Dear LPG,

I have a complaint or two to direct at our governments and local councils, and I wonder if I am the only pensioner that has noticed a bit of street furniture that is becoming more and more conspicuous by its absence.  I am talking about the amount of street seating in the Borough and, from what I can see in many other neighbouring boroughs.

I understand that Covid-19 has made it dangerous for people to sit too closely to each other and we have all become used to seeing the seats that are in our streets taped up so that we remember to sit in a socially distanced fashion, but now that we are allowed to venture out again, the odds are stacked up against the older members of society because the council is not taking our legs into consideration.

The amount of people registered disabled does not reflect the many older people who really find it hard to get to the end of the street where they live because, although they can walk short distances, older legs need longer periods of rest more often and there are just not enough street seats. 

We can all see them in the big shopping centres but while Lewisham and Catford have their fair share, if it was not for our parks and bus stops, there would be nowhere to sit for a rest at all.

Getting out is vital for us oldies who continue to be the age group who are most likely to live alone, but for many of us buses are difficult to negotiate and sitting is a luxury unless there is a fence that you can use. 

I remember being a younger person and quite upset when discovering people sitting on my fence but now, I feel the need to appeal to those householders who do have a fence of appropriate height and strategic geographical placement to forgive us oldies for using them for a bit of leg relief from time to time.

In the meantime, if there are any other readers who agree with me I advocate that we have a peaceful protest one day soon because I think that there are quite a few older legs that would be willing to carry their owners a little further afield if only there were a few more places to rest on the way. 

HB, Lee