General Chat

You were correct, though, Rollo. You have to get the kerb and channelling right.

We have space for four vehicles on our paved drive and still have about 10-12 feet of bushes etc. We live on a feeder road so it's best not to park there.

I have no qualms about paved drives at all because they are a boon if you live on a busy road.

We still have plenty of wildlife in our back garden (backyard to you, Allan :-D ).

Lots of birds, hedgehogs, squirrels and one day we had an otter passing through in the morning and going back in the evening.

We have decided to wait to see what the new regulations usher in around June/July before we update our vehicle.

I know nothing about hydrogen combustion engines except that weren't the airships run on hydrogen and they proved to be spectacularly unsafe?

EDIT: for those who don't like paving there is always the option of the grid-type concrete paving where grass grows through the space between the squares. Its use is normally for extra parking in light industrial areas and shopping centres.

So, on 11 Apr, 17:19, RTR says:
"Now parking wars will resume as I will have to drop the curb, pave the garden and install the charging kit"
And on 12Apr 10:35, he won't be paving the garden, as he suddenly finds a/realises there is a hedgehog in his front garden :-S
Nothing to do with the strict planning laws in Islington, then?

Obviously you're getting confused again Maggie....

I am! :-S :-S

I'm sure, if I said something similar like:
"I'm going to get an electric car, drop the kerb, remove the fence, hedge and trees, and install a charger"
It would be volubly pointed out that I would need permission to remove said fence, hedge and trees. and doubtless, the fact that I can't drive would come into the equation.
What would the reaction be if I then said:
"Oh - what I meant was, I'm going to get a 'top of the range' electric bike , and buy a 'top of the range' shed to store it in - away from the trees of course, as there's a hedgehog hibernating behind them" (and there really is) :-S

*engage brain before typing* :-D :-D

As a matter of interest wonder what the life expectancy is anyway in the middle of wherever it happens to be today Islington or Dorset or wherever....don't most Hedgehogs get run over on the roads!

Most hedgehogs prefer back gardens that 'back onto' each other.
The one I have, until I chopped some branches off the tree and left them in a heap on the garden, only ventured a few feet into the front garden, via scuttling under the side gate (the same route my cats use).
Imagine a 'U' shape of houses. All the back gardens connect. That's what it's like where I live.
Over the years, I've heard them come through the back fence, up one side of the garden, through the shrubs, under the side gate, then back again , and down the other side, and through the fence again!

Where the branches are, is on a raised planted 'walled' bank. The raised area has bark on it, and a 'sunken' area (ex pond) with rather luxuriant shrubs growing in it. Periwinkle is invading from next door, so there's plenty of cover.
A front garden, 'shut off' from escape is an unusual place for hedgehogs - but I'm afraid I accidently left a perfect place for them :-S

First time in over 20 years they've 'invaded' the front garden.

" it is impossible to say what the power source is"

http://www.hi-energy.org.uk/Renewables/Why-Renewable-%20Energy/How-electricity-is-generated-in-the-UK.htm

Well it seems overall the UK is Gas, coal, Nuclear then Green.....

https://www.treehugger.com/animals/man-building-hedgehog-highways-london.html


Talking of Hedgehogs.......

Those figures are from 2008, there is a lot more green energy now and on some days it has exceeded 50% of the nation's energy consumption.

And for our Dorset friends

https://www.margaretgreenanimalrescue.org.uk/hedgehogs

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/oct/07/how-green-is-britains-low-carbon-energy-supply

Okay approx 30%.....

Unless you have a listed property you can do a lot to it without needing permission from the local council. That certainly covers walls and fences and charging points. Drop kerbs are decided by the Highway Authority which may or may not be the local council. The hedgehogs usually live in the wilds round the back aka "garden" but nest in what was once a wooden delivery crate. My house is not in the least gentrified which greatly irritates the neighbours. I just suggest they move to Highgate if That's what they want.

The demise of the hedgehog is largely down to a. Nothing to eat and b. Lack of breeding opportunity not the risks of 2D transformation. The culprits are farmers and over zealous gardeners. The same groups are decimating our wild birds.
I shell out a small sum every month to a hedge hog charity and wear the t-shirt when I can.

I was looking forward to something beefier than the little beemer but will no doubt get used to it just like hair shirts. I had not realised just how supportive Islington is of green driving. Hopefully there will not be any need for a home cp.

Hydrogen when compressed is a perfectly safe non polluting fuel and it is fairly easy to adapt current engines to run on it. Fitting hydrogen fuel tank similar to LPG. However expensive. On top the energy needed to extract, store and dist. the fuel is too great.

Over the next 20 years electric will be the only game in town. Get used to it.

Will it though....you could of course ride a bike..if you have a death wish though if you were out of town in a more rural type setting then maybe even horse back....that's almost going back to the old days....

LPG became 'unpopular' because, in a crash, if the fuel tank is ruptured, the (liquid) gas falls below the vehicle and catches fire. Not at all like Hydrogen, which rises.

The demise of the hedgehog is actually mainly due to 'secure' fences - the hedgehog can't travel, and slug pellets/pesticides.
The slug pellets/insecticides also kill off sloworms.
I have a cr*p back fence, piles of wood, an old tarp on the ground behind the shed (under the brambles), and have both hedgehogs and sloworms, - and grumpy neighbours!! :-D :-D

...oh and an awful lot of slugs and snails :-( :-( :-(

You need a toad or a frog.

I used to have - they made no difference. :-(
Too much food for hedgehogs and sloworms.
I may have to make a few 'slug and snail' drowning forays :-(

and another thread goes to beer.....

Beer? Oh no, I'd put them in a bucket (Vaseline around the top) with oats.
Slugs/snails like oats - unfortunately for the slimy wotsits, when oats and water (the main constituent of gastropoda) mix - the oats swell up - poor slug/snail :-(
Then I can feed them to the birds :-D

Oh they'd prefer my fathers method, he used to fill a tray with beer and they'd drink themselves to death...then whatever ate them was happy.