Week ending 26th November

Our Friday miscellany

of the week's

news and events

Ten out of Number Ten … Congratulations to Conservative group leader Councillor Raymond Singleton-McGuire for taking up cudgels on Boston’s behalf at a face-to-face meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron. Although Cameron spoke on several issues, Councillor Singleton-McGuire reports: “I felt the bigger picture for Boston was to try and promote Boston in light of the forthcoming visit by Caroline Spelman MP,  Secretary of State for DEFRA, who will be visiting Boston, accompanying our own Mark Simmonds MP to illustrate the need to establish Boston firmly on the map with regard to the Boston Flood Barrier, which in light of the Government’s comprehensive spending review we need all the support and exposure we can get.” Which reminds us …. weren’t there suggestions that a “government minister” was going to pay the Boston 200 floodfest a visit? Could it have been the same Ms Spelman, who subsequently decided it was better to keep the visit in the “family” rather than throw a publicity lifeline to the Boston Bypass Independents?

Pathe(tic) Pictorial … The BBI has splashed out on a new tin of magnesium powder and produced another video nasty on its blogsite - this one starring council leader Richard Austin. Filmed on location at the community rooms, he spends five minutes telling us how marvellous Boston 200 was. Sadly the soundtrack is so poor it is all but impossible to hear what he is saying, and one has to peer through the grain to make out the detail. The bottom line is that the video is a short, dreary presentation by a short, dreary presenter. However, we did note a passing resemblance between the leader and a far more famous star of the silver screen.

What do you think?
Yule regret it … Why is it that Lincolnshire County Council appears to have such a down on Boston? We ask, because the final issue of the year of Inside Lincolnshire – the county’s totally useless free newspaper  - devotes an entire page to Christmas markets around the county. As you would expect, Lincoln’s market is given the lion’s share of space. But the paper goes on to add: “The Lincoln Christmas Market isn’t the only event of its kind. Why not visit one of these if it’s closer to home?” Yes, why not? According to the paper there are other markets in Grantham, Sleaford, Stamford, Gainsborough, Alford, Louth and Holbeach. Can you spot an important omission?
The way we were … We’ve been talking in recent days about the restoration of Boston town centre. Co-incidentally, we stumbled across this splendid blog http://bostonpast.blogspot.com/  and recommend that you take a look if you want to see how Boston looked in days of yore (granny.) Congratulations to the blog’s creators for producing a splendid record of the town’s past – and some previously unseen photographs.
Grave matters … across the ether comes a response from the late Herbert Ingram, after we published his letter last week. “Thank you for airing some of my concerns. It was so nice to be back in ‘print’, a medium I feel very much at home in. My central concern, even after 150 years, is the state of this town and in particular the cemetery I repose in. Do the people of Boston know they have an Historic Grade 2 Listed park, garden and  cemetery of concern to English Heritage, Lincolnshire Heritage, The Victorian Society and many other Historic Conservation Groups but not, seemingly, the local Borough Council...?"
Double take … For a moment, our jaw dropped as we read the letters in this week’s Boston Standard. Under the heading “Drivers are treated like cattle – herded from jam to jam,” the writer launched a vitriolic attack on Boston Borough Council - aka the BBI - in particular, Lincolnshire County Council, and Boston police over the state of traffic in and around the town. As we glanced down at the signature, we wondered whether the BBI leader had undergone sort of Damascene conversion, and chosen to repent. Then we realised that the letter was from A R Austin of Boston – whilst the leader is R W Austin. Phew!
Vanishing act … We know that the BBI is pretty hot on abolishing democracy in Boston, but unless its our imagination two or three committee meetings have mysteriously disappeared from the council’s November list. Is this the start of a trend that will see command by cabinet, we wonder?

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