I JUST DON'T BELIEVE IT!!

[Tizer]

I've just read a new story that made me want to start a topic for stories that would have caused Victor Meldrew to say "I just don't belieeeeve it!"

Bunting on lamp posts ruled out - Press Association, 24 May 2012
"Bunting cannot be hung from lamp posts or street furniture due to health and safety fears, a town has been told. The Chamber of Trade in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, hoped to hang several hundred metres of patriotic bunting between the lights as people around the country prepare to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. But Somerset County Council said the decoration can only be hung from shop fronts, and not from lamp posts or street furniture which would require risk assessments to be carried out. In a statement the council quoted a case in which a baby boy was killed after a lamp post toppled on to his buggy in London in 2010. However, an inquest into the child's death heard a workman had cut a metal plate supporting the lamp post five days before the accident, thinking it was part of an abandoned tram line."

[EileenDavid]

Nothing surprises me were governments are concerned. I posted in Nostalgia I can't believe they change our religious bank holidays give them new names so as not to offend non Christian's GB gone mad Eileen

[Tizer]

The Council has backed down now...but why did they think it was OK to try it on in the first place? We seem to be in an age of "give it a whirl and see if the plebs will accept it" - just look at all the U-turns by the government and others.

[Stanley]

My theory is that it is an indication of incompetence and lack of independent thought. Could 'knee-jerk' reactions on policy be anything to do with my diatribe on screen culture on Good TV?

[Tizer]

I've had several "Just don't believe it" responses during our application to demolish the old bungalow and build a modern energy efficient house. First was that the *possible* presence of even one bat in the roof would mean us having to build a cut & pitch roof instead of a modern Fink truss roof, and put in special entrances for the bat. Second is the County Highways department forcing us to retain the old entrance to the drive (on the right of the front garden) when the one we've planned (on the left) moves it away from a road junction, puts the drive directly in front of the garage and has better sideways vision on exit. Third is that the rules on car parking spaces changed at the time we submitted - now a 3-bed house *must* have parking for at least three cars (just imagine what that does to the `street scene' of a village). Fourth is the Planning Departments case officer appointed to our application going on holiday for 10 days straddling the final decision date and not telling us or our agent in advance (so we struggled to meet objections in time for the decision date last week but now won't hear anything until after the jubilee holiday and have no feedback at all from the planners).

[Stanley]

My mate Robert and I had a good whinge a few years ago about the impact of bureaucracy on getting plans for large projects through. He rescued Masson Mill at Matlock Bath and I did the same at Ellenroad. We both agreed that if we were considering the same projects today, knowing what we know now, we'd never even have started. The sheer volume of 'guidelines' and regulations would make both projects a non-starter. Apart from anything else it would have made them so much more expensive, we'd have been fund-raising simply to fund the paper work.
Don't talk to me about car parking! Even 25 years ago the planners were obsessed with the 'problem'. We spent more time negotiating car parking and access than anything else! I sympathise with you Peter and I'm glad I'm out of all that now. It got to the stage with Robert where he threatened to board all the window in the frontage up and paint a message in letters six feet high on each panel 'This project stopped by planning regulations', or similar. Funny thing was that things eased after that.....

[Stanley]

I notice that nobody made the queen wear a life jacket.......

[Tizer]

...but she's not allowed to fall in!

[EileenDavid]

health and safety gone mad. Didn't see it but hope the life jacket was a matching accessory to her outfit. Eileen

[Pluggy]

[Tizer]

Pluggy, is this a competition for adding the best caption? I'll offer:
"And the day was so cold that Harry's beret turned blue."

[Stanley]

That's where Philip made his mistake, he came out of the orbit of the fan heaters behind the matching thrones.....

[Stanley]

I think the news yesterday about postal deliveries in the rain being suspended because a postie slipped and broke his shoulder qualifies for this topic!

[Tizer]

... as does our Parish Council Chairman's experience yesterday. A new laddie in the District Council, an enforcement officer, threatened him with a £75 fine for each of the posters put up to announce the Annual Street Fair held in our village. The Fair has been held for 22 years, is well-known in this part of Somerset and is very popular. The proceeds go to the upkeep of the village church. There are lots of activities, processions, prizes and it's especially good for children (even has Punch & Judy!). The Council officer saw posters, made enquiries to find out who was in charge of the fair and then wrote to him with the threat of fines. The Chairman rang in the afternoon to speak to him and was told he had gone home, "You'll have to call early in the morning, 7 o' clock or thereabouts, he gets in early and leaves early". The Chairman, a farmer and early riser, was going to call him this morning and give the man a piece of his mind - especially if he wasn't there bang on 7.00!

Some of you will have seen the post about my father-in-law being denied the use of his car until a new `disabled sticker' arrives. Also my dealings with the Council planners about a proposal to build a new energy-efficient house (due to be decided to day, 2 weeks late because the case officer went on holiday). I also have an issue with another district council (we live alongside a boundary!) where the planners try to ignore our existence and don't tell us of planning proposals and have now turned a blind eye to about 15 metres of mature hawthorn boundary hedge being grubbed up by someone who has moved into the village and wants to transform his property into a miniature estate. I wonder how long it will be before the generally mild mannered, middle-aged British public lose their rag and stop paying council tax until the councils learn they are the servants of the people and not vice versa?

[Stanley]

It's a problem isn't it and I don't know any answer beyond reasoned protest and publicising the glitches in the system. We are lucky in that we have a good letters page in the local paper and the council officials certainly read it because they reply publicly to criticism. A sensible and healthy way of effecting change I think.

[Tizer]

That's an advantage of living in a small town with traditional values. We live in a village on the boundary of our District Council and in the centre of a triangle between towns but with no strong bond to any of them.

[Stanley]

Yes, we're lucky, we have two good local papers. Both struggling to survive of course. Everyone in Barlick should buy at least one of them, preferably the Barlick and Earby Times so they can read my articles for eddification!

[Stanley]

The saga of the school dinners blog goes on. Due to the climb-down by the council the blog has gathered even more hits and while I don't understand the mechanism a lot of money has been raised by it.

[Stanley]

I see that Royal Ascot has installed 'style advisers' who will help entrants to the 'Royal Enclosure' to conform to dress codes by lending them ties, shawls etc. to make sure they don't frighten the horses. Are they living in a parallel universe at Ascot?
The line judge at the Queen's tennis club who was injured by the disqualified player has made a complaint alleging assault to the local police.

[Bruff]

I don't want to be unecessarily contentious, but there is an important general point in the statement above noting councils are 'servants of the people'. This is true, but the important word is 'people' their. They are not I would argue, nor is any public servant, a 'servant of you'. 'You' are just one member of a public, or 'people', that has many faces. A 'public service' has to manage the expectations of these many faces. A life of occasional disappointment lies ahead if one expects all public services to satisfy one's individual needs (or perhaps wants) all of the time.

This is not to say of course that sometimes rather silly things are done by public services and servants.

Richard Broughton

[Stanley]

Richard, that'll be right and it's the same principle that I ascribe to socialism with the small 'S'. The management of a system for the benefit of the society. Nothing to do with politics, Rab Butler was just as good a socialist as Clement Atlee when they were doing the work on education and the NHS. Ramsay MacDonald and Snowden were as reactionary as the worst Tories. Churchill had his faults but even he recognised the basic justice in the Beveridge Report. That was the thing that always struck me about McMillan's book, 'The Middle Way'. I effect he was advocating what you describe, policies that were even handed and took into account the greatest good. Mind you, the Telegraph did describe him as 'The Socialist Captain McMillan' when he lost his seat at Stockton in 1929! He was re-elected in 1931 and it was then that he wrote his book. Good administration relies on the common sense and humanity of the legislators and the guidance they get from the Civil Service. How strong is this linkage these days?

[PanBiker]

On Friday last during the afternoon I receive a "courtesy call" from British Gas. It was a young lady (English) or at least she was as far as my Yorkshire ear could tell, who told me that the annual service to my condensing boiler is now due and she was ringing to book me an engineers appointment to do the service. I told her that I was fully aware that the service was due as it tells me on my online user account once I have logged in. As a dual fuel, paperless billing customer who reads his own meters every month I am a frequent visitor. I went on to say that I did not want an appointment as I am shortly going on holiday. I added that I would book an appointment myself via the online booking service on their website after I return from holiday.

On Saturday morning I power up my mobile phone to find a text message from British Gas confirming the engineering appointment for my boiler has been booked for the very day that we go on holiday!

Needless to say I have cancelled this via the website and emailed customer service to express my dismay. I also suggested that they should train their customer service operatives to actually listen to the customer and not simply work to the end of the script. Either that or make sure that whoever they employ in this particular role is not deaf.

I have received an automated response to my feedback informing me that a "customer service representative" will contact me shortly to answer my query!

I have not actually asked a question, simply pointed out their error and made a statement of intent. If they leave me alone I'll book my own appointment at my convenience and everyone will be happy... Grrrrr

I should add that in the main I have had very good service off British Gas, their website is easy to navigate, understand and contribute to. I can see how much I am spending and by doing my own readings it means I never get an estimated bill, I pay for what I use. It's all on direct debit and no paper is involved. Win, win all around.

[Stanley]

Ian I suppose this is the penalty of having a fully staffed customer service who, though they are trying to help are highly structured and the process becomes more important than the customer.
On a related 'I don't believe it' matter. Have you seen the lengths that the sponsors of the OG are going to to make sure that only they have advertising at the venues? Even restrictions on the amount of water and packed lunches you can take in. What happened to freedom and the brotherhood of man...?

[Tizer]

I don't take much notice of the Olympic Games but I did read that when the torch was being carried (mostly driven) around the UK it was preceded everywhere by a cavalcade of sponsors' vehicles giving out free Cokes and Big Macs and ensuring that no competitors' promotional materials where in evidence. Apparently they also carried T-shirts to give out in case any of the public were wearing ones with competitors' names or logos. On a different aspect, at the Cardiff events last week the security staff caused long queues by searching bags, even children's bags, and they hadn't warned people in advance that this would happen. Lack of joined up thinking?

[Whyperion]

Depended where in the UK you were , dont know what happend when the torch went to Skipton or East Lancs but down in London varied a bit around the route too.

Roughly , Couple of Police Outriders on Motor Bikes, Gap , independent UK flag and whistle sellers , One more Police Motorcyclist , Police Car , Coca-Cola dispension unit playing Radio One type music, Coke T shirted guys and gals giving out 2012 drink ( I'll post a picture ) from the dispension unit - A London Bus style ford transit , or Coke Zero Black or C-C red tralier and car, parked up at assorted sites, and also giving out branded paper drum type thing. A on hire from {assorted companies} van with top up crates for the dispension unit. These wagons moved on before the arrival of the main torch to a next appropriate site. A MiniBus carrying torches and the next bank of relay runners , dropping off runner as required. A couple more police on motor bikes , a 2012 car , CocaColas Articulated red juggernaut with assorted things happening on it, a Lloyds TSB sponser ex Malta Bus (part converted to Double Deck) in Green/ White, A Samsung lorry playing music/karoke with young DJs rapping on the roof area in blue. Some police men/women on bicycles , the police runners in Grey T Shirts and Shorts, Assisting along the route were local authority stewards , police / specials / PCSOs for the area and 2012 Purple T Shirted volunteers. The torch runner , a large Yellow and White Motor Coach , another Minibus , there was also another Ford Transit type minibus in some locations, cyclist, uni-cyclist , really depended on what the local authority wanted to contribute.
Basically enough to keep the crowds warmed up for the 20 mins or so but not in your face sponsorship. Seemed a bit like what I believe proceeds things like the Tour De France.