Straight Talking

Our resident Grumpy Old man highlights a range of problems experienced in Stoke Ferry in his usual waspish style

As you read this article the festive season will be well and truly upon us. It is said that this time of year is the season of goodwill to all men. At the moment I am sure the Playing Field Committee are struggling to find any goodwill to the children who set fire to the roundabout in the park.

What on earth was going through this child's mind as he set fire to the equipment? Such an act of wanton vandalism defies any form of reason. The "young adult" who did this must be a complete 'retard'. I am sure I will get criticised for that comment but as it's the terminology that children understand I feel it is warranted.

The play equipment was installed to provide fun and entertainment for the children of Stoke Ferry. The Playing Field Committee worked damn hard to secure the funding for this equipment and some mindless, idiotic moron set fire to it. I note with interest that the same old names have come up again in relation to this incident; I am well aware of these people and I know their parent(s). What I fail to understand is why the one name who has been quoted over and over and over again has not ever answered for his crimes. The reason is his parents make alibis for him; they are prepared to go as far as perjure themselves so that this idiot never has to pay for his crimes. This attitude totally defies me. In a normal society this child would probably be in borstal and his parents would have the rest of their children taken away from them. Perhaps the law should do something about them, maybe make them pay for a new roundabout out of their own money then perhaps they would teach their children not to lie or lie on their children's behalf. And this is a personal message to the little toe rag that actually 'lit the match'; sooner or later, if you play with fire you will get burnt. Fire KILLS, if its not you who gets hurt it could be someone else.

Lately I have been using Bridge Road to go to work in the mornings. I normally travel along here at about 6:30 in the morning. The other morning I nearly had a collision with a vehicle coming the other way. Now, if I had of hit the car I would have been totally in the wrong. So why was I driving in a totally irresponsible manner, why was I on the wrong side of the road? The reason was that my side of the road had about 5 cars parked on it. I am pretty sure the owners weren't fishing so I can only conclude that they belonged to the ever growing houseboat community that has been building up over the past few years. Now I'm all for an alternative lifestyle. I even used to own a pair of brown shoes. What started out being a couple of boats moored up has now turned into a small estate. Driveways have been laid, sheds been built, and all this for only 50% of the council tax. So why if they have all this land next to their floating homes are they parking on the road? I have no idea, but they are doing it illegally. They are outside the 30mph zone, none of the cars had lights on and one was parked the wrong way round. This problem will actually get worse as the highways department has plans to narrow the road. Given the amount of cars that park on this stretch of road just to use the pit for fishing, to narrow the road is madness. This is just another example of local government making decisions without any thought those that have to live with their decisions. And as for the floating community, you have the land and the driveways how about leaving the road clear so the rest of us don't have to take unnecessary risks.

On the subject of parking I was disappointed again to see two cars parked outside the village hall parked on the footpath. I am sure the owners of these two cars, both Volvo's, had the bests interests of their cars at heart, not wanting them to be hit by passing cars, but what about the poor old pedestrian? Why should they have to take their lives into their own hands and walk in the road just because you want to protect your insured car?

As 2007 draws to an end, I hope that everyone is looking forward to a peaceful and prosperous 2008. I will be looking forward to writing this article throughout the year. I am sure I will upset a few people; I hope I make a few people smile but above all I hope I make people think about the community and environment that they live in and are part of.

Grumpy Old man