Friday footnotes ...

Getting away from it all award of the week.... goes to one of our local political hopefuls seen spending time eyeballing the last minute offers in the window of a Strait Bargate travel agent We wondered whether his wanderlust yearnings were in any way connected with a recent media contribution.

Gnasher way to do it award .... also out and about, we noticed one of our local councillors tottering tight lipped from a denture repair shop in town. Too much gnashing of teeth during sessions at Worst Street, perhaps?

Doing your head in by numbers award of the week. Boston Borough Council's supersaver council tax demands come with a 14 digit council tax account number. Even during the G20 week we're no experts when it comes to digits ... except perhaps giving one ... but 14 of the little monkeys puts the potential number of accounts into the thousands of trillions. That's enough to count every leaf on every tree in Boston along with all the grains of soil as well. Why do councils come up with such malicious systems that almost guarantee people will get them wrong when completing forms?

How to woo the visitors to your town award goes to Lincoln City Council. Although they're closing the city's Tourist Information Centres to save cash, space for tourism access centres might instead be created in shops, restaurants, banks and even Lincoln Cathedral. What a good idea, and one that would work well in Boston. It would be far better than moving the TIC yet again to a place which hardly opens and is seldom visited when it is. And remember that we suggested the Stump as an ideal TIC ages ago...

Saving shoe leather award of the week goes to the Neighbourhood Policing Team for Boston Urban West. They've announced a series of dates when they'll park up and sit in their mobile police station so that the punters can drop in for a cuppa "and discuss local problems or issues that need resolving." Fie on those bad old days when the police has to "pound a beat" - whatever that may mean. It didn't take long for our PCSOs to follow the cushy route taken by their real police colleagues - don't leave the office if you can possibly avoid it, but if you must always do it in comfort. We also like the timescale for the monthly visits ... Staniland Road/Broadfield Lane area at "about" 10am; Tennyson Close/Peck Avenue from 11-30 for "about an hour" - then the rest of the time until 3pm on Boston West Business Park (a crime hotbed noted for having so many local residents.) What great idea...spend longest where most likely least needed, and still be back in time for tea.

Finally our There is nothing like a Dane award of the week goes to the interestingly named Christopher Whippey, a Boston RSPCA officer, who has successfully persuaded the appeal court that there is no harm in allowing his 12 stone Great Dane called Hector to run off its lead - even though his boisterousness led to a runner in a park rolling into a ditch and breaking an ankle. All this happened in Leeds almost five years ago, but we would nonetheless advise fresh air fans in Boston to keep a beady eye open now that Mr Whippey has carte blanche to let Hector have his head in public places. We hope that by-laws in Boston regarding the exercising of dogs are more robust than in other parts of the kingdom.

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