Brixton news, rumours and general chat: Autumn 2019

[David Clapson]

And another thing, while I'm here. Some of you may have noticed that a surprising number of local lads have 1000cc sports bikes, typically the BMW S1000RR or the Yamaha R1. Perhaps I'm the only urbanite who's aware of such things, being a Brixton resident and a motorcyclist. These bikes are almost impossible to get insurance for in London, unless you're 30+, with a garage, a clean licence and an immaculate insurance history. They cost £15-20,000, do 190mph and have pretty much the highest theft rates of any vehicle, ever. You need the training and reflexes of a fighter pilot to ride them well. I find it very hard to believe that the riders I've seen meet any of the conditions for insurance, except perhaps the garage. Not to put too fine a point on it, I'm 99.999% confident that the bikes are uninsured, and stolen. It's impossible for plod to do much about it. And maybe the accident rate makes it a self-limiting problem. If they would ride a little slower I might be able to get some registrations and search for them on the DVLA site, which would at least prove or disprove my theory about the insurance. But the number plates are always illegally small and fitted at an illegal angle.

Edit: a DVLA search doesn't tell you about insurance. Balls.

 

[northeast]

Does anyone know how to get info on speed cameras, i pass the camera on Acre Lane near Lidl and normally see it triggered 3 or 4 times as i walk past. It must be making an absolute fortune for someone !

 

[editor]

Does anyone know how to get info on speed cameras, i pass the camera on Acre Lane near Lidl and normally see it triggered 3 or 4 times as i walk past. It must be making an absolute fortune for someone !

I find it hard to muster much sympathy for speeding drivers getting fined.

 

[David Clapson]

You might get somewhere with a FOI request. Have a browse of previous answers Transparency and freedom of information releases

 

[Smick]

And another thing, while I'm here. Some of you may have noticed that a surprising number of local lads have 1000cc sports bikes, typically the BMW S1000RR or the Yamaha R1. Perhaps I'm the only urbanite who's aware of such things, being a Brixton resident and a motorcyclist. These bikes are almost impossible to get insurance for in London, unless you're 30+, with a garage, a clean licence and an immaculate insurance history. They cost £15-20,000, do 190mph and have pretty much the highest theft rates of any vehicle, ever. You need the training and reflexes of a fighter pilot to ride them well. I find it very hard to believe that the riders I've seen meet any of the conditions for insurance, except perhaps the garage. Not to put too fine a point on it, I'm 99.999% confident that the bikes are uninsured, and stolen. It's impossible for plod to do much about it. And maybe the accident rate makes it a self-limiting problem. If they would ride a little slower I might be able to get some registrations and search for them on the DVLA site, which would at least prove or disprove my theory about the insurance. But the number plates are always illegally small and fitted at an illegal angle.

Edit: a DVLA search doesn't tell you about insurance. Balls.

Are they acting the dick on them? Contact the Safer Neighbourhood Team of the police and ask them what their opinion on it is. Once you bring it to their attention, they have to respond. I used to have some cock living near me who had a courtesy car while his was being repaired, and he used to reverse up the road a bit so he could get a better blast over the speed bumps. I took a quick vid, nothing evidential, but passed it onto the SNT and they went round and told him to wise up. Which he did. All good b

 

[David Clapson]

I dunno...I'd rather the police put their limited resources into knife crime. The victims of naughty bikers are usually the bikers themselves. They're just doing it for thrills and showing off. (These are not the crowd who use bikes to rob people - that lot use scooters. Which are not bikes, in biker parlance.)

 

[teuchter]

Does anyone know how to get info on speed cameras, i pass the camera on Acre Lane near Lidl and normally see it triggered 3 or 4 times as i walk past. It must be making an absolute fortune for someone !

What do you want to know about it?

 

[klang]

What do you want to know about it?

how fast they are allowed to walk I guess.

 

[clandestino]

I don't think Swinson has much of a future as LD leader. She'll be gone by Christmas. Good riddance.

Two days later, the twitter rumour is that Swinson's about to resign. It's like crack squirrels all over again!

 

[CH1]

Two days later, the twitter rumour is that Swinson's about to resign. It's like crack squirrels all over again!

That would be exciting - but it sounds like Momentum misinformation to me. Failing that Guido Fawkes - registered in Eire to avoid libel charges.

 

[clandestino]

That would be exciting - but it sounds like Momentum misinformation to me. Failing that Guido Fawkes - registered in Eire to avoid libel charges.

Yeah, I don't believe a word of it either. Any excuse to relive the crack squirrel glory days tbh.

 

[northeast]

I find it hard to muster much sympathy for speeding drivers getting fined.

Zero sympathy myself being cyclist and none car owner, but it's been in place for years clearly generating large amount of cash. Would it not be more useful to redesign the road / install more signage if people are driving too fast rather than just taken advantage by using it too generate cash?

 

[editor]

This weekend Black Culture Christmas Market in Brixton, Sat 7th and Sun 8th Dec 2019

 

[editor]

This looks interesting An Unholy Row – jazz writer and musician Dave Gelly talks at Carnegie Library, Tues 10th Dec 2019

 

[ChrisSouth]

They were given absurd tax advantages when Buy To Let mortgages were legalized. And BTL mortgages are a grossly unjust mechanism for widening the gap between rich and poor. A rental property is a speculative investment, but you're allowed to borrow 6 or 7 times your stake money at low interest. How can that be right? You wouldn't get a loan in order to buy stocks or bonds. It's the biggest step we've taken back to the feudal system in modern history. A few years ago it was even worse - there were syndicates of landlords buying up entire blocks off-plan with a deposit of 5% or less. They were supposed to increase their stake when the blocks were built, but they connived with dodgy surveyors and solicitors to get around it. I don't know whether that's still going on. Maybe the banking crisis put a stop to it, Plenty of BTL specialist lenders went bust.

It's a sorry mess, and the banking crisis did put pay to a lot of this. BTL mortgages are now above 'ordinary' mortgages, by quite a whack, and the the tax relief on rental properties is being whittled away, year on year. Something that Osborne bought in as chancellor (and I'm no fan of his). There has been a slow down in the BTL market, but it will take decades for it to see an impact in the reduction in rents/increase in affordability of properties.

Part of the problem, especially in London, is the supply of properties. There just isn't enough housing, to meet population needs. It can be traced all the way back to the Buy To Let policy from the 1980s, and the failure to free up capital receipts to build new social housing. Personally, I think that anyone who owns a privately owned property in former social housing, and rents it out, should have it confiscated. Ditto people who sublet social housing.

 

[CH1]

À Propos all this political musing, I saw an intriguing Tea Party sign on a delightful web-blog devoted to the use and misuse of the apostrophe - in Dorset. Apostrophes

One wonders whether the Tea Party protester's sign refers to serving 22 year in prison or the US armed forces?

 

[Ol Nick]

À Propos all this political musing, I saw an intriguing Tea Party sign on a delightful web-blog devoted to the use and misuse of the apostrophe - in Dorset. Apostrophes
View attachment 191968
One wonders whether the Tea Party protester's sign refers to serving 22 year in prison or the US armed forces?

They were probably a waiter.

 

[Gramsci]

It's a sorry mess, and the banking crisis did put pay to a lot of this. BTL mortgages are now above 'ordinary' mortgages, by quite a whack, and the the tax relief on rental properties is being whittled away, year on year. Something that Osborne bought in as chancellor (and I'm no fan of his). There has been a slow down in the BTL market, but it will take decades for it to see an impact in the reduction in rents/increase in affordability of properties.

Part of the problem, especially in London, is the supply of properties. There just isn't enough housing, to meet population needs. It can be traced all the way back to the Buy To Let policy from the 1980s, and the failure to free up capital receipts to build new social housing. Personally, I think that anyone who owns a privately owned property in former social housing, and rents it out, should have it confiscated. Ditto people who sublet social housing.

On a broader cultural level the idea that its clever to be a landlord has seeped into working people I know. One of my van driver mates was going on about buying his Council flat and building a buy to let portfolio on it. This is complete fantasy. But even in the circles I work in its considered clever to be a buy to let landlord. Its seen as par with winning the lottery. Getting ahead and not having to work again.The worst thing about Thatcher legacy is that this kind of capitalist fantasy has become part of the ordinary culture.

On more housing. The other issue is that seen in Loughborough Junction. There is potentially a lot of new housing in the pipeline. All by developers. So little affordable ( see thread on Hero of Switzerland). Secondly Mayor and Councils are passing this but not ensuring the social infrastructure is in place to give good standard of living for people. For example transport and social facilities for young people.

At least back in early 70s plans for development by Councils included things like Brixton Rec.

Now its all up to the "market".

From what I've seen in LJ its cramming as much rabbit hutches in as possible.

 

[editor]

What do we think of this in Windrush Square:

Met Police wheel in giant LCD screen displaying mugshots of wanted individuals in Windrush Square, Brixton

 

[Mr paulee]

What do we think of this in Windrush Square:

Met Police wheel in giant LCD screen displaying mugshots of wanted individuals in Windrush Square, Brixton

Yeah weird one.
Can understand why they've done it, but seems very out of place right outside the Ritzy.

 

[editor]

Yeah weird one.
Can understand why they've done it, but seems very out of place right outside the Ritzy.

It seems totally out of proportion for some of the crimes. I mean bike thieves are fucking scumbags, but there must be more worthy causes of such publicity than a twat who stole a single bike.

 

[editor]

Neat!

Spoof chlorinated chicken packaging appears in Brixton supermarkets over Donald Trump trade threat

 

[David Clapson]

It seems totally out of proportion for some of the crimes. I mean bike thieves are fucking scumbags, but there must be more worthy causes of such publicity than a twat who stole a single bike.

Sounds like a PR gesture to me. They're saying they still have the resources to tackle minor crime. Whereas the truth is that arrests are dropping and crime is rising.

 

[Gramsci]

What do we think of this in Windrush Square:

Met Police wheel in giant LCD screen displaying mugshots of wanted individuals in Windrush Square, Brixton

I saw this in Tooley street by London Bridge station. Criminal masterminds undermining this country like an alleged bike thief.

Pathetic attempt by Police to be seen to be doing something.

Also these people aren't convicted of anything. I'm not that happy that names and photos of people wanted for questioning about minor crimes are publicly broadcast in this way.

 

[Gramsci]

I got my Brexit party literature today. See not all are happy with it:



Julia Stephenson , former Green party member and socialite, is the Brexit candidate, Article by her for Daily Mail:

Julia Stephenson on being too beautiful to be faithful | Daily Mail Online

 

[CH1]

I got my Brexit party literature today. See not all are happy with it:



Julia Stephenson , former Green party member and socialite, is the Brexit candidate, Article by her for Daily Mail:

Julia Stephenson on being too beautiful to be faithful | Daily Mail Online

She's still on the Green Party website. Not very efficient at purges, the Greens
Julia Stephenson

 

[Gramsci]

She's still on the Green Party website. Not very efficient at purges, the Greens
Julia Stephenson

To be fair to the Greens I think she just left to join Farage Brexit party rather than being purged.

Her Twitter says she is a "Green Leaver".

 

[Gramsci]

She's still on the Green Party website. Not very efficient at purges, the Greens
Julia Stephenson

BTW some of the comments at end of her Daily Mail piece are worth a look. "Narcissist" is one.

Here she is on her difficult life:

As a beautiful woman, I never had that fear I would be left alone.

There was always another charming, handsome replacement waiting in the wings to offer me the heady excitement of a new relationship.

For example, one afternoon I walked out of the hairdresser’s with a friend, only to have a gorgeous young man screech to a halt in his open-top Ferrari in front of me. ‘I couldn’t have lived with myself if I’d driven past you,’ he said. ‘Will you come to the polo with me on Saturday?’

Julia Stephenson on being too beautiful to be faithful | Daily Mail Online

 

[Gramsci]

On General Election issue. Had a chat with one of my local Labour Cllrs. Said I would be voting for Labour party. I said I liked Corbyn. Reply was " I know you like Corbyn but he will have to be replaced if he does not win". I then said I didn't want New Labour back in charge. He then mumbled something about how the debate has changed now. So yes significant part of party want a return to a revamped New Labour project.

I really feel that that the local Labour Council wants Helen Hayes re elected but wants Labour to perform poorly at national level so they can get rid of Corbyn and what he stands for. A move away from embracing neo liberalism as not reversible.

I found the lack of enthusiasm from my Labour Cllr for me supporting Corbyn annoying in hindsight. After all he was elected leader twice. Yet these people still will not get behind him.

 

[editor]

It was grand to be back at the Albert putting on a live show with The Scribes

Photos: Brixton Buzz party with The Scribes at the Prince Albert, Brixton, Fri 6th Dec 2019