Desperate ends ... Who knew that we had elected such cosy councillors? According to Boston Borough Council's website: "Care and concerns by councillors have led to approval of £141,470 for repairs and maintenance to Boston Stump." The reality is in the minutes. A report to the cabinet tells us: "The Council has a legal obligation to pay for repairs to the Chancel." And when the question of what options existed to wriggle out of the commitment, was raised, the answer was: "Not to pay for the repairs to the chancel - although the Council may face legal proceedings to enforce payment." We rate the website piece as the best bit of cynical hypocrisy aimed at whitewashing the BBI to date. And let's not forget they turned down a request to throw a meagre £4,000 towards illuminating the Stump for the year ahead for all to see for miles around on the grounds it was too expensive. Now that would have shown care and concern.
Spring into action ... As the merry month of madness tottered in on Monday, it occurred to us that it is high time for Council Leader Richard Austin to refresh his message on the borough website. It has been stuck in New Year greeting mode for so long, that the year will soon be over unless he comes up with something new in the not too distant future.
So what's your point? ... In a matter of weeks, the common or garden chrysalis known as Paul Kenny of Bradford Road, Boston, will will turn into the colourful butterfly known as Paul Kenny the prospective Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Boston and Skegness. Meanwhile, aside from his hobby of making pointless complaints against Boston borough councillors, he is continuing with the second string to his bow - that of writing pointless letters to the local papers. His latest, which like so many before them makes no mention of his partisanship, appears to revel in the fact that the Audit Commission has nothing good to say about Boston Borough Council - he even goes so far as to thank the Commission for doing so. But at no point does he offer anything constructive. Not for the first time, we are baffled by the position that Mr Kenny takes in the local political arena. If he carries on like this, his Tory opponent Mark Simmonds will be able to fight the election campaign from a beach in Barbados whilst sipping a pina colada and double his majority without having to lift a finger.
Lost in cyberspace ... Mind you, we suspect the Lib Dems won't give too much trouble either. If Mike Sheridan-Shinn is planning on standing for parliament, someone should tell him that the fight for the Boston North West seat on Lincolnshire County Council is over and won. According to his website, "Its now time to launch phase two which is very exciting and i know my supporters will like it......." As Paul Daniels might say: "Not a lot, not a lot...." Mr S-S reminds us of those Japanese warriors who are still lurking deep in the tropical jungles unaware that the ware has been over for 65 years....
Penny hal'penny dreadful ... This week's highest priced least read Boston Standard can claim an interesting distinction. If one counts the number of stories on the pages laughingly labelled "News," they total 30. In a paper priced at 45p pence, this means that we are paying the equivalent of one and a half pence per story. With most papers, sad sacks like us would lose count and get bored before they were able to complete a count such as this. Aside from the usual clutch of spelling errors this week, we notice little of interest. But our attention was drawn to an advertising feature in last week's issue in which one of the sister-principals of "I heart Food" was named as Vicoria, Victoria, and Vistoria in the same story. And that in an advertising feature, which the buyers seek for the prestige it brings.
Hard to chew ... In its endless quest for things to put on the website, Boston Borough Council has an interesting item on food safety. It allocates awards of gold, silver and bronze to each of the 200+ places in and around the town where one can eat. Note that we say "where one can eat" rather than "restaurants and cafes." Many of the places are not open to the general public (try turning up for a bite at H.M.P North Sea Camp and see where it gets you) - and sadly they tend to be the handful that get the higher marks. Far and away the most get a bronze award, which more or less means that the staff use clean hankies to wipe the tables. Oh yes, and at least one of the places has been converted from a pub into flats, and we suspect a few others are have probably closed. Is it just an unhappy coincidence that the Food Safety Award Scheme, is backed by the Boston Standard.
Nul points ... We fear that Boston BID is going off the boil. An item on the organisation's website tells us: "Whilst I am sure many of you are already aware of the council's budget proposals from other sources, it is important that you have your say. To achieve this you can complete an online survey by following the link below." This item, the headline tells us, was "written on Monday 15th February 2010." and goes on to tell readers: "Please be aware that the closing date is this Thursday 14th January so if you want your views to count complete the survey now."
B-TACky ... As the council struggles to find savings, we think that they could have hung on to £1,500 by not bothering with this year's BTAC Community Grants Awards. When only two applications are received, and one at least is from a group that could well afford to pay its own way itself, we think such schemes have run their course.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
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