Why our Councils cost so much

A report in today's Daily Telegraph says that council officials refused to remove a mattress dumped on an embankment because it would require four men and a JCB!
This was as a result of a risk assessment carried out by a council official who looked into what was involved! In the end, two local residents dragged it to the roadside (which they said took them four minutes) and the council later condescended to collect it in a van.
In a similar manner, I reported to our County Council in November last, that one of their trees outside my house was potentially dangerous as one of the branches had broken off in the winds. In February, I got a letter saying that the tree would be examined by their arbourologist when he was next in the area and he would advise as to any necessary action.
Now, although I was firmly in favour of Councils privatising some of their activities, there was much to be said  for the "odd job men" that councils had in the old days. There were usually two of them in a small truck which carried an assortment of tools, ladder, a few paving stones, etc. They would go to minor tasks, make their own safety assessment and usually fix the problems, whether it was an overhanging tree, a dumped mattress, a small pot hole or a broken paving stone. If they felt the task was beyond them, when they got back to base, they'd arrange for someone more appropriate to deal with it.

These days, a "suit" in a posh car has to first look at the job, make a safety assessment and no doubt fill in dozens of forms before a contract is let to some company to carry out the work, which I imagine costs more per job than the old fashioned method cost in a week.
But then they are spending our money, not their own.

Bans - Day Seven - Final Day!

When I started upon the subject of Bans, I was quite convinced that I'd find a new one every day, or at a minimum someone wanting a new ban every day. It seems that I was wrong, or perhaps those people who like thinking of new bans haven't yet recovered from Christmas due to their having been doing the very things that they would like to stop the rest of us from doing - overindulging with food and drink (and possibly cigarettes). Perhaps next week they will recover, I propose to keep an eye on this situation where officials, do-gooders, crackpots and all the rest want to stop the English people from doing things that they've done for generations.
My total wasn't bad, three on day one and another couple the next day. A couple more on day three, although one was only a local council and the other from France, but unfortunately nothing on day four. One on day five, and on day six no banns as such but several new laws which are in fact bans on various activities.
Perhaps they all gave up for Sunday (or I suppose actually Saturday), but its not a bad haul for the week, certainly an average of one a day!