“An empty head is not really empty; it is stuffed with rubbish. Hence the difficulty of forcing anything into an empty head.”
Eric Hoffer
Most fair minded people know there are generally two sides to every story, especially in our social media world.
The one-eyed approach by BBC’s Look North this week (Tuesday & Wednesday) re the airing of a video of a policeman restraining a man in Halifax was trial without jury. It was disgraceful but, guess what, we now have another video that shows the bigger picture.
Will the BBC show this; not on your life because it does not serve their narrative. Shame on all at Look North here, blighting a generally excellent local news programme.
Top Tip
Those who know our small Sunday group will know we have the ability to talk rubbish with the very best. Last week it was fly-tipping and how high to hang the perpetrators.
The subject of local household waste sites came up and the enormous queues seen at some since lockdown; is everybody having a clearout?
I’ve no doubt that working at the dump is not everybody’s dream job and so I won’t name the tips that have been crap for want of a better word. Queues down to simple bad management whilst inside, more staff than you can count but who is actually doing anything?
And then the permit checkers. What does it matter where you come from to tip waste; surely if we are recycling that has to be good? At one tip I had my permit checked three times. I would have got from North to South Korea easier.
Five Pints suggested I try Bingley tip, an example he claimed, of poetry in motion. Another plus was I did not have to dodge one out of control Audi or VW.
A quick flash of my permit and I was waved through to a well organised selection of skips. The staff were all equipped with walkie talkies, keeping spare spaces to a bare minimum. I was living the tip dream; must get out more sprang to mind once again.
A Tale of Two Cities – 1
BBC 2’s new series Manctopia – Billion Pound Property Boom should be compulsive watching for politicians of all sides. In our society of wild excesses, I’ve often mused as to where are the modern day philanthropists.
Now I find myself siding with a Guardian columnist who writes where is Sir Titus Salt when you need him?
Can we really sit by and watch what is happening to cities like Manchester, dazzled by ugly glass towers whilst enough people to fill the old Wembley sit on the housing list?
As for the botoxed, attention seeking divorcee struggling to find a penthouse large enough for her shoes, is it only me wishing I could push her off the top of one?
Quiz Time
Here’s a question which I know we won’t need OFQUAL to regrade as you’ll already have suspected a trick. It’s 4pm and you want to park for three hours – how much?
A quick look at the charges and its £2.10 – right? No! Despite dashing off having fixed the ticket inside your car, a fuller read of the ticket display discovers that after 6pm, whatever you have paid is null and void.
The correct answer is £2.40 – £1.40 for two hours up to 6pm and another quid for the rest of the night. This happened to a friend of mine in Bingley last week; it is sharp practice at the very least.
There is a bigger issue at play here; surely the Council should be doing all it can to encourage footfall and spending across the district. Are the car parks of Bingley centre so full on an evening as to even warrant traffic wardens?
I suspect far from it and that this is a another cynical move by the cycle lane obsessed dimwits to generate income from the outlying areas; small wonder the local MP seeks a divorce.
Equally – and we both know the answer here – are parking regulations being enforced consistently across the city? Or just in areas that don’t vote Labour?
A Tale Of Two Cities – 2
As Manchester and Leeds burst skywards, back in Bradford where Sir Titus did leave most of his legacy, it appears we are struggling to attract any kind of development.
When it was first announced, the Forster Square Leisure development was hailed as one of the biggest regeneration projects in Bradford city centre – a scheme that would create 200 jobs and give a massive boost to the city’s leisure offer.
Strangely, Head of Degeneration, Cycle Lanes and Lamp Posts, Comical Alex was not available for his usual gushing commentary. Five years on and not a sod has been turned. Cycling to Leeds the other day I was staggered at the amount of development.
Meanwhile, Hapless – Leader of Bradford Council and also Chair of the West Yorkshire (aka Leeds) Combined Authority – appeared on Look North the other night blaming all and sundry for Bradford’s current struggles with Covid-19.
That the city she claims to lead cannot attract developers to a “prime” city centre site says enough; perhaps she might wonder why?
JM Curmudgeonly says
Strange that Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dummer have been very quiet of late. Was expecting a T @ A Snap of Master Alex in his demob suit amidst the weeds and undergrowth of Parcels Depot bemoaning everything.