Let's look for the silver lining ...

We wonder why it is that in Boston we so often tend to celebrate the bad news rather than the good?
The “Council Noticeboard” in this week’s local papers - not to be confused with the council “bulletin” which is different altogether - leads with the news that the borough has has been selected for a pilot project - “a first for Lincolnshire” - in which staff specially trained to deal with anti-social behaviour issues will work with “some of the most challenging families.”
By the sound of things, we’re talking about families from hell - the sort that every community
has, but tends to deal with discreetly rather than shouting about them from the rooftops ... somewhat in the way the Victorians used to tuck their doolally relatives away in the attic.
But no, here we celebrate these dysfunctional residents described as “the most challenging and chaotic families.”
In case you think that one might be living next door to you, you’ll recognise them by their levels of truancy, alcohol, drug and volatile-substance abuse, their obesity and smoking, pregnancy among their teenage members and the fact that both the youngsters of employment age and their parents (assuming that there are two) are unemployed.
And if they are homeless, we get the feeling that they might be housed in that empty home next to yours.
"These are families,” the borough advises us gravely, “ whose behaviour can destroy communities.”
We would be stupid to imagine that there are no bad families in Boston. Every place has them. But we find it difficult to believe that those which exist are as bad as those described. And surely, there are other areas - even in Lincolnshire - which are more deserving of this unique honour that has been bestowed upon Boston..
What we take exception to is the snapshot of Boston that publicity such as this produces.
Gradually, statistics, projects and other things of this ilk combine to paint a picture that causes damage to an area’s image and reputation.
Boston?
We know that place ... fatties, failing schools, street drinking problems, traffic jams ... and now we hear that they have some of the worst families in Britain as neighbours.
Let’s be more cautious about what we decide to use to “promote” the borough, and more selective in seeking the silver lining rather than the cloud.

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