fl0wer

Yes - a blessed relief! They'll be back though, as soon as the wind swings round to the W again. When it's easterly the approach path crosses different districts.

If you wash paintwork first with a product called 'manger's sugar soap' it sometimes won't need much sanding. Also you can sand then vacuum clean and then wash the door with sugar soap. This product is not detrimental to the next coat of paint. I wondered if the yellowing was associated with strong central heating or people smoking or cooking smoky food or if there is pine wood underneath the paint, which never got a coat of primer?

....and thank God for that, considering some of the UN's more notorious failures and blind spots.

*Bob* doesn't come on here to sit in a circle, holding hands and chanting. S/he comes here to rubberneck - or find a plumber. Glad you recognise the beautiful idea when you see it, darlin'

Mick Mac Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I think I understand. But I'm not sure. Clarify, Mick Mac? [Could be helpful to revisit Tandoorigate where eventually I posted a YouTube about NVC aka Non-Violent Communication]

Several commenters use the Forum to express aggression. Their habitual choice of language & fighty stance has scattered the mice. Whether actual words written are interpreted as funny, offensive, deliberate or stupid, internet facilities are not being used co-operatively, to inform fellow readers or raise standards. It is a pity, because I believe the writers of aggressive posts are bored, and wish for wider horizons, better local resources, and entertainment, but have learnt to get pleasure at the animal-fight level. This would be when each one pops a pet predator into the ring then watches the savagery for amusement. Dulwich Tandoori topic had lots more interesting aspects to discuss, glad to see that happened over last few hours. Now people are drawn back to semantics about choice of language. I think this merits a fresh start. Is it OK to post aggression? Does Human speech allow each person to express their inner needs in a non-violent way? What should the EDF or individual members of the surrounding community do, if commenters consistently choose the opposite, and it drags the rest of the locale into disrepute or even danger? Set up a 'mouse's facebook page' well away from all the racket? Or encourage some gentle self-moderating from within?

Numbers wrote: I appreciate that some customers are pretty awful and nothing that staff can do will EVER please them. This wasn't the case here, in fact, we were treated with disdain from the moment we turned up for the table we'd booked. & we did say at the time ____________ So what seemed to be going on? (Never attempted the restaurant in question.)

Well numbers the choice is open to you, to say what's the matter there and then, or soon afterwards, directly to the managers of any of these places, so that they can run their shops better. However the staff won't feel equally free to complain back & ask us to treat them in any different manner will they.

Shall each of us try saying clearly what our needs are? All my life I watched how easily trust could be smashed and never get rebuilt. The consequences are rarely confined to just a couple of protagonists. Hate speech spreads outwards. Fellow commenters can see with me how computers bring the evergreen challenge to develop successful new modes of behaviour, to cope with modern technology. Humans had to do that for thousands of years after each innovation so why should this one be any different? Watching people exploit the option for online anonymity to treat forums like this one as an outlet for aggression, is a sign that new strategies need to evolve PDQ. Talented and highly motivated folk will go away feeling oppressed by website din and crudeness of comment. This is not OK especially when matters of local harmony concern everyone in teeming, multicultural places. I feel it is necessary for this aggression to stop or personal confidence and the rest of the group's integrity gets compromised. I would like to help all find it is safe to comment on the EDF as equals. Not as people's playthings, stereotypes or torture objects, but as part of a wiser creative force called humanity, making a fitter place for all our grandchildren. Developing new codes is one of the brilliant, everyday possibilities of being on line the way I see it. It's easier than dealing with confined material space. Nobody has to like another person, only foster true awareness of own needs.

Home-made WW bread [can have extra protein in it, eg nuts/seeds/soya flour] + honey and tahini together as a spread + bit of fresh fruit + glass of milk Important for my son to have this high calorie event, as throughout school life he'd return home with low blood sugar & a short temper. Then he usually had a sit down rest not thinking about homework.

Across the road from the Horniman is a short walk to Sydenham Hill Woods, which is a lovely cool cathedral of green t stroll through. With a 22 month old in tow I would just include it as part of the day - maybe a good spot for enjoying butterflies and pretty wildflowers and birdsong - then a nap. (There aren't any caf?s etc there.)

*adjusts specs* After the painful events for everyone over the last day or two on this thread, have been recommended by Admin to share with you this 10 minute video, which I think conveys quite clearly ways in which future communications on the EDF could vastly improve.

Was hearing them every evening this last fortnight round the Forest Hill/Goodrich circuit. Maybe now that central London has so many big events, they attend the crowds there most days.

So long as things are good fabric they are OK to boil wash. Some kind of cauldron, a venerable wooden spoon, and the kitchen hob. 1 tablesp. Eco powder 1 Tablesp Eco 'bleach' At least 2 kettlefuls of boiling water to dissolve powder. Enter article, already stain-treated the ways suggested on the other thread. Or soaked in washing soda overnight as per packet instructions. Cook it up for about 20 minutes, longer if soiled badly. Rinse very well, 3 or 4 times or in washing machine. Dry in sunshine. Reconditioned lots of linen like this, handkerchiefs, pillowcases, flannels, T shirts, T towels, jeans. Method sterilises. It also loosens all surplus dye and pre-shrinks fabrics, which is useful before dressmaking. For felt pen try rubbing garment with one of those Dettol wipes, must contain solvent. Biro gets off with methylated or white spirits. Not good for your skin, and must not be done near the cooker.

Have seen similar through an apparently impossible thorny hedge gap. Speed & flight skill incredible. Did it resemble this: http://www.wildlifewatch.org.uk/beast-of-the-month-sparrowhawk

Yesterday nearby, 3 hours of hosepipe watering took place, all the time on a garden fully lit by sunshine. That would be 3,000 litre bottles of drinking water. The rest of the day, when it was shady and the ground & plants could have benefitted from the water, the hosepipe went back in the shed. The hired gardener in charge knows that watering's hardly absorbed in hot sun, because polite conversation took place about it last week. As good neighbours we could help the [disabled] householder if they'd let us do the watering at another time of day, an offer that is still open although not taken up yet. I think there's probably no water meter - along this terrace our buildings have old hidden pipework and TW can't install them. So I posted to see if anyone on the forum has any suggestions. It seems one the best ways for a thing to alter is through change of what's considered acceptable, public opinion [- witness what happened to the fashion for real fur coats]. But in green matters, such as water conservation, there's a complex set of expectations. We saw so much rainfall this spring the reservoirs must have filled up, we say. Many people reason that once the high rates are paid, they've actually bought a right to limitless supplies. Lots of us in the UK enjoy frequent baths, generous powershowers & washing machines, rituals of jet cleaning the car and patio - and sprinkling lawns with pure water through a noonday heatwave delighting that there's no hosepipe ban.

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important news for gardeners re: buying in supplies of bumblebees - it turns out they are not as disease free as the big firms claim. =>http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jul/18/bumblebees-honeybees-parasite-infection Was unsure where to post this in the Forum, but thought people here might well be setting up gardens with wildlife friendly motives and feel inclined to get in some bees. This seems a place to start. Please post the link around as widely as possible.

We haven't had a hosepipe ban yet. So what does the panel think about this way of using up the wet winter's reservoir supplies? Should we encourage all gardeners to do their watering at dawn or dusk, as TW suggests? How to frame such a request, so that it gets across positively? Some people refuse to curb wastefulness until a regulation is imposed on them. Not convinced this is the best way to achieve wiser use of resources, am interested in a non-regulatory approach.

We need hordes of birds, particularly swallows to feed on flying ants the moment they swarm. If it 'works' it should be a wonderful few days when fledglings put on strength after leaving the nest. Ants never got as far as my house, in the last place, although the birds would always fly through once or twice indoors, and they'd nest in nearby sheds every year. Swifts I have seen in ED; not swallows.

Good for you. People are being charged to take certain things to landfill and this has led to a rise in illegal waste dumping. Sorry not just for the people nearby who have their locale so little valued, also for the wildlife in these corners of the city having all kinds of hazards thoughtlessly dumped where they can cut themselves, entangle in wire, suffocate, get paint and battery acid seeped etc. Possibly most effective tactic would be hidden cameras capable of recording vehicle number plates? With the aid of a prominent sign to tell potential offenders BEFORE they fly-tip that they will be recorded on CCTV. They most definitely would be guilty of an offence, so the police should have an input, and be helpful in coaxing both the two landowners to be more pro-active at caring for the site. It will cost something for existing rubbish to be cleared, and for the camera and sign, and for following up on any offenders - someone's insurers are liable, most likely. Thames Water and the Council must have a massive insurance policies, quite capable of finding the money. However, they might try to go for just the padlocked gate policy, and then stuff could still be flytipped by throwing it over the fence, with no-one getting caught. In many instances I believe customers pay extra on their bill for their builder or house clearance firm to go to the official dump, only the firm pockets it and empties the trash wherever they can.

Thankyou for letting us know. The massive benefit to children of being outdoors, finding out & participating in food growing, and teachers linking it to the rest of their education, features here in this 6 minute film, http://www.guardian.co.uk/teacher-network/video/2013/jul/16/school-farm-outdoor-learning-phoenix-high-video, hope this might add to your stock of campaigning material.

Can I suggest a letter here: https://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/contact/default.asp?type=buses There is someone whose job it is to ensure drivers understand all the controls in the cab - plus, overheating risks travellers getting seriously ill.

Have been hearing them a lot in last week or two. Here's a useful short soundtrack with informative Q & A text beneath.

How wonderful! This is the right season to see Privet Hawk Moths, http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=1669 and I have been wondering where they were, considering the privet hedges are now in full bloom. There are several other hawk moths, so browse the link and see what you come up with.