At the start of the week, we commented on the potential dilemma facing voters in next month’s county council election if asked to choose between “Independents” and “Lincolnshire Independents” a group on the county council that boasts a “leader” – something that we regarded as contradictory. One candidate from Boston is borough councillor Alison Austin, who is standing in the Boston South division. She e-mailed Boston Eye to say:” I deliberated for a long time as to whether my official designation for this election was to be‘Independent’ or ‘Lincolnshire Independent.’ Either way I am an Independent. If elected to the County Council as part of the wider group of Lincolnshire Independents I will be able to have greater effect than if I was just a lone independent. It gives me more support and influence at County level. My election literature makes it quite clear that I am an Independent and also that I shall be working with the Lincolnshire Independents. By standing as a Lincolnshire Independent I have openly declared that I am not a member of any national political party. Lincolnshire Independents do not operate any form of “party whip” and no one will dictate to me how to vote. My aim is to speak on behalf of the people of Boston and I will vote as I think most appropriate.”

 Yesterday we mentioned the interesting news that Andrea Jenkyns – the county councillor for Boston West, who is seeking re-election next month – has just been accepted as the prospective Conservative parliamentary candidate for the Morley and Outwood constituency in West Yorkshire – just over 100 miles from Boston. Miss Jenkyns is, of course, Yorkshire born and bred, and she will be up against shadow chancellor Ed Balls. The constituency was fought for the first time at the 2010 election after boundary changes, and Mr Balls squeaked home by just 1,101 votes against the Conservative candidate.  Locally, the news remains low-key – with no announcement as far as we can find.  Until yesterday one of Miss Jenkyns’ websites was still closed “for maintenance” but we assume there will be an announcement soon. Somewhat unkindly, the website Political Scrapbook  reports the news under the headline “Tory candidate to face Ed Balls in terrible amateur music video.” Miss Jenkyns is, of course well-known in Lincolnshire for her love of music, and Political Scrapbook light-heartedly suggests “Perhaps she could form a band with Ed Balls on the drums?”  

It goes on to link to a “weird Kate Bush-esque music video” in which Miss Jenkyns performs a song called Crazy World   (see picture, above) where she delivers a series of facial tics normally associated with low-budget vampire movies. Political Scrapbook also includes another link showing Mr Balls beating the living daylights out of a drum kit. It’s a cruel world in politics.
 Amidst the heady excitement of the county council elections, let’s not lose sight of the one for the Staniland South seat on Boston Borough Council, which takes place on the same day – Thursday 2^nd May. Candidates are: Pam Kenny for Labour, Rob Lauberts, listed as an Independent – he is a “Lincolnshire Independent” on his nomination form for the Boston West Seat on the county council – Bob McAuley for the UK Independence Party and Carl Richmond for the Conservatives – any relation, we wonder?

The ward  (see map, above) comprises 1,595 dwellings, with 3,434 inhabitants aged 43.9 years old on average. The seat became vacant following the death of Conservative Councillor Paul Mould in February.

Yet another attempt by Boston Borough Council to seize victory from the jaws of defeat has rebounded.  The borough website informs us that “One of the year's major projects has taken place as part of the Boston in Bloom 2013 campaign.” It turns out to be a £2,500 clean-up of Customs House Quay where a pressure washer was used to spell the name of the location in the dirt. With what almost seems to be a sense of pride, the council chortled that “more than 15 years' worth of accumulated grime, moss and weeds were blasted away.” Fifteen years? Accumulated?   Why didn’t some bright spark think of growing Boston’s in-bloom entry in the muck that’s been allowed to build up to show how dereliction can become a source of civic achievement? The episode reminded us of the persistent neglect of the Assembly Rooms by so many successive councils that eventually what should have been a jewel in Boston’s crown was flogged off cheaply to be turned into a night club before it fell down.  We are now told that in order to preserve and maintain the appearance of the quayside a high-temperature annual clean is planned, along with regular weed spraying which the Environment Agency has agreed to carry out.” Yet again, the desire to win some civic bauble trumps what should have been regular maintenance to make the town a pleasant place for the people who live here year round – and who don’t merely drop in for a one day judging session
In a similar vein, we are, of course in the throes of Boston’s “Big Clean-up” week, when it’s impossible to walk around the town without encountering tribes of high-vis jacket wearers wielding litter pickers to make the town a better looking place. We’ve said before that we have no problem with this stunt, which saves Boston Borough Council a fortune by doing the job we pay our council tax for – but street cleaning is a year-round task – not a special event like a birthday or anniversary. If an area is highlighted by the public as a “grot spot”, it should not be allowed to languish for 12 months before receiving attention. Neglect encourages  neglect in cases such as this, and the sooner litter is cleared away the better. It was equally discouraging to learn that the Environment Agency was planning to use boats to clear rubbish from the waterways, which could present a serious flooding risk if it blocked drainage channels. Surely, they haven’t relegated these vital tasks to a once-a-year publicity stunt as well? And all of this reminds us – did anything every become of the  highly publicised “name and shame” campaign involving Boston Borough Council and the Boston Standard, which was going to clamp down on litter louts? No, it didn’t, did it?

Still on the subject of litter, – it seems to be this week’s mantra for Boston Borough Council. It is possible to publicise something to the point where trying to show an upside has quite the reverse effect. The front page of the borough council website yesterday carried nine stories – six of which were about litter and rubbish. Their headlines were: “Boston Big Clean-up 2013,” “Derelict property is brought back to life,”  “Bulky waste collections suspended,”  “Custom House Quay clean-up,”  “Order your brown waste bin,” and “Fly Swat total.” A casual visitor could be forgiven for thinking that Boston was a litter strewn and dirty place. And if you’re wondering about Operation Fly Swat – that’s the canny council use of forced labour, where inmates at North Sea Camp Open Prison tidy up under the guise that collecting rubbish constitutes rehabilitation.
We note the arrival of a book about Boston Guildhall which “describes the life and times of the Guildhall and Boston in 12 chapters” and wonder if this is a collation of the monthly “Tales of the Guildhall” which appeared in Boston Borough Council’s good news bulletin between April 2011 and March last year. We couldn’t really see much point in it the first time around, but at least it has been put to some sort of use eventually. If you want one, it’s £3.50 a copy, but as it’s been produced by council staff and published by the council as well, we would appear to have already paid for it. Somehow, we don’t think that J K Rowling has much to fear.
Talking of the Guildhall – is now a good time to reconsider the feeble opening hours of such a key visitor attraction in the town. Whilst free admission helped boost attendances – though not by much – you only have to blink to miss the Guildhall entirely. It’s open between 10:30am and 3:30pm from Wednesday to Saturday, with the last admission to the museum at 3pm. It’s bad enough that one of our few decent attractions is open for such a short time. What makes matters worst is that the the Tourist Information Centre is also based in the Guildhall and both the museum and the TIC are open for the same meagre hours.
Wednesday’s comments about the pitfalls of using Boston Borough Council as a role model for   a Youth Council and Young Mayor scheme for the borough have struck a chord with a councillor who was elected for the first time  in 2011. Independent Councillor Carol Taylor writes: “I read with great interest your blog this morning highlighting the plight of our potential youth council. I agree with this concept, but totally disagree that it should be a mirror image of Boston Borough Council. I was one of those newly-elected to local government in 2011. I entered the arena (because that is what it is!) with enthusiasm, excitement and a belief that I was going to be part of an organisation which made things so much better for the good people of Boston.   Instead, I was greeted with ritualistic behaviour from those who have the power to dictate – not  influence – decisions and outcomes and use that power to do just that and,  boy, do they use it well. With regard to the somewhat small group coming forward for the youth council, they are from what I have seen and heard an excellent example of how the future could be for Boston. Two of the group are closely related to a councillor and the same councillor very generously donated £1,000 of their own money to start the ball rolling. This is such a kind gesture, as unfortunately there is no money for the youth council until they become established and generate their own income. I am in favour of the youth council but we must not allow them to be a mirror image of the present council. They are our future. Future means change and we must encourage them to do just that and lead us into a true democratic society.”
Finally, in the week of the Big Boston clean-up, we welcome a poem on the subject from our Boston Eye verse-smith Terry Coope. It’s called The Big Spring Clean.

Our rivers and drains and leafy lanes,

Were once such a pleasure to walk,
That old fly tippin' has gave us a whippin',
Culprits rarely caught.

Throw it down, clog up the town,

It's everywhere you go,
So give it a whirl it's a "job for the girl"
And save the borough some dough

Will Jen Moore show the rubbish the door,

It's a constant whinge and woe,
Why left so long to sound the gong,
That's all we want to know.

Young and old timers with gloves and bin liners,

Walking to and fro,
With an high vis' jacket,
We'll save Pete a packet,
Community spirit will grow.

So come on Jen, better than paper or pen,

Hands on, there's Litter to sort,
But why should we worry, 'cause there's no hurry,
We've got Harry's Audit report.

On a final note, but it's no joke!

There's one thing puzzling me,
For it’s us the Council are stitchin’,
There's another "soup kitchen",
With a "meal deal" for free.

A meal don't come cheap with a rubbish heap,

Just tell us your 'grot spot'
Then fill a bin with a drink thrown in
They say it's FREE – but it’s not.

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