wanted the research his government funded to come out with a views that LTNs were bad. But instead it was very much a mixed bag and he tried to supress this. Would you not agree with me that those who feel most strongly about this with their own personal experience would be better off corresponding with the academics rather than going on, on this site, which is unlikely to change a thing? And would you not agree with me that the part of the study "Another focus will be examining changes over time in congestion levels on boundary roads and in the experiences of residents living on boundary roads, areas where more research is needed" is most welcome. I've worked in research, managed research and even commissioned some social research in the past. Bit rusty now but I will still defend the independence of academics, rather than sling mud, as one or two do here. This is not the 1950s and the suppression of research on smoking and lung cancer, or the 60s onwards when the fossil fuel industry successfully lobbied against research showing the impact of rising carbon dioxide levels on climate, even getting their tame researchers to come up with alternative conclusions. Although drill baby drill over the pond, and Nige on this side, seem to be moving us back to the dark ages in terms of knowledge.

Call National Grid and say you have a problem with a gas pipe 0800 111 999 and with luck they will fix it for free. Most likely my diagnosis. Some nutter had done their own gas plumbing in my house and National Grid blanked off both a supply to an old gas fire and a wrought iron pipe in the bathroom that supplied to the old bathroom water heater originally in the house. Extremely unlikely to be connected, may be from the days of gas lighting (mainly over by the 1920s) . Gas connection will have long since been modernised. If it hasn't been blanked off then just turn it on and sniff, or if you are like me light it. This is how gas fitters did it in the past, Although at your own risk (you are more likely to asphyxiate from natural gas, it is not poisonous, and the smell is an additive, so you can smell leaks. Chances are you are old enough to have used Bunsen burners at school. The end of the video is great, the biggest source of gas is your boiler, and if you house hasn't blown up already......

@Rockets You really are scraping the barrel if you think there is a smoking gun here: "It is exciting to be able to study these innovative but under-researched interventions in much more depth than has previously been possible. For instance, we will extend our previous research by examining not just impacts on overall levels of walking and cycling, but also any changes in who walks and cycles, for instance gender balance. This award also means that we can look in detail at local people’s experiences, and how these experiences may change over time. Another focus will be examining changes over time in congestion levels on boundary roads and in the experiences of residents living on boundary roads, areas where more research is needed.” As someone with so much lived experience of LTNs you would be much better off engaging with Westminster University rather than posting the same things again and again here. Let's put it to others, a like if you would like Rockets to engage with the academics and sad face if you don't agree and confused emoji if you want an end to this thread (see next post, 3-0 to ending the thread) . If we get more than a couple bothering to read these posts I'd be surprised.