Week ending 22nd October

Our Friday miscellany

of the week's

news and events

Bar ha! … We are delighted that a planning inspector overruled Boston Borough Council’s refusal to grant permission for a milkshake and smoothie bar in Dolphin Lane. At the time we were highly critical of the council argument that the development was “detrimental to the viability and vitality of the town centre.” We think it more likely that the planners were sulking when the shop owner went ahead  because he didn’t think he required permission as his shop was formerly … a shop. The planning inspector said the smoothie bar “sits comfortably with other retail outlets, and is likely to benefit the vitality of the town centre because of the site’s positioning.” The shop owner says he’s glad his appeal was dealt with by somebody with commonsense – and we agree. Interestingly, Boston’s planning committee heard earlier this week that whilst the “target” for dismissed appeals was 25%, the reality was that 37% of appeals went against the council. Let’s hope the lesson is taken on board.
Floods of tears … The hoo-hah over the forthcoming Boston 200 exhibition tells us to expect a disappointment. We were astonished to be greeted by an avenue of banners promoting the show on our way into town, which might well seduce passers-by into believing that it is a major event of some sort. In fact it is being staged in the "Community Rooms" - aka the old Sketchley shop in Bargate, and which is hardly the Royal Albert Hall. Speaking of  the community rooms, we have taken some stick after publishing the claim by the noble-sounding Ladey Adey, Chief Executive Officer of South Lincolnshire Community and Voluntary Service that our report of an alleged spat involving Council Leader Richard Austin and volunteer workers were merely an easily solved " communication problem." For the record, we published the explanation because it was sent to us. We didn’t say whether we believed it or not!
If it’s broken, don’t fix it … Those of you who recall former Boston Chief Executive Mark James will remember that he was the man who gave us the Princess Royal Sports Arena. Apparently he thought the idea of a publicly funded financial drain on taxpayers was so good that he took it with him when he left to run Carmarthenshire. A blogger who’s following his progress there tells us that he has just decided to slash interest payments on loans regarding the rugby club Llanelli Scarlets and his Parc y Scarlet's stadium. We’re told the move will see £250,000 in lost revenue just when the council is on the verge of major cuts and job losses. Not his job though! You can read more by clicking here
The farce is still with us … Tuesday’s meeting of Boston BID finished in chaos and incompetence once more, and it now appears that the lunatics have taken over the asylum and decided to carry on running the fiasco regardless. Apparently, there is regulatory body for BIDs, but the phone line is discontinued - and even letters sent by our MP Mark Simmonds go unanswered. But never mind. The good news from the BID manager Niall Armstrong that Santa’s Grotto will be back for this year’s Christmas Market, as well as a “mini pantomime.” Presumably he’s hoping the show will take the spotlight off the current farce in which he plays a starring role.
War of words 98 … The record breaking letter writing of Boston Borough Council leader Richard Austin goes on, and on, and on … For the sixth week in a row he has a letter in the local papers. It’s about standing for elections, and an appeal to would be candidates to let BBI members tell them how well the party has done – and confirm that a whip has never been applied to the group’s councillors since the party took office. Historians also tell us that Hitler liked children.
War of words 99 … Interestingly, we hear that when it comes to offering  a soapbox through the letter pages of the local papers, the Boston Standard is proving somewhat less than generous towards non BBI councillors. A letter sent in response to Councillor Austin’s latest missive was rejected by the editor. Will she now also extend this reverse democracy to Councillor Austin, and cap his fountain pen for a while?
Spellchecker - no, spielchoker … We’ve tended to stop highlighting errors in our local papers, as they occur so often. But we feel that the Boston Standard deserves a special mention for telling us how someone was paralysed from “the waste down” after an accident. Spellcheckers are a great help, but it’s also a benefit if you know the difference between words that sound alike but are spelled differently as well. We’re also a little bemused by the Standard’s creation of the word “punction” to describe the pub formerly named the Rum “Puncheon.” That’s one the spellchecker would have noticed, although the writers didn’t.
That’s it for this week. Many thanks for reading. And don’t forget tomorrow’s graphic feature “Week in Words”

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