What is the one thing London needs most?

[Frank7]

vixen1700 said:

Born in London, went to school there and did what most Londoners do, moved out. Firstly to the end of the Central Line, then further out to the Essex/Cambs/Suffolk borders.

Lovely at first, but soon became an overcrowded commuter village and it just seemed to lose its character.

Made the decision to move back to London nearly four years back and have to say it's the best thing we ever did for so many reasons.

London's far from perfect, but it's not as rude and unwelcoming as so many seem to think.

IMO your two lower points make a great deal of sense, but let’s hope for both our sakes that people think that you’re nuts, or your good sense could bite us both in the rear end if they believe you and come creeping in to muddy our delightful waters,

[MXRod]

mikal83 said:

AS above, a new Mayor

Joined a bit late
BUT , even better , do away with the position of Mayor completely , and sell off "City Hall"
If already suggested , seconded

[blueg33]

I work in London and spend 2 or 3 nights a week there, but its not somewhere I would want to live, however, I can see why people would want to live there.

[s1962a]

MXRod said:

mikal83 said:

AS above, a new Mayor

Joined a bit late
BUT , even better , do away with the position of Mayor completely , and sell off "City Hall"
If already suggested , seconded

I think the ULEZ is a great idea. Who doesnt want cleaner air ?

[numtumfutunch]

s1962a said:

I think the ULEZ is a great idea. Who doesnt want cleaner air ?

Somebody with a 2011 diesel Ford Focus bought in good faith due to emissions driven tax bands at the time?

[turbobloke]

numtumfutunch said:

s1962a said:

I think the ULEZ is a great idea. Who doesnt want cleaner air ?

Somebody with a 2011 diesel Ford Focus bought in good faith due to emissions driven tax bands at the time?

Indeed, and they would have a point about how cleaner air is being sought and where. Sure it's a good thing, which is why outdoor air quality has improved so rapidly in recent decades.

Transport Research Laboratory in LEZ Report TRL 431 said:

Restrictions on cars beyond general plans to reduce traffic are not warranted solely on air quality grounds.

In addition there would be costs associated with the replacement of excluded vehicles: this impact would generally be borne by the lowest income car owners.

So much for progressive policies, social justice...and outdoor air quality has improved since then.

There's also the salient point that air in the average UK home is many times more polluted than outdoor urban air, typically 10x (IAQUK, UKBRE) and we spend 90% of our time indoors.

Indoor air pollutants are an important cause of avoidable UK life expectancy reduction (Brunekreef and Holgate, 2002) not least because contaminants in the indoor environment are more than 1000 times more likely to be inhaled than in outdoor air (Levin, 2007).

Too many politicians need to be taught the meaning of the word 'priority' in this and other contexts.

[Nickgnome]

Pan Pan Pan said:

Nickgnome said:

Pan Pan Pan said:

You seem to be the equivalent of the bloke in hospital bed who exclaims `The food here is f*cking amazing! You should try to get out of London more, You will at least be cleaner, and your lungs will love you for it.
For me London was a dirty, noisy, smelly, overcrowded, rat hole, and I was delighted to get away from it, Still it wouldn't do if everyone loved the same thing would it?

I am out of London now. I live on the South coast looking across to the IoW. I lived in many places in the U.K. and abroad so nothing like your hospital guy. I still visit regularly and stay over. My passion is sailing hence the coast.

Your view is your view. Others do not see London that way and your need to criticise people who like London is very odd.

We can concur on your final sentence.

I was born, grew up, and worked in London, you appear to be a Johnny come lately visitor, who only lived in, and frequented the `nice' bits (there are some) of London.
I doubt you could really understand what the `real' London that many who really lived there for an extended time, knew. I was delighted to be able to get away from it, and I still am.
To truly know a place you have to see all of it, not just the `nice' bits.

Johnny come lately visitor!!!

You’re uninformed speculation is incorrect, I suspect you know that but try to excuse you’re dislike of London.

You may have been born in London but your posts evidence your dislike of the place.

Belittling others that enjoy living and working in London is all rather pointless. If you cannot appreciate where others derive joy it’s rather sad.

[vixen1700]

Frank7 said:

IMO your two lower points make a great deal of sense, but let’s hope for both our sakes that people think that you’re nuts

Ha! Yes the word nuts has been used on more than one occsssion, but also the phrase 'slightly bit jealous' from my Londoner mate who now lives in Saffron Walden.

In fact barring a handful of people I went to school with, all them have moved out to some part of Essex or another.

[Nickgnome]

MXRod said:

Joined a bit late
BUT , even better , do away with the position of Mayor completely , and sell off "City Hall"
If already suggested , seconded

Why?

[Murph7355]

Nickgnome said:

...
Belittling others that enjoy living and working in London is all rather pointless. If you cannot appreciate where others derive joy it’s rather sad.

JHTC - the hypocrisy in that sentence Nick.

It's what you spend your time doing on every other thread you post in

In fact in that very sentence you're doing it as much as the person you are replying to. His opinion of London is no better or worse than yours. In fact there's a strong argument to say that anyone born and bred in the city will know it better in many respects.

Regardless, it's just an opinion to counter equally "biased" positive views.

[BlackTails]

turbobloke said:

numtumfutunch said:

s1962a said:

I think the ULEZ is a great idea. Who doesnt want cleaner air ?

Somebody with a 2011 diesel Ford Focus bought in good faith due to emissions driven tax bands at the time?

Indeed, and they would have a point about how cleaner air is being sought and where. Sure it's a good thing, which is why outdoor air quality has improved so rapidly in recent decades.

Transport Research Laboratory in LEZ Report TRL 431 said:

Restrictions on cars beyond general plans to reduce traffic are not warranted solely on air quality grounds.

In addition there would be costs associated with the replacement of excluded vehicles: this impact would generally be borne by the lowest income car owners.

So much for progressive policies, social justice...and outdoor air quality has improved since then.

There's also the salient point that air in the average UK home is many times more polluted than outdoor urban air, typically 10x (IAQUK, UKBRE) and we spend 90% of our time indoors.

Indoor air pollutants are an important cause of avoidable UK life expectancy reduction (Brunekreef and Holgate, 2002) not least because contaminants in the indoor environment are more than 1000 times more likely to be inhaled than in outdoor air (Levin, 2007).

Too many politicians need to be taught the meaning of the word 'priority' in this and other contexts.

I find this a little bit hard to follow.

Clean air is a good thing.

Outdoor air is dirty.

But indoor air is dirtier.

Ergo don't address outdoor air while indoor air remains dirty.

I don't see how the air in someone's home is a matter for the mayor of London. Whereas transport in London is. It's a matter of playing the cards you hold, surely.

[Nickgnome]

Murph7355 said:

JHTC - the hypocrisy in that sentence Nick.

It's what you spend your time doing on every other thread you post in

In fact in that very sentence you're doing it as much as the person you are replying to. His opinion of London is no better or worse than yours. In fact there's a strong argument to say that anyone born and bred in the city will know it better in many respects.

Regardless, it's just an opinion to counter equally "biased" positive views.

He can say whatever he likes about London, but being born there gives him no special insight, surely that comes with experience and time, together with a willingness to engage.

I restate that he should not belittle, which appears to be his implication, those who like living and working there.

Can we assume you neither reside nor work there?

[s1962a]

BlackTails said:

I don't see how the air in someone's home is a matter for the mayor of London. Whereas transport in London is. It's a matter of playing the cards you hold, surely.

I drive through central london every day, and have noticed the difference in less polluting vechicles. Especially big trucks, which all seem quite modern now.

Traffic is still st though.

[Pan Pan Pan]

Nickgnome said:

Pan Pan Pan said:

You seem to be the equivalent of the bloke in hospital bed who exclaims `The food here is f*cking amazing! You should try to get out of London more, You will at least be cleaner, and your lungs will love you for it.
For me London was a dirty, noisy, smelly, overcrowded, rat hole, and I was delighted to get away from it, Still it wouldn't do if everyone loved the same thing would it?

I am out of London now. I live on the South coast looking across to the IoW. I lived in many places in the U.K. and abroad so nothing like your hospital guy. I still visit regularly and stay over. My passion is sailing hence the coast.

Your view is your view. Others do not see London that way and your need to criticise people who like London is very odd.

We can concur on your final sentence.

Interesting they way you combined yours, and your daughters time in London in an attempt to big up your experience of it. On that basis my family has 100`s of years of experience of London.
Your need to criticize the views of someone who was born, grew up, and worked in London is also very odd, especially coming from someone who was not born there, apparently does not live there any more. and from your posts seems to inhabit only the nicer parts, instead of living in, seeing, and understanding much more of it than you seem to have done..
I suggest you might feel very much like a fish out of water in some parts of London.

[poo at Paul's]

Alligator World would appear a little "niche", I agree. But I went to one once, (cant recall where, Cotswolds maybe) and it was actually pretty good. They're pretty amazing creatures actually.

As you were!

[BMW A6]

Free stab-proof vests for those unfortunate to live there.

[fatboy18]

More Siks?

[jakesmith]

psi310398 said:

I don't dislike foreigners.

I had made the point that Londoners (whether born there or just living there) don't generally frequent these places. They are simply very efficient machines for parting out-of-towners and foreign tourists from their cash.

Any group of Londoners I know (including my 21 year old son and his friends) would simply fall about laughing at the suggestion of a night out in Camden Market.

Fall about laughing? Really?
Only an odd bunch of characters would react like that!
As I said the whole area had a lot more going on than the market such as the lock, the yard and a load of cool bars, pubs and street food places. It’s hardly Leicester Square.

Have you actually been to London? You don’t seem to know very much about the place and prefer to perpetuate an ignorant stereotype.

[Nickgnome]

Pan Pan Pan said:

Nickgnome said:

Pan Pan Pan said:

You seem to be the equivalent of the bloke in hospital bed who exclaims `The food here is f*cking amazing! You should try to get out of London more, You will at least be cleaner, and your lungs will love you for it.
For me London was a dirty, noisy, smelly, overcrowded, rat hole, and I was delighted to get away from it, Still it wouldn't do if everyone loved the same thing would it?

I am out of London now. I live on the South coast looking across to the IoW. I lived in many places in the U.K. and abroad so nothing like your hospital guy. I still visit regularly and stay over. My passion is sailing hence the coast.

Your view is your view. Others do not see London that way and your need to criticise people who like London is very odd.

We can concur on your final sentence.

Interesting they way you combined yours, and your daughters time in London in an attempt to big up your experience of it. On that basis my family has 100`s of years of experience of London.
Your need to criticize the views of someone who was born, grew up, and worked in London is also very odd, especially coming from someone who was not born there, apparently does not live there any more. and from your posts seems to inhabit only the nicer parts, instead of living in, seeing, and understanding much more of it than you seem to have done..
I suggest you might feel very much like a fish out of water in some parts of London.

I was trying to indicate I am not alone with my opinion. Nothing more. I don’t need to big up anything and your choice of words is very revealing.

Why are your previous generations of London family members relevant. Presumably they liked it.

I’m not criticising your view of London. You can feel how you like. If you’re no longer in London the way it’s run is none of your business is it. You gave up your right. Better you concentrate on your local democracy wherever that is.

Your criticism of people liking to live and work in London is unacceptable. It’s nothing to do with you and your criticism reflects your mindset, not them.

When I left London I gave up my right to opine on its direction or how it is run.

Your posts here and elsewhere indicate a very uptight unhappiness.

[FazerBoy]

Nickgnome said:

When I left London I gave up my right to opine on its direction or how it is run.

For somebody who gave up his right to opine, you’re doing a great deal of opining on this thread!

Why don’t you go away and leave us who live in London to discuss the issues that concern us. I’m sure you can find another thread to insert yourself into and annoy people there...