This Is Local London

Walthamstow community trouble-maker, videogames expert,
mountain biker, dad.

True grit in Walthamstow this winter

There was plenty of sign of true grit in Walthamstow over the last few snowy days. Just none, sadly, displayed by the council.

Ban bags and boozes, not knives and thugs?

A local supermarket has banned anyone from taking shopping trolleys into their shop. You can't drink in the town square or surrounding area any more. What is it with this current rush to pettily prohibit all sorts of behaviour that isn't really hurting anyone? If you ask me (and hey, if you don't ask me I'll tell you anyway), these things are a diversion – so people can pretend, to themselves and the rest of us, that they're doing something about their problems, without actually doing anything too challenging about any serious issues.

Walthamstow after the oil runs out – what will it be like? Transition town coming soon

What might Waltham Forest be like after the oil runs out… After the oil runs out?! The "Peak Oil" theory is complex, but put simply it's based on the fact that each oil well that's dug only has a certain amount of oil in it.

Big Town Plan? Walthamstow needs Kevin McCloud

Is anyone else watching Kevin McCloud And The Big Town Plan?

Class and campaigns – posh toffs versus working class Walthamstow

I've several times, by members of the public, councillors and council officers been told that the people fighting to save the EMD/Granada, the Stow, the market, the William Morris Gallery and Vestry House Museum and against a massive Primark on the Arcade site are middle class (and therefore somehow ignorable).

The credit crunch – could it be good for Waltham Forest?

I'm sure the credit crunch is bringing misery to millions. And I feel really sorry for neighbours currently buying or selling their properties.

Sharia law for pavement cyclists?... Or dangerous drivers?

Mayor Johnson once advocated hardline "Sharia law" for cycle thieves. Now it seems as if Waltham Forest Guardian readers want the same for pavement cyclists.

Walk quietly; carry a big stick - dealing with Waltham Forest council

What do you think of the local council? And what's the best way to get results out of the council for our communities? That's the question that's been bouncing round my head this week, since it all kicked off on the Walthamstow Yahoo Group.

Waltham Forest's green spaces underused

This feels like when your favourite band, the one you´ve followed since the early days, suddenly is number one and everyone´s wearing their t-shirt. The one you bought last summer. So... Epping Forest...how´s that for a link? Look, we´ll get back to the whole pop band analogy shortly. But meanwhile bear with me for a while about the forest.