In another fine example of the topsy turvy world we now live in, Nanny in the guise of one our "beloved" and "respected" local councils has decided to ban June Turnbull (79) from tending the village flowerbed in Urchfont, near Devizes, in Wiltshire.
Her crime?
She does not wear a yellow jacket, does not have a warning sign and does not employ a lookout.
Yes folks, Nanny has used her favourite excuse again...INSURANCE!
This tired old mantra is trotted out every time someone tries to do something that Nanny doesn't approve of.
How easy it is to for Nanny to latch on to this as a means of stopping people using their initiative, or just having bit of fun.
Mrs Turnbull has been tending the flowerbeds for eight years now, and paid for the flowers with her own money; needless to say there have never been any accidents.
However, Nanny now wants her to erect (can I say erect?) three large 'men at work' signs while she gardens for three hours each week.
Mrs Turnbull is defiant, she says that she will go to jail rather than stop tending the flowerbeds.
Wiltshire County Council says June must abide by the rules, because the flowerbed is on a highway and because of that they need a licence for her to work there.
-Why does she need a licence?
-Who says so?
-So what if she carries on?
-Will they really arrest her?
-Do councils really have this much power over us?
-Or is this amount of "power" merely in their own imaginations?
In order too qualify for a licence from the Highways Authority she must wear a fluorescent jacket, have three metal warning signs surrounding her and have a man on guard.
With a licence, Urchfont Parish Council can put June on their insurance policy.
So what if she is not insured?
Are they saying that if she is injured, then she won't be treated in hospital?
Why would the council be to blame if she is not a council employee, and working against the advice of the council?
Councils take far too much upon themselves these days; they need to be reminded of their place in the evolutionary scheme of things.
Drop Wiltshire County Council a note here customercare@wiltshire.gov.uk
Ken,
ReplyDeleteI think you're being a tad unfair on Wiltshire County Council.
If the dear old lady should be attacked by a vicious ladybird, or strangled by a rabid tendril of bindweed, trip and fall over a cunningly disguised ant hill, or drown in an over-full watering can, her relatives might well decide to sue the Council on the grounds of their negligence.
It could cost them up to £10 million quid of their ratepayer's money and, since we all know that such funds are earmarked for their pension fund, it would be irresponsible for them to allow this woman to - effectively - commit suicide!
Perhaps the answer to the problem (before things turn nasty) is to have her arrested under the Mental Health Act and then stick her in some secure environment where she can practice flower-arranging to her heart's content - under supervision, of course.
After all, there does seem to be a precedent for the misuse of the MHA.
So beyond barmy....
ReplyDeleteHang on a minute. Are we missing something here?
ReplyDelete3hrs a week Plus 1 hour travelling to and from. Plus lunch and breaks. That's a day's work. For two people including the lookout.
Plus the guy buying the signs will be missing out on his backhanders.
I see justification there for a head count increase and a budgetary review and, say, £12k for the risk assessment project.
Any petty bureaucrat worth the name would be interested in job protection on that basis. Could be the basis of an entire career and pension fund.
"Mrs Turnbull is defiant, she says that she will go to jail rather than stop tending the flowerbeds."
ReplyDeleteGood for Mrs Turnbull! We'd be far better off with a few of her kind running both central and local government instead of being shafted by the bunch of tossers actually working(?) in these positions!