Disgraceful Rider

A Parish Council Clerk’s job is often fraught.   Due to streetlights being replaced and City Council Contractors dragging their feet, we had no Hanging Baskets last year. This year Councillors and Clerk spent hours on phone and emailing to drive the Contractors to get the lights up. Then ditto to get them painted. With days to spare… yippee… up and running. Sponsors had been found for nearly half the cost and the new Brackets would allow names to be put on. Men came out and put up the brackets. Hanging Baskets put up…wait a minute, why were they all bunched together so some sponsors’ names were far removed from their homes and many brackets with no baskets?  More phone calls/emails… back came the men to re-arrange the brackets/Baskets. Yippee….finished at last. Err..no.  Along came another lot of men to OK the streetlight work. They took down all the brackets and baskets.  Why? Reader I know not. Another frantic round of phoning/emails/talking to men on site. They decided the brackets and Baskets on the Heritage lights in the centre of the village could go back up … next week. The other lights they said were not strong enough (deep enough in the ground? or something?) to support the Baskets safely. Later agreed these columns are to be inspected again as we specifically asked that they be suitable for Hanging Baskets and have it in writing thank God!!  So, our Chairman now has 40 Hanging Baskets (and probably brackets) in  his back garden waiting to be re-erected – or not – as the case may be.  Meanwhile stacks of phone calls from residents reporting Baskets stolen, asking where their sponsored Basket has gone etc.etc. Would you like my job anyone?