Week ending - our Friday review of the news and events of the past seven days

 When we asked the other week about how the new brown bins for garden waste were to be delivered, we had hoped for a slightly better answer than the one that has emerged. We raised the question at the time we ordered our bin, and the person we spoke to seemed surprised to be asked. Eventually it was suggested that as most people ordering bins had given their phone numbers, someone would ring and let them know.  Now it appears that deliveries will be made during a two-week period beginning this coming Monday - June 18^th. The request  for anyone who will be away during that time to ring and tell the council so that alternative arrangements can be made ignores the fact that they could be halfway through a two-week break now, and have a delivery scheduled for next week. It also ignores the fact that in some cases bins may be dumped for some time if a householder is at work or keeps the their bins behind locked gates at the rear of the house and only uses the access infrequently. It’s not a problem for Boston Borough Council, though – which says that the bins are not their responsibility. One other small point. So far the take up of brown bins is less than a third of the borough’s households. Stand by for uproar when the rest decide to get rid of the garden rubbish in the way they always have ..
Although we never received a reply from Boston Borough Council to our question concerning the disappearance of the Jubilee Fountain from Central Park, it was nonetheless grudgingly forced to admit that vandalism was the cause. This begs a couple of questions. According to the council, “the damage is the latest in what has become a daily catalogue of mindless vandalism.” In that case, ought it not have occurred to someone that installing a climbable structure in a park was not a very bright idea?  Perhaps a sign like the one pictured on the right might divert attention from whatever replaces it. Although the fountain cost around £1,000, it is clearly of domestic rather than industrial quality, and was always likely to be prone to damage from people jumping up and down on it. This in no way condones the acts of those who damaged it, but we hope that a lesson has been learned.  One final thought. What a shame that the council couldn’t have squirmed out of the offer to splash the story all over Look North - and thus avoid yet another piece of bad publicity for the town.
News that B&M Bargains is moving into the former Kwik Save in town is good because it will create 30 new jobs.  But it will also be just another among many when it comes to the merchandise.  Councillor Derek Richmond, portfolio holder for Boston town centre, is quoted as saying that he hopes  the store will “bring something new” to the town.  B&M sells discounted homeware, toiletries, toys and such – as does QD, Poundstretcher, Home Bargains and Wilko – to name but a few. Scarcely something “new,” Councillor Richmond.  Recently, we asked why Sainsburys has opened shops in almost every Lincolnshire town - except Boston. The town is now neck and neck in a three horse race between discount shops, charity shops and mobile phone shops to see who rules the commercial roost in Boston – and something should be done to change it.

click to enlarge this picture

If it is, though, it probably won’t involve Boston BID, which – as ever – remains firmly rooted in the past. This morening, its website is still telling us that its chances of winning a £100,000 Portas Pilot bid were as good as any in being successful.”
See the picture on the right ...
It’s now more than a fortnight since the results were announced – and Boston was not among the winners.
Meanwhile, as our local BID contemplates its navel and bemoans the absence of outside funding, its opposite number in Lincoln has just announced that it has been given a grant of £612,000 from the European Regional Development Fund – to which will be added £400,000 of local funding. It will also work with Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce to develop a range of business support measures, including training and business advice. Not for the first time, we ask what Boston BID is doing with the £100,000-plus it extracts from hard pressed local businesses each year …
Congratulations to the Boston Standard on reaching its 100^th anniversary – we worked there for a few years at around the halfway mark - in the days when it was a newspaper. Given the plight of local papers these days, and the apparent kamikaze approach being adopted by the Standard’s parent company Johnston Press, we wonder how many more anniversaries the paper might celebrate. We also note the demise of two Target newspapers in the county -  in  Lincoln and Gainsborough - following the decision to publish the Lincolnshire Echo weekly instead of daily. Without any sense of irony, the Echo editor is quoted as saying “This is a great opportunity to grow the Echo’s readership.” No comment.
Talking of irony … we note the warning from Boston’s most senior police officer that “idiots” wanting to cause trouble in Boston during the Euro 2012 football tournament will be “hit with the hardest punishments possible.”  Chief Inspector Paul Timmins says the authorities will hand out the type of tough sentences given to rioters in London last summer to anyone who commits crimes during the event. He is said to want fans to enjoy the football without fear of violence and disorder. It’s interesting that he can apparently speak for the courts, which we always thought were independent of the police. He added: “I don’t want the reputation of Boston to be muddied. It’s a lovely, friendly market town. There’s a lot of good stuff going on and we don’t want idiots to ruin that.” Worryingly, we are reminded of the knee-jerk reaction by Boston Police during the May Fair – when they ordered it to be closed early because of “trouble” which so far has seen just two people in court on drink related charges. This time we hear that officers will be out “in numbers” when games are on, and will use “dispersal” orders to break up big groups and, if necessary, ban people from the town centre for 48 hours.
Meanwhile, the police appear to have bigger fish to fry in the shape of a Boston pensioner nudging 90 years of age, who wants to display an atheist symbol in the front window of his home. It’s not the first time the sign has been displayed – but on this occasion the police have told him that he could face arrest – as he could breach the Public Order Act by “distressing” passers by.
The logo on the right is the one that is said to be most commonly used to symbolise an atheist’s disbelief – although it could equally be that of a luxury car brand. However, in the interest of free speech, and also the interests of a few people who would like to see  Boston Eye closed down temporarily, we reproduce it here in case someone feels so “distressed” that they would like to see the Maria Noir pitch up at Number 1 Eye Street to cart the editor off in chains.
How sad and disappointing to read that one of Boston’s  Lincolnshire County Councillors  was heard to declare  "what a stupid call-in" when he referred to demands to review the decision by the BAGIBs  - the Boys and Girls in Blue -  to shore up their crumbling budget by charging disabled blue badge holders to park. His comments follow remarks by yet another Lincolnshire representative for Boston who does not have a place on the borough council, denying that Boston is not getting its fair share of the county’s budget. The now famous “six degrees of separation” theory refers to the idea that everyone is roughly six steps away - by way of introduction - from any other person on earth. It seems some of Boston’s Tories have somehow managed to redefine this so that “separation” means having as little to do with the real world  - and especially Boston - as possible.
The “Meetings and Agendas” pages of Boston Borough Council’s website are becoming increasingly confusing. A few days ago, we noted that there were apparently no meetings planned for a lengthy future period. Now the calendar has been changed, and a number are listed. Quite what is going on, we cannot say – unless it the idea is to dilute public interest in the process of the local authority, and thus improve the ambitions of the BAGIBs for  a“democracy” that no longer involves the public.
Not only that. Another transparency issue involves declaring the attendance of councillors at meetings. In the past, this has proved to be an interesting guideline as to how  well councillors are pulling their weight and representing the people who elected them. Sadly, although we are now in June - the sixth month of the year  - the most recent details of attendance go no further than March.
Finally, we  hope that members of the Boston Town Area Committee – which has hurled a small fortune at a shedload of poorly argued applications for money in recent months – were pleased by the result of the £1,000 donation to the pathetic display by the South Lincolnshire Community Volunteer service. The concept was to “celebrate” volunteering by chalking on the pavement outside the Len Medlock Centre.  The result was a series of smudges on the slabs. It’s good to know that we can rely on committees like BTAC  to protect our investment  in the council - and not fritter away the money we so willingly pay them in council tax.

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