9 January (Part 1) - Back to work
Right, let’s see if we can get this show back on the road. Not much of blog
but I have been letting things slip.
The Big Stink
An anonymous message said that across the road from Belvedere’s Asda raw sewage
had been flowing across the road for more than a week and not for the first time.
It was alleged that Bexley Council had washed their hands of it - if you will
excuse the unpleasant metaphor.
Thames Water’s response was similar when my correspondent called them last Saturday.
I rose from my sick bed - metaphorically again, but I have not been getting out
much - and took a look; and a good sniff.
At first sight it looks like a water leak but closer examination showed there
was a lot of sediment in the flow, not obvious sewage but not plain
water, that is for sure. A deep breath confirmed the anonymous report.
This is a well used footpath, it is near a school and it is common to see
children walk it on their way to the 401 bus stop. One trip and they would be in the shit literally.
Surely Bexley Council must recognise it for the public health hazard it is, but apparently not.
The SS
I had two encounters with Social Services yesterday. One was Bexley related and
in the controversial child snatching arena. I don’t get as many reports of child
snatching as used to be the case. Either people have realised that it is pretty
much impossible to report them here or Cabinet Member Philip Read’s academy
initiative is bearing fruit. If so perhaps he could sell his services to Newham.
There was a gratifying number of enquiries about the welfare of my 97 year old
aunt over the past few weeks. She has been mentally damaged by her GP’s wrong
prescription (confirmed by hospital discharge letter) for almost three years and it is
not certain she will fully recover. She used to be forgetful, now she comes out with
nonsense most days, but not as much as a month ago.
The hospital wanted to discharge her before Christmas, I can understand the
reason why, but with Newham Council’s so called help they thought the old lady
would be able to sit all day in her own home with a care worker dropping in occasionally.
That was a total nonsense, she couldn’t do anything for herself at the time. She
didn’t know what a chair lift was let alone operate one. With a gas cooker and
radiant electric fire she might even burn the house down.
My last encounter with Newham Social Services was three years ago when I made a
complaint copied to my aunt’s MP (Stephen Timms) who in turn thought it was so
serious he passed it on to Newham’s elected Mayor. The reply was to the effect that all the problems
were of my own making and Newham’s branch of the SS was perfect. I had never
asked them for anything in 30 years of ensuring my aunt wanted for nothing and the complaint was that the SS was refusing
instructions to stop providing their useless and unnecessary services. Those instructions
were backed by my aunt’s GP (not the useless one that replaced her) and I took exception to Newham’s idiotic response to the complaint.
I didn’t have the time to argue but when they wanted to muscle in on the
situation again before Christmas I told them they would get no cooperation from
me until they apologised for their three year old letter. “Would it be OK if I
just said sorry?” said the hapless Social worker. “No”, I told her, “your
untruthful criticism must be removed from the official record”.
To get my aunt into safe hands I organised a taxi and escort from Newham hospital and she
was taken to stay with my sister in Hampshire where she is now well fed and is beginning a slow recovery.
Yesterday the Senior SS woman phoned me to ask where my aunt was. I said she is in Hampshire. “What is a hampshire?”
came the reply. “It is a county and my sister lives in it.”
“Oh, can you spell it for me?” “H A M P S H I R E”, I said. I wish I had said
Hants just to confuse the idiot further.
“Where is it” wonder woman asked. “A long way from here” I replied and with that
Newham’s finest went away apparently satisfied.
I am prejudiced obviously but I rather suspect that that is typical of the
intelligence of the average social worker.
Note: When I first lived in Hampshire in 1949 the road signs
were emblazoned with the subtext, County of Southamptonshire. I wish I had taken
some photos because no one believes me now.
The Cabinet reshuffle
Going more than usually off topic the recent non-event
of a Government reshuffle captured my attention yesterday. I don’t know why but
I found the news of James Brokenshire’s lung lesion to be quite upsetting. I was
introduced to him once and found him pleasant enough but there is no way he is
likely to remember the meeting.
He might remember Elwyn Bryant better as he refused him any help with the Craske
obscene blog business. He said accompanying him to meetings with the police
would be “inappropriate”. Fortunately Teresa Pearce MP is far more of an asset
to constituents who find themselves in difficulty. She came with me to four
police meetings at which Elwyn was present too.
I am sure everyone will join me in wishing James Brokenshire a quick and full recovery.
The second ‘reshuffle’ that grabbed my attention was James Cleverly’s Deputy
Party Chairman appointment. James used to be Bexley’s man at the GLA and I
rather like what he has had to say since becoming MP for Braintree.
I was introduced to him once as well and not so impressed as I am now. He said
my blog was “well out of order”.
At the time Bexley’s incompetents in blue were circulating Press Releases
which confused me with John Kerlen who ran an entirely different sort of blog.
They went as far as notifying local politicians and the press with the
news that I was to be prosecuted for using the C word on
Twitter three years before I joined Twitter, so I give James Cleverly the
benefit of the doubt and wish him success in his new job. The more of the Tory
old guard that is thrown out the better. What an absolutely shambolic shower.
P.S. News of David Evennett’s removal from the Whip’s Office came too late for the original blog but I was
introduced to him once too. He came across as a really nice man. One can well
understand that someone with such a pleasant personality would not be wanted in
Teresa May’s Whip’s Office - or the other lot’s.
The bloody flu
I can’t believe how this bug can be still hanging around more then three weeks
after it first struck. Yesterday I was so exhausted by it I slept for 13 hours
and feel a bit better for it today.
Once again, thank you for the kind messages. I have been told of four people who
suffered similarly and were taken in to hospital with pneumonia - all now released fortunately.
If you have elderly neighbours especially if they live alone, please keep an eye
on them. Not everyone will get an email from their MP, as I did, offering to do their
shopping but they may need similar help.
In my opinion there are too many obnoxious females in politics but Teresa is
most definitely not one of them. Paul is a fortunate man.