If I happened across a blog written by a moron….

Posted on 22/09/2013 by gambba • Posted in District council stuff, Everyday life, Spalding, Spalding Wygate ward • Tagged blog, campaigning, greed, moron, ranting, raving, spalding • Leave a comment

If I happened across a blog written by a moron, that contained a personal attack on me, I’d probably respond to it something like this.

I’d suggest that they didn’t ramble on and on, like somebody just back from a binge drinking session and lacking the brains to go to bed and sleep it off instead of scrawling on their blog page. I’d also suggest that they read more carefully what they are ranting about before going off half cocked, like a spoilt child that’s just been told they can’t have a sweetie.

Finally, I’d tell them that, if they want to keep banging on about something written months ago, all of the above applies and that they shouldn’t think themselves so important that everything that was written all those months ago, was only about them.

Oh, and if I happened to try to find out a bit more about the writer of the blog and took a look at their profile, I’d be very suspicious if I found that it actually contained absolutely nothing about them, or anything else come to that. I’d also have to wonder what they had to hide and ask how they expect to be taken seriously, when they hide themselves from their readership.

Of course I’d only respond like this if I happened to come across such a blog entry.

Even then, I might think twice about bothering, especially if the site was saturated with tacky adverts, designed to make money and not really communicate with local people at all.

Likewise, if the site was just a regurgitation (vomit for short) of other people’s stuff, this would clearly show that the owner had a lack of original thought, so it wouldn’t be worth reading in the first place, so I’d probably never bother reading it and wouldn’t have to respond like this after all.

This reply belongs in the toilet

Posted on 17/09/2013 by gambba • Posted in District council stuff, Everyday life, South Holland, Spalding • Tagged Anti-social behaviour, Lincs Free Press, Mr Angry, public toilets, readers letters, street cleaning, vandalism • Leave a comment

http://www.spaldingtoday.co.uk/news/opinion/letters/public-toilets-one-of-the-most-stupid-replies-i-ve-ever-read-1-5489989

Having tried numerous times to log in to the newspaper website, so that I can respond to this letter, I’ve given up and resorted to my blog page. Although very few, if any, will read this compared to the letters page of the local paper, it will at least get it off of my chest and if nothing else, this website does let me log-in!

In truth, Mr Turps letter is so lacking in substance and so full of bile, it’s almost impossible to come up with a newspaper response, that isn’t equally bile ridden. However, as this is my blog and I can say pretty much what I like, bile ridden included, so here goes.

From the outset, I really didn’t get the, ‘the most stupid replies’ bit. Clearly this gentleman started off unhappy with my response and went on to build up a head of steam to the point of becoming slightly irrational in his arguments.

He offered some clearly insincere regret, for the verbal and sometimes physical abuse the staff suffer, by saying, “which, if true, is very regrettable”. He then goes to display a clear lack of understanding of what the problem is, by claiming that it’s all about ‘the management’ and finishes by telling me to ‘get out of the way’. Out of the way of what, to allow what to happen exactly?.

If it’s about anything, other than the totally unacceptable behaviour of a minority of users, it’s about closer supervision of the task and that will always be a major challenge with such a small street cleansing team, that is trying its best.

In conclusion, Mr Turps’s letter is, “One of the most stupid replies I’ve ever read!”.

Parking ticket protest in a vulture costume

Posted on 18/08/2013 by gambba • Posted in Everyday life, public sector • Tagged car parks, irony, local government, parking charges, Parking ticket, protest • Leave a comment

Only in Britain, or arguably in England more so, could a citizen achieve such unintended(?) irony whilst protesting against the state. Priceless.

A motorist given a parking ticket returned days later dressed in a vulture costume to protest.
Roger Wallis, 58, bought a mask on the internet and made the rest of his outfit.
He then walked around the car park, in Havant, Hants, for five hours. He said: “I put a lot of effort into making the costume because it is important to look the part. There is no point going down there looking like a prat.”

John Redwood MP sings, ‘I like to be in America’

Posted on 10/08/2013 by gambba • Posted in Everyday life, Government • Tagged America, BBC, EU, Germany, John Redwood, Norway, Switzerland • Leave a comment

http://www.thecommentator.com/article/4040/bbc_s_propagandistic_obsession_with_german_economy_ignores_anglo_american_prowess

How disappointing to see a seasoned MP such as John Redwood, not content with just falling over himself to kiss the collective backsides of the good ol’ US of A, despite their major involvement in the world wide recession and the crap we inherit from them, such as gang culture, reality TV shows, skyscrapers, fast food – the list goes on and on, he then adopts the practices of the playground, by ignoring the comparisons being made between the UK and Germany and saying, ‘well Norway and Switzerland are better than all of them, so there!’.
I didn’t find it to be a wholesale endorsement of the German way of doing things, just a reasonable comparison of the differences between the two countries, both good and bad. Yes, the Germans are more productive, but they haven’t had any pay increases above inflation for 20 years. Excellent child care facilities cost a fraction of the cost of lower quality facilities here, but German women feel obliged to be stay at home mums, with little or no career prospects. Workers are more committed to their company and its success, because they share in the profits and work as a team – there’s no but to that one!
The Germans don’t seem to have a problem with private rented properties as being the most effective way to house the masses, rather than encouraging people to saddle themselves with a lifetime of debt.
Hands up all those who’d like to be American… Can you hold them up a bit higher, I can’t see any hands from here.

Bandstand argument now off track

Posted on 08/08/2013 by gambba • Posted in Everyday life, South Holland, Spalding • Tagged Ayscoughfee, bandstand, gardens, local, music in the park, Spalding Town Forum • Leave a comment

I see the Graham Dark fan club is continuing to leap to his defence, although today’s letter is from the original writer so that’s hardly a surprise. As I’ve said previously, it’s amazing how quickly letters in the press drift away from the initial issue. This lady has now gone down the route of how wonderful the music events are and that she has never seen me at one! And your point is madam?
In retrospect, it probably was a bit too blunt to write that it was the only good idea he’d ever brought to the Spalding Town Forum, even if it is close to the truth.
What I should have said, was that a band stand in Ayscoughfee Gardens, was a suggestion made and promoted more than once by Graham Dark’s and that he had actually brought detailed plans for one to a previous Spalding Town Forum meeting. On that basis, why was this lady attacking me for making a passing comment, about something her hero is supporting and promoting?
Even his idea for a bandstand on the cheap, is ill conceived given his proposed location. The roofed enclosure behind the now disused paddling pool, is too small in length, or depth for a start. Suggesting that it can be made fit for purpose using local trades people, at a lower cost that building a bandstand from scratch, may be true, but it won’t be as cheap as suggested and is not backup with any figures.

As an aside, the original, original idea for a band stand in Aycoughfee Gardens, came from a previous councillor colleague of mine, Paul Walls. Paul’s other more ‘madcap’ idea, that I would really love to see happen, is a glass sided restaurant and viewing deck on top of the Spalding water tower. With that view, it could be our equivalent of Tattershall Castle!

Money from a supermarket, or blood from a stone?

Posted on 06/08/2013 by gambba • Posted in District council stuff, Everyday life, Government, public sector • Tagged council tax, levy, local authority, localism, rateable value, rates, retail, Supermarkets, sustainable communities • Leave a comment

I received this email text today, it contains an intriguing idea, that seems almost too good to be true. A way of getting supermarkets to put something back into the communities from which they get so much!

I am contacting you to ask for your help regarding a new idea that would bring your Council more money.

The idea is based on legislation passed last year by the Northern Ireland Parliament to add a new levy on large supermarkets of 8.5% based on their current rateable value. Last year the Scottish Parliament passed similar legislation for a levy of 9.3%.

The idea is for English local authorities to be given the power to introduce a similar levy in their areas and to collect the revenue and spend it in ways they think would help local communities.

Evidence shows that the revenue from this levy has helped local businesses and communities in Northern Ireland and public services in Scotland.

Furthermore the concerns about this levy are unfounded: the British Retail Consortium have specifically said that the levy will not be passed on to customers, inward investment has increased in Northern Ireland and there would be a positive effect on employment.

Specifically, the proposal is:
“That the Secretary of State a) gives Local Authorities the power to introduce a local levy of 8.5% of the rate on large retail outlets in their area with a rateable annual value not less that £500,000; and b) requires that the revenue from this levy go directly to the Local Authority in order to be used to improve local communities in their areas by promoting local economic activity, local services and facilities, social and community wellbeing and environmental protection.”

The evidence for this and more is in the updated proposal here.

To date, 63 councils (of all party leaderships) have expressed serious interest in submitting this idea as a proposal under the Sustainable Communities Act. I very much hope that your council would be interested in joining them. We think this proposal now has a real chance of success and want to work with councils to help achieve it.

Could you please put forward a motion for your next Council meeting resolving to submit this proposal under the Sustainable Communities Act? Further below is a suggest version for convenience.

Please keep me informed of any progress on this matter. Please contact me if can provide any assistance with this. My contact details are directly below.

Kind regards
Steve Shaw
National Co-ordinator
Local Works – helping councils use the Sustainable Communities Act
office: 020 7278 4443 direct: 020 7239 9053 mobile: 07788 646 933website: http://www.localworks.org

SAMPLE MOTION
notes the request from ‘Local Works’ to consider submitting the following proposal to the government under the Sustainable Communities Act:
‘That the Secretary of State gives Local Authorities the power to introduce a local levy of 8.5% of the rate on large retail outlets in their area with a rateable annual value not less that £500,000 and requires that the revenue from this levy be retained by the Local Authority in order to be used to improve local communities in their areas by promoting local economic activity, local services and facilities, social and community wellbeing and environmental protection.’
The Council notes that if this power was acquired it would present the opportunity to raise further revenue for the benefit of local communities, should the Council wish to use it.
The Council resolves to submit the proposal to the government under the Sustainable Communities Act and to work together with Local Works to gain support for the proposal from other councils in the region and across the country.

Charity bosses paid £100k+…. and your point is?

Posted on 06/08/2013 by gambba • Posted in Everyday life, Government, public sector • Tagged Charity donations, executive salaries, public sector pay, voluntary sector • Leave a comment

I’m reposting this following today’s front page story in the Telegraph. Although they are now targeting the £100k+ salaries that some charity bosses now apparently receive, they are also suggesting that this could be a sign of the salary creep that’s supposedly happening in the public sector.

It should hardly come as a surprise, that if you push the often complex and challenging community support work done by local authorities on to the voluntary sector, their executives are going to expect to be rewarded for managing that increased workload. As I say below, good charities are also good businesses and good businesses know that high quality management doesn’t come on the cheap.

It’s tempting to see this as some sort of three card trick by government, where they encourage charities to take over more and more local authority work, thereby easing the burden on the public purse. In the meantime, these charities are working their socks off to find the extra funding needed to supplement the often inadequate funding that has been passed on by already inadequately funded local authorities. The confidence tricks comes, when you realise that much of the extra money required is from the same public that has already paid their taxes to government to provide those same services!

Personally, unlike some, I’ve never laboured under the illusion that all those who work for charities, do it out of the goodness of their hearts – even where that charity has no national profile.

When it comes to the national charities and their modus operandi, they are, first and foremost businesses, with a business plans, financial projections and performance targets. As such, when they need to recruit somebody into one of their senior management positions, the last thing on their minds is likely to be the social conscience of the individuals applying for the vacant position.

Indeed, having somebody who is more concerned about doing ‘the right thing’ at every step of the way, even if it costs the organisation money, is more likely to find themselves receiving a thank you very much for applying letter, than one offering congratulations.

So, I suppose it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see that some of the most popular charities are paying big bucks to their top staff.

That said, it stills seem slightly wrong to see £60,000 plus salaries, potentially being paid out of the pennies and pounds donated via high street collections and charity shop donations, sometimes by those who can least afford it.

To be absolutely fair, at least to those charities that deserve it, the key number for me, is the % of their total income spent of their raison d’être, charity. Those that achieve 70% and above should be acknowledged for achieving figures similar to the overheads costs seen in most successful and efficient businesses.

Those returning figures below 70% and especially below 50%, should be questioned as to their effectiveness and as for the Age UK figures, well…..

Charity	Income Millions	% Spent On Charitable Activity	Number Of Staff Earning Over £60,000
Cancer Research	£493	70	160
Oxfam	£386	76	35
Save the Children	£333	89	31
British Heart Foundation	£250	46	36
Banardo’s	£245	80	35
Royal Mencap Society	£201	96	39
British Red Cross	£200	67	32
Action for Children	£198	93	38
RNLI	£173	78	42
Age UK	£168	49	41

All above figures copied, with thanks, from the article by Richard Dyson – Sunday Telegraph, Money Supplement, 21 July 2013

A damning inditement of how our Government plans for our future?

Posted on 28/07/2013 by gambba • Posted in Everyday life, Government, public sector • Tagged chancellor, Fracking, george osborne, North Sea oil, political, short sighted, squandering, tax revenues, treasury, wealth fund • Leave a comment

Copied from a political analysis piece in today’s Sunday Telegraph by Iain Martin

What does the Government want to do with the money from shale?

The Treasury wants to get its hands on the tax revenues that shale might generate. An alternative approach would involve establishing a national fund to invest the proceeds. The UK government spent our share of the North Sea oil boom in the 1970s and 1980s on day-to-day expenditure, whereas the Norwegians established a sovereign wealth fund, into which oil revenues would flow. The fund is now bigger than the Norwegian economy and is on track to be worth £1 trillion. Within limits, a portion can be spent each year by the government. In the UK, such a sensible idea seems to stand little chance of getting past the Treasury, unless the Prime Minister can be persuaded that such a fund would stand as a legacy of his time in office.

Should fracking ever become a reality in this country, is there the slightest possibility that our current leaders will think beyond their own electoral success and actually do something to benefit future generations? Given that the late Margaret Thatcher didn’t follow the Norwegian example, I’m not holding my breath.

Local Young Apprentice Competition

Posted on 27/07/2013 by gambba • Posted in Everyday life, South Holland, Spalding • Tagged community, competition, family fun day, Foundations, spalding, Springfields, young apprentice, young people, youth group • Leave a comment

A Message from Foundations

Dear all

As some of you may know, we have organised a ‘family fun day’ on 29 September in Spalding. We have a ‘young apprentice’ style competition, with a great prize for the winner. We are looking for three more contestants for the competition. They must be 15-16 years old and belong to a group (i.e. sports team, cadets, etc).

Please could you pass the message on to any individual or any group who may be interested. This is a great competition for young people, and a really good opportunity for a community group to get some publicity without having to do anything for it!

The website for the event is http://www.familyenterpriseday.co.uk.

Thanks ever so much.

Good charities are also good businesses – some are better than others

Posted on 22/07/2013 by gambba • Posted in Everyday life, Government, public sector, South Holland • Tagged big society, budget, charities, community, cuts, higher earners • Leave a comment

I’m reposting this, following today’s front page story in the Telegraph. Although they are targeting the £100k+ salaries that some charity bosses now apparently receive, they are also suggesting that this could be a sign of the salary creep that is allegedly happening in the public sector.

It’s tempting to see this as some sort of three card trick by government, where they encourage charities to take over more and more local authority work, thereby easing the burden on the public purse. In the meantime, these charities are working their socks off to find the extra funding needed to supplement the often inadequate funding that has been passed on by the already inadequately funded local authorities. The confidence tricks comes when you realise that much of the extra money required comes from the same public that has already paid their taxes to government to provide those services!

Personally, unlike some, I’ve never laboured under the illusion that all those who work for charities, do it out of the goodness of their hearts – even where that charity has no national profile.