| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Airplane noise | |
| Posted by: | Elizabeth Balsom | |
| Date/Time: | 21/10/11 03:17:00 |
| Like Lucille I came here 30 years ago, and barely noticed the planes. But over the past 10, 15 years they have become increasingly intrusive, both in terms of numbers and their noise. The Heathrow expansionists who claim that planes are getting quieter obviously don't live in my part of West Putney. Or they're downright liars. Joanne's comment about her small child constantly remarking on the planes reminded me of the time when a friend who lives in another part of London brought her 2 and a half year old daughter to visit. We went into the garden and I was surprised when every 90 seconds the little girl pointed skywards and said "noisy aeroplane". This child was oblivious of the campaign against Heathrow expansion; she just heard noise and it disturbed her. It's not only Putney which suffers. In August I was in Charing Cross hospital, and the noise was dreadful from 5.50 am onwards. Of course, there are those wonderful occasions when the wind is from the east, and we are spared the noise. At some times this can last for several days, even a couple of weeks, and there was that period when the ash cloud gave us respite. So there is a possibility that Aliki was house hunting at a time when planes were not so prevalent. It may not help, Aliki, but you're not alone in your feelings. I do sympathise, because when planes are going over, if you're outside you can't hear what the person a few feet away is saying. And they wake you in the morning. But, sadly, for many of us, moving is not an option, for reasons of cost and disruption. Still, I get some amusement out of this from time to time. It was interesting to read recently that the expansionistas claim Germany is more successful in exporting to China because Frankfurt has more direct flights to more cities there than Heathrow, and if there were more runways at Heathrow we'd have more flights too. Whether that would lead to more exports must be open to question, given that the UK, apparently, exports more to Ireland than to the BRIC countries combined. Personally I doubt that 30 runways would make a difference. I would laugh if the planes didn't impact so adversely on my quality of life. |