It came as little surprise when we heard that plans to consult Boston's electorate on government changes to the way the council will be run after the next election in May 2011 have been put on hold because the council cannot explain them in understandable English.
In a nutshell the council needs to pick one of two new options to replace the present system where it is run by a Leader and Cabinet Executive.
The choice is between a new Leader and Cabinet Executive model or an elected Mayor.
Under the first plan the Leader would be an elected councillor as at present who would take control for four years, appointing the Cabinet and delegating responsibilities - but with one crucial change to the ways things are run at present.
The Leader would have total control over all executive functions and therefore have complete discretion to allocate decision-making powers to the Cabinet as a body or to delegate decision-making to individual Cabinet members or to officers.
We seem to recall that the present leader sought similar powers before, and that the idea was rejected, but no such rejection will be possible in the future.
In terms of cost, there would be no change to the current Cabinet structure (plus ceremonial Mayor) which costs £61,720 in the current financial year.
Under the alternative scheme a Mayor would be directly elected, and unlike the Leader would not be a councillor representing a ward. The ceremonial Mayor would remain as a separate post. The elected Mayor would appoint a deputy and a Cabinet which would then operate much the same as things do now.
Electing a Mayor would be much more expensive, costing between £87,210 to £253,050 - although if members’ allowances continue to be paid at 40% below the levels recommended and if this continued, costs the cost would range from £58,810 to £154,250. It would cost £21,000 to run the ballot, and there would also be costs of running the Mayor's office.
There's also the matter of the cost of a referendum, which are put at £50,000. But to council willing to blow £28,000 on a sound system to save a couple of deaf members the price of a hearing aid, we're sure that's just peanuts.
Although there are no choices here, we have to say that, sadly, the argument "it's not broken, so don't mend it" does not apply to the present council structure.
The BBI has produced a rotten executive, and the question is whether whatever replaces it will be any better.
The problem with option A is that we get the mixture as before with the exception that the new leader has absolute authority, which - depending on the leader - could be a very dangerous thing.
We've seen what happens in the present council when conflicts of personality collide with spite.
The problem with option B is that we cannot for the life of us think of anyone who is big enough to be deemed electable as a potential Mr or Mrs Boston.
The only redeeming feature in the whole business, is that as these changes will take place at the next elections, it is a racing certainty that whoever forms the next leadership will not be the Boston Bypass Independents Party.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Thursday, November 19
Wednesday, November 18
The Kenny saga ... Day Two
The following e-mail from Boston Fenside Councillor David Owens concerning serial complainer Paul Kenny, Boston's Prospective Labour Party Parliamentary candidate (see yesterday's blog and Eyes passim) speaks for itself....
"Dear Boston Eye,
"I have kept quiet in relation to the activities Mr Kenny has been up to in relation to complaining about everyone who is not a Labour party member - however I feel the time is right to expose some of the malicious and thoroughly unpleasant activity he has carried out in the last 12 months.
Following the BNP success in Fenside last November, I received a call from Lincolnshire Police, as they had received a complaint that a piece of my election material may be 'illegal.' This was reported to them by the ever vigilant Mr Paul Kenny.
"I duly made an appointment to speak to the senior officer (who the prior week was investigating a murder) to show him the evidence proving that such an allegation was in fact, unfounded.
"This senior officer was apologetic and was clearly most frustrated that his time was being wasted investigating the most heinous crime of not having an imprint (i.e. name and address of printer etc) on a leaflet, and the fact that the 'evidence' produced by the complainant was not even the genuine leaflet, but a photocopy of the A5 sized leaflet copied as an A4 document! And as such, not a leaflet used in the campaign.
"Needless to say the police’s time and that of a very senior officer was wasted, by the vindictiveness and clear political motivation of Mr Paul Kenny.
"However, having failed in the pursuit of quashing any political opponents, the ever-persistent Mr Kenny was not prepared to leave it there, as aside from swiping at the other councillors as mentioned in your blog, he attempted to have another go at me.
"This time, following the last county council by-election which saw the Labour Party in Boston destroyed at the ballot box, he launched a new wave of complaints relating to my reference to the migrant community in Boston in my election material, and somehow tried to link my observations and comments into how that was not treating others with respect and claimed I breached equality enactments in my capacity as an elected member.
"This led to another complete waste of Standards Committee time and resources leading to the expected result of the complaint not being upheld.
"How much more has the Boston taxpayer got to put up with and fund the fantasies of this wannabe politician, when will he realise that Labour's days of influence in places like Boston have come to an end.
"Labour had their chance and they blew it! They sold out to the Multi-Culti fantasy and ignored what their hardcore supporters and voters were telling them.
"May they rest in Peace "
What do you thinks about Paul Kenny's activities? If you have something to say, please write and let us know ....
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
"Dear Boston Eye,
"I have kept quiet in relation to the activities Mr Kenny has been up to in relation to complaining about everyone who is not a Labour party member - however I feel the time is right to expose some of the malicious and thoroughly unpleasant activity he has carried out in the last 12 months.
Following the BNP success in Fenside last November, I received a call from Lincolnshire Police, as they had received a complaint that a piece of my election material may be 'illegal.' This was reported to them by the ever vigilant Mr Paul Kenny.
"I duly made an appointment to speak to the senior officer (who the prior week was investigating a murder) to show him the evidence proving that such an allegation was in fact, unfounded.
"This senior officer was apologetic and was clearly most frustrated that his time was being wasted investigating the most heinous crime of not having an imprint (i.e. name and address of printer etc) on a leaflet, and the fact that the 'evidence' produced by the complainant was not even the genuine leaflet, but a photocopy of the A5 sized leaflet copied as an A4 document! And as such, not a leaflet used in the campaign.
"Needless to say the police’s time and that of a very senior officer was wasted, by the vindictiveness and clear political motivation of Mr Paul Kenny.
"However, having failed in the pursuit of quashing any political opponents, the ever-persistent Mr Kenny was not prepared to leave it there, as aside from swiping at the other councillors as mentioned in your blog, he attempted to have another go at me.
"This time, following the last county council by-election which saw the Labour Party in Boston destroyed at the ballot box, he launched a new wave of complaints relating to my reference to the migrant community in Boston in my election material, and somehow tried to link my observations and comments into how that was not treating others with respect and claimed I breached equality enactments in my capacity as an elected member.
"This led to another complete waste of Standards Committee time and resources leading to the expected result of the complaint not being upheld.
"How much more has the Boston taxpayer got to put up with and fund the fantasies of this wannabe politician, when will he realise that Labour's days of influence in places like Boston have come to an end.
"Labour had their chance and they blew it! They sold out to the Multi-Culti fantasy and ignored what their hardcore supporters and voters were telling them.
"May they rest in Peace "
What do you thinks about Paul Kenny's activities? If you have something to say, please write and let us know ....
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Tuesday, November 17
Tell us why, Mr Kenny
With a General Election just around the corner, Labour's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Boston, Paul Kenny, is busy making the news - but not for the usual reasons.
Boston Eye first had dealings Mr Kenny, some months ago.
He wrote to us after we commented on what we saw at the lightness of his campaigning.
In the course of his communication, he challenged us to publish information concerning the Boston Bypass Independents which he said the local papers had failed to print because they had been "frightened off."
We accepted the challenge, verified the information, and gave Mr Kenny a date on which we would be publishing it.
It was therefore something of a surprise to see the self-same material appear two days before the agreed date on another alternative Boston website, and we mused why Mr Kenny had pulled such a strange stunt.
We're no closer to knowing, but since then Mr Kenny's name has popped up regularly in slightly off-kilter context.
There was the case of the Boston North West county council by election in which the successful Conservative candidate was knocked out on a technicality, then re-elected - only just - in a poll that saw the BNP almost claim the seat.
Then there was the complaint to Boston Borough Council's Standards Committee against Conservative Borough Councillor Myles Larrington over remarks made in his blog. The complaint was not upheld, but the act of complaining caused Councillor Larrington to review the dangers of exercising free speech and decide that blogging was not worth the candle.
Mr Kenny then turned his spotlight on to Conservative Councillor Raymond Singleton-McGuire, complaining about comments made in his blogs.
Councillor Singleton-McGuire has disclosed that between January and September this Mr Kenny has made 13 complaints of which only two have been processed so far - at a cost to the taxpayer of almost £2,150. The year before, he apparently complained against the entire Bypass Independent Party.
And it now appears that even more complaints by Mr Kenny against Councillor Singleton-McGuire are in the pipeline.
The raison d'etre for the complaints appears to be that although Mr Kenny often acts in the name of the Labour Party, when anyone dares to counter-attack, he responds as a member of the public.
It's an interesting mindset - if it can be called a mindset.
We asked Mr Kenny if he would care to expand on his reasons for being a costly serial campaigner, as it appears that if he hadn't protested so much, the next complaint to reach the council this year would be the first.
Mr Kenny did not bother to reply to us.
We also asked Councillor Singleton-McGuire for a comment, and he told us:-
"In the interests of everyone’s sanity and the obvious ongoing waste of public taxpayers’ money, I have, as a diligent and concerned councillor, attempted to raise with the Labour Party directly the matter of Mr Paul Kenny’s seemingly endless barrage of criticism and complaints about Boston Borough Councillors over the past two and a half years.
"Bearing in mind that politics and politicians in particular are not exactly the flavour of the month at present (what with the recent Parliamentary expenses issues and the impending Parliamentary Election next year), I am sure local taxpayers must be seething if not disgusted at the added burden of public taxpayers money being wasted by a politician, albeit a Parliamentary Candidate at that, based on nothing more than a seeming self indulgence.
"The term 'vexatious litigation' springs to mind – an activity generally frowned upon by the courts.
"For every £1 incurred through Mr Paul Kenny’s endless complaining, £1 less is spent on public services. It should come as no surprise that at a recent council meeting the point was made that Legal Service expenses are likely to be over budget. "Were it not for Mr Kenny’s endless whining, Boston Borough Council would still be awaiting a complaint to deal with this year!
"It is for these reasons and in the interests of public spending that I contacted Mr Richard Oliver of the Labour Party East Midlands selection body and Newcastle Office who deal with issues of complaint expressing the concerns of all.
"Disappointingly, Three days later I received a further seven complaints and/or matters of conjecture from Mr Paul Kenny!"
Boston Eye thinks that it is high time for Mr Kenny to take his knocks like the seasoned politician he claims to be rather than to run crying to hide behind the skirts of the complaints system.
Certainly, if he proposes to run his campaign by eliminating his Tory opponents one-by-one, he is in for a long and disappointing fight, and one which - regardless of the current of the political climate - would be certain to end in failure.
Mr Kenny should by now be preparing for a high profile public General Election campaign, not putting his efforts into niggling, petty stuff that wastes time and money to no real effect.
Once again, Boston Eye invites Mr Kenny to to put on his political hat and tell us what the trouble is, as so many frivolous complaints at such great cost is both a burden and an insult to the borough's taxpayers, and if our mediation would be of help, we would be happy to offer it.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Boston Eye first had dealings Mr Kenny, some months ago.
He wrote to us after we commented on what we saw at the lightness of his campaigning.
In the course of his communication, he challenged us to publish information concerning the Boston Bypass Independents which he said the local papers had failed to print because they had been "frightened off."
We accepted the challenge, verified the information, and gave Mr Kenny a date on which we would be publishing it.
It was therefore something of a surprise to see the self-same material appear two days before the agreed date on another alternative Boston website, and we mused why Mr Kenny had pulled such a strange stunt.
We're no closer to knowing, but since then Mr Kenny's name has popped up regularly in slightly off-kilter context.
There was the case of the Boston North West county council by election in which the successful Conservative candidate was knocked out on a technicality, then re-elected - only just - in a poll that saw the BNP almost claim the seat.
Then there was the complaint to Boston Borough Council's Standards Committee against Conservative Borough Councillor Myles Larrington over remarks made in his blog. The complaint was not upheld, but the act of complaining caused Councillor Larrington to review the dangers of exercising free speech and decide that blogging was not worth the candle.
Mr Kenny then turned his spotlight on to Conservative Councillor Raymond Singleton-McGuire, complaining about comments made in his blogs.
Councillor Singleton-McGuire has disclosed that between January and September this Mr Kenny has made 13 complaints of which only two have been processed so far - at a cost to the taxpayer of almost £2,150. The year before, he apparently complained against the entire Bypass Independent Party.
And it now appears that even more complaints by Mr Kenny against Councillor Singleton-McGuire are in the pipeline.
The raison d'etre for the complaints appears to be that although Mr Kenny often acts in the name of the Labour Party, when anyone dares to counter-attack, he responds as a member of the public.
It's an interesting mindset - if it can be called a mindset.
We asked Mr Kenny if he would care to expand on his reasons for being a costly serial campaigner, as it appears that if he hadn't protested so much, the next complaint to reach the council this year would be the first.
Mr Kenny did not bother to reply to us.
We also asked Councillor Singleton-McGuire for a comment, and he told us:-
"In the interests of everyone’s sanity and the obvious ongoing waste of public taxpayers’ money, I have, as a diligent and concerned councillor, attempted to raise with the Labour Party directly the matter of Mr Paul Kenny’s seemingly endless barrage of criticism and complaints about Boston Borough Councillors over the past two and a half years.
"Bearing in mind that politics and politicians in particular are not exactly the flavour of the month at present (what with the recent Parliamentary expenses issues and the impending Parliamentary Election next year), I am sure local taxpayers must be seething if not disgusted at the added burden of public taxpayers money being wasted by a politician, albeit a Parliamentary Candidate at that, based on nothing more than a seeming self indulgence.
"The term 'vexatious litigation' springs to mind – an activity generally frowned upon by the courts.
"For every £1 incurred through Mr Paul Kenny’s endless complaining, £1 less is spent on public services. It should come as no surprise that at a recent council meeting the point was made that Legal Service expenses are likely to be over budget. "Were it not for Mr Kenny’s endless whining, Boston Borough Council would still be awaiting a complaint to deal with this year!
"It is for these reasons and in the interests of public spending that I contacted Mr Richard Oliver of the Labour Party East Midlands selection body and Newcastle Office who deal with issues of complaint expressing the concerns of all.
"Disappointingly, Three days later I received a further seven complaints and/or matters of conjecture from Mr Paul Kenny!"
Boston Eye thinks that it is high time for Mr Kenny to take his knocks like the seasoned politician he claims to be rather than to run crying to hide behind the skirts of the complaints system.
Certainly, if he proposes to run his campaign by eliminating his Tory opponents one-by-one, he is in for a long and disappointing fight, and one which - regardless of the current of the political climate - would be certain to end in failure.
Mr Kenny should by now be preparing for a high profile public General Election campaign, not putting his efforts into niggling, petty stuff that wastes time and money to no real effect.
Once again, Boston Eye invites Mr Kenny to to put on his political hat and tell us what the trouble is, as so many frivolous complaints at such great cost is both a burden and an insult to the borough's taxpayers, and if our mediation would be of help, we would be happy to offer it.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Monday, November 16
Has leader considered costs of improved flood protection?
A weekend that's seen some of the worst weather of the year, with flooding and storm damage in many parts of the country, again highlights the precarious position of Boston in the flood risk league.
And co-incidentally, after last week's full meeting of Boston Borough council at which a petition to the government demanding levels of flood protection similar to those in Holland, we have received the following from Independent Borough Councillor Richard Leggott.
"Whilst giving my support at Council on Monday 9th November to the motion to lobby for better flood protection for our Borough, I do have misgivings as to a demand for protection on the scale envisaged by Councillor Richard Austin - 1 in 4000 for agricultural land and 1 in 10000 for urban areas.
"In reasoning for such a level of flood defence Councillor Austin quoted levels of defence enjoyed by SOME areas in Holland.
"Also relevant to comparison with Dutch flood defences is the fact which I have learnt
from inspection of such , and discussion with various Dutch Drainage Board members, that much of the funding of their high level (no pun intended) flood defence spending comes from local sourcing.
"One wonders whether any research into the costs, both nationally and locally, of such improved standards has been undertaken by Councillor Austin.
Perhaps, too, I may explain through your site that, nature being as unpredictable as it is, a 1 in 4000 rating is not a defence against an event that could only happen once in 4000 years.
Such a rating indicates that one is looking to give the protection needed up to the
4000-1 chance of such an event occurring in any one year.
"Whilst, on behalf of all the Borough and its inhabitants , I would dearly love to see a commitment to much higher local flood defence standards by Government , DEFRA and the Environment Agency (and will gladly work to influence such decision makers,) I do wonder if in these times of financial restraints, and given Boston's actual record as to recent flooding, one should be seeking more realistic improvement targets in possible discussions with all at Westminster.
"Two more questions that raise themselves in my mind.
"Is this 'raise our flood defences' item intended to divert us from BBI's failure to deliver a Bypass for Boston?
"Following on from that - this is somewhat tongue in cheek - will we get improved flood defence levels in time to protect our new Bypass? "
Richard Leggott
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
And co-incidentally, after last week's full meeting of Boston Borough council at which a petition to the government demanding levels of flood protection similar to those in Holland, we have received the following from Independent Borough Councillor Richard Leggott.
"Whilst giving my support at Council on Monday 9th November to the motion to lobby for better flood protection for our Borough, I do have misgivings as to a demand for protection on the scale envisaged by Councillor Richard Austin - 1 in 4000 for agricultural land and 1 in 10000 for urban areas.
"In reasoning for such a level of flood defence Councillor Austin quoted levels of defence enjoyed by SOME areas in Holland.
"Also relevant to comparison with Dutch flood defences is the fact which I have learnt
from inspection of such , and discussion with various Dutch Drainage Board members, that much of the funding of their high level (no pun intended) flood defence spending comes from local sourcing.
"One wonders whether any research into the costs, both nationally and locally, of such improved standards has been undertaken by Councillor Austin.
Perhaps, too, I may explain through your site that, nature being as unpredictable as it is, a 1 in 4000 rating is not a defence against an event that could only happen once in 4000 years.
Such a rating indicates that one is looking to give the protection needed up to the
4000-1 chance of such an event occurring in any one year.
"Whilst, on behalf of all the Borough and its inhabitants , I would dearly love to see a commitment to much higher local flood defence standards by Government , DEFRA and the Environment Agency (and will gladly work to influence such decision makers,) I do wonder if in these times of financial restraints, and given Boston's actual record as to recent flooding, one should be seeking more realistic improvement targets in possible discussions with all at Westminster.
"Two more questions that raise themselves in my mind.
"Is this 'raise our flood defences' item intended to divert us from BBI's failure to deliver a Bypass for Boston?
"Following on from that - this is somewhat tongue in cheek - will we get improved flood defence levels in time to protect our new Bypass? "
Richard Leggott
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Friday, November 13
Week ending 13th November
Our Friday miscellany of the week's news and events
It's Friday the 13th so take it easy out there ....
Back from our break, we received an e-mail from Boston Borough Councillor Richard Leggott, who, back from holiday himself, referred to our comments on what constitutes a truly independent representative. He says: "I would like to make it absolutely clear that my withdrawal as a candidate (from the Boston North West County Council by-election) should not in any way be interpreted by either the BNP or Conservative candidates as wishing to affect their electoral chances in this recent local election. I was to be well distanced geographically from Boston for Election day - being in Esperance WA . My political position is equally distant from all our local political parties. I am a true local Independent and intend to remain so."
Talking of Boston North West, this morning we visited the innappropriately named blog "Vote Mike Sheridan Shinn," where the former Liberal democrat candidate does not appear to hold to the old adage that a week is a long time in politics." More than a month since the election was won by Conservative Andrea Jenkyns, he tells us .... "now that phase one of the campaign is complete. Its now time to launch phase two which is very exciting and I know my supporters will like it ..." Not a lot, apparently.
One of Boston's few famous old girls - newspaper columnist Mary Riddell - tells readers in the Daily Telegraph:- "Gordon Brown should say the unsayable: immigration has been a boon. Who else will staff hospitals and care homes, pick potatoes and sweep streets? We thought that perhaps Mary ought to pay a return visit to her former home, where she would see that migrants don't always spend their time caring for our sick or doing the dirty menial tasks that the locals have now turned their backs on. The recent "swoops" on illegal encampments tell a somewhat different story. But then apparently, so does Mary. A couple of years ago, she wrote of a visit to Boston in the Observer: "Walk out of the station forecourt and there is a newish cinema. The rancid bar where I ordered my first vodka and lime has been converted into a pleasant riverside hotel and the clothes stores no longer sell fashions seemingly inspired by a Crimean catwalk. In a shopping mall, boulevardiers drink espresso at pavement tables. The place is richer and more cosmopolitan than it has been for decades., if not centuries. Boston was chosen by the Pilgrim Fathers for their first, doomed attempt to reach America. Long after their betrayal by the ship's captain, who handed them over to the authorities, the town became a decaying seaport which owes its revival to immigrants' toil. Without incomers from Portugal and the EU accession states, the economy of this town, and of all Lincolnshire, would collapse. But Boston, once again, is showing a facility for crushing pilgrims' dreams." Absence makes the heart grow fonder ... but it also seems to play strange tricks on memory and geography!
We were pleased that the Boston Standard picked up our clue concerning the story about Fogarty's that they missed first time round even though it was in their own paper. Even so, they still failed to ask a couple of fairly obvious questions .... but then that's what local papers do these days. However, we did like the addition of a new playmate for Boskat who appeared on their website (see below.) At least, we assume that Fograty is a furry creature of the riverbank, and not a major local employer!
Talking of the Standard ... Like many readers, we welcomed the return of the court news, but not the attempts to "sex up" the stories, mundane as they may be. For instance, we hadn't until now heard of the crime of "scarpering without paying" for petrol. And we felt the line "He stood in silence as the judge passed sentence, the smirk wiped off his face" reeked of comment, which is always dangerous in court reporting. We recall a a celebrated case more than a century ago where the newspaper of the day reported ..."the accused man entered the dock. He is short, squat in stature, extremely ugly and obviously guilty of the heinous crimes with which he is charged...." Perhaps the Standard yearns for those days to return. By the way ... what's happened to Morning Reports on the paper's website, and the hilarious evening videos, where journalists showed that their reading is as bad as their writing....
Witham Way County Park has been awarded nature reserve status. Doe that mean the campers can no longer dine out on braised squirrel and hedgehog baked in clay?
Finally, our ironic misspelling of the week again comes from the Standard, which quotes Councillor Anne Dorrian as saying: " I would not say it would pass and plain English competancy tests...." Yes, you're right, the correct spelling is competency.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
It's Friday the 13th so take it easy out there ....
Back from our break, we received an e-mail from Boston Borough Councillor Richard Leggott, who, back from holiday himself, referred to our comments on what constitutes a truly independent representative. He says: "I would like to make it absolutely clear that my withdrawal as a candidate (from the Boston North West County Council by-election) should not in any way be interpreted by either the BNP or Conservative candidates as wishing to affect their electoral chances in this recent local election. I was to be well distanced geographically from Boston for Election day - being in Esperance WA . My political position is equally distant from all our local political parties. I am a true local Independent and intend to remain so."
Talking of Boston North West, this morning we visited the innappropriately named blog "Vote Mike Sheridan Shinn," where the former Liberal democrat candidate does not appear to hold to the old adage that a week is a long time in politics." More than a month since the election was won by Conservative Andrea Jenkyns, he tells us .... "now that phase one of the campaign is complete. Its now time to launch phase two which is very exciting and I know my supporters will like it ..." Not a lot, apparently.
One of Boston's few famous old girls - newspaper columnist Mary Riddell - tells readers in the Daily Telegraph:- "Gordon Brown should say the unsayable: immigration has been a boon. Who else will staff hospitals and care homes, pick potatoes and sweep streets? We thought that perhaps Mary ought to pay a return visit to her former home, where she would see that migrants don't always spend their time caring for our sick or doing the dirty menial tasks that the locals have now turned their backs on. The recent "swoops" on illegal encampments tell a somewhat different story. But then apparently, so does Mary. A couple of years ago, she wrote of a visit to Boston in the Observer: "Walk out of the station forecourt and there is a newish cinema. The rancid bar where I ordered my first vodka and lime has been converted into a pleasant riverside hotel and the clothes stores no longer sell fashions seemingly inspired by a Crimean catwalk. In a shopping mall, boulevardiers drink espresso at pavement tables. The place is richer and more cosmopolitan than it has been for decades., if not centuries. Boston was chosen by the Pilgrim Fathers for their first, doomed attempt to reach America. Long after their betrayal by the ship's captain, who handed them over to the authorities, the town became a decaying seaport which owes its revival to immigrants' toil. Without incomers from Portugal and the EU accession states, the economy of this town, and of all Lincolnshire, would collapse. But Boston, once again, is showing a facility for crushing pilgrims' dreams." Absence makes the heart grow fonder ... but it also seems to play strange tricks on memory and geography!
We were pleased that the Boston Standard picked up our clue concerning the story about Fogarty's that they missed first time round even though it was in their own paper. Even so, they still failed to ask a couple of fairly obvious questions .... but then that's what local papers do these days. However, we did like the addition of a new playmate for Boskat who appeared on their website (see below.) At least, we assume that Fograty is a furry creature of the riverbank, and not a major local employer!
Talking of the Standard ... Like many readers, we welcomed the return of the court news, but not the attempts to "sex up" the stories, mundane as they may be. For instance, we hadn't until now heard of the crime of "scarpering without paying" for petrol. And we felt the line "He stood in silence as the judge passed sentence, the smirk wiped off his face" reeked of comment, which is always dangerous in court reporting. We recall a a celebrated case more than a century ago where the newspaper of the day reported ..."the accused man entered the dock. He is short, squat in stature, extremely ugly and obviously guilty of the heinous crimes with which he is charged...." Perhaps the Standard yearns for those days to return. By the way ... what's happened to Morning Reports on the paper's website, and the hilarious evening videos, where journalists showed that their reading is as bad as their writing....Witham Way County Park has been awarded nature reserve status. Doe that mean the campers can no longer dine out on braised squirrel and hedgehog baked in clay?
Finally, our ironic misspelling of the week again comes from the Standard, which quotes Councillor Anne Dorrian as saying: " I would not say it would pass and plain English competancy tests...." Yes, you're right, the correct spelling is competency.
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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