Angry People in Local Newspapers
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“It used to get a bit grating when people would come up to me all the time”
He spoke of fond memories of visiting the White House to meet the then first lady, Nancy Reagan, and all the good times that his role in the show brought him.
‘Grange Hill was a huge part of my childhood, and now that I’m nearly 50, I can look back on it and understand what being a part of the show meant to me,’ he explained.
He attributed his ability to remain in contact with a lot of his co-stars to social media, and mentioned that a ‘40 years since Grange Hill’ party is going to be held.
Thanks to his locksmith business being a success, Lee says he is now able to start looking at more acting jobs, and that he signed with a new agent last year.
‘The acting has always been something I’ve wanted to continue, and so the more successful the shop is, the more time I have for acting,’ he said.
‘The last 18 months have been really positive for me. I starred in a film called Freehold last year, in which I played a locksmith. I would have been really disappointed if I hadn’t got that role!’
Lee is also currently in an advert for McDonald’s, and his agent is in the process of trying to get him a role in an upcoming sitcom.
‘I think to most people I’ll always be Zammo. It does great things for the shop, and as I get older I’m just so grateful I was able to be a part of it,’ he said.
“I think to most people I’ll always be Zammo”
COUNCIL ISSUES
FACT (which I may have just made up): Every single person who rings up the council to say that nobody has been to empty their bins is only doing so because they forgot to put their bins out.
ALSO FACT: Doncaster Council tweeted it (so it must be true) that everybody rings in at some stage in their life to complain about bins. Lord knows, I have, and I don’t even live in Doncaster.
And despite the extraordinary numbers of people calling their council offices to complain about bins, there are still sufficient numbers of people who know the one and only way to get action and get it NOW: Their local newsroom on speed dial.
These are the people who expect the local council to run every aspect of their lives on their behalf, and will immediately run to the press the second that those alleged pencil-necked desk jockeys at the town hall fail in their duty.
In local council circles (and let me tell you right now that I have canvassed a great many council workers and at least one mayor) these people are known as ‘a complete and utter pain in the arse’ and ‘this is the reason we can’t have nice things’.
In local newspaper circles these people are referred to as ‘the Picture Story on Page Five’. For serial complainants the paper may even have a number of stock photographs which will save their photographer from having to go to their barbed-wire surrounded house and get an ear bashing about the state of the world and ‘how Nigel’s going to save us all’.
What reporters will find almost immediately about any complaint that should be directed to the council is that it has not been directed anywhere near the council at all. In fact, the phone call the reporter makes to the correct official at the council is probably the first they’ve heard about an overhanging branch that might kill a kiddiewink.
This is because most people who complain about council matters to the local press assume that council officials with their (and we quote) ‘gold-plated pensions and foreign holidays’ are somehow psychic and omnipresent, and know about any particular problem even before it happens.
Mr/Ms/Mrs Complete and Utter Pain in the Arse (favourite phrase: ‘Speaking as a council tax payer …’) being the only person in the whole town who pays council tax, takes it as a personal slight that a light can still be seen in the stairwell window at the council offices at three in the morning, and is therefore costing them money, personally, now.
Things that also annoy people who think the council should do everything with the limited pot of money they need for running social care, libraries and other stuff:
1. Not mowing the grass verges, especially the one outside my house.
2. Not fixing the leaky roof in my bathroom, even though I haven’t actually called the housing association about it in three months.
3. Not picking up every single instance of dog mess in the 300-yard walk from my front door to the letter box where I post my daily letter to the council offering advice on how they could be running their affairs more efficiently for the benefit of people like me, and just wait until the Evening Post hears about this, it’s going to blow the whole tin lid off your corrupt organisation.
4. Stopping people from enjoying themselves by building tree-houses on their own property for the kiddiewinks.
5. Stop people with kiddiewinks living near me.
6. Actually, stop anybody from living near me.
7. Bins.
But you will be amazed to hear that not every person who goes to the papers about their local authority is a serial complainer.
Oh no, there’s another one per cent or so who have gone to the press out of frustration that despite their very best efforts not to bother contacting the council, nobody’s turned up to trim their bushes (not sexy slang) that night cause an oldiewonk to take a bit of a tumble (also not sexy slang).
These people, as rank amateurs in the Complaining About The Council game, will point at anything in their quest to be the Picture Story on Page Five, and are then all the more likely to be the ones defending themselves in the comments on the online version. These people are not there for mockery. These are modern day heroes, ready to defend themselves from the keyboard warriors who form the bulk of local newspaper commenters.
If it were not for local councils and their inability to employ psychics who have remote sensing abilities to spot leaking roofs and unemptied bins, then these people would not come out of their shells and be prepared to complain and defend themselves in the public sphere.
In that sense, the real heroes are local newspaper editorial staff for allowing them this unique opportunity.
You’re welcome.
Bin bags full of rubble have also been left on one end of the car park for a month, a resident claims.
Cornwall Council has been accused of wasting energy at one of its offices as residents claimed the lights are left on all night and windows are left open when the heating system is on.
Bin bags full of rubble have also been left on one end of the car park for a month, it has been claimed.
A resident of Bodmin made both discoveries while walking his dog in the town’s Beacon Technology Park – where Cornwall Council built its Chy Trevail office in 2015.
The scrap man said that many lights, on the floors and in the staircases, could be seen from outside the building every day at different times of the night.
He also claimed that a lot of windows were left open all night and he could hear the heating system running.
He described the discovery as ‘frustrating’ and ‘annoying’ and sent a dozen pictures to Cornwall Live.
‘I was taking loads to prove that that’s every day, it’s not just one-offs,’ he said.
“it’s not just one-offs”
‘Some will say I’m petty, but no, I work hard, I have to work every day to pay for that and the council tax. I am annoyed. They keep saying, “Can’t do that, don’t have any money,” while this happens every night, seven days a week.’
He said that he usually walked his dog late at night around 10.30pm and very early in the morning and that the people he meets on the walks also talk about it.
He added: ‘It is frustrating, especially as I spoke to someone from the council a month ago.’
The local resident also showed Cornwall Live bin bags left at the end of the car park which seem to be full of rubble and could have been there for a month, according to his complaint.
‘Fly-tipping at Cornwall Council, you can’t make it up,’ he said. ‘Someone must have seen it, but it’s been there for a month.’
Cornwall Council said it might be due to an issue with the building’s lighting sensors.
‘Chy Trevail is fitted with light and movement detection sensors and the heating is managed by a timer programmed in line with building operating hours and a temperature sensor system,’ a spokesperson for County Hall said.
‘We’re aware of an issue and we’re working hard to diagnose and repair an intermittent fault with some of the lighting sensors within the building, which unfortunately has resulted in occasions where lights have come on outside of normal operating hours.’
They also said the waste will now be removed as soon as possible. The spokesperson added: ‘Site inspections take place and particular attention will be given to removing any waste that has been left on the site.’
The large hole has been ‘left’ by the council and, according to residents of a hamlet in Harlow, looks ‘absolutely ghastly’.
Mr Garbutt feels the area has been destroyed after the council conducted works on pipes and water systems in the area.
He said: ‘Our area has been decimated. We now have a 100-yard by four-foot ditch which is going to stay.
‘When I tell people about it, they don’t believe it is staying as it looks absolutely ghastly.’
Mr Garbutt, who has lived in his home with his wife since 1978, was not concerned over the ditch when works first began.
Our area has been decimated
He believed once the project had been completed the hole would be filled for safety reasons but has been told it will remain open.
Mr Garbutt said: ‘It’s absolutely disgusting what has been done.
‘We are just waiting for somebody to have the first accident and we will call an ambulance.
‘You might think with health and safety in this day and age, I couldn’t believe they left it the way they have.’
The ditch was funded by Essex County Council as part of essential prevention works that Harlow Council are carrying out to ‘protect local homes and areas from flooding’.
The ditch, which stretches along the road, was present in the 1970s prior to the homes being built. However, it was filled in and hasn’t been there since Mr Garbutt and his wife bought the property.
Little Cattins is close to a primary school and a gymnastics club, so he is concerned that a child could get hurt.
He added: ‘The ditch has pipes showing for drainage which children are using as bridges.
‘We had our councillor round and he has taken pictures of it, he couldn’t believe that the ditch will stay open.’
He is also concerned about what will happen if he and his wife ever want to sell the property.
He continued: ‘I have been here since 1978. We don’t intend to downsize, but if we did sell the property the starting price will change quite a bit.’
It’s absolutely disgusting what has been done
An official Harlow Council statement said: ‘The ditch is to protect the surrounding homes and area from surface water flooding.
‘It is essential flooding prevention work that is being funded by Essex County Council. The boundaries of nearby homes will not change, it is simply reinstating a ditch which was in the area before the homes were built in the 1970s.
‘The ditch connects to a local pond and will store water during heavy rainfall, helping to prevent local homes from flooding. At the same time we are also carrying out other improvements to the local environment to encourage and benefit the local wildlife.
‘This includes cutting the trees and hedgerow which will regrow thicker and bushier. New fencing has also been put up near the pond and more fencing will be put up around the pond in the next couple of weeks.
‘Local residents have been informed of the work taking place.
‘Unfortunately there have been some delays to the project’s progress and disruption to the area while work has been carried out.
‘However, the appearance of the area will improve as we move into spring and the summer.’
Mr MacKay has described the Jack Russell Terrier as his ‘baby’ and he is desperate to protect him at all costs.
A grandad-of-six is in hot water with the council after doubling the height of his garden fence to protect his beloved Jack Russell Terrier from being killed by foxes.
Mr MacKay used donated planks of wood to build an extra three feet of fencing around the garden of his bungalow in Hull. He moved into the property six weeks ago with his ten-year-old dog Snowy, who lives in a purpose-built hutch in the garden.
When he got the keys, Mr MacKay said he spoke to a housing manager who he claims gave him the all-clear to make his fence six feet high. However, he has now been told by Hull City Council that he did not have permission to build the fence higher as he shares his garden with neighbours.
Mr MacKay is desperate to maintain the tall barrier so he can keep Snowy safe, as he is convinced foxes will jump into his garden and tear apart his treasured terrier.
He said: ‘Foxes do pose a real danger. They will kill anything they get their hands on. The woman next door but one to me feeds pigeons there so the foxes come for them and most of them are bigger than my dog.’
‘I’m worried that they will kill Snowy and feed him to their babies. If they did that would really upset me and if I had to reduce the fence back to three feet I wouldn’t keep him because it’s not safe.
I wouldn’t want to risk his life at the hands of these foxes or anybody else really because somebody could just come in, pick him up and walk off with him.’
I’m worried that they will kill Snowy and feed him to their babies
Snowy, described by his owner as a ‘soft dog who wouldn’t hurt anybody,’ has always lived outside after being nurtured by a farmer who kept him outdoors.
The pair are close and Mr MacKay says he wants to enjoy the rest of the time he has left with Snowy. ‘He’s my baby,’ he said. ‘He has gone a bit grey in his eyes and he has got a bit of arthritis now too.
He’s my baby
‘The council came last Thursday and said I needed to take it down but I said, ‘Where is my dog going to live?’ He said, ‘We don’t house dogs,’ and I said, ‘I’m the one who feeds him, takes him out for walks and looks after him.
‘I would have to get rid of him if the fence was reduced because it’s just not safe and I really don’t want to do that.’
Mr MacKay said he has received no complaints from his neighbours about the extra security measures put in place. However, Hull City Council has said that his fence cannot be more than three feet high.
A spokeswoman said: ‘On viewing the property, Mr MacKay asked about fencing the garden and was told that he would have to submit his request in writing.
‘He did not and went ahead installing six-feet-high fencing. He was subsequently visited by a local housing officer and informed that he could not section off parts of the garden because it is a communal garden, and in an area where a conservation order states that any fencing should not be above three feet high, and therefore he has been asked to remove the fencing.’
‘Let me make it perfectly clear – this is a dog-friendly village.’
‘Why won’t you share?’ This is the question that has been levelled at ‘militant’ dog walkers who are believed to have stolen signs at a popular Devon beach – for the second time in just two days.
On Monday we reported that vandals had defaced code-of-conduct signs highlighting new dog restrictions at Instow beach over the weekend.
And yesterday yet another sign was removed, meaning just one of the three signs is now left – and even this one has been vandalised.
The chairman of Instow Parish Council has overseen the introduction of the code of conduct which restricts dogs to around seventy-five per cent of the beach at high season between May and September.
Councillor Moores says he was saddened by the initial damage and theft of the signs – and is further frus
trated by the latest removal of a sign located about half way up the beach on Marine Parade.
Speaking to Devon Live from the beach yesterday he said: ‘We know two signs have been removed and the third has been vandalised.
‘We put them up on Saturday – the one by the slipway was removed on Monday morning and then the one in the middle of the beach went on Tuesday morning.
‘It’s extremely disappointing. We’ve worked hard with parishioners, we had a survey done which overwhelmingly asked for some sort of restrictions and we have consulted the public all the way through.
‘The dog alliance have vented their views at parish council meetings, they’ve been disruptive, they’ve not done it in a way where we can discuss and talk – all they’ve said is that they are not having any restrictions at all.
‘Let me make it perfectly clear, Instow is a dog-friendly village. All we’re trying to do is have some form of control and sharing – that’s all we’re trying to do.’
One resident who has also been vocal on the matter says the ‘militant’ dog walkers are ‘making life hell’ in the village.
He said he was ‘disgusted’ that the signs – which he helped to erect – had been removed and damaged.
He said: ‘I’m disappointed that the dog lobby has stooped to such depths.
“I’m disappointed that the dog lobby has stooped to such depths”
‘Verbal disruption at parish meetings is one thing, but the vandalising and theft of council property from our beach is abhorrent and disgusting. I would like to see the law come into play and have the people who are responsible brought to book.’
An Instow resident and dog owner said he doesn’t understand what the problem is.
He said: ‘It’s entirely sensible and reasonable that a section of the beach should be reserved for families without dogs for five months of the year.