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Ban on petrol and diesel cars from 2030

watching a very good canal boat programme the other night , as they went past a london area with a 52% rise in occupancy and thousands upon thousands in high rise flats , i wonder how they will charge up their vehicles !

Do you need (to drive) a car in London? Or even want to?
 
Do you need (to drive) a car in London? Or even want to?
No, and no.
Admittedly the last time I drove in Central London I was pivotal in an office move during the first lockdown. It was genuinely pleasurable and I hadn’t ever seen it that quiet since I tried moving house in London on the weekend of Diana’s funeral.
 
No, and no.
Admittedly the last time I drove in Central London I was pivotal in an office move during the first lockdown. It was genuinely pleasurable and I hadn’t ever seen it that quiet since I tried moving house in London on the weekend of Diana’s funeral.

Every cloud…
 
Come to that, who would want to actually live in London ?
I couldn’t live in any gigantic polluted city.
Thankfully, I have the countryside 10 minutes away on a bicycle.

As much as I don’t want to live in London either, it is nowhere near as polluted as it was when I was dragged along by my parents in the late 60s and through the 70s. The last time I went, about three and a half years ago, I was there all day, and there were no black particles in my ears, nostrils, eyes or clothing.
Most industry has gone from London, and all vehicles pollute less. It’s just the relentless noise and crowds that put me off. Even Cambridge is a bit much for me at times!
 
Come to that, who would want to actually live in London ?
I couldn’t live in any gigantic polluted city.
Thankfully, I have the countryside 10 minutes away on a bicycle.
There was a time when I would have loved to live in London, with access to so much culture. Now it is a shadow of its former self, even over the last ten years, and on a par with the Royal Family - just a fading tourist attraction.
 
As much as I don’t want to live in London either, it is nowhere near as polluted as it was when I was dragged along by my parents in the late 60s and through the 70s. The last time I went, about three and a half years ago, I was there all day, and there were no black particles in my ears, nostrils, eyes or clothing.
Most industry has gone from London, and all vehicles pollute less. It’s just the relentless noise and crowds that put me off. Even Cambridge is a bit much for me at times!

Yes, it’s the noise and crowds.

When I worked at the Chemistry Dept. in Oxford we we ‘assaulted’ by hordes of tourists.
Fortunately, like hundreds of others at the University, I had a bicycle so I was able to escape
to quieter places.

The University Parks was very close to where I worked.
A haven of peace...
 
Come to that, who would want to actually live in London ?.
Certainly not me. I lived there as a student and I still got a buzz out of it when I visited through my 20's. But these days I hate it. I had work there in 2017 for a few months and couldn't wait to get out of it. Horrible place.
 
On the original subject: Volvo cars (not Swedish, btw) has stated they will stop making IC cars by 2030.
 
Come to that, who would want to actually live in London ?
I couldn’t live in any gigantic polluted city.
Thankfully, I have the countryside 10 minutes away on a bicycle.

Me, I sort of do live there and I am 10 mins from countryside as well (on a bike as well). It is a very large area and contains more green space than many major cities in the world - around 33% I believe. London stereotypes are as bad as calling the north home of flat caps and whippets.
 
Me, I sort of do live there and I am 10 mins from countryside as well (on a bike as well). It is a very large area and contains more green space than many major cities in the world - around 33% I believe. London stereotypes are as bad as calling the north home of flat caps and whippets.
Listen, there's nothing wrong with a flat cap. It's the solution to a great many of life's problems, and indispensable to those of us over 45.
Cold - wear a cap.
Excessively hot - wear a cap.
Raining - wear a cap.
Going bald - wear a cap.
Need an eyeshade when flying - wear a cap.
 
On the original subject: Volvo cars (not Swedish, btw) has stated they will stop making IC cars by 2030.

I still can’t cope with Volvos not being Swedish.
They belong to the Chinese.

Incredible.
What’s happening to the world ?

A friend now calls then Vovlos.
 
Listen, there's nothing wrong with a flat cap. It's the solution to a great many of life's problems, and indispensable to those of us over 45.
Cold - wear a cap.
Excessively hot - wear a cap.
Raining - wear a cap.
Going bald - wear a cap.
Need an eyeshade when flying - wear a cap.
And at a pinch, if you've mislaid your cap, a whippet can be pressed into service for much the same purposes.
 
Yes, it’s the noise and crowds.

When I worked at the Chemistry Dept. in Oxford we we ‘assaulted’ by hordes of tourists.
Fortunately, like hundreds of others at the University, I had a bicycle so I was able to escape
to quieter places.

The University Parks was very close to where I worked.
A haven of peace...

The University Parks is just down the road from me, and I cycle to work past the Chem Dept. every day.
 
The University Parks is just down the road from me, and I cycle to work past the Chem Dept. every day.

I was at the Inorganic Chemistry Dept. next to the University Museum.
My office had part of the Museum outside wall, complete with a very old door with
studs and a big key.
Wonderful sense of history.
I miss it...
 
There was a time when I would have loved to live in London, with access to so much culture. Now it is a shadow of its former self, even over the last ten years, and on a par with the Royal Family - just a fading tourist attraction.
As Loudon Wainright III summed it up in Primrose Hill.

“When you come up to London
It sure is something to see
It's somewhere to go
But it's no place to be…”

totally agree
 


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