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Had to go into work first thing this morning and walked forty minutes home in this sticky heat. Felt a few drops of rain as I checked on my potatoes in our communal garden, and brought the washing in.
Wife: “That’s not our washing!”
Israel launched an unprovoked, illegal attack on Iran, committed terrorist car bomb attacks, assassinated scientists, bombed residential apartment buildings, a hospital and a TV station, all war crimes.
Here’s the BBC saying how brave they are.
Israel's smaller, sophisticated military opposes larger Iran: bbc.com
Forking* Hell (Again)
Almost exactly sixteen years ago I wrote a blog post titled Forking* Hell! about the relentless, sleep-shattering racket of reversing forklift alarms from the Beaver Industrial Estate (aka Chancery Gate Business Park), just a stone’s throw from my home.
It took months of escalating complaints, sound diaries, late-night MP3s, and even a YouTube video to get Ealing Council to take the matter seriously. But eventually, following site visits and interventions, they did. Forklifts were fitted with quieter white noise alarms, acoustic barriers were repaired, and the beeping stopped.
For a while.
We had more beeping in 2013 and 2017. Each time it was the same old story, but also it was eventually resolved.
2025: Guess Who’s Back
After years of relative peace, the problem has returned. Forklifts with traditional beeping alarms are once again reversing their way into my headspace—late at night, early in the morning, and all day long.
This isn’t a one-off. It’s relentless. Some nights, the beeping continues past 11 p.m.; some mornings, it starts before 7 a.m. I work from home. My wife does too. Windows stay shut even in hot weather just to make it bearable.
And once again, I’ve gone through the motions:
- Sent detailed emails to the council
- Provided audio recordings and video footage
- Explained the site history and previous resolutions
- Pointed out that something has changed recently (a broken barrier? a new operator?)
Response time from the council: One week.
Reason for delay: “Your email may have been blocked because it included links.”
Suggested action: “Call us next time it happens.”
Because obviously, I’ve got nothing better to do at 6:45 a.m. than call a noise hotline while forklifts beep through my kitchen window.
A Brief History of Beeping
Here’s the timeline in a nutshell:
- 2009–2010: Original complaint. Acoustic barrier found faulty. Council intervened, site improved.
- 2013: Issue re-emerged. Council visited, spoke to operators, and beeping was replaced with white noise alarms.
- 2017: Warning signs. I emailed again asking them to restrict night operations or use quieter alarms.
- 2025: The beeping has returned. My patience has not.
The Ask (Again)
I’m not asking for miracles. Just the same thing that worked before:
- Site inspection
- Identify the offending units
- Replace the beepers with directional white noise alarms
- Check the acoustic baffle hasn’t fallen apart again
- Remind businesses what Best Practicable Means under the Environmental Protection Act actually means
If you live near the estate and you’re also being disturbed, I encourage you to file your own complaint. Noise pollution doesn’t fix itself.
Want to Hear It?
You can:
🎧 Audio recordings from our kitchen
🎥 Video showing forklifts in action (YouTube)
Déjà Beep
History doesn’t repeat, but it often rhymes, said Mark Twain.
In my case, history reverses slowly, with a loud, repetitive beep that echoes off corrugated warehouse walls and slices through what was once known as my attention and the “quiet enjoyment” of my home.
*Thanks again to Andy C
I have a memory of a 80’s or 90’s British TV comedy sketch character visiting a Poundshop with his friend Alan. Alan would always ask, “How much is it?” To which the reply was always an exasperated “It’s a pound, Alan!”
Poundland sold for £1 with shops set to close: bbc.com
Exploited child labour this evening to harvest two bags of potatoes.
Big kid insisted that the “butt potato” take pride of place in the group photo.
Disappointingly small crop, but they are really tasty.
These trees outside our home provide beautiful cover for the ugly industrial warehouse they built shortly after we bought our flat. They make up for the loss of horizon view (in reality a derelict wasteland) making our close cozy and private. They provide shelter from the afternoon sun in summer allowing the kids to play outside freely.
Big kid decided each tree symbolises one of us, according to size. That’s me on the right. My neighbour wants to have me chopped down because I leave a mess on her car when she parks underneath.
Occasionally I like to lie on a blanket in our communal garden and just watch the trees swaying in the wind. During lockdown it was incredibly peaceful and calming watching the trees and the birds - crows, parakeets, pigeons, starlings, magpies, and red kites, geese and egrets flying by overhead.
📷
I listened to your feedback.
“TOO LOUD!!!” you shouted above the din. Or was it “TURN IT DOWN!!!”?
Whatever it was, we listened, and thirty years later we created the easy listening Hovercraft, for those of you, like us, who are getting on a bit and just want to chill out.
13 of the Craft’s finest homebrew, a bit hazy now, but super strength, just how we (used to) like it.