Algernon Road

Algernon Road finally has its sign, which reads "Algernon Road, the best recycling street in Lewisham, 2006"! Hurray!

Black History Month

Black History month kicks off today, loads going on in Greenwich and Lewisham, see here for full programme.

St Mary's Conservation Area

A consultation document has been sent out to local residents and businesses to extend St Mary's Conservation area to cover a larger area, including some of the shops on the Ladywell side of the railway bridge. If you haven't received the documents, but would like to comment, you can view them online here.

Sad day for Worcester

Royal Worcester ceased production in Worcester, my home town, this week, after more than 250 years. Production has been outsourced to Stoke and abroad. Only painting of porcelain will continue at the site. See BBC article.

It used to be one of the city's biggest employers and one of the things Worcester was famous for, alongside cricket, Edward Elgar, the cathedral and Lea & Perrins sauce. The factory site is due to be redeveloped into homes and shops. I fear this will be yet another clone town development, but I hope I'm wrong and some of the historic buildings will be preserved. Worcester bulldozed some of its Tudor buildings in the 60s to build a concrete hotel and multi-storey car park; I hope planners will be more sensitive towards its heritage this time. My dad spent most of his working life at neighbouring Diglis Basin, which is also being redeveloped at the moment. It certainly needs redeveloping, but I hope the pressure to squeeze as many homes as possible into the area doesn't completely destroy the place.

Lewisham Pride Awards

Went to Catford Broadway Theatre tonight for the Lewisham Pride Awards, which is when council staff who have made an outstanding contribution or shown extra dedication are recognised for their work. A great event which reminded me how many hard-working council staff there are, even if as councillors you often only get to hear when things have gone wrong.

Particularly pleased to see Julie Ball from the graffiti team and the Environment and Community Development team get awards. Julie's team are largely responsible for the improved state of shop shutters on Ladywell Road - her team goes out at 6am in the morning to clean up shutters before shops open. Some of the ones along Ladywell Road have now been coated with a special anti-graffiti coating which means they can be easily wiped-clean by shopkeepers if they get tagged again. If there's a shop which still has graffiti on its shutter, it's generally because they haven't filled in the consent form which is necessary for it to be removed. I'm always happy to provide more forms if required, just let me know.

Planning Application: Dressington Avenue

A planning application has been lodged to demolish the sports hall at Ladywell Day Centre in Dressington Avenue, and build a travellers site for 7 families. Further details can be viewed here. Residents who wish to comment on the application should write to Chris Brodie, Planning Service, Laurence House, 1 Catford Road, London, SE6 4SW, or e-mail him at planning@lewisham.gov.uk by 13th October.

Ladywell Leisure Centre: Mayor & Cabinet Mtg

Yesterday saw the meeting of mayor and cabinet to consider the report of the independent consultants into sites for the new secondary school.

Basically, the situation now is that in addition to Ladywell Leisure Centre, two other sites are in the running; Lewisham Bridge Primary School and the land around it, and part of the Lewisham Hospital Site. My initial thoughts are that Lewisham Hospital is not ideally located, but that Lewisham Bridge School is better for pupils travelling from the north of the borough. So the battle is neither won not lost yet, but everything still to play for. See Save Ladywell Pool site for further info.

Decision on Ladywell Pool due tomorrow

Tomorrow evening is the mayor and cabinet meeting at which the review of alternative sites for the new school will be discussed. Some of the meeting will be closed to the public, but the Mayor is expected to take the decision in public. Pool campaigners are meeting outside Catford Town Hall at 5:30 pm. I am quietly optimistic but will have all fingers crossed. Figures released this week at the request of Cllr Mark Morris show that use of Ladywell Leisure Centre has risen considerably year on year (Forest Hill Pools closure, free summer swimming etc).

An Inconvenient Truth

Went to see "An Inconvenient Truth", Al Gore's climate change at Greenwich Picture House yesterday evening. Very good, but chairs in screening room are so comfy I fell asleep and missed the end. Everyone should see this film, then take action to curb their carbon emissions and call on their elected representative to do likewise, and quickly. 60 million lives are at stake.

Back from Conference

Well I'm back from conference, and more or less recovered. A good conference overall, well-attended, lots of interesting fringes and debates and great to meet up with lots of other greenies. Rather a lot of arguing over procedure on the first day, which was unfortunately what Newsnight chose to focus on, though interview with Caroline Lucas was, as always, good. Good policy discussions on prostitution, social enterprises and education, we sorted out some inconsistencies in our smoking policy and I've agreed to join a policy group reviewing our international policy. I won't go into loads of detail here, as it's other green bloggers including jimjay , Peter and Philobiblon have already done so admirably.

Apparently the Lib Dems conference was sponsored by TESCO, while Labour delegates are wearing passes with 'Sky News' advertised on the straps. Green Party conference remains reassuringly free of such corporate sponsorship (and thus on a v tight budget!), though there were lots of good stalls this time such as Fair Pensions, Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Gossypium. Also great discussion on environmental justice with Maria Adebowale from Capacity Global and Steve Trent from the the Environmental Justice Foundation. Steve focussed on links between human rights abuses and environmental damage, looking at devastating impact of cotton production in Uzbekistan. Interesting fact: it takes 6 pints of water to make 1 cotton bud.

Also found out some interesting stuff about sustainability in Swansea schools - the Welsh constitution has sustainability written into it and apparently they are streets ahead of us in incorporating issues of sustainability into the education system. Would like to find out more.

Forthcoming blockade of Faslane and opposition to the replacement of Trident also featured prominently.

Conference Blog

Sian Berry, candidate for Green Party Female Principal speaker is blogging her experiences at conference for the New Statesman. Green Party Conference kicks off in Hove tomorrow. Lots of the sessions are open to observers and supporters, not just members. Take a look at Green Berry.

Been busy on both work and council front for the last couple of weeks and haven't posted much on here, but have a couple of days off from the day job this week so I can catch up on a few other things. Have been getting a few quotes for some work on my flat, which has been v neglected of late and I've got a new table made by local company Chunk Originals. All the furniture Steve makes is made from wood he has salvaged from skips, flytips etc. My table is made from old floorboards and looks great. The plan is that it is to be kept free of council paperwork as it is the replacement for our dining table which has turned into my council desk, but we'll have to see how long that lasts ;).

Surgeries and ward issues
Hilly Fields Surgery is proving far more popular than the St Andrews one at the moment, with 8 people coming along to the last one. We also held a street surgery in Somerset Gardens, Elswick Road, Grover Court and Sunninghill Road, but no one put the flyer in their window asking us to call :(, so we ended up spending some time chatting to the shopkeepers on Loampit Hill and handing out graffiti removal forms instead. The street surgery flyers seem to attract a bit of casework by e-mail in the following weeks as much as stuff on the doorstep. I've asked if the graffiti team can come along and put some anti-graffiti paint on the shop shutters on Loampit Hill like they have on Ladywell Road, which has worked well, but we need to get the shopkeepers' signed forms back first . . I've also requested for the chewing gum to be cleaned off the pavement on Loampit Hill - it's decent paving along there, but covered in black splodges of chewing gum.

Loads of flytipping in a few areas of the ward in the last few days - Elswick Rd, Foxborough Gardens, Malyons Rd - have been reporting to lovelewisham but really wish we could catch a few more of those responsible. A 'no fly-posting' sign has also gone up in Algiers Rd at my request, though it remains to be seen what effect, if any, this will have.

Empowering Communities and Neighbourhoods
I am on the Mayoral Commission on Empowering Communities and Neighbourhoods, although unfortunately the inaugural meeting this Thursday clashes with Green Party conference and I will be down in Hove. From what I can make out, the purpose of the commission is to look at ways of improving links and communication between local communities and the council. I'm hoping part of the remit will be to look at ways of devolving some decision-making down to local forums and ways of giving them a bit more clout. It sounds very green . . .

Ladywell Forum
We are provisionally looking at Wednesday 8th November for our first Ladywell Area Forum, although this has still tbc. I would welcome residents' views on what issues they want to discuss. Current possibilities we are considering are youth provision in the ward (or lack thereof) and the town centre development. Similarly, your views on ways of 'empowering communities and neighbourhoods' for me to feed through to the commission would be welcome.


Youth Provision in Ladywell
Mike, Ute and I had a very useful meeting with officers from the Youth Services team last week. We wanted to find out what plans, if any there were for further youth provision in the ward as we share residents' concerns that there isn't a huge amount going on at the moment. Besides Street Vibes and the skate park, which strictly speaking are just outside the ward, St Andrews Church on Brockley Road has a youth club, and Crofton Park Baptist Church on Brockley Grove does too, but I'm not aware of anything else. In the past there were also youth clubs at Crofton Leisure Centre and St Mary's Centre, but these are both no more. There doesn't seem to be as much in the way of clubs locally as you might hope, eg Brownies, Guides etc. I guess it's the usual story of not having enough volunteers, people working longer hours etc etc.

The lack of provision in Ladywell was recognised by the youth team and we spent some time brainstorming various options, sites and funding, and there are a few things to follow up on, but nothing definite just yet. The existing budget for youth provision in the north of the borough is very tight, but there are a number of grants available at the moment for young people interested in setting up some kind of project and sometimes match funding is available. We're looking into it, but again, your suggestions welcome.

(Un)ethical pensions
Last week was another meeting of the Pensions Investment Committee, which I am on. We were supposed to be reviewing the statement of investment principles and I was very keen to push for us to exclude investments in arms and tobacco, but in the end we ran out of time and have deferred it to the next meeting. Lib Dems have passed a motion on clean and ethical investment at their conference today, so I'm hoping they may support this, though they were rather quiet at the meeting.

Arms and tobacco only represent a tiny amount of the total investment portfolio, approx 1%, so I don't think excluding them would excessively limit the diversity of investments. Our current policy is one of constructive engagement with companies on ethical issues. I am willing to see how you can 'positively engage' with most companies, but can't see how you can do so with arms and tobacco.

We are legally obliged as trustees of the pensions fund to put fiduciary interest above all other considerations, but aren't prohibited from taking into account ethical issues as long as it is not financially detrimental to the fund. We can also argue for the exclusion of investments in a particular sector on financial grounds. For example, Newham Council have barred investments in tobacco, citing concerns over possible lawsuits. I did think of arguing that there would be potential downside for arms stocks if peace broke out, if the war on terror is won, etc, but maybe that isn't so likely . . .

Car Free Day
On Sunday I went to the open house event at the wonderful Creekside Centre and then popped into Greenwich to see their Car Free Day event. They get funding to close their high street to traffic and put sand and deckchairs there for the day and have various performers. Great idea, would be good if we could do smthg similar in Lewisham and I have asked a question to this effect for this month's full council mtg (which is this Wednesday, 20th Sept, btw). That said, Lewisham is doing some kind of promotion to encourage council staff to walk/cycles to work this Friday for In town without my car, and various events for staff as part of goodgoing week. There are also lots of events taking place in Greenwich, Lewisham and Bexley for the Green Chain Festival (16-24 September).

Real Nappies for London
Today I went to City Hall for the launch of the Real Nappies for London launch. The idea is for boroughs to work together to share expertise in promoting the use of real nappies. I'm hoping that Lewisham will join the scheme and again, am hoping for a positive response to a question I have asked Heidi Alexander, the deputy mayor, on this very subject at full council tomorrow.

Healthy Brockley
Blimey, this is a long post and it's getting late. I'm off to Green Party Conference in Hove this Thursday, so will sadly not be at Healthy Brockley this Sunday. The last one back in May was great, well worth a visit.

Lewisham Green Party Meetings
Finally, we have a new venue for local Green Party meetings, which is Brockley Social Club. The next meeting is at 7.30pm on Monday 9th October. New members/supporters always welcome.

London bucks the national spiral of congestion and pollution

From London Assembly Green Group press release:

New Government statistics show that London has started to reverse many of the worse national trends on growing car ownership and the decline in environmental forms of transport. Jenny Jones, a Green Party member of the London Assembly has welcomed three crucial differences between London and the rest of the UK, which are making London a healthier and less polluted city.

Car ownership per household has increased dramatically in the UK, but has declined in London. The proportion of households in Great Britain with access to a car has risen to 75%. Whilst in London it has fallen to 61% of households without access to a car, up from a low point of 65% in the late nineties.

In the UK, the number of trips by bicycle has fallen between 1995/7 and 2005, by just over 20 per cent. This contrasts with the rapid growth of 50% in the number of journeys made by bike in London since 2001.

The number of trips by bus in London per person per year increased by 28 per cent while trips by bus outside London fell by 13 per cent (between 1995/7 and 2005)

Jenny Jones, the Mayor of London’s green transport adviser, said:

“London is a far from perfect city, but these Government statistics show how others have failed and London are starting to succeed. London’s transport system and its environment have both started to improve as a result of the congestion charge being introduced and increased investment in buses and cycling. Traffic stopped growing in London five years ago, but has continued growing in the rest of the country. Car ownership per household is rising fast throughout the UK, but is actually falling in London. People have begun to realise that car dominated streets and neighbourhoods don’t work. Congestion costs business and pollution costs people’s lives.”

Bus stop seat
You may have noticed a seat has been installed at the bus stop on Ladywell Road, opposite the car wash. Mike pushed for this at the request of a local resident. It took longer than we expected though as amongst other things it apparently involved purchasing a bit of pavement to compensate for the space the seat took up.

Bike Racks
We should soon be getting bike racks installed outside some of the shops on Ladywell Road and Brockley Road. My hope is that kids may be less inclined to leave their bikes lying right across the pavement when going into the shops, but maybe I'm being naive in thinking this! We have an excellent council cycling officer who is keen to get more bike racks installed outside local shops. A rack has also recently been installed outside Sheel Pharmacy on Lewisham Hill at my request.

Grants for youth groups
Article in Newsshopper about grants available for youth projects from the Jack Petchey Foundation, local groups encouraged to apply.

Lewisham in Bloom DVDs available
Just before I went away on holiday, Ute and I had a really useful meeting with officers from the council environment team and discussed all sorts of issues ranging from recycling and flytipping to dog poo. It was good to finally meet some of the people I have been e-mailing about various issues since May. I was also given some DVDs that the council had specially made to give residents information about Lewisham in Bloom. If you would like a copy of the DVD, or are interested in your street entering Lewisham in Bloom, please contact me. I haven't watched the DVD myself yet, but plan to soon.

Licensing Application: Morleys, 313 Brockley Road

Residents who live on or near Brockley Road may like to know that Morleys take-away have applied for an extension to their opening hours under the Licensing Act 2003.

Morleys
313 Brockley Road
London
SE4 2QZ

Applied for late night refreshment Monday – Thursday until 02:00 and Friday – Saturday until 03:00.

The four criteria under which you can support or object to this application are:

1. Prevention of Crime and Disorder.
2. Protection of Children from Harm
3. Public Safety
4. Prevention of Public Nuisance

You can email the Licensing Team or write to:
The Licensing Team, 2nd Floor Laurence House 1 Catford Road, London SE6 4RU

Please could you ensure that any representations either for or against this application reach the Licensing Team by 29th September 2006.

Back from holiday

I've just come back from a week in Ilfracombe, Devon. We had lots of family holidays there when we used to live on a boat, but I was only a baby, so couldn't remember it. Had a great week - did lots of walking, hired a bike and went on the excellent Tarka Trail, stopping off at Tapeley Park, a stately home near Instow that the current owner is trying to make 'sustainable' and includes a permaculture garden and solar water heating. Went on a day trip to Lundy (was sea-sick so clearly haven't inherited the family sea legs), swam in the sea at the Tunnel Beaches.

Anyway, it's back to work now and September is looking like it's going to be a busy month. More training on overview and scrutiny issues tomorrow, I'm going to the Sustainable Development Committee meeting on Tuesday and the rest of the week will hopefully be catching up on casework, preparing for forthcoming meetings etc. Saturday is Lewisham Peace Fair on Ladywell Fields, from 3pm-7pm, which I will attend.

Noise! Don't suffer in silence!
When I was jogging this evening (yes! second time this week and, er year) a car alarm was going off on Malyons Road and there was a message on the windscreen from a resident saying that it had been going off all day. I called the Noise enforcement team who hopefully by now have disabled the alarm. Apparently what happens is they go to see the car, if they can’t gain access to disable the alarm, they serve a notice on the car and after an hour they are able to call in contractors to turn the alarm off. Could have been dealt with earlier, if it had been reported to the noise team.

lovelewisham, hate abandoned shopping trolleys
I've been using the lovelewisham website regularly to report graffiti and flytipping, and the team are generally responding quite quickly. We've managed to get most of the shop shutters on Ladywell Road cleared of graffiti now, still working on a few others and I will try to get round some of the shops on Brockley Road and Loampit Vale with the permission cards in the next few days. The Safer Neighbourhood team have also been handing out graffiti clean-up cards to residents and businesses whose premises have graffiti, as one of the priorities set by the local neighbourhood panel is to tackle signal crimes, such as graffiti. Contact details for Lewisham Safer Neighbourhood Teams.

There is an ongoing problem with shopping trollies being abandoned along Marsala Road. It's on my cycle route to work so I report them fairly regularly, but if anyone knows who is dumping these trollies (I suspect it's only a couple of culprits at most), the council enforcement officers would be interested to know!

Minor success: Residents on Adelaide Avenue might have noticed that the flashing traffic cone that had been on the island at the bottom of the road for several years has finally been replaced with more permanent signs, which look a bit tidier. I conacted the Highways Department about the traffic cone and pointed out how long it had been there, and they responded within a week.

Any transport issues you would like me to raise on your behalf?
The next Lewisham Transport Liaison meeting is coming up in a few weeks. This is the opportunity to raise any gripes about trains, buses, stations etc with TfL and the operators. Post a comment or e-mail me if there's anything you would like me to mention. I've recently been in touch with SE trains about a couple of Ladywell Station issues (the side gate being locked - security and to reduce fare dodgers, apparently) and the possibility of getting a cash machine there (they've investigated it and the banks weren't interested, though I've since found out that Ladywell Post Office may be getting a cash machine (inside the shop) soon, which will be handy.

National Allotments Week
This week is National Allotments week. There was an article on BBC news online about the waiting lists for allotments in inner London, which mentioned Lewisham and another about the London Assembly Environment Committee investigating whether the number of allotments is declining. Lewisham Greens have worked closely with allotment holders at St Norberts allotments in Brockley in the past to protect the site from developers. Despite the reassurances which have been given I am also concerned that if the new school is built on the Ladywell Leisure Centre site that the temptation will be too great for the school to expand onto the allotments behind (Romborough Gardens?). Lewisham Council has a list on its website and info on it allotments, all of which have waiting lists, of from 1 month to 7.5 years. Some of the non-council owned sites, such as St Norberts may just have some vacancies. Don't know if it's still the case, but at one point the Green Party was the only national party that had any policy on allotments.

Lewisham Peace Fair and Lewisham Peace Council
A Peace Fair, to launch Lewisham Peace council, is to be held on Saturday 9 September 2006 in Ladywell Fields between 3 – 7 pm.

“An afternoon and evening of good music, food, and debate, to launch the Lewisham Peace Council”

For further info contact David or Kate from Lewisham and Greenwich CND e-mail: info@lgcnd.org.uk, Phone: David on 020 8857 1095 Mobile: Kate on 079 77255 745.

Jersey Tiger Moths in Lewisham!
A colony of Jersey Tiger Moths have apparently set up home in Lewisham in Devonshire Road Nature Reserve, Forest Hill. They are not usually found round here and it is thought that they may have made their way up the wildlife corridor along the railway lines from the coast.

Climate Change Lobby
Friends of the earth are asking people to lobby their local MP to call for a Climate Change Bill to be passed in parliament. Joan Ruddock has been quite good on this in the past (which is considerably more than can be said for her party as a whole and the government, imho, but then I would say that!), but it's always worth keeping up the pressure.


Picnic at Woodlands Farm
Greenwich Greens have invited Lewisham Greens and supporters to a picnic at the Woodlands Farm Trust, this Sunday (20 August 2006), 3.30pm, 331 Shooters Hill, Welling, all welcome. 89 bus stops (second stop after the top of hill)10 yards from entrance.

If you are a supporter of Lewisham Green Party, and would like to be kept in touch with events, you can join our supporters list by sending an e-mail to: lgpsupporters-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. The list is generally restricted to monthly updates. Of course, if you want to get more involved, you can also join the Green Party ;).


New Links
I've added a few more links to the sidebar, including to Ladywell Society, Lewisham and Greenwich CND, Lewisham Town Talk and the European-wide petition against nuclear power. Also found a good discussion forum on Brockley, though no thread for Ladywell as yet.

Solar Lewisham

We've had a number of enquiries from residents about how to get solar panels installed and what grants are available. Hopefully the information below will be of use (with thanks to Richard Hurford, the council's Sustainable Resources Group Manager). I have also set up a discussion group, solarlewisham@yahoogroups.com with the aim of helping those interested in renewable energy to share ideas and swap advice. If you would like to join the e-group, simply send an e-mail solarlewisham-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

There are grants available from the council and the government for renewable energy schemes, as follows;

Lewisham grant
Lewisham will provide a one-off grant of £500 to any Lewisham home installing appropriate renewable technology, subject to availability. Contact is 020 8314 6622, Private Sector Housing.

Low Carbon Building Programme
The Government has recently launched the Low Carbon Building Programme, a new £80 million scheme to invest in renewable energy, with grants available to the public. If you would like to talk to someone about the programme, call the free phone helpline on 0800 915 7722.

There are a number of technologies that the programme will cover, these include: Solar photovoltaics, Wind turbines, Small hydro, Solar thermal hot water, Heat pumps, Bio-energy.

There are a number of energy efficiency measures that you must undertake before you are eligible to apply for a grant under the low carbon buildings programme. These measures will ensure that you are minimising your energy requirements and are as follows:
a. You have a minimum of 270mm of loft insulation to meet current building regulations, where practicable - e.g. 270mm of mineral wool.
b. b. Installed cavity wall insulation (if you have cavity walls)
c. c. Using low energy light bulbs in all appropriate light fittings
d. d. Installed basic controls for your heating system to include a room thermostat and a programmer or timer.
It is also recommended that you complete a home energy check so that you can assess which measures are most suitable for your home.

Solar PV
If you want to consider solar PV (photovoltaic), then you may want to look at Solar Century.

Solar PV uses energy from the sun to create electricity to run appliances and lighting. PV requires only daylight - not direct sunlight - to generate electricity. You can use PV systems for a building with a roof or wall that faces within 90 degrees of south, as long as no other buildings or large trees overshadow it. If the roof surface is in shadow for parts of the day, the output of the system decreases.

Solar panels are not light and the roof must be strong enough to take their weight, especially if the panel is placed on top of existing tiles.

Prices for PV systems vary, depending on the size of the system to be installed, type of PV cell used and the nature of the actual building on which the PV is mounted. The size of the system is dictated by the amount of electricity required.

For the average domestic system, costs can be around £4,000- £9,000 per kWp installed, with most domestic systems usually between 1.5 and 2 kWp. Solar tiles cost more than conventional panels, and panels that are integrated into a roof are more expensive than those that sit on top.

A useful website for further information is Energy Savings Trust. In addition, the Green Party’s Green Energy Works website has a number of useful links and background information Green Energy Works.

Planning
The installation of solar panels is classified as a permitted development under current planning legislation and therefore planning permission is generally not required, unless you live in a conservation area (but please check this with the planning department before you go ahead, just in case!). As things stand, if you live in a conservation area planning permission is required and you should seek advice from Lewisham planning office on 020 8314 7400 or planning@lewisham.gov.uk. A recent conversation I had with a planning officer suggested that they will look more favourably on applications for solar panels in conservation areas if they are on a rear roof or in the back garden, but this may well change in the future.

Catford Honey!

I was v impressed when doing my shopping in Sheel pharmacy today to see they had Catford Honey, produced in a back garden in Catford. You can't get much more local or low food miles than that!

A Ladywell resident wrote to me recently asking us to do more to promote milk delivery. Not really a milk drinker myself, but if you are, find me a milkman might be, er right 'up your street'.

Am happy to do anything (within reason!) that will promote small local businesses and take money away from supermarkets, so while I'm at it, I'll also give plugs to:

Sheel Pharmacy (312-314 Lewisham Road - the largest range of fairtrade and organic products I've come across in Lewisham, better than any of the chain stores).

Local organic fruit and veg box schemes:
UK5 organics (based in Greenwich)
Capricorn Organics (based in Bexley)
Abel & Cole (much bigger company, London-wide distribution).
If you know of any other good ones I've missed, please let me know.
15 reasons to order a box scheme today
and lots of reasons to avoid supermarkets:
Tescopoly
Corporate Watch - What's wrong with supermarkets?
What supermarkets won't tell you (The Ecologist)

Was interested to read the other day that TESCO is going to be offering incentives for customers to reuse bags - a small step in the right direction, but even if they meet their targets they will only reduce the number of their bags thrown away every year to 3 BILLION! Hasn't Sainsbury's been doing that for years, with little impact? IKEA started charging 5p/bag a couple of months ago, which has had more impact. I think it needs a bit of stick as well as carrot to change shoppers' habits, such as a plastic bag tax similar to that in Ireland.

Peace Demo - ceasefire now!

Went on the peace demo today - good turnout, I thought, though it's always hard to tell when you're in the middle of it. Lewisham & Greenwich CND, STW and RESPECT were there, also met up with Greens from various places, although Green contingent was somewhat smaller than usual as loads of members are at the Big Green Gathering. I had been planning a quiet day, but wanted to express my disgust at the violence perpetrated by both sides and the UK government's failure so far either to call for a ceasefire or condemn Israel's action.

The children's shoes placed at the Cenotaph in memory of the children killed in the bombings were a powerful image. While waiting for the train home at Charing Cross station I met a man from Gaza who had also been on the demo. He is coming to the end of his masters course in International Relations here and will return home soon, when he will visit the graves of 2 of his friends killed in the troubles recently. He said he had been thanking everyone for going to the demo, but was depressed at what he felt Israel was getting away with. Tend to agree with him.

Legs aching now, thought not sure how much is marchers' fatigue and how much is the yoga class I did at Ladywell Leisure Centre yesterday evening . . .