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You couldn't make it up, but you may have to

“The public will not see Donald Trump’s White House records for years, but there is growing concern the collection will never be complete – leaving a hole in the history of one of America’s most tumultuous presidencies.Trump has been cavalier about the law requiring that records be preserved. He has a habit of ripping up documents before tossing them out, forcing White House workers to spend hours taping them back together.White House staff quickly learned about Trump’s disregard for documents as they witnessed him tearing them up and discarding them. “My director came up to me and said, ‘You have to tape these together,’” said Solomon Lartey, a former White House records analyst.The first document he taped back together was a letter from Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate, about a government shutdown. “They told [Trump] to stop doing it. He didn’t want to stop.”Lartey said the White House chief of staff’s office told the president that the documents were considered presidential records and needed to be preserved by law. About 10 records staff ended up on Scotch tape duty, starting with Trump’s first days in the White House through at least mid-2018.”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/17/historians-having-to-tape-together-records-that-trump-tore-upI suppose that he learnt something from Watergate and Nixon.

David Ainsworth ● 2124d12 Comments ● 2123d

“Lockdown” am I missing something?

I know we can go out for a walk. I know we can frequent shops to a degree but driving down parkside and through Wimbledon village today it was actually busier than I’ve ever seen it in “normal” times. They have what looks like a lovely Sunday farmers market there too but the stalls are quite close together and was in full throng. Ok I sound like I’m 90 but my husband and I were a bit shocked.

Maxine Campbell ● 2124d7 Comments ● 2123d

Great Takeaways in Putney

I think we have a few really excellent places in Putney, and wonder if there are any that I've missed.The high quality of Kashmir on Lacy Road and Soul Flame on the High Street are probably well known to most but I would also recommend Julia Domna on the Lower Richmond Road after some really exceptional food today.Any others?

Sam Stephens ● 2124d6 Comments ● 2123d

Random pic 18 January 2021

Fort Pulaski - near Savannah - May 1998.        https://flic.kr/p/2jZNEdt

Michael Ixer ● 2123d0 Comments ● 2123d

Random pic 17 January 2021

Sunset over the Thames by Putney Bridge - from Riverside Quarter/Point Pleasant, Wandsworth, August 2012.       https://flic.kr/p/2jwjWkX

Michael Ixer ● 2124d1 Comments ● 2124d

Covid vaccine calculator

I just came across this calculator (https://www.omnicalculator.com/health/vaccine-queue-u), which takes in factors such as age, health conditions etc to produce an estimate of when you can expect the vaccine. Entering my details, it says that "there are between 503,378 and 4,384,545 people in front of you in the queue for a COVID vaccine across the UK. Given a vaccination rate of 1,000,000 a week and an uptake of 70.6%, you should expect to receive your vaccine between 28/12/2020 and 24/01/2021.The model used seems pretty simplistic: for example, it gives an overall figure for the country as a whole and doesn't take into account any estimate of the availability of the vaccine in the area where you live - and availability, judging from comments people have made in different parts of the country, does seem to vary widely. And I have no idea whether the figures for vaccination rate and percentage take-up are accurate either. So I don't actually think it gives you anything more than the broadest of brushes as an indication: altogether not very impressive.

Richard Carter ● 2148d37 Comments ● 2124d

Skydive Refuse Scam Details

Hi Folks, I'm normally suspicious of strangers rocking up on the door asking for cash. Took some pictures of one of the men in the Uniform and got a picture of the Vehicle. The same vehicle also had a woman and two children in it. Vehicle Number Plate: LC20 YVX Vehicle Make & Colour: HYUNDAI TUCSON - BLACKHope this info is well used, photos available upon request. Will not Supply images of U18s.

Thomas Jones ● 2126d3 Comments ● 2125d

I glimmer of light?

Looks like the UK's technology my be showing some signs of hope ...https://www.cityam.com/global-investors-flock-to-london-in-golden-age-for-tech/(Just forget the fish ... sounds like it's throwing good money after bad? Time for some retraining?) 

Michael Ixer ● 2126d11 Comments ● 2125d

Covid & The Great Reset (New World Order)

How covid is being used to introduce ‘The Great Reset’, a new world order to benefit… not usThe Great Reset

Michael Brown ● 2176d66 Comments ● 2125d

Random pic 16 January 2021

3D vision           https://flic.kr/p/2juVViU

Michael Ixer ● 2125d0 Comments ● 2125d

Sadiq Khan

Front page, wanting to put up Council Tax again. This is for children and elderly so they can keep their free travel. But doesn't he realize, most of the elderly are paying the Council Tax anyway. Most are receiving their pension the same each month. But all the people out of work at the moment must be pulling their hair out wondering how they will find more money for another hike. Why are we paying more Council Tax for free travel, what is the connection. I hardly ever use my pass doesn't he realize we shouldn't be going on buses at the moment. Why put this on the card's now.

Barbara Stevens ● 2131d43 Comments ● 2126d

Latest thoughts from TfL

Looks like vehicle drivers will help plug the gap along with some tube fare readjustments - not sure what affect reduced commuting might have ...https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/driver-550-daily-charge-greater-london-tube-zones-b899871.html

Michael Ixer ● 2126d2 Comments ● 2126d

Khan Declares A Major Incident In London

COVID-19: 'Major incident' declared in London due to hospital pressurehttp://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-major-incident-declared-in-london-due-to-hospital-pressure-12182329Despite all the talk over the past week about the intense pressure the hospitals are under, particularly in London, Captain Bandwagon has decided to squeak out at last.  Just been listening to him pontificating to Shelagh Fogarty on LBC...it's all the Govt's fault (as usual) according to Khan.  One of his demands is that the Govt close down all places of communal worship.  Good idea Captain, why don't YOU tell your Muslim brothers instead cos they might listen to you?  Of course he won't do that because it would cause outrage and he wants their votes again in the Mayoral election later on this year.

Sue Hammond ● 2133d41 Comments ● 2126d

Fisheries minister did not read Brexit deal

Fisheries minister didn’t read Brexit bill because she was “organising the local nativity trail”https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/fisheries-minister-didnt-read-brexit-bill-because-she-was-organising-the-local-nativity-trail/14/01/?fbclid=IwAR31v7T5NlmPhWfzAdaMa-Hh8QqSxsq3uwNytggMlZbXYuCjITGYOahWfQ8#.YAAQOVuMmuQ.facebookOh, dear....

Ivonne Holliday ● 2127d16 Comments ● 2126d

Festing Rd/Carmalt

On a recent post Catherine was wondering about the derivation of the name Festing Rd. I would suggest the following explanation:In 1849 the land that the road was later to be built on was owned by the Reverend Dr William Carmalt, whose second wife was Eleanor, the widow of a Reverend Joshua Ruddock. The only child that Eleanor and Ruddock had produced bore the name Joshua Festin/Festing Ruddock, and he was now brought up by Carmalt as his step-son. Probably in honour of her step-brother, Eleanor and Carmalt's own daughter Ellen was to later christen her own son as Henry Festing Jones. So, when the family decided on developing their land to the north of the Lower Richmond Rd, it would seem that the naming of the new street was just the application of what had by now become a Carmalt family name. As late as 1906 the above-mentioned Henry Festing Jones was still listed as the freeholder of the houses in the road.As to the origin of the name Festin/Festing, the above-mentioned Reverend Ruddock's mother Letitia was born a Festin/Festing, the granddaughter of German immigrant Johannes Festing. BTW Carmalt was mentioned in the previous posts as a social reformer. He certainly did much to stop the abuse of the funds raised through the Poor Rate in Putney, but he was definitely a believer in "tough love". When giving evidence to a Royal Commission on the Poor Laws in 1832 he explained how placing tougher conditions on paupers in Putney had allowed him to deal with "hardened obtrusive voluntary mendicants", who had allegedly been sponging off the Parish. He claimed that his measures had resulted in "many an habitual drunkard being converted into a decent orderly and domestic character". A proto-Thatcherite no less!

David Johns ● 2131d6 Comments ● 2126d

Decision to allow the use of neonicotinoid pesticides

There is a new petition on the UK Government website entitled:Overturn the decision to allow the use of neonicotinoid pesticides https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/569214?fbclid=IwAR3_nCBi2IJQ5FoQ1rpoApayLWvaDydN-HZdlHGMUiF4u-fJY6GyC_PDH8oIf you are interested, there is also a consultation being carried out by DEFRA on this:There is a draft National Action Plan for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides which is open for public consultation; it closes on 26 February 2021.  The link is below and it would be helpful if you could read this and comment on the document as soon as possible.  (An example is P.21 Q2 which asks about increasing transparency for informing decisions).https://consult.defra.gov.uk/pesticides-future-strategy/sustainable-use-of-pesticides-national-action-plan/Thank you.

Ivonne Holliday ● 2128d4 Comments ● 2126d

Air pollution in London

Well done Mayor Khan, the same report shows that had reductions carried on at the same pace as under Bojo it would have taken 193 years to legal compliance, as it is we are on track to do it by 2025.The data was recorded before the lockdown too.Air pollution in London has plunged since Sadiq Khan became mayor, with a 94% reduction in the number of people living in areas with illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide. The number of schools in such areas has fallen by 97%, from 455 in 2016 to 14 in 2019.https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/03/dramatic-plunge-in-london-air-pollution-since-2016-report-finds

Matt Palmer ● 2230d25 Comments ● 2126d

Random pic 15 January 2021

The modern travellers' way snaking across the centre of Sicily            https://flic.kr/p/2juRN8a

Michael Ixer ● 2126d0 Comments ● 2126d

Random pic 14 January 2021

Hard Rock, Miami Bay                https://flic.kr/p/2juVPRB

Michael Ixer ● 2127d0 Comments ● 2127d

Parcel Delivery

I was speaking to a Delivery driver delivering parcels today. His van was a 2019 non electric, owned by the company he works for. So if he has a new van that means who will get their parcels in Oct 2021. If the ULEZ is coming to Putney all charges will go up for your parcel delivery for what that company is expected to pay to come into Putney. All Builders and every other delivery will put their prices up, if we are brought into that zone. Some on here may think their getting their own way. But what are you going to do when you need a builder urgent and no charging points, or the builders don't want to come to you and pay the ULEZ. A lot on here are full of themselves regarding this, but wait till you have water p===ing out everywhere, the builder tells you no thanks get somebody else.

Barbara Stevens ● 2128d17 Comments ● 2128d