Week ending 23rd October

Our Friday miscellany of the week's news and events
Ark at this ... Was is just bad timing, or did someone with a wry sense of humour decide that in the week which saw the launch of Council Leader Richard Austin's blog that another major item concerning Manny the Mammoth and Family should be given prominence on the Borough Council's website. We suppose that it could have been worse - Manny, a creation in straw who won a competition run by Weetabix - could have been a Dino-straw! On the same point, we wonder why the piece appeared on the borough website at all. It's clearly a story for our local newspapers, but unless the borough is trying to claim the credit we would have hoped that there were more important stories of interest to the Boston public that could appear.
You Kenny believe it ... We were staggered to read on Councillor Raymond Singleton-McGuire's excellent blog the news that Labour's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Paul Kenny has made no fewer than thirteen complaints to the borough council's Standards Committee in just nine months. Apparently only two of these complaints have been investigated so far - at a cost to us, the taxpayers of £2,145.40. Surely it's time for someone to whisper in Mr Kenny's ear that wasting this sort of money on largely trivial issues is an abuse of the democratic process. Apart from that, we always thought that politicians were meant to be thicker skinned. We think a better idea for Mr Kenny, would be to save the £500 deposit that he'll need to fight next year's general election, and take up something far more prosaic than politics.
Now we're all rat-payers ... We were browsing through some old County Council highways surveys during the week, which show that well before the Boston Bypass Independents were elected and took the credit, much if not all of what is currently being trumpeted by the BBI had already been done. One thing that bemused us was the frequent use of the word "rat run" to describe routes taken by frustrated drivers wanting to avoid the frustrating traffic queues that used to exist. Given that we the Boston public are the "rats" in question, we think that alternative, politer nomenclature might be considered in the future.
What will they turn out for? ... We join Boston's rector in being "stunned" by the attack in Boston Stump in which vandals scaled scaffolding and hurled masonry from a church roof last weekend. However, we are doubly stunned by the words of the police. According to reports, PC Martyn Chambers said: "I am determined to do everything I can to catch those responsible and bring them to justice. We will be checking CCTV images to see if can identify the offenders and are urging anyone who witnessed the incident or who has information about those responsible to come forward." Hang on a minute. Where were the police when all this was going on? The offenders wouldn't be able to clamber down and escape that quickly, and the police station is just yards away. Reading between the lines, we assume that the police couldn't be bothered to attend at the time. Disgraceful! Meanwhile, in Skegness, the cops have set up "Operation Riviera" to "crack down" on cyclists riding on the pavement. Police said "robust action" was needed to stop pedestrians being harmed. One added: "There are genuine concerns someone is going to be seriously hurt if we can't put a stop to it. We need to get the message across that cycling on pavements is inconsiderate, a nuisance and also very dangerous." It's the same story here in Boston, only ten times worse, and the cops have promised action many times. Somehow, as usual they have failed to deliver the goods.
Tory-ble mistake ... We've just noticed that the links to our MP's website from the Boston Conservative Business network wrongly names him as Mark Simmons rather than Simmonds. Gosh! You think they'd know better.
Bed blocking ... a reader had cause to visit  a friend in Pilgrim Hospital on Monday. Visiting starts at 2pm, and the car park was all but full. By 2-45pm, cars were parked on grass verges, concrete dividers, and gaps which should have been kept clear for other users. What is going on here? The Pilgrim need radically to re-organise the way it handles visitors and their cars.

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