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East Putney’s Secret Garden

Fascinating!Fawe Park Road’s secret garden: 137 years old, full of wildlife, and about to go official.Network Rail wants to turn the remains of a Victorian flying junction into a community nature reserve.Buying a house that backs onto a railway line is one of those decisions people agonise over. The noise, the vibration, the feeling of living on the edge of something industrial. But residents on the even-numbered side of Fawe Park Road have always had a secret: between their back garden fences and the nearest track, there is a huge strip of green space, dense with trees and scrub, alive with birds and insects, thick enough to muffle the sound of passing trains and rich enough to support the kind of wildlife most Londoners never see. Most have probably never thought much about why it is there.The answer turns out to be remarkable. The green strip is the remains of a Victorian flying junction, built in 1889, whose track was ripped up more than 35 years ago. It already has formal nature conservation protection. And now Network Rail wants to turn it into a nature reserve.The strip runs in a long curve from near East Putney station towards the main line at Putney, roughly 400 metres long and up to 50 metres wide at its broadest point. Laid out straight, it would stretch the length of four football pitches, tucked behind a residential street. It traces the route of a railway track that was ripped up more than 35 years ago. In those three and a half decades, nature has done what nature does when left alone. Secondary woodland has grown up on the old embankment. Dense scrub provides cover for nesting birds. The kind of undisturbed grassland margins that support invertebrates, slow-worms and hedgehogs have established themselves along the edges.What makes this particular strip remarkable is that Wandsworth Council has already recognised its value. The corridor is designated a Borough Grade II Site of Importance for Nature Conservation, carried forward in the Local Plan adopted in July 2023. That designation gives the land formal planning protection. It means its wildlife value is officially acknowledged, even if most of the 381 residents on Fawe Park Road have no idea. The council’s Wild Wandsworth biodiversity plan, approved in February, commits to a full resurvey of all designated wildlife sites across the borough between 2026 and 2028. The Fawe Park Road corridor is one of them.Having walked over Woodlands Bridge hundreds of times over the years I never noticed this huge green strip of land although I do remember hearing the distinctive noise of the freight trains.   This was posted on my street’s WhatsApp and the full version is below:https://putney.news/2026/03/29/fawe-park-roads-secret-garden-137-years-old-full-of-wildlife-and-about-to-go-official/

Sue Hammond ● 21d0 Comments ● 21d

So where you going to go to? Not Tory, not Labour, not LibDem, not Green, and now not Reform

"Reform UK has confirmed that that it has suspended Chris Parry as its Hampshire mayoral candidate after he described members of a Jewish neighbourhood watch group as “cosplayers” and likened them to “Islamists on horseback”.A Reform UK spokesperson said: “Chris Parry has been suspended by Reform UK pending investigation.” His candidacy has also been suspended by the party.When contacted by the Guardian earlier after Hampshire Live quoted a Reform UK spokesman as saying he was no longer the party’s candidate, Parry said that he was “mid-Atlantic.”"Nigel Farage had already expended political capital on Parry, a former rear admiral, after he had initially refused to apologise last year for saying London-born David Lammy should “go home” to the Carribbean.However, the party has now been tipped over the edge after Parry made comments on x about Shomrim, a respected group which helps to protect the orthodox Jewish community and others, in the wake of an arson attack on a Jewish ambulance charity in London".-----------------"Parry, a retired rear admiral, also retweeted a post on X by Catherine Blaiklock, a co-founder of the Brexit party, hours after news of the attack on a Jewish charity ambulance service in north London emerged, in which she asked: “Can Christian’s [sic] in Britain set up their own police and patrol certain neighbourhoods?”Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson Max Wilkinson said the comments, some of which were later deleted, were ‘deeply insensitive’ about Jewish community. He went on:Nigel Farage should act now to drop Chris Parry as Reform’s Hampshire mayoral candidate. These remarks were deeply insensitive, insulting and not befitting of someone who wants to hold public office.At a time when we are all thinking of the Jewish community after such a disturbing attack, these comments will compound the pain so many people are already feeling."----------------"The Liberal Democrats home affairs spokesperson Max Wilkinson had called on Farage earlier in the day to drop Parry. He later said : “This is a good start, but Farage has some way to go. There are serious questions to answer as to how this candidate got approved in the first place.”Calvin Bailey, a Labour MP who wrote to Nigel Farage about previous comments attributed to Parry, including calling female MPs “harpies”, said: “It should not take repeated incidents for basic standards of decency to be upheld.” (Gdn today, in reversed order of publication)I suppose that there remains the Brexit Party for the Reformists and rump Tories

David Ainsworth ● 26d12 Comments ● 24d

Martin Hewitt UK Border Chief Quits

The head of the UK's border security command will step down at the end of March after failing to stem the surge in crossings. The Home Office confirmed Martin Hewitt would leave the post of border security commander after 18 months in the job.Since his appointment in September 2024, crossings have continued at sky-high levels - with 58,910 people making the journey in that time.His tenure also saw the second-highest annual total of people crossing the Channel, with 41,472 people arriving in the UK by small boat last year.It is understood he will leave at the end of the month, with an interim replacement appointed 'in due course'.   Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said the continuing small boats crisis was down to the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary. 'The Government's complete failure on small boats isn't down to Martin Hewitt,' he said. 'It's because Keir Starmer and Shabana Mahmood are too weak to take the necessary action - such as coming out of the European Convention on Human Rights and deporting all illegal immigrants within a week of arrival.'Labour's decision to cancel the Rwanda removals plan was a disaster - since the election 67,000 illegal immigrants have crossed the channel - an increase of 45 per cent compared to the same period before.Martin Hewitt isn't to blame for this - it's down to Shabana Mahmood and Keir Starmer's failings.'So another of Starmer’s stooges has failed!  I wonder how much his pay-off will cost us,  the tax payers?  Whoever gets appointed next is already doomed to failure because unless the illegals are detained on arrival and swiftly deported, they will not stop coming.   Starmer must leave the ECHR to enable this but he is too weak.

Sue Hammond ● 30d6 Comments ● 29d

Gerry Adams

A short while after the High Court in London upheld the decision to throw out the case against Kneecap rapper Mo Chara, now the civil case against Gerry Adams has been withdrawn.In a statement, he said he "welcomed the decision" and attended the case "out of respect" for the claimants. Adams' lawyers had argued the case was based on "an assortment of hearsay" and that it had been brought several decades too late.They also suggested it had been taken as an abuse of legal process, and that the civil action was not about trying to prove liability for the three bomb attacks, but to try to establish a much wider process which "the court is not intended to perform or is equipped to perform".Adams added; "I contested this case and defended myself against the smears and false accusations being levelled against me. I asserted the legitimacy of the Republican cause and the right of the people of Ireland to freedom and self-determination. I do so again."It seems like another case of British justice making the right decision in the end, but surely this should never have gone to court? Adams has been charged with IRA membership several times in the past but without legal success. This case boiled down to little more than hearsay and  speculation from many years ago. The defence also said this case should be dismissed for being brought too late, they questioned why the three accusers waited decades to bring their case. In the end, I feel for ALL the victims of the Troubles, including all those that suffered by the actions if the IRA, The British Army, the UDA etc. This is not a day for celebration or victory speeches; it is more appropriate to remember the victims and appreciate how much has been gained by leaving the past behind and taking the hard road to peace.

Gerry Boyce ● 30d0 Comments ● 30d

To help understanding, I turned to Google

"Zionism was originally a minority political belief within Jewish communities when it emerged in the late 19th century. While the idea of a spiritual return to Zion (Jerusalem) has been central to Judaism for centuries, the modern political movement to establish a secular Jewish state in Palestine faced significant opposition or indifference from a majority of Jews, particularly in Western Europe and the United States, who largely favored assimilation, as well as from many Orthodox groups who viewed it as a theological violation. Origins as a Minority Movement Late 19th-Century Context: Emerging in response to intense antisemitism in Europe (specifically Russian pogroms), Zionism was initially a minority movement of intellectuals and Eastern European "Lovers of Zion" (Ḥovevei Ẕiyyon).Opposing Views: Before the 1930s, many Jewish groups were actively anti-Zionist, promoting alternative solutions to persecution, such as socialist integration or cultural autonomy in their home countries.Early 20th Century: Prior to World War I, Zionism was largely supported by a minority, mainly consisting of activists from Russia and led by Central Europeans. Shift to DominanceZionism gained momentum as a dominant force over the next few decades due to several factors: Antisemitism & Rising Violence: Escalating anti-Semitic violence in Germany, Russia, and Eastern Europe made the Zionist goal of a safe haven more appealing.The Holocaust: The Nazi genocide destroyed the centers of European Jewish life, causing a radical shift in Jewish public opinion toward the necessity of an independent state.British Support: The 1917 Balfour Declaration, where Britain expressed support for a "national home for the Jewish people," gave the movement significant international legitimacy. Evolution of the MovementEven as late as 1939, while the Jewish population in Palestine was growing, Zionist supporters were still a minority of the world's total Jewish population. The transformation from a fringe movement into a mainstream Jewish belief took place gradually, accelerated dramatically by the Holocaust and the subsequent establishment of Israel in 1948."

David Ainsworth ● 33d3 Comments ● 33d

Trump: Maybe we shouldn’t even be there at all. Insight?

Random Trumpings on Air Force One."The president was discussing his call for other countries to send ships to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, the vital — and currently effectively shut — waterway off Iran through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil passes.Asked how quickly those deployments would happen, Trump said it would “start immediately,” with different countries offering different forms of assistance, including minesweeper boats.He later said: “So, we need, I, I would really, I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory because it is their territory, it’s the place from which they get their energy and they should come and they should help us protect it.”Then came the line that quickly sparked reaction online:“You could make the case that maybe we shouldn’t even be there at all because we don’t need it.”“We have a lot of oil,” said Trump. “We were the number one producer anywhere in the world times two by double, at least double. Now I think it’s much higher than that. But we do it. It’s almost like we do it for habit, but we also do it for some very good allies that we have in the Middle East.”"Maybe, as Trump says US has a lot of oil, he could make up for the coming shortage of oil for other non-involved (and non-consulted) parties, who are running low as a result of the international gangsterism of Donny and Benny.

David Ainsworth ● 34d0 Comments ● 34d

Iran ‘was three days from getting a nuke' before war - Mad as a box of frogs!

"Iran ‘was three days from getting a nuke' before war as details of horror alliance emergeOne of the key goals of Donald Trump's Operation Epic Fury in Iran is to eliminate the regime's nuclear threat.Daily Express Tue, Mar 10, 2026Explosions in Tehran targeted by US-Israeli attacksOperation Epic Fury was launched in late February A former US national security advisor believes Iran would have been able to get a nuclear weapon from one of its allies within days before Donald Trump ordered the launch of Operation Epic Fury. John Bolton, the national security advisor of Mr Trump during his first term at the White House, has claimed the alliance between North Korea and Iran is strong enough that the latter could have bought a nuclear weapon from the hermit regime.The US attorney claimed a wire transfer to the Central Bank of North Korea would have been what was needed to secure the deal before the war. Following the payment, he added, Pyongyang could "put a nuclear device on an aeroplane, route it through Russia" and deliver it to the regime in Tehran within three days.This came as, on Tuesday night, North Korea issued a statement condemning the US and Israeli strikes on Iran as "acts of aggression". The statement added: "Any rhetorical threats and military action, which violate the political system and territorial integrity of the relevant country, interfere in its internal affairs and openly advocate the attempt to overthrow its social system, deserve worldwide criticism and rejection as they can never be tolerated.""Three days - three days!! Should have used Amazon. One day, tops.The Sun agreed:-"Bolton says the risk of Iran’s mad mullahs getting their hands on one of Kim Jong-un‘s nukes is reason enough to force through a regime change.“I just think it’s a convincing argument [for] why you need a normal regime in Iran.""I should think that China is going to be getting concerned about her oil supplies from Iran.I wonder if it is reason enough to force through a regime change in the US or, at least, Israel? The US already has got their hands on Venezuela's oil.

David Ainsworth ● 40d1 Comments ● 39d

Random pic 10 March 2026

Marshalsea Prison Grille. This prison grille from the former Marshalsea Debtors' Prison in Southwark represents the most influential and painful experience in the life of the young Charles Dickens. (Dickens Museum) https://flic.kr/p/2rFbVaaHis father's imprisonment and his own time working in a factory at the age of 12 left scars in Dickens's mind that deeply affected him as a person and as a writer. This episode was Dickens's best-kept secret which he only told his best friend John Forster and his wife Catherine. However, Dickens secretly shared his experience with his readers as his novels are full of scenes of prisons and debt as well as of neglected children. In David Copperfield and Little Dorrit in particular, Dickens writes in great detail about debtors' prisons. The illustration to the right from Little Dorrit shows the imagined inside of the Marshalsea Prison itself In later life Dickens recalled "It is wonderful to me how I could have been so easily cast away at such an age. It is wonderfu to me, that, even after my descent into the poor little drudge I had been since we came to London, no one had compassion enough on me a child of singular abilities, quick, eager, delicate, and soor hurt, bodily or mentally - to suggest that something might have been spared, as certainly it migh have been, to place me at any common school".
The time at the Blacking Factory changed Dickens's outlook on childhood forever. This display of the prison grille in the middle-class home marks the disturbing effect that these experiences continued to have on Dickens throughout his life.
[Text from Museum label]

Michael Ixer ● 41d0 Comments ● 41d

Madness

Politico By Associated Press03/07/2026Dozens killed in Lebanon as Israel searches for signs of navigator missing for 40 yearsBEIRUT — An Israeli special force that landed in eastern Lebanon overnight in search of information about a navigator who has been missing for nearly 40 years did not find his remains, the Israeli military said Saturday. The operation left dozens of people dead and dozens more wounded.Israel has been trying for decades to find out what happened to Ron Arad since he went missing after parachuting from a fighter jet that crashed in Lebanon in 1986. Arad was involved in attacking suspected Palestinian militants. He was captured alive by local gunmen.The Israeli military did not say where the force landed in Lebanon but the Lebanese army and state media said an Israeli commando force landed on the mountains along the border with Syria before heading to the eastern town of Nabi Chit, where they clashed with Hezbollah and local fighters. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least 41 people were killed and 40 wounded overnight in Nabi Chit and areas nearby.The Lebanese army said three soldiers were among those killed in the exchange of fire. It said four helicopters took part in the operation, two of which conducted the landing. It also reported that residents clashed with the Israeli force while Lebanese troops went on alert and fired light bombs.Lebanese army commander Gen. Rudolphe Haikal said later Friday that the Israeli force that conducted the operation was dressed in Lebanese army uniforms and used ambulances during the operation with signs of Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Organization.A resident of Nabi Chit told The Associated Press that the Israeli force entered the town and dug up a grave in a cemetery before it left. The man who spoke on condition of anonymity out of security concerns had no further details.The Israeli army’s Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X that the force did not find Arad’s remains or any evidence related to him.Hezbollah said its members clashed with the Israeli force, and that Israel’s air force conducted some 40 airstrikes in the area in order for the unit on the ground to be able to withdraw.Arad’s wife urged Israel’s leaders not to endanger the lives of Israeli soldiers in their search to bring home his body.“Our desire to know what happened to Ron stops the moment it endangers Israeli soldiers,” his wife, Tami, wrote on Facebook, noting that the family has said this multiple times through the years.“For 40 years we have lived with the fact that Ron is missing, and we want to know what happened to Ron, but not at any price. The sanctity of life is above any closing of the circle of certainty for us,” she added."

David Ainsworth ● 42d0 Comments ● 42d

Ambulances to Ukraine

As some of you will remember I volunteered two years ago to drive an aid-filled ambulance to Ukraine for a remarkable undertaking known as Medical Life Lines Ukraine (MLLU).  Several of you made very generous donations at that time and in total I raised over £18,000 at the time.MLLU was set up and is being run by a small group of private citizens in Wimbledon and Putney.  They have done heroic work and have raised sufficient funds since the invasion began to deliver over 100 ambulances, medical equipment and other civilian rescue vehicles to the Ministry of Health in Lviv.  On two occasions convoys also took supplies of dog food for the rescue dogs trained to search for survivors in ruined buildings.  Photos of the very happy dogs and their handlers can be seen on the MLLU website https://www.medicallifelines.org.uk Now, I have volunteered to drive again and will be departing from Putney early on Sunday 7th September to join the other ambulances at Folkestone. From there the convoy will head across the Channel on the Euroshuttle (they transport us for free) before heading on to Lviv.Two years ago I did not think the humanitarian aid being delivered by MLLU would still be as vitally needed today as it was back then.  Tragically it looks like their work will continue to be needed for years to come given the continuing onslaught by Russian missiles and drones.  Ukraine remains a war zone and the regular air raid sirens remind any visitor that even Lviv, in the far west of the country, has been attacked.I have undertaken to raise at least an additional £7,000 to cover part of the cost of another ambulance in a future convoy and I am hoping that the spirit of generosity shown two years ago still lives on.  I would be truly grateful if you feel able to offer your support, some for a second time of course, but others for the first time.The link to my funding page is as follows https://www.justgiving.com/page/jonathan-callaway-1 where you will see I have almost reached my initial target.  I hope to raise far more of course and I can assure you every penny gets spent on humanitarian equipment.  The costs of driving the ambulances to Ukraine, about 1,200 miles, are covered by the volunteer drivers, as are their return travel costs.Donations are UK gift aid compliant as they are routed through our partner British-Ukrainian Aid, a registered UK charity.Do please also share this as widely as possible with friends and contacts so I can raise as much as I possibly can for MLLU.With many thanks in advanceJonathan

Jonathan Callaway ● 284d25 Comments ● 45d