Our Friday miscellany of the week's news and events

Independent Lincolnshire County Councillor Ray Newell has won support from a fellow independent on Boston Borough Council – after his concerns for the future of the town appeared in a county newspaper. Councillor Carol Taylor, who is a full time nurse with 40 years’ experience, has added her fears that although much extra house building is needed, nowhere is there any mention of a new hospital. She says: “Both Lincoln and Pilgrim have reached their capacity to develop further and it is clear to me that a new hospital between Lincoln and Boston must surely have been or will be addressed. My main concern for this issue is that “Legoland” will be built at the expense of the health of the people of Boston and surrounding areas but, alas, those in power have yet to consider the potential catastrophic effect this development will have on the Healthcare of the general public. For those of you who missed the letters we mentioned in Tuesday’s blog you can read them by clicking on the thumbnail on the right.
Daft quote of the week … #1 – “The veg used in the cabbage bowling will not go to waste. They will be the most important vegetables in Boston and indeed Lincolnshire on this day.”  – Conservative Councillor Mark Baker, creator of the cabbage bowling tournament, defending the event in a letter to a local paper.
Given all the health issues facing Boston, the news that Health Secretary Andrew Lansley may visit  the town later this month will surely get many people thinking up questions to ask him. The minister may talk to senior figures and staff at the Pilgrim Hospital and local GPs to discuss patient needs. But it is thought likely that Mr Lansley will NOT speak to the press - “due to local elections elsewhere.”  As Boston has so many health and related issues, what a marvellous technicality this provides to get him conveniently off the hook then, doesn’t it?
Daft quote of the week … #2  – “The event will be promoting Lincolnshire as 'the' county which puts vegetables on the plate of the country and indeed further a field (sic)”  – Conservative Councillor Mark Baker, creator of the cabbage bowling tournament, defending the event in a letter to a local paper.
We have been long-standing critics of CCTV as a means of policing for many years. And we feel that one of our arguments was reinforced this week after accounts that a man threw a traffic cone at the main window of Oldrids and caused £5,000 damage. Before that, he was seen kicking shop doors and trying to push over a sign on the town bridge. When John Milton wrote the famous line “They also serve who only stand and wait,” we are sure that he didn’t intend it to be taken literally. If the CCTV operators had  had the gumption - the common sense - to mobilise the police and report the incident on the bridge, the  subsequent damage to the window might well have been avoided.
How helpful can you get? A feature in the Boston Standard to mark the third anniversary of Boston’s Endeavour Radio includes a photo captioned “putting a face to the radio voices … meet some members of the Endeavour team." So far so good – except that newspapers are not an audio medium, and the picture did not tell us who the presenters were. If it had, we could then have tuned in and “put a face to the voice!”
Daft quote of the week … #3   – “The winner of the Bowling Greens World Championship will also have a great opportunity to promote Lincolnshire vegetables and the workers who work so hard to produce and supply it to the rest of the UK and beyond.”  – Conservative Councillor Mark Baker, creator of the cabbage bowling tournament, defending the event in a letter to a local paper.
Our sense of irony was piqued this week by a report on the borough council website which began: “The playing field at Old Leake is now just what the village ordered - thanks to a wish-list drawn up by children and the small matter of £67,500.” What made us smile was that the Mayor of Boston, Councillor Mary Wright, officially opened the new play area. Is this the same Councillor Mary Wright who declared “it’s only £1,000” at the recent BTAC meeting which approved that sum  for a pavement graffiti project. It surely is! How big do the sums have to be before they cease to be small, we wonder?

Back in February, the town’s bid for Boston in Bloom was launched as part of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Britain in Bloom contest. But this week it emerged that communities across the land are pulling out, and thousands of bulbs which have been ordered and paid for by local committees may not even be planted due to the drought. Local councils are said to be holding crisis talks with the Environment Agency and water companies to find ways to water public flowerbeds and hanging baskets - which is normally done by volunteers. Is it a case of unlucky timing or just another example the Boston Effect? 
Daft quote of the week … #4  – “The short-term use of a few cabbages plans to increase the awareness of Lincolnshire's ground workers and the valuable produce they grow and distribute and hopefully encourage more people to buy locally.”  –  Conservative Councillor Mark Baker, creator of the cabbage bowling tournament, defending the event in a letter to a local paper.
Yet another new blog has appeared on the internet - with Boston as the butt of its jokes. However, parts of it made us smile, and those of you who would like to share the joke can find it by clicking here
Adverts appeared in the local press this week exhorting us to book our £20 brown wheelie bins if we want our garden waste taking away in future. Not for the first time, the borough council is employing the carrot and stick approach – but without the carrot. The borough says: “The service is optional, and there is no obligation for you to take part, but we are confident that gardeners will know a good deal when they see it and will appreciate that our convenient garden waste collection service can save time and money, in terms of no longer having to take their waste to the tip.”  Hang on a mo ...  didn't we use our green bins before that? The bottom line is that either you buy a bin for £20 and your waste will be collected or you don’t – and it won’t;  as garden rubbish will no longer be taken away in green bins as previously. And if you think that you can get away with it – think again. In answer to the question “What happens if I do put garden waste into my green bin?” the borough website says: “We will be asking our collection staff to be vigilant, as they are with our recycling collections (and we all know what that means,)  and to report where any issues arise. Your green bin will not be emptied and you will need to take your garden waste out and dispose of it yourself …” And if you’re a little strapped for cash,  don’t even think about asking for an easy payment plan. “Payment must be up front, but you can 'buy' into the scheme at any time of the year.” It's fair to say that we anticipate some problems in the weeks and months ahead.
It’s now two months since Boston’s Labour deputy leader Councillor Paul Gleeson wrote to the Chief Executive of the Audit Commission asking for an investigation the way in to the way in which the borough’s Chief Executive, Richard Harbord, is paid. We know that the post is not as good as it used to be ( the Royal Mail,  of course, not the Chief Executive)  but shouldn’t some sort of response be forthcoming fairly soon?
Daft quote of the week … #5  – “On top of all the promotion provided by these cabbages, which after all will be rolled along the ground from which they were harvested, could still be edible, in which case they will be available for the public to help themselves to at the end of the day. If not, I am sure they could be used to feed Lincolnshire farm animals or the birds in the park's aviary.”  –  Conservative Councillor Mark Baker, creator of the cabbage bowling tournament, defending the event in a letter to a local paper.
We thought that “let them eat cake” was bad enough. But “let them eat cabbage, and bruised ones at that"  –  before they go to the farm animals  – really takes the biscuit, if you'll excuse the mixed metaphors! Incidentally, is cabbage bowling the only event that we are getting for our council tax? Don’t forget that Boston Borough Council – through  its  friendly bank BTAC – has thrown £5,000 at this knees up.

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