Back in business ... For some unknown reason we fell to musing about the whereabouts of the borough's late but largely unlamented Chief Executive Mick Gallagher. A couple of clicks on Google found him listed as a board member of something called "Cultivate" which describes itself as "an innovative new company launched to work with cultural organisations of all scales to maximise potential, stimulate growth and enable them to become more successful, so that people in the East Midlands can enjoy a vibrant and thriving cultural sector." It all sounds delightfully vague, and Mr Gallagher is described as someone "who has specialised in strategic planning and management especially in the creation and development of culturally led regeneration schemes." It says nothing about the Mr Gallagher's rapid departure after a damning Audit Commission report, but informs us that "Mick is presently a self employed consultant working both independently and with other consultancies, to provide a range of services to the public and voluntary sectors. He is also a Governor of Boston FE College and a former Board Member of Culture East Midlands (Regional Cultural Consortium) and of the Blackfriars Arts Centre in Boston." Search as we might, we could find no further trace of him.
Where's the problem ...? Yesterday we mentioned Boston's ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, in the context of doing unnecessary harm to the town's broader image. As with the flood report nonsense, so it is with the news that a group which helped bring peace to Northern Ireland is now helping "ease community tension" in Boston. The Centre for Good Relations also played a part in tackling racial tensions in Burnley. In Boston it is recommending setting-up a local mediation team to help people deal with disputes, improve reporting of hate crime, publicising positive developments and building confidence. There are also plans to "bring representatives from the Government, gangmasters, farmers, councillors, community leaders and migrant workers together to explore the perceptions of the impact of migration in Boston." It all sounds very fine, but have we missed something important here? Where are the community tensions and incidents that need such sledgehammer tactics? The biggest impact from immigration seems to be in our courts, where so often new arrivals seem unaware or the rules on drinking and driving. It scarcely makes us another Belfast, does it?
Avoid this championship ... One minute we're talking about easing community tensions, whilst the next we are considering ways to increase them. An entry on the Bostoninnies' blog poses the question "Do you want to be a litter champion?" Apparently, the idea is that people sign up as permanent litter collectors for their area. "As a 'Litter Champion' you might also be suggesting where to put both litter penalty and other persuasive signs. You will also be in a good position to be reporting fly tipping, needles and the like," twitters the blog (or blogs the twit.) Yes, and you might also run the risk of getting beaten up by disgruntled litterers in the process. Whilst we have nothing by praise for the teams of volunteers who took part in the Big Boston Clean Up, we fear that encouraging possibly over-zealous individuals to get involved could be putting them in harm's way. And we would also dispute the claim that "Usually once an area is litter free there is less chance of more being dropped." Perhaps someone would remind us how often Daisy Dale has been cleared of rubbish only for the inhabitants to see it as an opportunity to start dumping all over again. Aside from that, the evidence of our own eyes tells us that Boston was only litter free for a day before the mess started to accumulated once again.
Scared ...us ...? Barely had we posed the question than the BBI explained why it would not be fielding a candidate a next week's general election. "Partly this is because the BBI is a broad church, as is befitting a group of independents, and there are those within it who feel that we have no more right to interfere in Westminster than the national political elite has to interfere in West Street," explained the party blog. "A General Election is a matter for the nation and Boston, as part of that nation, has a right and a duty to add its council (sic) to the great and weighty deliberation of our country. Many of our supporters feel that the issues currently at stake are of so grave a nature as that it is necessary to put the issue of Parliamentary reform to one side until such a time as the nation has leisure to re-examine it. As such BBI supporters with probably be found in all camps during the electoral contest in Boston." Oh, right. It's not that you were scared of losing, then?
BBC stands for B****y Bad Coverage ... Not for the first time, Boston United takes its supporters to a nail biting final which will determine whether they win promotion from the Unibond League. We hope that if BBC Radio Lincolnshire is planning coverage once again that it does its best to get it right this time. Coverage of the previous two games has been on the medium wave, which many fans complain can't be picked up on their radio sets. This is because the signal is so weak that it is almost impossible to receive in Boston - yet instead of switching frequencies and broadcasting Boston games on FM, which covers the county, the station continues to lick the Imps' muddy boots by giving them the quality coverage regardless. Moving Boston on to FM for the few special occasions that warrant it would provide a service to the town that would earn Radio Lincoln a lot of listeners, but they prefer to show the town the red card. Not only that, but their internet commentary has also been prone to breaking down at critical times during the past two crucial matches. Is it unreasonable to expect the BBC to do things professionally? Apparently so. We recommend that fans follow Craig Singleton's excellent written live coverage and treat the BBC with the contempt that it deserves.
Take the day off .. There will be no blog on Monday because of the Bank Holiday, and we are sure that you all have far better things to do than read Boston Eye. We'll be back on Tuesday, when County and Borough Councillor Michael Brookes explains his decision to cease to be an Independent councillor and switch to the Tory group on both authorities, and BNP borough councillor David Owens says why he's made an alliance with the Independents on the council. Meanwhile, ignore the childish "three in a bed" nonsense on the Bostoninnies' blog. Boston Eye will help explain all. Have a good long weekend.
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