It reminds me of the undoubtedly apocryphal story of an African head of state on an official visit who was riding alongside the Queen in the ceremonial carriage.
One of the horses lets rip a tremendous fart, strong enough to paralyse a pony.
βOh, Iβm so sorry about that,β says our dear Queen.
βThatβs quite all right, Your Majestyβ he replies. βIf you hadnβt said anything I would have thought it was one of the horses.β
You could also make use of the Freedom of Information Act if you want to checkΒ exactly what your particular Council is spending on what.Β It may take you some time to obtain a definitive answer but you should get there in the end. As @Obelixx says, any tax payer has the right to query what their taxes are being spent on and for many people, the first point of call is the Public/Civil Servant they come into contact with.Β There is obviously a way of couching your query in a polite and sensible manner and if the person you are asking isn't able to answer your query, they should at the least advise you who best to contact.Β A public servant is, after all, exactly that - serving the public - be they NHS , Job Centre, Police, Fire service, Refuse Collectors or WHY. Their salaries and benefits come from the Public Purse and therefore, in theory, every pound should be accountable and the information made available to those who are paying.Β Β @NorthernJoe - I would hope most of us realise that the Recycling/Collection people are much the same as other workers who are likely to face similar difficulties in the present circumstances.Β Β
I must admit that not being a coffee or tea drinker, I have to read the instructions on the coffee jar to see how much to use if I make it for someone.
A different drink, but my brother-in-law wished his step-daughter had read the instructions when she poured him a drink one Christmas.Β She thought spice rum was pre-mixed and poured him a half pint glass of the stuff.Β He was chatting, didn't take much notice until he took a large gulp of the stuff.Β He noticed then
I saw a wanted post on freecycle earlier this week and had what the person was after so I contacted them to arrange it. It turned out I was passing their house today so said I would drop it off rather than them having to come and collect it. They sent me their address which was a named house on a mile long stretch of road. I asked for some landmarks to work to and he told me I'd pass a phone box and a tree, then his house was opposite another house which he named and right by a footpath. I drove up and down the road three times. No phonebox anywhere. Double checked the directions and address and I was in the right place. In the end I found it by chance. He'd got the name of the house opposite wrong, there was no phone box anywhere near and no footpath that I could see. The house name was mounted low on the wall so you couldn't see it because of the cars parked in front.
If he'd at least got the name of the house opposite right I would have found it straight away because I designed the renovation of it a few years ago
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Well, I say it's a right Old to do! Oh dear Steve Tu wants to know where babies come from. I did read mention on here very recently something to do with toilet seats,I always thought the stork left them under Gooseberry bushes
The dodgy scaffolders have been back to the building site next door. The scaffold is right up against our fence but we now have planks overhanging the kid's play area by a metre and a half, and concrete blocks stacked three metres above our bench with very little stopping them being knocked off. I'll have to remember to wear a hard hat while I'm sat out there Β It's a shame as the builders run the site really well, I even caught the boss telling the scaffolders to stop swearing while our kids were outside playing.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Posts
It reminds me of the undoubtedly apocryphal story of an African head of state on an official visit who was riding alongside the Queen in the ceremonial carriage.
One of the horses lets rip a tremendous fart, strong enough to paralyse a pony.
βOh, Iβm so sorry about that,β says our dear Queen.
βThatβs quite all right, Your Majestyβ he replies. βIf you hadnβt said anything I would have thought it was one of the horses.β
My head hurts.
As @Obelixx says, any tax payer has the right to query what their taxes are being spent on and for many people, the first point of call is the Public/Civil Servant they come into contact with.Β There is obviously a way of couching your query in a polite and sensible manner and if the person you are asking isn't able to answer your query, they should at the least advise you who best to contact.Β A public servant is, after all, exactly that - serving the public - be they NHS , Job Centre, Police, Fire service, Refuse Collectors or WHY. Their salaries and benefits come from the Public Purse and therefore, in theory, every pound should be accountable and the information made available to those who are paying.Β Β
@NorthernJoe - I would hope most of us realise that the Recycling/Collection people are much the same as other workers who are likely to face similar difficulties in the present circumstances.Β Β
A different drink, but my brother-in-law wished his step-daughter had read the instructions when she poured him a drink one Christmas.Β She thought spice rum was pre-mixed and poured him a half pint glass of the stuff.Β He was chatting, didn't take much notice until he took a large gulp of the stuff.Β He noticed then