With the smile of a used car salesman who’s finally dumped the banger he thought would never sell – to an unsuspecting mug who has no idea what he’s let himself in for, Boston Borough Council Leader Pete Bedford's picture litters our local newspaper front pages.

The organ that came nearer to stating the truth was to describe the deal as Boston’s worst-kept secret.
Certainly the name of the owner and the intended use of the building were common knowledge  weeks ago – we seem to recall mentioning most of the detail here on Boston Eye.
What amuses us is the claim on the council’s website that the new owner – Spalding based leisure entrepreneur Matt Clark “made immediate assurances to quell anxieties in some quarters about the future of the building.”
It’s always good when someone decides to level with us - but is this the same Matt Clark who … when asked some while ago if he was the prospective buyer … told the Boston Standard that he was not involved.
It surely is.
For now, we shall take his words at face value.
More was spelled  out on the wireless on Tuesday morning, when Mr Clark told us:
“I think that people will start to get a lot more confidence in the building and ultimately … hopefully we’re going to deliver a product here that the people of Boston want in the commerciality use, so the building can be upkept to a good standard.”
English please!
“Entertainment is our catalyst and we want to put on some big acts here that bring out everyone from 18 to 40, 50, and 60 years old that can enjoy it.”
So – will the place be run as a bar every night of the week?
“The final plans aren’t there yet. It’s anticipated that, yes, it will remain pretty much as it is in forms of operation, but there will be a licensed area there will be an area for dancing and there will be a stage  – so we don’t see any radical changes to the building that it was actually constructed for.
“Again, it’s just that people are scared of the word night club I suppose in the property.”
So … what’s in it for the town?
“There’s a huge economic benefit for Boston. We’re looking at putting six figures into the modernisation of the building and a constant figure each year into keeping it in a good state of repair, let alone the amount of people we’ll be employing in the building.
“Although we haven’t got the final plans there yet of what it will be, we’re going to be looking at anywhere between thirty and fifty members of staff.
Leader Pete – defining oleaginous  to perfection – denied that people were kept in the dark over the sale deliberately.
And he also had problems understanding the word night club.
“I don’t think night club as such is quite the right terminology.
“Yes, Mr Clark certainly runs an entertainment business but the great thing about it is the fact that he is a local chap, I mean he was born in Kirton just down the road from Boston instead of selling it to somebody who was an absentee landlord some of the bidders and Mr Clark was the highest bidder because it was a closed tender, but some of them were from Brighton and Southampton and all over you then end up with absentee landlords. How do you then you know control things that’s going on? We’ve got somebody now who we are confident will deliver something for Boston.”
We apologise for the above, which was transcribed from the wireless.
Normally – and especially when Councillor Pete is involved – we do our best to insert punctuation where we feel it might aid translation.
But on this occasion, even we were defeated.
Councillor Bedford felt that the mention of a six figure sum was encouraging – adding that: “Part of the terms of the sale was that the outside has to be redecorated to English Heritage standards every five years, and that’s something that’s never happened in my lifetime.”
That’s a sad admission, as Councillor Bedford’s political history with Boston Borough Council  goes back to 1991 when he was first elected …  and which makes him a long standing member of the council club that  allowed the Assembly Rooms to decline so far as to be beyond salvation.
However, his indifference is still a matter of interest … as we shall see when other parts of the broadcast are published tomorrow.
And for those with fears about the future of blood donor sessions, we shall also have an answer as well.

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