We mentioned last week how Boston in Bloom fever is exciting the great and the good of the town – nearly all of whom are now members of a steering committee to plan for the event …  although with so many hands on the tiller it seems more likely than not that the scheme will simply go round in ever decreasing circles.
By the time we get to the judging in July a huge amount of effort – and doubtless money – will have been spent bedecking the Customs House Quay area with borrowed chains and anchors, and filling jumbo-sized planters to bring colour, and hopefully a nicer smell, to the Market Place.
But what about the period between now and then – and after – the couple of hours or so that the judges will spend touring a carefully planned route?
Boston faces a recurring problem, which is that whenever something such as Britain in Bloom emerges we pull out all the stops for the benefit of others, and forget about the people who live here all the year round.
The weekend just gone has seen some spring-like weather for a change, which led us to vary our walk into town to take in Central Park.
Scarcely had we passed through the gates than we were confronted by an all-male group filling one of the benches and surrounded by bottles and cans of strong drink.
It wasn’t a one-off, either.
A few yards further along we encountered a similar scene … and again … and again.
You can see some of the groups in our photo at the top of the page.
All told, five of the benches around the park were occupied by groups of people sitting and drinking.
And before you jump to conclusions – not all of them were speaking in a foreign tongue.
At the entrance to the park is one of the many seldom-heeded signs that declares it to be an alcohol control zone – but as we have been repeatedly reminded over the years, this is not a ban on drinking alcohol.
Anyone may sit and drink in these areas, and it is only when – or more likely if – they are asked to stop that they are in contravention of the by-law.
In the early days of the designated public place orders as they are called, a number of our local politicians jumped on the bandwagon  to call for the booze control areas to be extended, but when nothing was done, everything went quiet as there no longer appeared to be any votes in it.
The issue in the park is one of the impact that so many people drinking in a relatively confined area has on other users of the park.
It was not possible to find a bench that was sufficiently distant from an alfresco bar for use by anyone who wanted to sit in comfort and isolation.
Whilst these drinkers were neither loud nor apparently a threat, they were, nonetheless, intimidating.
What the situation might have been an hour or so later is anyone’s guess, as the Central Park bar was doing big business at 10-15 in the morning.
If gatherings like this are allowed to become regular occurrences, then pretty soon Central Park will become a no-go area.
This is a problem that needs addressing sooner rather than later.
It is an issue that needs resolving for the benefit of the townspeople who wish to enjoy our leisure services all year round, and we hope that it will be addressed before the improving weather attracts still more drinkers to the park.
Then, perhaps, we can turn our attention to prettifying Boston for the benefit of the Britain in Bloom judges.

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

Our former blog is archived at: http://bostoneyelincolnshire.blogspot.com