Forum Topics

Another u turn

Compulsory Digital ID now not happening.Maybe the new Birmingham Manchester rail link will be u shaped via Cardiff.. Why do they keep making this ill thought out announcements only to back track a few months later.

Andy Pike ● 2h3 Comments ● 21m

Bus pass

Their trying to scrap free bus pass for over 1.5 million people.

Barbara Stevens ● 6d26 Comments ● 26m

For the Don, disrespect may be a capital offence

New York Times 12/1/26:-"President Trump has added another justification for the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minnesota: She behaved badly.“At a very minimum, that woman was very, very disrespectful to law enforcement,” Mr. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday evening.In the days since Ms. Good, 37, was shot and killed by Jonathan Ross, an ICE agent, Trump administration officials have used a variety of arguments as they have tried to justify the episode. They have called it an act of self-defense, and Mr. Trump has falsely claimed Ms. Good “ran over” the agent. JD Vance, the vice president, has argued that Mr. Ross has “absolute immunity.”"Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, contrasted Mr. Trump’s treatment of Ms. Good with his praise and support for the hundreds of pro-Trump rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and attacked the police.On Jan. 6 this year, the Trump administration made a page on its website that accused the Capitol Police of instigating the riot, and said a pro-Trump rioter whom the police killed during the mayhem was “murdered.”“Trump just pardoned nearly 1,600 insurrectionists,” Mr. Raskin said, “hundreds of whom violently attacked police officers and called them everything from traitors to pigs to racial epithets, and ruthlessly taunted them and maligned them for hours.” He added that “Donald Trump’s very dubious characterization of Renee Good as having been disrespectful is not only factually suspect, but it’s legally irrelevant.”“The police do not have the right to shoot people in the head because they consider them having acted in a disrespectful way,” Mr. Raskin said. “That legal standard would have led to a slaughter on Jan. 6.”"

David Ainsworth ● 3h1 Comments ● 1h

Zadawi is coming home.

Telegraph today:-"Nadhim Zahawi ‘begged’ for Tory peerage before defection" [to Reform].July 2022. Business minister Nadhim Zahawi has been forced to backtrack during a TV interview with Andrew Neil after initially claiming he did not know whether Jeremy Corbyn would shoot Britain’s richest people if he becomes Prime Minister.Nadhim Zadawi:- "I came to the UK as a refugee, but immigration has gone too far" September 2024."The defection has drawn attention to Zahawi's past severe criticisms of Farage from 2015, which are now being used by opponents as counter-slogans and evidence of hypocrisy: "I would be frightened to live in a country run by you" (a tweet directed at Farage)."What's frightening is that in Farage's Britain people like me could be lawfully discriminated against"."angry slogans which are his stock in trade" (Zahawi's description of Farage's approach to policy)."Farage has run for political office SIX times and been an MEP for FIFTEEN yrs – he's as establishment as they come"."comments of which 'Goebbels would be proud'" (Zahawi's description of Farage's remarks on race discrimination laws)." (AI)

David Ainsworth ● 1d18 Comments ● 1h

The Hammersmith Bridge rally

While I’m very supportive of the aims of the rally for opening up Hammersmith Bridge this month, it is probably a waste of time. The cold hard reality is that Labour is going to dispense infrastructure spend to maximise its political advantage and, although reopening the bridge is desperately needed, it probably won’t help secure the current government any extra seats. What money is available, and that probably is very little with Trump threatening to invade Greenland which would cause a global financial crisis, will be spent on marginal Labour seats in the north and midlands. Locally, Labour will have written off Chelsea and Fulham already and Sarah Olney looks secure in Richmond Park. The Conservatives are making inroads in Putney but, and I say this as someone who has never voted for her, Fleur Anderson is well-liked and effective MP and should hang on even with the party’s disastrous poll ratings. I don’t know about Hammersmith and Chiswick but the MP there has a big majority. The danger with this rally is that, when it yields no result, the enthusiasm of people to turn up might diminish creating the impression that people are becoming more used to the current situation. Go to the event if you want but you need to accept that you will need to do the same annually for the next five years if you have any hope of persuading the government to stump up.

Barry Elms ● 4d19 Comments ● 5h

Random pic 13 January 2026

King's Cross Station and Bahrain Tourism: land three darts from this mock up "oche" in "Bahrain Island" and win a trip for two to the January 2026 Bahrain Darts Master, Bahrain https://flic.kr/p/2rLcLiB

Michael Ixer ● 21h2 Comments ● 5h

Nectar card scam

My partner, Jean, went to Sainsbury Local this morning and when he went to pay the guy next to him said he'd left his Nectar card at home so could he use Jean's card and Jean would get the points. Guess what, the guy stole all Jean's Nectar points (£2.50!) The worst thing was that it's the second time Jean has fallen for this scam 🥴 can you imagine how much this guy steals if he shops a lot!Merry Xmas all!

Lucille Grant ● 20d19 Comments ● 8h

East Putney SNT Police meeting Thurs 15th 6pm at Putney High

Your chance to meet with the SNT Police team from East Putney to find out abbout local crime stats, and voice any concerns you might have. 6pm at Putney High School library. Entrance is the gate on Putney Hill. Tea and biscuits on offer too!

Putney Society ● 9h0 Comments ● 9h

Volunteering

Looking for a new challenge in 2026?Do you have a couple of hours a week to spare and want to make a difference that lasts a lifetime?Local family charity Home-Start Wandsworth is looking for compassionate people to join its network of volunteers. Volunteers provide a listening ear and a helping hand to disadvantaged local families with young children. Join our coffee morning on Tuesday 3 February from 10:30 am at Putney Arts Theatre to find out more. Sign up via the Home-Start Wandsworth website: www.homestartwandsworth.org.uk/volunteer

Melissa Pike ● 10h0 Comments ● 10h

Another thought for the day from B.Bilston, friend of the Forum.

Prayer for Uninteresting TimesSend me a slow news day,a quiet, subdued day,in which nothing much happens of note,save for the passing of time,the consumption of wine,and a re-run of Murder, She Wrote.Grant me a no news day,a spare-me-your-views day,in which nothing much happens at all,except a few hours togethersome regional weather,a day we can barely recall.

Gerry Boyce ● 4d8 Comments ● 21h

Front garden

Has anybody else had a brick thrown at their front window locally as a couple in Chelverton Rd have.  Also on next door there was a picture of a woman on West Hill with a brick in her hand.

Barbara Stevens ● 1d3 Comments ● 1d

“I Grew Up in South West London” - Facebook

Yesterday I was searching the internet and came across a Facebook page entitled “I Grew Up in South West London”. Some of the photos are amazing and the one I found particularly interesting was the aerial view of Wandsworth Town Centre before the one way system and the shopping centre were built. Another interesting one for me was the photo of the Art Deco cinema that stood by the crossroads in East Sheen.  Sadly, it’s now an office block. I don’t know what the copyright is on the photos and Facebook otherwise I would put the photos on the Forum.

Martine Guy ● 1d7 Comments ● 1d

Trump ~ Bad Cop Or Good Cop

So many on here regard Trump as a bad cop.  However if he launched a massive aerial attack on Iranian military bases, and also neutralised Ayatollah Khomeini which effectively ended his brutal regime and liberated millions from his tyranny, would Trump then become a good cop?

Sue Hammond ● 2d16 Comments ● 1d

Random pic 12 January 2026

What was once the Wig & Pen Club, Strand, Opposite the Royal Courts of Justice, became a Thai Square restaurant is now a Noodle Nova. Built in 1625, it was the only Strand building to survive the Great Fire of London. https://flic.kr/p/2rMM3eq

Michael Ixer ● 1d0 Comments ● 1d

Reform

Has anybody else heard that they want you to pay for your Health Insurance if they get in. Thought we paid all the time we worked. I also paid HSA.

Barbara Stevens ● 2d18 Comments ● 1d

A reminder

The vast majority of Iranians are not Arabs; they are predominantly Persians. While both Iranians and Arabs live in the Middle East and most are Muslims, they belong to distinct ethnic groups with different origins, languages, and cultural heritages. Key differences include:Ethnicity and Origin: The majority of Iranians (about 61%) are ethnically Persian, an Indo-European people, with origins traced back to Central Asian steppes and the Iranian plateau. Arabs are a Semitic people who originated in the Arabian Peninsula.Language: Iranians speak Persian (Farsi), which is an Indo-European language distantly related to languages like English, Greek, and Latin. Arabic is a Semitic language, related to Hebrew and Aramaic. Although modern Persian uses the Arabic script and has borrowed many Arabic loanwords due to historical influence, the languages are not mutually intelligible.Religion: Most Iranians practice Shiite Islam (specifically Twelver Shiism), which is the official state religion. Most people in the Arab world are Sunni Muslims.Minorities: Iran is a multi-ethnic country and includes ethnic minorities such as Azeris, Kurds, Balochis, Lurs, Turkmens, and a small Arab population (about 2-3%), primarily in the Khuzestan province in the southwest.

David Ainsworth ● 2d3 Comments ● 2d

Whether they like it or not - and that's an ally

New York Times Jan. 9, 2026, 5:52 p.m. ETPresident Trump again threatened on Friday to forcibly annex Greenland, saying that he was “going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not.”In a White House event discussing his plans to have American companies exploit Venezuela’s vast oil reserves under the threat of a military blockade, Mr. Trump advanced an imperialist vision of American foreign policy, where the U.S. must dominate strategically important neighboring countries because of the perceived possibility that rival powers might do so first.“If we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland,” Mr. Trump said, falsely suggesting that Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, was surrounded by Chinese and Russian warships. Russia and China are active in the Arctic Circle, but Greenland is not ringed by their ships, and the United States has a military base on Greenland.Mr. Trump delivered an ominous warning to Danish and Greenlandic officials, who have consistently opposed the president’s plans to take the island: “I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if we don’t do it the easy way we’re going to do it the hard way.”

David Ainsworth ● 3d38 Comments ● 2d

Random pic 11 January 2026

A laser guide tube at the Virgo Gravitational Observatory, near Pisa https://flic.kr/p/2bVvy7s

Michael Ixer ● 2d0 Comments ● 2d

Laila Cunningham ~ Reform’s London Mayoral Candidate

2 days ago at Reform’s London rally this awesome lady was presented as its London Mayoral candidate.   She will be a formidable opponent to Khan and will hopefully get him kicked out.You can watch her here:https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1FrW1JgG7V/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Sue Hammond ● 3d0 Comments ● 3d